War in the Land of Egypt

War in the Land of Egypt was an extremely interesting story to read. I was not able to read it in the beginning of the course but I did catch up on it during our snow day! I found it extremely frustrating that even though the Umda was a terrible man he was never convicted of his crimes because the government covered it up! The Umda was so worried about his place in society and that was his main motivation he could cover it up as much as he wanted, saying that he could not see to have his wife in pain, but the truth lies in the fact that he was in power and he did not want to lose that power. He had recently come back into his lost land and now that he was the top dog again he could not stand to see that leave him. He was a most despicable character and I was really annoyed with him at the story’s end. I have to commend Masri though for his actions. He went to war so that his family could keep their land though he didn’t want to. My observation of him throughout the novel led me to believe that after he had told his story he wanted to die a hero or come back as an honored veteran of the war. He charged into battle with a fierce determination and he ended up dying for a cause that really was not his. I was more or less upset with Masir’s father and the fact that he forced the situation upon his son. I would never have done something like that to my own family. I can understand his reasoning but his decision doesn’t place much emphasis on keeping a family together; keeping them rich and happy yes, but not together. The officials that were all easily corrupted leave me to think that the main force of political and social power in Egypt is money, which is not too different from America. I do not know of any cases to this magnitude but at the same time I do not put it past Americans to scheme their way out of things by using money as a motivational tool.

East meets West

Tuesday in class we discussed the book Does My Head Look Big in This? and I was intrigued by the plot of the story and can’t wait to read it. I was unable to get a copy in time to read the novel. We also had a guest speaker, Monica Eraqi come in a talk to us about her time in the Middle East and growing up as a Muslim in America. She had a lot to say and many opinions about the relationship between women and the hijab. I was intrigued by the story she told about her cousin and the student who both eventually stopped wearing the headscarf all together because they felt it made them feel to different, too much of an outsider. Which in some cases can be true of high school students and even adults, but I feel that those young girls did more to hinder their cause then fight for it. I know that I’ll never understand what it was like for them, but I also understand that being different can be scary, but if you don’t fight for your differences than you can’t expect others to understand that your differences are what make the world a better place. I also thought that it was strange that her father was trying to arrange a partner for her in a roundabout way, when he himself married outside of his faith. I wanted to ask if she ever felt pressured or if she felt he was being hypocritical, but she also didn’t seem to mind that he had done that because she was with someone that he had set up for her currently. So I didn’t press the issue though I wish I would have, it would have been interesting to hear her thoughts on that. I applaud her for continuing to study in Egypt even though the United States had just invaded Iraq. I would have been frightened beyond belief and probably not have gone, but she said it was one of the best decisions she ever made. Class was very interesting and I found out a lot more about how Muslim and Islamic men and women feel about living in the United States.

Talk to an Iraqi

During our discussion in class on Tuesday we watched a short film called Talk to an Iraqi-This American Life. It was a very interesting short film and I wished it could have been expanded upon and lengthened to include many more of the interviews that he had. I feel that many people would benefit from watching this or simply talking to an Iraqi about the situations. This is a great starting point I think for something much larger, possibly a traveling panel of some kind so that more perspectives of the Iraqis can be seen and heard on a much larger scale.

I found a link that leads to a little biography of Haider Hamza, the young man who put together the clips. It was very interesting to learn a little bit more about him as a person and to know why he wanted to do this segment. It is best summarized in the following quote.

Haider said, "I always wondered, what do people in American know of what is happening and do they feel responsible...did this war change their lives at all, since it has for sure changed ours dramatically."

His thoughts and curiousness are on a very basic human level. He wants to know what do Americans know about the war and how do they feel and by viewing the clip you witness that some do not know much at all and that an eleven year old girl has probably the most insight out of anyone that was involved. She apologizes outright for America’s presence and she sympathizes with Haider because her father is serving in the war currently. I felt this was a very important clip to show and I’m glad that we were able to gain a perspective that we don’t usually have the privilege of knowing.

Differences and Ignorance

In class we began watching the movie Arranged, and I finished it outside of class. I felt it was a very powerful movie. The scene that most stood out to me was when the children in the class asked the teachers if they hated each other because of their differing religions, Judaism and Islam. This struck me as odd because when I was that age I would have never made the conclusion between the two teachers and the fact that their religions opposed one another. The teachers handled the situation very well I thought in that they simply came up with an exercise to demonstrate that everyone can harmoniously get along as long as everyone kept an open mind and was respectful of other beliefs. The movie goes on to describe the difficult times the women are having with the concept of arranged marriages. Rochel, the Jewish women, is having an especially hard time with her religion in general because of the customs and regulations. Nasria is often in opposition with her family but they seem to be more understanding about her concerns than Rochel’s family is about her worries. Something else that comes to my mind when I think of this movie is, ignorance is bliss. The principle of the school is very ignorant towards the two teachers and their dressing habits. She is also concerned that she will lose them to their respective religions and that they are being dominated by their fathers. The two women make a joke out of it but at the same time it shows just how little Americans know about the situations that these women face on a daily basis. Rochel’s family also is quite ignorant when Nasria and Rochel begin spending time together. I would have assumed that they would have been more understanding because they are adults and their daughter is an adult but they still seemed to be very negative toward any contact Rochel had with Nasria. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and I thought it was an excellent selection for the group!!! GREAT JOB GIRLS!!!!

On Thursday the group presented the film “Two Women”. I felt this was a very appropriate movie both in terms of the group and in terms of what we are trying to learn in this class. With the film being about two Islamic women in different parts of life you understand that while one is struggling to survive the other is floating along quite pleasantly. I however found some things to disagree with such as the male dominant society and the lack of credit the men give to the women in their lives. Fereshteh is quite educated yet she is subjected to this horribly patriarchal society that does not give her any credit and in fact looks down upon her. She tries in vain to stand up for herself and defend her rights and her own opinion yet she is not respected the way her counterpart demands respect from her. It is a very one-sided relationship when she gives him everything and expects so little yet he will not let her out of the house or even allow her to use the telephone. This movie intensified the ideas and thoughts I previously had about stereotypical males in the Middle East. It did show me some of the things that can result from women receiving a proper education, such as Roya the other woman of the story who ran a architectural business with her husband and supervised men at the worksite giving them jobs and other menial tasks to accomplish and they respected her and observed her wishes. That is the difference I believe between women who run their own lives and women who have their lives run for them, education. A woman with an education can think for herself and know that what is happening to other women is wrong. Women that have received little or no education do not understand that there are better thing out there for them and they settle for what they have or fight against it to no avail. Both lines of following were showed in this movie and Fereshteh at the end was quite confused on what to do, take care of her children or go to school or both. Women in the Middle East have gained over the last few years, though not without losing a lot in the process.

Women in Islam Speakers

I really enjoyed the speakers that came in and talked to us on Tuesday. It was a very informative discussion and very crucial to us as a class understanding the role of women in Islam. The speakers were very well prepared and answered the questions very effectively. I thought it was of particular interest that Gulnar did not question her daughter when she began to wear the hijab even though she thought it was not the appropriate time for this. It seems that in American culture when a child begins to dress differently parents are very prone to question their decisions if they feel that their child is in the wrong. I know that it is not exactly the same situation be the hijab is a personal choice, but isn’t a personal choice when children of America decided to wear baggier, tighter or shorter clothing and parents are all about the questions. I was also rather disappointed that we did not have more time for questions and answers it seemed that they spent so much time with the presentation that we did not have enough time to really ask some of the questions that we had. It would have been interesting to question about the control issue and how women are viewed as lesser because of their lack of control over child birthing and their menstrual cycle. Overall though I really did enjoy the speakers they were very articulate and informed on the subject, obviously.

Paradise Now

I watched Paradise Now and really enjoyed the movie. I felt that it was a good representation of the Palestinian suicide bomber side of things; however it did not represent the other side of the argument. It was simply about suicide bombers, but what about the other fights against the occupation. Why not show a movie about the fight that people can really respect and agree with. I know many people do not understand why suicide bombers act the way they do and this was a slight insight into their life and way of thinking. However much I understand it I still do not agree with it. So I want to see a movie that is anti-occupation but in a more neutral way. Such a movie is Life in Occupied Palestine it gives an in depth look at the occupation from an outside perspective. Yet it focuses on a nonviolent movement in the Holy Land.