The first vegan who walked the earth was Abu l-'Ala' Al-Ma"arri أبو العلاء المعري In today's episode, I invite you to discover the extraordinary life of this genius who was thinking of animal ethics long before we were born. A Legend who I want to commemorate and from whom I want to draw insight and inspiration in our current fight for animal rights.

To discuss this topic, I have with me Dr Kevin Blankinship, THE scholar on the life of Al-Ma'ari. He is a professor of Arabic and Islamic studies at Brigham Young University and is currently writing "Steal No More from Nature: Al-Maʿarrī and Animal Ethics in Classical Arabic Literature", a book I am looking forward to reading.

Visit Dr. Blankinship's website: https://kblankinship.com/

Concerto for Chorus on texts of Abu l-'Ala' Al-Ma'arri (William C. White): https://youtu.be/yrnVjKz4oww?si=YVqkFuxsHliLMWtg&t=938

Read "The Epistle of Forgiveness": https://nyupress.org/9780814763780/the-epistle-of-forgiveness/

Read "A Culture of Ambiguity" by Thomas Bauer: https://cup.columbia.edu/book/a-culture-of-ambiguity/9780231170659

Read Colin Spencer's "The Heretic's Feast": https://www.amazon.com/Heretics-Feast-History-Vegetarianism/dp/0874517605

Read Reynold A. Nicholson's translations: https://www.librarything.com/author/nicholsonreynolda

Follow the show on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/veganreportpodcast/