--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ... the Istiqlal was powerful, which did…" description: "\"“... the Istiqlal was powerful, which did not at all coincide with his conception of it, nor with the picture the organization painted of itself: a pur..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33b/paul-bowles-3731_serving-the-people_the-istiqlal-was-powerful-which-did-not_1812449.jpg" --- # ... the Istiqlal was powerful, which did not at all… ![“... the Istiqlal was powerful, which did not at all coincide with his conception of it, nor with the picture the organization painted of itself: a purely defensive group of selfless martyrs who were willing to brave the brutality of the French in order to bring hope to their suffering countrymen.” quote by Paul Bowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33b/paul-bowles-3731_serving-the-people_the-istiqlal-was-powerful-which-did-not_1812449.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33b/paul-bowles-3731_serving-the-people_the-istiqlal-was-powerful-which-did-not_1812449.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33b/paul-bowles-3731_serving-the-people_the-istiqlal-was-powerful-which-did-not_1812449.jpg) > ““... the Istiqlal was powerful, which did not at all coincide with his conception of it, nor with the picture the organization painted of itself: a purely defensive group of selfless martyrs who were willing to brave the brutality of the French in order to bring hope to their suffering countrymen.”” [Paul Bowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bowles/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A defensive group of martyrs is portrayed as heroic, yet their selfless image clashes with the harsh reality of their actions. **In simple terms:** Martyrs seen as defensive heroes conflict with reality. Key Takeaway Recognize the gap between image and reality. Themes heroism defensiveness reality Mood critical analytical Type historical political When to use this quote - colonial resistance - national movements - propaganda Key Concepts political theory history identity Questions to Reflect On - How does myth versus reality affect perception? - What are the costs of idealizing groups? A Different Perspective Romanticizing resistance can obscure complexities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Martyrs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/martyrs/) ## Related quotes > [“The different kinds of work require different people to perform the task. 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I lost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-senesh/i-could-have-been-23-next-july-i-gambled-on-what-mattered-most-the/) Hannah Senesh > [Take away the contests of the martyrs, and you have taken away their crowns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-ambrose/take-away-the-contests-of-the-martyrs-and-you-have-taken-away-their/) [Saint Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-ambrose/) > [They're not put on earth to be martyrs; they have to want to come out. 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In this they are at one with their antagonists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/martyrs-do-not-underrate-the-body-they-allow-it-to-be-elevated-on-the/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) ## More by Paul Bowles > [“When I was young” … “Before I was twenty, I mean, I used to think that life was a thing that kept gaining impetus,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bowles/when-i-was-young-before-i-was-twenty-i-mean-i-used-to-think-that-life/) [Paul Bowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bowles/) > [A black star appears, a point of darkness in the night sky's clarity. Point of darkness and gateway to repose. Reach out, pierce the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bowles/a-black-star-appears-a-point-of-darkness-in-the-night-sky-s-clarity/) [Paul Bowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bowles/) > [We've never managed, either one of us, to get all the way into life. 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Yet everything happens a certain number…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bowles/because-we-don-t-know-when-we-will-die-we-get-to-think-of-life-as-an/) [Paul Bowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bowles/) > [She was saved from prettiness by the intensity of her gaze.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bowles/she-was-saved-from-prettiness-by-the-intensity-of-her-gaze/) [Paul Bowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bowles/) > [“If people are living the same as always, with their bellies full of food, they'll just go on the same way. If they get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bowles/if-people-are-living-the-same-as-always-with-their-bellies-full-of/) [Paul Bowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bowles/) > [“Scene VI (1940) It is our fault we love only the skull of Beauty Without knowing who she was, of what she died. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bowles/scene-vi-1940-it-is-our-fault-we-love-only-the-skull-of-beauty/) [Paul Bowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bowles/) [Explore all 122 Paul Bowles quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bowles/) ## More Martyrs quotes > [Martyrs do not underrate the body, they allow it to be elevated on the cross. In this they are at one with their antagonists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-kafka/martyrs-do-not-underrate-the-body-they-allow-it-to-be-elevated-on-the/) [Franz Kafka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-kafka/) > [All of us have a secret desire to be seen as saints, heroes, martyrs. We are afraid to be children, to be ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-vanier/all-of-us-have-a-secret-desire-to-be-seen-as-saints-heroes-martyrs-we/) [Jean Vanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-vanier/) > [In the long, fierce struggle for freedom of opinion, the press, like the Church, counted its martyrs by thousands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/in-the-long-fierce-struggle-for-freedom-of-opinion-the-press-like-the/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [ There are martyrs \[between Mexican people\], now I will canonize two. It is a population that you can't explain, you can't explain it because… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/there-are-martyrs-between-mexican-people-now-i-will-canonize-two-it/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [Twenty-two martyrs were recognized, but there were many more, and not only Catholics. There were also Anglicans and some Mohammedans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-paul-vi/twenty-two-martyrs-were-recognized-but-there-were-many-more-and-not/) [Pope Paul VI](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-paul-vi/) > [“Christians are being martyred across the globe at alarmingly increasing rates. The ‘Voices of the Martyrs’ website reveals just how serious this killing of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-price/christians-are-being-martyred-across-the-globe-at-alarmingly/) [John Price](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-price/) > [“Actually it is hard to find “martyrs for science.” Though one can find examples under materialist, atheistic systems as, for example, during the French…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/actually-it-is-hard-to-find-martyrs-for-science-though-one-can-find/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tertullian/the-blood-of-the-martyrs-is-the-seed-of-the-church/) [Tertullian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tertullian/) > [Those who die for their country are martyrs and those who live for their country are greater martyrs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhagat-puran-singh/those-who-die-for-their-country-are-martyrs-and-those-who-live-for/) Bhagat Puran Singh > [They're not put on earth to be martyrs; they have to want to come out. It depends on your culture, where you work, where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billie-jean-king/they-re-not-put-on-earth-to-be-martyrs-they-have-to-want-to-come-out/) [Billie Jean King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billie-jean-king/) > [Take away the contests of the martyrs, and you have taken away their crowns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-ambrose/take-away-the-contests-of-the-martyrs-and-you-have-taken-away-their/) [Saint Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-ambrose/) > [“I could have been 23 next July I gambled on what mattered most, the dice were cast. I lost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-senesh/i-could-have-been-23-next-july-i-gambled-on-what-mattered-most-the/) Hannah Senesh > [“We must all make the mental leap from the pious histories we have read in the martyrologies to the reality of living flesh and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-d-o-brien/we-must-all-make-the-mental-leap-from-the-pious-histories-we-have/) [Michael D. O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-d-o-brien/) > [Through all history, from the beginning, a noble army of martyrs have fought fiercely and fallen bravely for that unseen mistress, their country. So,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-william-curtis/through-all-history-from-the-beginning-a-noble-army-of-martyrs-have/) [George William Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-william-curtis/) > [“We live together,we act on, and react to, one another; but always and in all circumstances we are by ourselves. The martyrs go hand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/we-live-together-we-act-on-and-react-to-one-another-but-always-and-in/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) [Browse all 133 Martyrs quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/martyrs/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“... the Istiqlal was powerful, which did not at all coincide with his conception of it, nor with the picture the organization painted of itself: a purely defensive group of selfless martyrs who were willing to brave the brutality of the French in order to bring hope to their suffering countrymen.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paul Bowles" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bowles/the-istiqlal-was-powerful-which-did-not-at-all-coincide-with-his/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Martyrs" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bowles/the-istiqlal-was-powerful-which-did-not-at-all-coincide-with-his/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33b/paul-bowles-3731_serving-the-people_the-istiqlal-was-powerful-which-did-not_1812449.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33b/paul-bowles-3731_serving-the-people_the-istiqlal-was-powerful-which-did-not_1812449.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33b/paul-bowles-3731_serving-the-people_the-istiqlal-was-powerful-which-did-not_1812449.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“... the Istiqlal was powerful, which did not at all coincide with his conception of it, nor with the picture…” — Paul Bowles", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Paul Bowles", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bowles/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“... the Istiqlal was powerful, which...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bowles/the-istiqlal-was-powerful-which-did-not-at-all-coincide-with-his/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bowles/the-istiqlal-was-powerful-which-did-not-at-all-coincide-with-his/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```