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!

Rearview + Preview

Tahrir Square. Living up to its name, which means "Liberation Square," it's become the symbol of the "Arab Spring" - the movement of popular protests in several Arab countries that began at the end of last year.

In Egypt, mass protests against the 30-year Mubarak regime began on January 25, a little over a month after I returned from studying abroad in Cairo. My group had the chance to get a glimpse into what life was like just prior to these protests that, together with the urging of high-ranking military officials, eventually convinced President Mubarak to step down.

For me, news stories often feel very far away and separate from my own life, even big ones like 9/11, Katrina, or the more recent tsunami/earthquake in Japan. It was a much different experience to have recently returned from Cairo, where I lived ten minutes from Tahrir Square, and to be in contact with ordinary Egyptians during this extraordinary time for their nation. I got to feel their frustration when it seemed like Mubarak would hang on - one friend passed on a joke about "Mubarak" becoming a new word meaning "to stick to like glue" - and I got to celebrate with them when he finally stepped down and a new chapter began for them.

I'm excited because at the end of this week I get to return to Cairo for a couple weeks. I'll be working with the very same study abroad program I went on last year, MESP, as a Program Assistant. While the program is going to be based in Israel this semester, my partner and I will be meeting up and preparing with the staff in Cairo. I got to witness Egypt before the Arab Spring, and I will hopefully have the opportunity to get a fuller picture of what's going on there now.

The future in Egypt and the Middle East is far from certain - in the last few days there have been renewed protests against the military leadership that has taken charge; some of these mass rallies have ended up provoking violence. There has been tons of media speculation about the economic problems Egypt faces, the possibility of the Muslim Brotherhood taking over large swaths of the Parliament in the upcoming elections, and the lack of strong political organizations and institutions. Also, the military leadership seems to be cranking out Mubarak-style statements and actions on a regular basis, which has led to the renewed protests and calls for change.

On the other hand, I've heard reasons to be hopeful, and some of these are intangibles; for instance, a renewed sense of hope and pride in Egypt. I'll be interested to see if anything like that is discernible from a two-week visit. I'm not an expert on Egyptian politics, and I still won't be after my second visit, but I'll be keeping my eyes open.

Here's an editorial on the recent protests, plus a link for more information on the situation.

Daily News Egypt - "Finger-lickin' Fix"

Al Jazeera Blog

Salutations

I've dabbled in blogging before, but it's always been for a focused project - this time it's personal!

I've recently graduated from Oklahoma Christian University with a major in History Pre-Law and am "setting sail" into the "real world" - so I suppose you could call this a pivotal time for me. I hope to include some thoughts on the travels I take, the books I read, the people and ideas I encounter - and I will be most pleased if I can spur a little discussion. I don't claim any particular wisdom in the subjects I post about, just interest.

I'm a believer in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. I come from a family of faith, and it's a central part of my life - but my understanding of that faith has morphed since my baptism at the young age of 8, and continues to change. I want to continue exploring some of those issues of faith and what it means to be a follower of God.

I also want to explore what it means to be a person of faith in this world that is pretty tough to wrap our minds around. I'm a believer that, for all of our flaws and even our destructive tendencies, humans are made in the image of God, and I'm a believer in the American creed that all people are created with worth and with tremendous potential. I hold to the political philosophy that governments should be responsive to their people, and responsible to preserve that oft-praised, but rarely defined blessing we call freedom.

These "twin beacons" of faith and freedom, as Ronald Reagan described them, are among the topics I want to consider. Reagan Christmas Address 1981

I've learned enough to know that graduating from college doesn't mean too much. I'm only beginning a journey that I hope will lead to greater knowledge and understanding - but more importantly greater faith, hope, and love.

I'm not a sailor; I don't have a boathouse or anything - and I always have trouble waterskiing. But I've always found the image of boats and ships stirring - they represent travel, exploration, freedom. They also are used for trade, for making contact with other people.

People often apply the image of a ship on the stormy seas as a metaphor for facing life's challenges. Well, I'm setting sail on a new phase of my own voyage, and I hope that it will lead to some new discoveries. I want to use this space to figure some things out along the way. Thanks for tuning in!