Playing fair

I've realized that my exposure to Jordanian thoughts and opinions, is rather limited to one group of individuals who are relatively liberal in their thinking.

First of all, there is my family - practicing Muslims, they have defined their faith by embracing the modern context.  My host mom and host sister are not veiled, my host mom owns a hair salon, and my host dad tells me that, unlike most other men, he doesn't see it as a shame to cook.  They welcome the idea of living in a pluralist society with a mixture of religions, and are frustrated with the radical Islamists who capture the headlines.

Then there are my Jordanian friends, many of whom are guys my age or older, and the only reason I can hang out with them is because they are more liberal, or aren't very religious.  I am friends with a group of about six Jordanian girls who are conservative, but our time together is limited to our breaks between classes.

When I have conversations with these people, often times I agree with them.  I would like to post some of the things my host sister says about the idea of education and marriage, or my friends' thoughts on the political and societal impact of religion - but these would not fairly assess the opinion of Jordanians.  Most importantly, I do not feel like I have the right to analyze or critique a society because I can't  do that without there naturally being a comparison in my head between here and the states.  Not until I am part of this place can I try to fairly make social observations.

Here vs. there: defining democracy

Cries for democracy, reform, a renaissance for Egypt... this must be a good sign concerning future relations for United States and Isreal with this region, sah?  Not so fast. The people in the streets of Cairo are united in their mission to establish democracy.  In addition, most of those people are united in their opinion towards Israel and what is viewed as the occupation of Palestine.  Egyptians are also very critical of the United States unfaltering support of Israel and the continued occupation of Iraq.  Let's not be mistaken, democracy is the order of the day.  But to be true to its definition, if the people are to be fairly represented, the opinion of the majority will not naturally align itself with that of the U.S. or Israel.

Is this cause for concern? It depends. If the situation magnificently ends up being a democratic state that gives the Egyptian people fair elections and equality for all, the U.S. will find itself without the loyalty of Egypt, enjoyed during the reign of Mubarak.  Perhaps now, we need to be honest about our professed support of democracy.  This is what I hear from Arabs: that the U.S. is a realist nation through and through, acting in its self interest without a fault. It is clear with whom the U.S. is allied, and the Arab people have chosen a side as well, and it isn't with the States.  They are unhappy with our regional policy... and very unhappy with Israel.

So what does America want? Democracy for all as long as the democracy represents people supportive of us?  If that is not possible, would we rather just pay off one person with all the power and not have to worry whether the people agree or not? 

That is how people here see it.  They ask me these questions.  They want to know: is this how American politics work? Is this the beauty of being the top dog? Does America think it can write its own rules concerning global politics and not care whether people agree or not?

People are putting their lives at risk to finally have their voice heard.  Blood is spilled for democracy.  If it is obtained, it will be their democracy, not ours.

a few blurbs about some things

Marhaba! I'm sorry about my last post - it was a little pessimistic.  Politics never end here, and even as a political science major, I get a little tired of it from time to time.  Silly me for thinking that I could get a break from it in my religion class.

So let's talk about the next biggest thing in the news: Muhenat is engaged to Nihal.  If you happen to watch the soap "Forbidden Love" as every other Jordanian family does, this news would garner a few gasps.  Soap operas are very popular, most coming from Egypt, Turkey or Lebanon.  "Forbidden Love" is Turkish and involves a typical plot of an affair, dramatic cover ups, and dirty glances between the women.  And a little incest, but between cousins, it's okay.  It is very popular and to be honest, I love the new cocktail dresses for dinner each night. 

Last weekend I went with several girls to the southern port city of Aqaba and spent a day and a half on the beach in the balmy 80 degree weather.  It was wonderful to sit on the beach in February on the weekend, despite every cab ride being an argument in which I lost each time.

In case some of you are reading headlines, and even the articles attached to them (I'm a headline browser myself), you will have noticed the continued rallies in Jordan.  About 6,000 gathered on Friday calling for constitutional monarchy, with pressure on the king to reduce his absolute authority over the state.  But the character of the rallies is peaceful and with support from security forces.

Attention here is on Libya, with the common description for Gadafi being, "Magnoon!" (crazy).  Keep a look out for developments there - the International Criminal Court is beginning an investigation on the crimes committed by the military against the protestors.

Cote-d'Ivoire is seeing some violent clashes.  I have not read up on it, so I have not much to report other than that at least 6 women were shot dead while participating in a protest.  Security forces are becoming increasingly aggressive in their support of the incumbent leader.

What is with the military and security? It will never reflect well for the current leader and will only attract international criticism.

Doubts of Hope

Today, I was the most discouraged I have ever been concerning politics in the region.  This feeling was born from a discussion in my "Islam in the Modern Context" class where the guest speaker - an expert on Shariah law at the University - spent the whole class period arguing that the political actions of the West in the past century is the reason why the Middle East fails to overcome oppressive governments and to advance as a region socially, economically and politically. This conversation replaced the scheduled discussion of Islamic law.

Anyways, as I sat there, hearing yet again the blame, the bitterness and the bias, I realized that these feelings and opinions have penetrated and rooted itself within this society and it will take nothing short of a miracle to be able to move past it all.  And that's just the start.  For any sort of progress in the relations between Arabs and Israelis and Americans (political relations, that is), there will have to be a global cleansing of all theories that have become fact (each nation is guilty of this) and have thus further diluted the reputation of any side.  Finally, the widespread ignorance needs to be addressed, on all sides and of any background whether you are an American student, a Jordanian doctor, a Palestinian Shariah law expert or a Zionist grandmother.

Can you see where the discouragement is coming from?  If a class of American students who came to learn and study "the other side," can not hold a political discussion with a Palestinian professor of Islam without misunderstandings and wide disagreements about the "facts" of history, how on earth are whole nations of far less open-mindedness and oceans apart, supposed to resolve themselves?

I don't mean to use my class as a measure of the potential of international resolution. Nor do I want to somehow suggest that one nation is worse than another.  I will be the first to admit that we - the United States - have messed up.  But alongside that statement, I have to add that both the pot and the kettle are black and it does no good to point the finger.

Sometimes I wonder if, because of America's rather short, known, history, we tend to live for today and tomorrow and thus alienate ourselves in that aspect culturally, from other nations and regions that have centuries and centuries of developing national identity.  I say this, because it is easy for me to say, "Forget the last sixty years! Yella! Let's do something today." However, I don't know what it's like to live in the shadow of my family's memories or to have the political situation during my parents and grandparents' generation, still affect me today.

I don't know.  I'm ignorant of that life, of the culture of memory. And that will be the first difference between me and that professor.

Life in Pictures

I found these puppies on my run one evening and sprinted home to grab my camera and some cheese.  They were so cute and acted just like little kids... all nervous and falling over each other to be the first to come within a reach of the cheese.

Saturday, some students and I went to a girl's school in the industrial part of the city, and painted their walls with fun images.  These girls were absolutely adorable, gabbing away in Arabic and taking pictures of every and anything with my camera.

At first they were very camera shy, but after ten minutes of using my camera, the students wanted to be in every picture.  The sunflower behind them is part of the mural I painted.

King al-Hussein Mosque during evening prayers

Abbi - my neighbor CIEE student, her host brother Ahmad (taller one), and me and my host brother Naseem, explored the al-Hussein gardens and visited the mosque that His Majesty King Abdullah attends on Fridays.

A venture to the other side of town

Horns blared and shabab (youth) shouted early this morning as they lapped the neighborhoods in their cars.  It was too early for a wedding (as those are the typical sounds accompanying a wedding procession). The exam results were just released for the high school seniors.  Similar to the SATs, these tests are prepped for with sweat and tears, but differ in that the scores determine the university as well as the major a student can pursue.  This morning they celebrated. Early.

Yesterday I ventured into East Amman to help out at the Modern Arab School. It was similar to crossing the Walt Whitman bridge from Philadelphia into Camden.  The socioeconomic disparity between these two sides of the city was obvious.  My two friends and I took a bus to the school where over 300 Iraqi refugees attend each day to study English.  The school is run by the Jesuit Church and offers many services to the large Iraqi population in Amman.  We were able to sit in on an advanced English class and an art class for the children.

The English class was a brilliant display of Arab mentality. During introductions, two elderly women - well dressed and with their make-up done as fastidiously as the university girls - questioned us about Western behavior towards the East in the past decade. Once our answers proved satisfactory enough, the class broke into two teams to conduct a debate on food. I can't describe the discussions that went on as they made their points, but even with a simple debate like the role of food, the class took their positions seriously (or at least argued it seriously).  At one point, I whispered to my colleague, "I bet that momentarily, English will be forgotten." And just seconds later the class erupted and the two sides yelled at each other in Arabic and the poor ESL teacher was beside herself trying to reign them in.

It's not that they were angry, it's just how it is here.  Afterward, the two most heated debaters kissed each other goodbye as they promised to continue the debate in the class next week.

In the art class, non of the children spoke English.  The children kept laughing and laughing at my attempt to say butterfly, swing-set and slide.  But, if there is something I know how to do to connect with people, it is art.  It is such a happy thing to sit with 40 second graders and draw pictures of your house, your yard or your pet. When the bell rang, they boys and girls handed me their pictures so I could sign my name in Arabic and English. Anyone can be a celebrity if they find the right crowd.

Efforts: for sleep and peace

2:17 AM.  Severely jet-lagged.  Still.  Listening to my "Go-to-sleep" mix on iTunes hoping it will work the same magic it did for me freshman year at Denison.

So, instead of tossing in bed with a million thoughts running through my head while smelling the smoke in my hair each time I turn, I thought I would jot a few thoughts down here.

Recently, the eye of the media is focused on Egypt and the protesting in Cairo's Tahiri Square.  As you are probably aware of, Egypt isn't alone.  The exasperated act of a young merchant in Tunisia seems to have triggered the uprisings across the region which are broadcast daily.  Jordanians have joined the trend, and have taken to the streets each Friday for the past four weeks (peacefully).  They want reform within the government.  They are tired of the poor economy, and the ridiculous poverty rate.  Corruption is too common and too evident.  King Abdullah II works to meet the demands of his people and on Tuesday he disbanded the government and fired the prime minister.  He met with the Muslim Brotherhood - a political group heavily involved in the politics here - to discuss the prevalent issues.

The winter rains started this week as well, two months late.  Though the numbers were smaller, the weather didn't stop several hundred gathering downtown this afternoon.  The changes made are a step in the right direction - the people were listened to.  However, the new Prime Minister Bakhit, has already served a term.  The people know him, and they don't see him adopting the reforms they want to see.  Alongside this protest, Jordanians rallied in support of their Egyptian brothers.

This afternoon, I sat with my host family to watch the news cover Egypt, Iraq (a new country to join the list of protesting nations) and Jordan.  However, keep your eyes on the developments in Lebanon, and the tremblings in Sudan, among other nations.  There are also stirrings within the West Bank and Gaza.  And finally, my pet nation, Syria, called for a "day of rage" (to quote al-Jazeera) via social networks (which are banned in the country).  But today's protests in Damascus never happened, not surprisingly.  The country's secret police are too strong, and it is probably for the best that nothing did happen as that could have been very ugly, in more ways than one. 

Lifehouse - please put me to sleep.  It's going on 3AM and classes start Sunday.