Reading's Influence on Community and Vision

This book is part of a series about the development of our Western culture.  I've kind of read them out of order since I've yet to read How the Irish Saved Civilization (the introductory volume) yet read the book about Jesus and Christianity last year (it's third in the series and you can see my numerous posts on it by scrolling this link which is a search using the author's name).  My previous post touching on The Gifts of the Jews is second in the series, and this blurb is from book four Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea: Why the Greeks Matter by Thomas Cahill.


"Many cultural commentators have theorized that oral society -- that is, society in which writing is unknown -- is far more communal and visionary than society in which human thought is objectified by writing and that written language encourages the reader in his separateness to individualism (uncommunity) and by its sequential format to sequential, rational analysis (unvision). Though there is probably much truth to such theories, it may also be true that the type of literacy a given society enshrines may work great wonders than the fact of literacy itself.  A type of literacy that can be grasped easily by almost anyone will tend to spread some kind of proto-democratic consciousness far and wide, even if this is accomplished only in small steps over a very long period of time. ... A type of literacy that demystifies the act of reading, erasing for all time the aura of an unapproachable Sacred Brotherhood of scribes, wisemen, and potentates, will by its very nature tend to demystify additional realms of human experience."  (pg. 60)



I guess this struck me as worth sharing because of all the talk of the old Jewish and Arabian societies being oral in nature. I remember a post I did not long ago about the Quran being repeated over and over and basically perfected by Muhammad as he taught it to his followers before it was finally written in the version we have today (thanks also to Uthman who had the first Quran burning for copies of the Quran that were not the Authorized Version.  Yes, I know I'm being silly calling it the AV which is usually attributed to the King James Version of the Bible, but I'm in that kind of mood.)

So about oral societies vs. literate ones.  Do you think it's true that we readers are more individualistic and rational thus not prone so much to community ties and being visionary which I suppose means - what? dreamers?   Actually what do you think the author means by this vision vs. "unvision"? Is this why we don't have angels talking to us and bringing us fresh revelation from God?

I can see that when I read, I am being individualistic in that I am not interacting with anyone until I decide to do this -- share on my blog and ask you to discuss what I read!  So maybe blogging is getting back to community somewhat.  And for sure if you have an oral tradition of stories, it would promote interaction. It's like the entertainment of the day - hearing the stories, the family history, the battles, the struggles to survive, the victories!  Nowadays we have television.

Also what do you think about reading being demystified and this leading to more democratic movements?

Any other thoughts or observations?  Please share!

Damascus -- Food, Food, Food!

One thing is for sure. We certainly ate well while we were in Damascus! Fatteh and other assorted menu items aside, for the most part everything was pretty stinkin' tasty! In looking through my pictures and some of Samer's, I noticed yet another theme. You guessed it:

Eating in Restaurants

This is a shot of the wonderful restaurant I told you about recently. It's called Khawali. I thought this picture from the second floor was pretty neat.

This was our first sit-down meal on our first evening in Damascus. We ate at The Damascene House with Samer and Basheer. It was a very pretty place, but I did something really crazy and ordered western food because I wasn't sure I'd like Arabian food. You can see by my expression that all this was new to me. Can I admit something? I hated most of the western food they served and loved most everything new that I tried with the exception of that really vinegary salad. But that's no offense to Syrian cooking. I don't like vinegary foods even in the States! I remember this chicken parmesan had the skin on it and mushrooms were hiding under the cheese. Blech. The baked carrots and potatoes were fine though. And dessert was a plate full of these most amazing clementines. I was chowing down on those babies!


I didn't take any pictures from The Sham Grill, but thankfully Samer took this one of us eating there with his family on the day we met them. Remember we saw them at the mall with the grocery store? Here we are with BareAHHH. Hehehe. The food here was excellent. You see those "freedom fries"? ;-)


This is the day we ate with the Jake family. Samer took these pictures so I thought I'd include them. I really enjoyed the Turkish lamb kebab that I'm eating in this picture.

For dessert they brought a basket of fruit and those doughnut-looking things there on the table. I skipped those and had part of an orange and a banana instead. Like I was still hungry after that delicious meal!

We actually came back to this restaurant with Samer to celebrate his college graduation among other things. This was after we had been at the Crusader castle all day.

Not much left!

Syrians love their hot tea. I drank more hot tea during our twelve-day visit than I will drink in 4 years at home. More surprising is that Andrew drank it as well!! He doesn't drink hot drinks. Not even hot chocolate! So, I was surprised when he drank hot tea over there. More than once!

Pictures from Damascus, Syria
January/February 2009

Observations on Saudi Arabia in the 1980s

If you've read any of my posts this year, you may know I've enjoyed a number of books by Westerners traveling through Arabia and other parts of the world. I find it such an interesting way to learn more about the variety of cultures, the religions, the people, the foods, the animals, everything. Of course they are told from specific people's eyes where the natives' habits may seem curious or strange, but that's part of what I love about reading books or blog posts of those visiting the United States. I like to see what stands out to people, what they find noteworthy, what they find worth sharing.

This book Sandstorms: Days and Nights in Arabia by Peter Theroux tells of the author's adventures in Egypt and Saudi Arabia during the 1980s as he was searching for information on what happened to Moussa Sadr. He wrote a book about that, but this one is about other stuff that happened during his time in the Middle East. 

Peter learned Arabic, made friends with Arabs and did his best to explain Arab culture to visitors so the visitors would have a better understanding of the Arabian ways.  Please keep this in mind as you read the following excerpts because I don't want you to get the wrong impression that his book was only about this stuff I noted.  I guess these are just the funny and odd things that stand out the most to me. Actually there is so much more - like the man who wanted to convert Peter to Islam and then asked if he had any girls (American? British? Filipino?) available so he could have a good time.  When one day Peter decided to say yes that he has available girls and they are Saudis, the man got extremely angry and never spoke to him again!  Must be one of those cultural things about MEN that I will never understand!

Since this book's information is quite old, I do wonder as I'm reading how much has changed since Peter lived in Arabia.



THIS ONE JUST MADE ME LITERALLY LAUGH OUT LOUD


Peter was driving in Saudi Arabia when his car slid into a ditch. A police car arrived and the officer checked his driver's license which was issued in Peter's home state, Massachusetts.

Officer:  "Just wait a minute - what's this?"

"That's my American license. I don't have a Saudi one yet, but -- "

"What do you mean, 'American license'? Show me where it says 'America.'"

Alas, it doesn't since it was issued by Massachusetts - a state - and not the federal government.  So the officer calls another officer over and they talk. The second officer comes over with the pleasant "salaamu aleikum" greeting declaring that he knows Massachusetts: "It's the best state!"

We chatted - he was friendly and extremely religious and demanded to know why I had not converted to Islam, since I knew Arabic and could presumably see, in the Koran, the perfect fulfillment of Judaism and Christianity. Surely I rejected the infamous sacrilege that God had a mother and a son?  ... I tried to pump him about his visit to Massachusetts.

"I never visited there - I know it from history. America is full of good people but bad things - sex and crime, and some people are so backward - they worship the devil and follow the tower" - he meant al-bourj, the zodiac - "but Massachusetts is the only place they know how to deal with witches - by hanging them!  Good night, my friend."  (pgs. 20-22)

Not sure why this struck me so funny. Must have been the matter-of-fact way the guy declared MA the "best state" because they hung witches there.  In the past. Not that that is funny at all ... moving on.

ON CONVERSIONS OBSERVED IN KSA

It involved in his opinion "a cultural rather than spiritual transformation. I never knew a Christian whose values changed radically after adopting Islam, but the outward changes - especially in name and wardrobe - were always striking."  [Insert examples of American converts who adopted "very specifically, the clothes and habits of the desert Arabs."]  "It was as if a Russian Jewish convert to Christianity in Oklahoma made it an article of faith to dress as a cowboy every day, down to the chaps, spurs, and lasso. ... It was a one-way street, of course, since apostatizing from Islam to any other faith was a capital crime."  (pg. 139-140)


Haha...I can understand adopting the head scarf if you thought God wanted you to cover your hair, but I have puzzled over the complete transformations and changed names. Hey, I guess if you don't like the name your parents gave you, it's a good excuse to find one you like better!  Too bad your selection is limited to Arabic ones, however.




ON SHIITES


He told of an Islamic University which "used a textbook, which debated, among other questions, whether or not Shiites have tails." (pg. 127)

"The ugliness of the Arab world's hostility toward its own Shiites was remarkable, and I felt that Saudi Arabia was abusing its prestige as guardian of Mecca and Medina by hinting that the Shia were 'deviants' and ridiculing their clergy. I had to take my stand, and I took it by being part of this friendly Shiite underground."  (pg. 128)

If I were a Shiite, I think I'd show them my tail so their mystery would be solved!  ;-)


WHY NO CHURCHES ALLOWED?

"Surely the Saudi bigotry against other religions revealed a deep insecurity in the face of other cultures and faiths and was a sop to empty nationalism and phony clerics. Even the least observant Muslim in Saudi Arabia measured power and influence in religious terms. ... It was a subtle and informal way of marking territory. When the city of Rome decided, in 1984, to grant a building permit for a mosque near the Holy See, the reaction of the Riyadh press was anything but uplifting: jeering articles applauded this tanazul, relinquishing or surrender, on the part of Rome and the Vatican. They did not rule out that tolerance or political opportunism may have played a role, as they surely must have, but that was beside the point: Europe and all Christendom were gloatingly shown to be demoralized and weak for having caved to Islamic machismo. It was also portrayed as a crushing blow to 'world Zionism.'"


I wonder if this is similar to those folks in Tennessee who didn't want a mosque in their town. Were they also marking territory or desiring to not show weakness by surrendering?  Were they trying to deliver a "crushing blow" to "world Islamism"?  Hmmmm...


When Peter was talking to his friend about allowing a church for all the Christians in Riyadh (foreigners of course since all Saudis are Muslim by birth), he asked, "Wouldn't you respect them more if they went to church, if they had a church to go to?"

"'Having no churches prevents them from learning wrong things,' shrugged Hamdan. 'They should be grateful. It's their chance to learn something about Islam.'"  (pg. 172-173)


So have things changed much in these 25-30 years? I don't know. But it sure is interesting to read some impressions about this part of the world from the pre-9/11 days. Sometimes it's hard for me to recall what I thought of or knew about Arabs or Muslims before then.   Actually all these things described above sound nothing like the Arabs and Muslims I've had the pleasure of getting to know.  Maybe I should be more clear from time to time about that.  Samer asks me sometimes why I am reading books about his people (and finding faulty things such as I mentioned above) and I tell him if he were some Jewish Israeli guy who found me online, invited me to his country and became one of my best friends, I'd be reading books on Israel and Zionism and doing the same thing.  So I blame Samer. He started it!  ;)

Damascus -- A Neighborhood Mosque

One afternoon we were walking in a neighborhood with Samer and Basheer, and we stopped by this mosque for a quick visit. Unlike the impressive Umayyad mosque or the ornate Sayyida Ruqayyia, this mosque was one of scores of ordinary neighborhood mosques throughout Damascus.

Here it is from the outside

Some decoration within

The women's section

and there are the men

Susanne and Samer
Can you guess which is the genuine Arab?

Imagine that ... a ceiling picture!

Guys reading at the mosque

Some grinnin' Arabian gal we saw there

Aw shucks! It's me!

Pictures from Damascus, Syria
February 2009

Christian Jews?

The Role of Ancestry in Traditional Judaism  -- pg. 198 of The Jewish Cultural Tapestry: International Jewish Folk Traditions by Steven M. Lowenstein

Judaism has traditionally been much more than just a religious faith. It has been a national or ethnic religion; the concepts of religion and peoplehood are so intertwined in traditional Judaism that one cannot tell where one ends and the other begins. Jews conceived of themselves as the descendants of the biblical patriarchs.  Their prayers constantly repeat phrases like "our God and God of our fathers,"  "who has done miracles for our ancestors," and "who has taken us out of Egypt" -- all of them implying physical descent from the ancient Israelites. Even when early Christianity rejected Judaism and claimed to have superseded it, it still referred to the Jews and "Israel of the flesh" (and to itself as "Israel of the spirit").

Modern Zionism, too, is based in part on the assumption that modern Jewry is the physical descendant of ancient Jewry.  The establishment of the State of Israel is therefore a reestablishment. The Jews are not "settling"; they are "returning" to their ancient homeland. For the religious among them, Israel is the land that God promised to their ancestors and is now giving to them.

Yet traditional Jewish views have never totally relied on physical ancestry.  The legal definition of a Jew, according to tradition, was the child of a Jewish mother or a convert to Judaism.  Either background would entitle one to be considered fully Jewish. The consensus of the rabbis was that a convert had the right to refer to God's having "done miracles for our ancestors."  A convert was considered the descendant of Abraham and Sarah, the first Israelites.  Descent could be symbolic as well as physical.

My Thoughts:

I've been thinking of the implications of these words off and on since I read them the other day.  In the past I have heard of "Jews for Jesus" or "Messianic Jews"...basically those who are Jewish by birth yet, unlike the majority, accepted Jesus as their Messiah.   Some Jewish groups say there is no such thing. Jewishness is so attached to the religion of Judaism that if you follow Jesus or convert to Islam, I get the impression that you are no longer considered a Jew to them.  Yet I read the Bible and for me a Jew is one who is a descendant of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

So is Jewishness a physical line which one cannot break no matter which religion he follows?  Or does one have to follow Judaism and your ancestry is null and void if you don't?  Following the religion-over-physical-descent argument -- what about the thousands of Jews who aren't religious at all? A number of Israelis consider themselves atheists and in fact many of the Zionist leaders of the 1900s mocked the Old Testament "fables"!  To them it was only useful in rallying the Jewish populations under the cry of "Didn't God promise us this land? Well, let's go claim it!" (Apparently, it mattered little to them that God also told them to treat the strangers living in their land as brothers as they remembered they, too, were once strangers in Egypt.)  If you are not religious, is your Jewishness then suspect along with those Jews who follow Jesus or Muhammad?

Can one be like Peter, Paul and John and consider themselves Jewish, physical descendants of Abraham, and followers of Jesus Christ?  According to the traditional definition of Jewishness, you can!  As long as your mother was a Jew, you are Jewish no matter the religion you follow.  Still I know of some who consider "Jewish Christian" to be wrong.  To them it's two faiths (like a Muslim Christian or Hindu Muslim) and can one person have two faiths? But if we consider Jewishness as an ethnicity or nationality like Arabs or Chinese or Germans or British then yes, Jewish Christian makes perfect sense.

Also how different is it for Jewishness to be passed by mothers instead of fathers?  I am curious now what other nationalities are this way. I hear way too much of the "I am X because my father is." Doesn't matter if the mother is something else entirely, but what the father is seems to dominate. I hear of Saudi Arabian women for example who are not able to pass along citizenship to their own children while Saudi men's offspring are automatically Saudi. I know they are not the only ones.

The part about descent being symbolic as well as physical and then the talk of Christianity before that made me wonder: if you grew up Christian or are one now - what do you understand concerning the promises of God to Abraham and this being physical, symbolic, spiritual or what (if anything)?

Do you think a strong case can be made for the Jews merely coming back to their ancient homeland in regard to the Israeli state today or do you argue that they had no right to this land because God took it away from them and dispersed them into foreign lands because of their sinful ways? Or maybe you have other thoughts to share about this topic.  Please do.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on anything mentioned in this post.

April Books

I don't think I'll finish another book before the end of the month so here are the books I finished in April. Kind of hard to believe we are finishing another month of 2020. What a year!

The First Mistake by Sandie Jones -- I enjoyed this fast-pace, easy-to-read book about best friends Alice and Beth with their questionable relationships. It was a nice read while I'm also plodding through a thick non-fiction book.

The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson -- When Ted and Lily happen to meet in an airport bar, Ted reveals that his wife has been cheating on him, and he'd really like to kill her. Surprisingly, Lily offers to help him do that. What?! An exciting - if not, different - tale of a sordid cast of characters. What a world!

White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America by Nancy Isenberg -- I saw this book last October when we were at a Barnes & Noble in Myrtle Beach. I often jot down interesting-looking books to see if my library system has them. This one was rather large, so when the library was getting ready to close for the coronavirus, I decided to tackle it during this time. Class has been with us from the beginning with England sending over its undesirables and often those who were forced to work off debts. It's only continued over the years. This book acknowledges this fact, and, well, it was a pretty interesting read (especially if you break it up with some fast-paced fiction.)

Between, Georgia by Joshilyn Jackson -- This book was OK, I didn't really love the main character's back and forth with her almost-ex husband, but I appreciate the "between"-ness of her life (the Deaf world and the hearing world; her bio family and her adoptive family; her living between two bigger Georgia cities.) I'm not a huge fan of this author though I think many do like her. Still, I grabbed this book in my Get All the Books sessions before the library closed for COVID-19 so I read it.

An Arabian Journey by Levison Wood -- "One man's quest through the heart of the Middle East." I didn't enjoy this as much as Tony Horwitz's book from years ago when he traveled through this region, but I enjoyed this tale and reading about places in the news, and even a place I went to back before Syria was changed so much by their civil war. I finished reading it last night (4/8) in the near-dark because straight-line winds knocked out power on my street. This morning I thought about that and how many people in these regions have intermittent power. Even during the visit we took to Damascus years ago, in peaceful times, we had power outages that were unrelated to trees knocking out power. 

Dirty Blonde by Lisa Scottoline -- Cate Fante is appointed a federal judge, but after she rules from the bench two people end up dead. Also, her secret nightly activities come to light and the chief judge wants to remove her from the bench. The nerve!  Cate vows to fight for her job!

The Road from Chapel Hill by Joanna Catherine Scott -- this book follows the lives of three young people in the South at the outbreak of the Civil War. Eugenia's family is of recently-reduced circumstances and she travels with her father where he works in a mine. Tom, is an enslaved man, who is given to Eugenia by her father. They become friends. Clyde is connected to Tom in that Tom's mother, Old Mary, works for Clyde's family. A decent book; nothing special, but not bad.

Lady in the Lake by Laura Lippman -- a new author for me, and a mystery of sorts. Maddie Schwartz decides to leave her marriage at the ripe old age of almost 37. After living the good life, Maddie is in need of a job and wants a newspaper columnist to put in a good word for her so she can become a reporter. Maddie becomes the assistant (letter opener) to the guy who does the "help me" advice column, and answers a query that leads to a dead Negro body in a fountain.  Pretty good story

Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty -- I had this book on a list of books to read, but never got around to it until I saw that curbside pick up was closing at my library last month. I hurriedly put a few books on hold that I saw online were not checked out. This was a fun read. I like the author's sense of humor which came out in several of her characters. These folks - Frances (romance novelist), Ben and Jessica (married couple), Tony (former sports player), Napoleon (teacher) and Heather (midwife) with their daughter Zoe; Carmel (single mother of four daughters); Lars (extremely handsome divorce lawyer) all meet at a health retreat center run by a Russian immigrant to Australia named Masha. Along with Yao, a former paramedic, and Delilah, she runs Tranquillium House. What an experience for these guests!

The Reluctant Midwife by Patricia Harman -- this is the second I've read in this Hope River series, and it was out of order, and still not the first in the series, but I liked it very much! The characters are adorable, it's fast-paced and interesting, and I just really like her books. This one focused on Becky Myers as she returns to West Virginia with the doctor she worked for for the last seven years, Isaac Blum. After Dr. Blum's wife dies in an accident and is rendered mute or catatonic (they aren't quite sure what is going on), Becky believes they can go back to his hometown where she plans to take care of him in his family home. Only...it's been auctioned off for back taxes or some such thing, and Becky is trying to figure out how to survive during those difficult days. I love the addition of the CCC in this book. Andrew and I love hiking in the mountains and so often the CCC is referenced; my hat is off to you fine folks who worked hard to make things wonderful for us to enjoy today. And my thanks to the American taxpayers who funded this project when so many of you were in dire straits!

The Burgess Boys by Elizabeth Strout -- I really wanted to read another book of hers, but it's been checked out for awhile so I got this one to read during the library shutdown, and it was decent. Nothing special, but not terrible. It had a rather good message, I think, about families sticking together. Twins Bob and Susan, and their idolized big brother, hot-shot lawyer Jim. Jim's wife Helen features heavily in this book as does Susan's son, Zach. An OK read.

Every Fifteen Minutes by Lisa Scottoline -- Eric Parrish is the Chief doctor of psychiatry at his hospital, and he is introduced to a teenage boy taking care of his dying grandmother. A few things about Max's story ring alarm bells, but not enough for Dr. Parrish to break patient confidentiality. Later, however, he second guesses this as Max disappears and a teenager is killed. An interesting, fast-paced book.

Emma by Alexander McCall Smith -- ever since I read his No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, I wondered what his other books were like. I'd noticed another series or two in the library as well as this book about Emma which is "a modern retelling." I didn't like it as much as I enjoyed the tales about Mma Ramotswe and her sidekicks in the detective agency and attached garage, but it was a decent story. To be fair, I'm not a great fan of modern retellings, but this one was OK!

Gone Too Long by Lori Roy -- this book deals with Imogene soon after her dad dies and she's exploring an abandoned house on the property. She is amazed to discover a young boy living in the basement, and later finds out how the boy came to live there. This book deals with the KKK in more recent times. A decent story. 

The Watchmaker's Daughter by Sonia Taitz -- as the author puts it "this book is a love letter and a tribute" to her parents, both concentration camp survivors. I enjoyed the author's tale of her life in New York City with her parents and grandmother and brother. My mom checked this book out from the library before it closed so I'm now reading some of her books!

The Crimson Rooms by Katharine McMahon -- another book that my mom had checked out before the library closed down; a good story about Evelyn, trained as a lawyer, but mostly not taken seriously in this role in England a few years after the Great War. She works on a couple of cases - one involving the murder of newly-married Stella and another in the case of Leah Marchant who sent her children to live in a home, but cannot get them back. I enjoyed this book pretty well!

Damascus -- Cham City Center

The first Sunday we were in Damascus, we were invited to have lunch with Samer's family. We met Samer's mom, twin brother and sister at this mall for a delicious Arabian meal. I wish I'd taken pictures of some of the food .. there was lots!

We ate at Cham City Center

Here is another view of it

It is a pretty mall with many shops

They have a number of banners supporting the Palestinians

Unlike most malls I am familiar with, this one had a place where we spent several minutes after our meal. Here is a clue.

Any guesses?

Pictures from Damascus, Syria
February 1, 2009

Westerners for Islam; Blunt's Thoughts on Imperialism

Notes and reflections on Peace Be Upon You: The Story of Muslim, Christian, and Jewish Coexistence by Zachary Karabell

Yesterday I introduced you to a Muslim reformer Muhammad Abduh. Since there was more to share from that chapter, I broke those notes into two parts. Here is the second part.


Abduh's friend in the Western world was Wilfrid Blunt, an Englishman "who devoted his life to fighting against imperialism and to defending Islam to a skeptical English public."  Although he was in the ruling class, he was out of the mainstream.  He and his wife were not content in England so they lived ten years riding their horses in parts of Africa and Arabia.  Apparently they loved hot, dry desert rather than cool, wet England!  Blunt found the Bedouin traits the most democratic and where "'liberty, equality, and fraternity are more than a name.'"   He insisted that Europeans were "culturally deficient" to the Arabs not the other way around.

Lady Anne Blunt

Blunt argued against England's new interventionist policy which changed from the former where you intervened only when absolutely necessary to the new:  intervening everywhere!  Blunt "believed that imperialism was not just wreaking havoc on the globe but destroying England and its cherished liberalism."  If a country "used brute force to control the destiny of others [soon it would] be incapable of nurturing the values of democracy and liberty in its own citizens."  (pg. 233)

I found the brief account of William Marmaduke Pickthall very interesting. He was another one who fell in love with all things desert/Arab/Muslim when he traveled to the northern end of the Suez Canal in order to learn Arabic.  While reading Arabian Nights in Arabic, he was struck with the "'joyousness of that life compared with anything [he] had seen in Europe'" despite the "'decay and poverty'" of the Near Eastern world. (pg. 235)

William Marmaduke Pickthall converted to Islam

A few last things from this chapter:

1.  By the end of the 19th century, "Europeans had exported not only technology but ideas, and the belief in progress had taken root almost everywhere."

2.  Abduh believed "the notion of 'progress' ... was embedded in [the culture of the Arab/Muslim world]," and "one of the strengths of classical Muslim states was their ability to evolve."  (pg. 239)

3.  The British were occupying Egypt at this time and often treated the natives like children.  Karabell says the Egyptians were often "repelled by these patronizing attitudes. ... Who were the British, they mused, to lecture us about religious tolerance and liberty when Copts, Muslims, and Jews had lived side by side for fourteen hundred years...?  Who were they to tell Egypt about civilization when the inhabitants of the Nile Valley had created a society thousands of years before the English had even learned to write?  [Hahahahahaha! I thought that was so funny!] Admiration for what Europe could offer sat side by side with indignation about what Europeans often did offer."  (pg. 241)


The chapter ends with the author sharing the prevailing attitude of both the European and Muslim worlds. For Europe, "that war and disease would disappear in the twentieth century," and for the Muslim, "that the twentieth century would see an end to imperialism and the revival of Muslim societies." 

How well do you think these dreams were realized in the 20th century?


Thoughts?

2009 Meme

I found this meme on Niki's blog and thought I'd answer it.


1. What did you do in 2009 that you’d never done before?

Went to Syria for twelve days

2. Did you keep your new years’ resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I didn't make any resolutions really. I do recall now that I wanted to live by faith, not fear, and I think I did better than some years, PTL! Next year...I won't read any books that urge me to chase the Wild Goose.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

No

4. Did anyone close to you die?

No

5. What countries did you visit?

Turkey (airport only) and Syria

6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?

a purpose in life

7. What date from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

February 10 -- my last day in Syria -- such a sweet, sweet day, but oh so sad!

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

I think actually getting on that plane for Syria was a huge deal for someone who has never traveled west of Tennessee. :-)

9. What was your biggest failure?

all the times I was selfish

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

got bit by a dog for the first time in my life -- neighbor's Doberman "pinched" me on St. Patrick's Day (I wasn't wearing green!)

11. What was the best thing you bought?

plane ticket to Syria

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

Michael's. Back in January he had to get stitches because he put his arm through a glass door. Although it was bleeding terribly and he hates the sight of blood, he didn't panic, but just told himself over and over, "Don't pass out, don't pass out." Thank God, he did well in the ER. His blood pressure got so low and he wanted to sleep, but we had him sing "Blessed Be the Name of the Lord" and that helped!

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

My own

14. Where did most of your money go?

health insurance

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

meeting Samer

16. What song(s) will always remind you of 2009?

"God of this City" and "Who Shot the Sheriff" -- the latter we heard in an SUV in Syria on the way home from Krac des Chevaliers

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

i. Happier or sadder?

ii. Sadder.

iii. Thinner or fatter?

iv. Same.

v. richer or poorer?

vi. Same.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?

serving and loving others

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?

crying

20. How will you be spending Christmas?

it's over for this year

21. How many one-night stands?

none, thanks

22. What was your favorite TV program?

24, I guess

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

I don't hate anyone that I can think of.

24. What was the best book you read?

A Thousand Splendid Suns, Wild Goose Chase and Three Cups of Tea were three of my favorites

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?

"I'd Need a Savior"


26. What did you want and get?

books

27. What was your favorite film of this year?

I'm not a movie person and can't recall what I watched except for "Diary of a Mad Black Woman" and "Fireproof."

28. What did you do on your birthday?

Ack, I can't remember what I did. Must not have been that exciting.

29. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?

typical Susie mostly, but Arabian Susie earlier in the year

30. What kept you sane?

my faith and God's encouragement

31. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

I'm not big on celebs, but if I had to pick I'd say Kurt Warner has always been dear to my heart.

32. What political issue stirred you the most?

The policitians' out-of-control spending and debt they are putting on other people's children

33. Who did you miss?

my Syrian friends

34. Who was the best new person you met?

Wasim, Barea, Dania in Syria and my new blogging friends like Amber, Sarah, Suroor and Wafa' -- I can't remember meeting anyone new here in North Carolina *thinking*

35. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009:

Basically when it seems you are at the end of your rope and feel "where else can I turn?" - this:

⁶⁶From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.

⁶⁷"You do not want to leave too, do you?" Jesus asked the Twelve.

⁶⁸Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. ⁶⁹We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God."

I won't tag anyone, but if you read this and want to do it, feel free. I'd love to read your answers.

Fun with friends!

About two weeks ago I was really feeling lonely for some reason. My friends all seemed way too busy with their jobs and kids and, well, life, and I just missed seeing them from time to time. Don't get me wrong, I am not a demanding (I hope) friend who wants to do something all the time. If anything I'm the opposite. Let's just get together every once in a while and I am perfectly fine. I actually prefer not having something constantly in the works because I don't mind alone time. However, I was feeling a bit lonely several days ago (still missing Damascus!), but since then things have gotten better. Maybe it started when I decided to travel with my parents to see my grandparents for 3 days. I had fellowship times with my relatives that I referred to a few days ago. One thing I forgot to share was that my dad and I had a discussion or two about the Fox show "24." He just started watching this season so I told him about a few characters -- Bill, Tony and Chloe -- who were from past seasons. (By the way, this season has made me more aware of the awfulness of biological weapons..ugh.)





Since returning from SC, a friend called and came up this way for a few hours to see me at the local McDonald's. A couple years ago I hung out a lot with Angie, but she got a job closer to her home (about 80 minutes from here) so I hadn't seen her in several months. She was off for Good Friday and decided to visit. So I saw her and one of our mutual friends, Rocky, who dropped by to visit before heading to work. On Thursday I got to see Kita and her two little ones while I was at McDonald's with Michael. Also this weekend, I called former YN Jen and heard how Jake was doing. I can hardly believe he will be five in about a month! She said Jake was a pro at his computer and I joked that he should keep in touch by sending me e-mails. It's crazy that he has grown up so much. I still remember when Jen and I would walk around the neighborhood each Saturday when she was pregnant with him. I remember when the Chapel Hill doctor suggested she abort Jake because he was a single-umbilical artery baby. I still recall the evening she left to be induced. Andrew and I were mowing a yard on the main road of the neighborhood and she waved to us as she left. I knew she would come back with her baby boy! And now he is nearly five!





Last night we went to Denise and Victor's house and enjoyed a great time laughing and talking. (The pictures in this post are from last night with the exception of one which will be obvious. The girls and I were doing some goofy 2009-style Charlie's Angels poses...ahem.) Teresa and Elizabeth came as well. We saw Valerie, Dylan and Alan also. We had brownies, "$11 dip" (what Andrew calls the nacho cheese/Ro-Tel dip which he loves for Denise to make), tortilla chips, chicken wings (drumettes actually) in BBQ sauce (George's and Sweet Baby Ray's), refreshing fruits (grapes, strawberries, pineapple) and fruit dip, Easter candy and punch. I had a blast seeing my friends again and laughing like old times. We watched (Denise dozed on the floor..ha!) an old movie, The Boys Next Door, about four mentally-challenged adults and their social worker. They deal with such things as rodents, grocery shopping, a new girlfriend, beating rugs, the love of keys and a difficult father. I noted the words of Lucien P. Singer as he stated that a society is judged on how it treats its weakest members. Hmmm, good point. I was struck with how much patience and kindness is needed in working effectively with people who have mental challenges. I applaud those gracious social workers. I simply don't know if I would have the needed qualities. Great time last night. We showed some of our pictures from Syria on the computer. (They are on a flash drive.) Victor especially seemed interested in them so Andrew told him about different areas. Victor wanted to google Syria to read more about it. He was full of questions: "Is Syria bigger than Israel? Where is it in relation to Israel and Iraq?" and so forth. We asked Teresa to share about some of her time in Israel and Egypt. She went on a Holy Land tour years ago.




She said she also visited some mosques and had to wear the capes in them. LOL...I don't think Denise knew at first that it was ME hidden under the big, black cape worn at this mosque. Definitely this picture always makes me laugh. Samer referred to it as my Hajjii Susie picture. He said I looked like an Arabian woman in it. Ha! I just remember it was so long, I was walking on the hem which pulled it off the back of my head which I was desperately trying to keep covered so I wouldn't have exposed hair. OK, I'll admit it. I felt like a huge black bat. :-)




Also yesterday we had our Easter service at church and then met my family for lunch at CiCi's Pizza. It was nice to visit with them for a while. Michael had a chocolate Easter bunny in the car and by the time we left the restaurant around 2, it was totally melted. Bunny's ears melted into his feet and torso at the bottom of the box, and Michael and I giggled like crazy at the demise of the Easter bunny.