What does it mean?

Still Working it Out...

The recent and continuing anti-American protests across the Muslim world, catalyzed by the Youtube video The Innocence of Muslims have caught us off guard, and raised a host of questions for Americans: Why is this happening? What are these people thinking? What should we think? What does it mean?

The past couple of weeks demonstrate why the region is, in the fullest sense of the phrase, such a terribly interesting place. Terrible because of the current instability and violence, interesting because of all the intersecting political, cultural, economic, and religious motivations and questions at play. It's important not to forget that people are living in these societies, trying to build a life, trying in many places to build a nation.

What do all of these reactions mean? Lots of things. Here are some thoughts and articles that tell us part of the story:

The first is from my friend Tamer in Egypt. It was good for me to talk to him because my gut reaction was anger. He explained some of the motivations behind the reaction in Egypt, while not condoning it. He also had these words about the attack on the American Embassy in Libya:

"Now killing the american ambassador in Libya has violated 3 of the main laws of Islam. First...the embassy and their officials were promised safety on Libyan soil, and Prophet Mohamed and Islam told us to keep our promises, and they violated that. 

Second, it's forbidden in Islam to attack or judge someone without any evidence, and they took an innocent guy from his house without any trial or evidence and decided to judge him. 

Third and this is the strongest fault....they took someone's soul.

So I was actually wondering when I read what happened...What the hell were you guys thinking?!..representing Islam?!...well, thank you we'll have to fix what you've done and maybe forever." 

James Joyner, "Freedom of Speech and Religion in Egypt and Libya."

Freedom of speech means even freedom of bigoted, hateful, ignorant, blasphemous speech; this is not a value that most Muslim societies share. The fact that this video could provoke such a widespread response is deeply revelatory about Middle Eastern societies, just as a Florida pastor's Qur'an burning stunt was a few years ago:
"The fact that the words of some backwoods Florida preacher with a tiny congregation can spark murder and mayhem in Afghanistan, Egypt and Libya is a powerful indictment of the immaturity of those civil societies. Islam has endured for more than a millennium, and its followers constitute more than a fifth of humanity; surely, it can withstand the insults of a half-wit." 

Ahmed Salah, "A Fight Against Religious Extremism."
A Washington-based leader of the April 6 movement in Egypt, one of the groups that organized protests in Tahrir Square in January and February 2011, contends that extremists who now stage protests against America do not represent "The Muslim world:"

"This is not a fight between 'the Muslim world' and 'the West.' It is not a fight between American values and Islamic values. It is a fight between moderates and extremists... My message to Americans is this: Never forget that this fight is not yours alone. It is ours, too. Never forget that in the battle against extremism and the struggle for peace and justice, you are not alone. And remember that only by reaching out to those who risked their lives for the goals of the Arab Spring, rather than casting the entire region as an enemy, will this battle be won." 

Ramy Yaacoub, "Hello, West? It Really is About the Movie."
A guest contributor at Steven Cook's Middle East blog argues that the protests really do primarily represent anger at the contents of the video - and a cultural divide between the Muslim world and the West.

Mustafa Akyol, "Time for Muslim Anger Management."
A Turkish journalist makes the case that Muslims essentially need to learn how to shrug off insults. I've heard the same sentiment voiced on the BBC by Salman Rushdie and a commentator for the Quilliam counter-extremism center, a Muslim think-tank in London. I find it hard to disagree.

Akyol also explains the misconception floating around many Middle Eastern societies that most governments heavily censor their media, just as Arab governments have for at least the last 50 years - this is part of why riotous crowds were so easily angered against the U.S.

William McCants, "The Sources of Salafi Conduct."
This analyst discusses the role of the Salafi leadership in the protests and in the New Egypt. Very interesting look at what these protests mean in terms of relations between Islamist groups within Egypt.

There are lots of angles to the story here - the big one not discussed in any of these is the one everyone is discussing in the U.S.: What does all this mean for U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East? Barack Obama had some things to say about that today in New York at the U.N.... more on that to come.

Speechifying

Say it – out loud!

I don’t find this scene from Twilight particularly engrossing – it’s best watched utilizing the Riff Trax podcast available here – but the line does reflect something that is deeply embedded in our nature as human beings: the importance of speech in our lives.

A lot of speechifying has been going on in the U.S. during this election year; I tuned in to catch a few of the Democratic and Republican conventions over the last couple weeks. Many of these speeches were dull and repetitive, a few were decent, and at least one was bizarre and kind of hilarious.

Why has “the speech” remained one of the most important political “arts” even in our fast-paced age of mass communication and sound-bites? Isn’t an hour-long oration a little old-fashioned for the 21^st century?

Maybe fewer people are listening, but it’s still important what a person will stand up and say – out loud. Words matter, and it also matters how words are said. Are they delivered with conviction? Does this person actually believe what they are saying, or are they only saying what they think we want to hear?

Speeches reflect something about both a speaker and an audience, about how they see the world, what they believe in, what they honor and cherish. 

Great speakers are able to both deliver hard truths, and to inspire, to make people believe in a better tomorrow. I didn’t really get a sense of any convincing hard truth-telling or real inspiration going on at the recent conventions, but I'm glad people still try. At the very least, when someone gives a speech we can learn what they think people want to hear, and what they are willing to be heard saying, out loud. 

Heroes

I've been back in the USA since May, but have only sporadically reflected on my experience in the Middle East over the last year and a half, when I spent several months in both Egypt and Israel, and had the opportunity for interspersed trips to Turkey, Jordan, Syria, and Tunisia. Since then, events have continued to unfold rapidly in the region. Two key dramas are playing out that will have far-reaching ripple effects: Israel vs. Iran, and Syria vs. Syria. In addition, the Arab Spring has led to the rise of Islamist movements, organizations dedicated to bringing Islamic teaching overtly into the political sphere, to power in Egypt and Tunisia. The US has had difficulty finding who to support, to what level, and to what specific end in each situation.

One commentator I'm paying attention to as the situation in the Middle East evolves is Ed Husain, a British, Muslim scholar. I read his book The Islamist  as a student in Egypt, and he became a hero of mine. A self-described ex-extremist, he advocates a version of Islam that is compatible with the principles of human freedom. 

Another commentator, whom I had the opportunity to meet in Turkey, is Mustafa Akyol, a Turkish journalist who, like Husain, is strongly religious but also strongly anti-tyranny. He also has become a hero for me. 

Both of these people impressed me with their dedication to Islam, but also their willingness to view the state of the Islamic world with honesty. They want to see Islam, or the understanding of Islam that many people espouse, change. Crucially, the source for this change comes from within Islam itself, from the Qu'ran and other sources. According to Husain and Akyol, key precepts such as the value of human life and religious freedom have been lost amidst a dedication to other, minor parts of the Qu'ranic message. I wholeheartedly wish these two heroes of mine, like-minded Muslims, and people of all faiths with a dedication to preserving respect for the dignity of human life, success in their work. 

Sunday

I like Sundays.

This semester, I've had the opportunity to worship on Sundays, and it has been very refreshing. Most Sundays I've been worshipping at St. Andrew's Scots Memorial Church, and I've appreciated the services there, reminding me of God's redemptive work in the world, and of our place in that redemptive work. These words are on my mind this evening, from the service this morning:

From Psalm 22:

All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD, 
and all the families of the nations will bow down before him, for dominion belongs to the LORD and he rules over the nations.

From Mark 8:

Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?

Yad Vashem

"And to them will I give in my house and within my walls a memorial and a name that shall not be cut off."

Isaiah 56:5

This verse contains the inspiration for the title of the Jewish memorial and museum commemorating the Holocaust in Jerusalem. Yad Vashem describes an eternal memorial that God gives to those who have no earthly offspring. Yad Vashem is one of the places that MESP visits every semester, and it's been a memorable experience each time I've been. It tells the story of the Holocaust from a Jewish perspective; the museum is very informative but, perhaps surprisingly, not manipulative.

Aside from learning information about the Holocaust and the ghettoization that preceded the Final Solution, I pick up a couple important things from the visit. The first is the chronological proximity of the Declaration of the State of Israel to the end of WWII - the state was declared just three years afterward, in 1948. These two events are intimately connected; I can imagine survivors of the Holocaust and other Jews seeing the formation of the State of Israel as the beginning of a hopeful new chapter after the closing of such a devastating one in the nation's story. The visit also brings out the connection between the Holocaust in Europe and subsequent events and conflicts in the Middle East. Zionism, or the Jewish political movement that led to the establishment of the State of Israel, began before the time of the Holocaust, but the campaign of ethnic cleansing against Jews under the Nazi Reich definitely gave the movement urgency, encouraging Jews to leave Europe in great numbers and settle in the land of Palestine. This is important because, as Israeli historian and diplomat Michael B. Oren acknowledges, without Zionism, there would have been no influx of Jewish immigration, no State of Israel, and therefore no conflicts between it and neighboring states or the local Palestinian Arab population (Six Days of War). The modern Middle East has definitely been shaped by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which would not have occurred without this specific development that gained a lot of urgency and support after the Holocaust.

The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not some eternal conflict between Arabs and Jews that has been brewing for centuries; its roots can be traced to specific historical events.

Palestinians do not look at the Declaration of the State of Israel, the subsequent war, and the attendant loss for their communities of many lives and much land, as the start of a hopeful new chapter in their story, but rather as the start of their own time of devastation: they call this "al Nakba" or "the Catastrophe." Israelis aren’t perpetrating another ethnic cleansing campaign against the Palestinians, as some would claim, but since 1967 the Israeli government has been in control of the lives of over 2 million people who have no citizenship in the state.

I listened to a speaker today, a Palestinian Christian who had visited death camps such as Auschwitz. He suggested that Israelis today are driven by fear that an event like the Holocaust could happen again, and this fear translates into some of their policies toward Palestinians. Whether or not his assertion correctly describes the mindset of Israelis today, I think it was significant that he, as a Palestinian, made an effort to understand this chapter of the Jewish people's story; I've appreciated the opportunity that the memorial at Yad Vashem provides to learn more about that chapter and its impact on the following chapters of both Jews' and Arabs' stories in this region.

Been a while

After a brief hiatus (basically all last semester) – I’m back in the blogosphere! I’m starting my second semester working for the Middle East Studies Program (MESP), based near Jerusalem, Israel.

Let me give you a quick update on recent stuff I’ve run across.

What’s up in Egypt?

I spent a couple weeks in Cairo in December – it’s pretty interesting to be there at the moment because Egypt has just completed it’s first free and fair parliamentary election process in at least 30 years. As some Western journalists and policy wonks predicted, the Muslim Brotherhood, a political party/social organization that roots its identity in adherence to Islamic teaching, has been cleaning house. Surprisingly, another more religiously conservative party known as Al Nour (the light) has also been doing very well – this party has most of the Egyptians I’ve talked to worried.

I enjoyed walking around a little bit in the neighborhood of Agouza, the former home of MESP, and looking at campaign posters. Each candidate had a symbol for the benefit of folks who are illiterate – these ranged from a basketball, a grand piano, and a hammer to the scales of justice.

It’s unclear yet what a Brotherhood-dominated government will look like, and how much power elected officials will have in relation to the military – all that remains to be seen. It’s definitely an interesting moment in Egypt’s history though, as a party that has been repressed since it’s founding in 1928 has made serious gains in a genuine election.

At the tail end of my trip to Cairo, there was some continued noise from Tahrir Square, where people had continued to gather to demand a swifter transfer of power from the military to civilian control. Other than that, things seemed about the same as when I had left, aside from the political conversation on the street. I haven't heard much about the Square since then; I think most people are waiting to see what a new government will look like. There IS a lot of concern among Christians in Egypt; they were already in a delicate situation during the Mubarak era, and are now feeling even more vulnerable.

What’s up in Israel?

Israel made home-page news on CNN a couple weeks ago with a story that has exposed a rift in Israeli society. In the view of many Israelis, the Ultra-Orthodox community receives an unfair level of special treatment – they are not required to serve in the military like other Israeli citizens, and they receive other government benefits. They mostly mind their own business, but recently they have been coming under scrutiny for their views toward women in society. This is just one issue that is hot here – there are loads of them, even discounting the ever-present political tension between Israel and the Palestinians. Things seem pretty quiet, and there have been some recent peace talks going on, but no one’s expecting any kind of breakthrough at the moment.

What’s up with MESP?

I’m very excited about this semester, which began on January 11. This is our second semester based here in Israel and my second semester working for the program – I feel much more prepared this time around!

I’m also trying to use this opportunity to learn more, as it may be my last for a while to come to the Middle East. I think our schedule this semester will help me with that; we are getting to delve deeper into some things that have peaked my interest but that I haven’t had the chance to follow up on yet. I’ll be posting about them as we go along!

Report

It's been about a month since I arrived in the Middle East, a month that in Cairo and everywhere else in the Islamic world is the month of Ramadan. I've seen a couple people cheating, but for the most part, Muslims around the world have been fasting during the day for the entire month of August, which means no food or drink during the day. It's not quite as hot in Cairo as it is back home in Austin - but I'm still quite impressed!

QUICK REPORT ON THE LAST MONTH:

The two weeks I spent in Cairo didn't give me a great impression of the situation in post-"revolution" Egypt, but it was really interesting to be back after witnessing the upheaval from afar. The neighborhood I stayed in, called Agouza, felt 100% the same as it did when I studied abroad with MESP - I would describe the area as a kind of urban village. However, the few people I talked to mentioned a sense of uncertainty - one person said that things are "risky" right now with the army's transitional council in charge. Mubarak's trial began during my short stay, and people were certainly interested in that - the event inspired displays of anger in some cases.

I did make it down to Tahrir Square a couple times, just enough to get a brief glimpse of the goings on there. Traffic flow had returned, with people going in and out, but soldiers were squatting in the center of the square, presumably to prevent further outbreaks of mass protests, which have continued occasionally since Mubarak's resignation. I heard whispers of a planned protest on one of the Fridays I was there, but I don't think it materialized.

It was interesting to hear some of the stories from the uprising. One of my friends told me his brother took 30 rubber bullets in the back from security forces, and was out of commission for three days afterward. Others experienced a few face-fulls of tear gas in confrontations with police and security forces.

The future remains uncertain - there seems to be no compelling vision for Egypt that a lot of people can get on board with. One of my friends told me he has yet to find a party that will win his support - some groups want to make Egypt into Iran or Saudia Arabia; others want to make Egypt the United States.

I wish I had the time to go around and hold a bunch of interviews, but my time in Cairo was mainly spent getting ready for the semester - and our main task was getting ready to move to Israel, where the program I'm working for is going to be held, and where I am writing from.

We completed the move and are actually preparing to receive students beginning tomorrow! I'm just about ready for things to get moving - we're staying near Jerusalem and our students are going to have the opportunity right off the batt to begin learning about the Israel-Palestine Conflict, one of the most challenging issues in the region.

I want to continue learning myself, to revisit the interplay between faith and politics in the Middle East and particularly Israel, during this moment of swift change in the region.

It hasn't been all work and learning - I've also been ingesting a healthy dose of Sci-Fi with my coworkers - we've gone through Firefly/Serenity, and I've also been introduced for a second time to Dr. Who. This is very important preparation for the semester...

Thanks for the prayers and support!