Bits from "Deep South"

Happy Leap Day!  Last time we had a February 29th, Andrew and I visited Bamberg, Germany, with a friend.  This year, I'm home.  How about you?

Recently Andrew and I were at a Barnes & Noble in Myrtle Beach, SC, and we were looking at travel books. I text him the names of a few authors and books that looked good.  Before buying books, I like to see if my local library has them. Sure enough the Graham library had Deep South: Four Seasons on Back Roads by Paul Theroux on the New Books shelf!  What an interesting read!  First a couple posts I wrote on Facebook about it:


I'm reading "Deep South" by a man from Massachusetts. In it the author, Paul Theroux, talks about food he encounters along the way. I chuckled at his description of okra "as viscous as frog spawn, next to a kettle of sodden collard greens looking like stewed dollar bills."   :-D

This was early on in the book, but I noted many pages later - this book has over 400 of them - that he ordered a side of fried okra to go with his chicken salad so ...

Also, I'm not a fan of collard greens, but I've read that partly why they are eaten on New Year's Day (or is it Eve? -- clearly it's not a southern tradition I've been part of) is that they resemble money and are supposed to be lucky.   How's that workin' out for folks, I wonder.

I included a link to the book with this recommendation on Facebook: 

If you enjoy travel books, and hearing stories about the people who live in certain areas of the world, and experiences of authors traveling there, I recommend this one. The author focuses more on the Lowcountry, the Black Belt, the Delta although not exclusively. It's an interesting collection of stories of blacks, whites, even a Lumbee or two. What I like, too, is that the author didn't just write about a one-time journey through these cities and states. He went back in the different seasons, and checked in on people he met during previous trips, and sometimes he met new people. He visited churches, and gun shows, pawn shops, diners, and more.



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Here are just other tidbits from the book that I noted:

In this book I met such interesting characters such as the lawyer/pastor Virgin Johnson ("My grandfather picked the name, it seemed special - Virgin Mary, virgin soil, virgin anything. My son is Virgin the Third." pg. 60) of South Carolina; the Greensboro, Alabama, historian "Our Randall Curb"; the author Mr. Curb introduced us to, Mary Ward Brown (called Mary T - short for Mary Thomas) age 95, and many, many more!   The author speaks of southern literature, the use of the N-word including the usage by black rappers and how black folks greet each other in some circles with forms of this word "nigga" or "niggaz" (some claim that by using it, they take the power out of it.); he takes us to Bill Clinton's birthplace as well as the area in which he grew up.   I really enjoyed learning more about Strom Thurmond's secret, biracial daughter.   And what should one think of the claim about white southern politicians supporting racial groups because it was politically good for them?  (The author mentioned Bill Clinton's eulogy of Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia.) 

The author has traveled to many places in the world, and often hearing someone's story is easy.  But he notes: "Poor Americans, who have very little, still have their privacy - in many ways it is their last possession, and they resist losing it. That is a challenge for a traveler who is curious to know: What do people do when they don't appear to do anything?"  (pg. 24)

"...people attended church to find hope, dignity, love, consolation, fellowship, and advice. The church was central to life here in a way I had never seen elsewhere in the United States - certainly not where I was born. A church in the South resembled the life around a mosque or a temple in India or Africa."  (pg. 149)

The author mentions "Dot Indians" who have come to the South and own a bunch of the hotels.  Overwhelmingly (70% of all Indian owned hotels) these people have the last name Patel and come from the same region of India.  (pg. 161)  Also he noted once or twice that the reason Indians owned the hotels were that white people didn't want to sell them to black people.

The author goes to at least three gun shows, and he comments how polite and considerate everyone is there. He describes the process for checking in, emptying your guns, and tagging them.   I have never been to a gun show or a pawn shop (that I recall) so it was interesting to read about those experiences and impressions especially related to who goes to the shows and the atmosphere there.


I enjoyed a couple of stories shared about people he met - at their houses or places of work --  who wanted to shoot guns with him. One was a sixty-two-year-old lady who wanted to see if she were a better shot than he (she was.)

One time the author showed up for an appointment fifteen minutes late.  A black lady in attendance was angry, and started talking about "white privilege," accusing him of taking advantage because he was late and didn't bother to call when he could have (he had a cell phone, after all!)  She accused, you didn't bother to call because you are white. You assumed I'd wait for you to come since I'm black!  He was stunned by her accusation.

And then there is this...

In Vicksburg, Mississippi,  when he told the group in a restaurant that he was from Massachusetts a white lady turned hostile accusing him of starving them.  "You made us eat rats!" she said referring to the siege (that was 1863, folks.)

As one person he met along the way said of the South, "history is alive and well here." 

Thankfully, the author didn't write in dialect throughout the whole book.  He did a little at times, but it wasn't overdone.  (If it had been, I'd probably stop reading.)  I'm a Southerner, but I hate reading more than a few words written in our accent.  I am used to writing and reading in a regular way, no' lahk thees, ya know?  Occasionally he'd mention a person saying he'p for help or "what the hail are you doing?"  cause we often really do say "hell" like "hail."   One thing the author quoted early on in the book were the words "ah mo."  I immediately recognized "ah" for the way many of us say "I," but "mo" threw me.  Is this "more"?  But then I read a few of the sentences out loud, and it made more sense.   One example. See if you can figure it out. 

Eutaw's first black mayor had served three terms, but lost the last election.  He spoke of how the election was dirty, and when the author suggested that he - Mayor Steele - could now just run his dry-cleaning business and let the new mayor try to solve Eutaw's problems, the former mayor is quoted as saying, "Exactly right.  Ah mo buy me some popcorn, set me down, and watch the show."  (pg. 81)

I read one of Peter Theroux's (Paul's brother) books back in late 2011.  Peter's book was about his travels in Egypt and Saudi Arabia.  Here is that post.

Modesty Glasses

Facebook reminded me that three years ago, I shared this article. I have thought of it and mentioned it many times since then.  I'm glad to reread it today.  Personal responsibility for the win!



"If you step into the extremist ultra-Orthodox mindset for a moment, there is indeed a problem - haredi men must move around in the world to a certain extent - if only to travel to and from yeshiva and run their errands. But in this wider world there are women. Let’s accept the premise that any glimpse of any woman awakens base instincts that they have absolutely no control over. It’s an absurd premise, but I’ll accept it for the sake of argument.

 

Until now, most of the ‘solutions’ to this quandary have women giving up their freedom and their comfort, requiring them to cover their bodies and hide themselves, to stay out of the public realm, to avoid stepping on the public stage, in order to keep the men away from temptation.

 

In this context, the glasses, in fact, represent a refreshing change of approach. They limit and hampering the freedom of the men, not the women. They make clear that if the sight of women bother them, it is their responsibility to limit their sight, not force women to get out of their line of vision.

Glasses that disrupt these mens’ eyesight and ability to move around in the world is actually an excellent answer to their troubles, and also spares women the insult of having men cover their eyes when they approach, let alone being spit at or being called a ‘whore.’ In fact, the blurrier the glasses are, all the better, making it easier for women to walk in front of them in the most immodest of attire and yet not disturb their holiness. Hoods and shields that block their peripheral vision further? Even better. Why not a black hood pulled over their head entirely - a sort of a male burka? Or earphones that distort voices so that women can speak freely without awakening their base urges? Of course, many of these innovations may carry the unfortunate side effects of men walking into walls or oncoming traffic. But if they choose to adopt them, that is the price they will just have to pay, presumably a small price for the great benefit of living in a permanently female-free zone.

 

I say that we embrace and endorse these types of solutions - those that cover up and segregate men, not women. If haredi men have issues with a life that includes seeing and interacting with half of humanity, it is indeed a problem. It is their problem. Let them deal with it. Let them find solutions that limit their comfort and movement, their own ability to function freely in the world. Because women should not be asked to give up their own. "

Catch the Jew!

Normally I would just include this on my monthly books post, but this was long enough that I figured I'd do a separate post.



Catch the Jew! by Tuvia Tenenbom --  a Facebook friend - an older American guy living in Tunisia at the time of this recommendation - posted about this book a few months ago, and I put it on my Amazon wishlist.  Ed mentioned the author traveling to various parts of Israel/Palestine, meeting all sorts of people, and reporting on his findings.  Sounds like something I would really enjoy!  And I did in many ways although the book was also unsettling.


Tuvia was born into a very religious Israeli family. (Just looked it up "I was born and raised in Israel to an ultra-Orthodox, anti-Zionist family, and grew up in the most elitist neighborhood of ultra-Orthodoxy at the time.  My father was a rabbi...My grandfather refused to come to Israel because he did not want to live with Zionists, and the Nazis rewarded him and most of his family with on-the-spot burials." pg. 1).


I get the impression he rejected most of that religious stuff although he's Jewish and a supporter of Israel.  Still, he left Israel to pursue things forbidden to him during his childhood, i.e., science and the arts.  He founded the Jewish Theater of New York.


I like that he is fluent enough in Hebrew, Arabic, German, and English that he could hear and read what others were saying/writing, and, he didn't have to rely only on what people fed him.  (I remember one instance where he knew what the imam was saying to his people whereas the German or French NGOs didn't.  That was a bit disturbing.) He often convincingly pretended to be a German journalist - he'd call himself Tobi the German -, and, therefore, gain access to areas of Palestine or Israel that were off limits to Jews, and vice versa.  For the most part, the Palestinians loved Tobi the German.  It was unsettling to me how often they would mention Hitler's treatment of Jews in a positive light.  I like that Tuvia reported on Palestinian areas - places I have never really heard about. Of course, I'm going on his own reporting - and maybe he lied - but if he didn't, there is a whole nother viewpoint of them.

Truthfully Tuvia admired the Palestinians he met - they had great food, and were warm, friendly, accepting (of Tobi the German at least), supported their own unlike "self-hating" Jews or even an "ex-Jew" in one case.  I was amazed at how many European especially German groups were working to help Palestinians - and in Tuvia's mind show the world how awful Israel is.  I actually feel quite mixed up after reading this!

This book has 467 pages so there were lots of interesting tidbits. I only noted a handful so it wouldn't be too much.

-- Walking through Tel Aviv, the author notes: "It is interesting for me to see, as I walk, that the leftists of this land are also its richest.  How does this work, and why, is a puzzle to me." (pg. 97)

-- Jewish stone throwers (pg. 103); that is they were throwing stones at their own Egged bus  (I often think only of Palestinian youth as throwing stones so this stood out to me!)

-- On his meeting with Gideon Levy:  "For many years Gideon has championed the Palestinian cause, but not one Palestinian has befriended him, or he one of them.  Obviously, despite what his articles may suggest, he really doesn't care about Palestinians, only about the Jews.  He's an Israeli patriot, as he says to me. He wants his Israel, his Jews, to be super-humans and reply to a bullet with a kiss.  In short: he wants all the Jews to be Jesus and die on the cross.

There can be only one reason why he would want them to be a Jesus: Inside of this man's heart, in its darkest corners, this Gideon is the biggest kind of Jewish racist that has ever existed. Jews must behave like super-humans because they are.  And as long as they do not behave as a master Jesus race, he hates them.  He is the strangest self-hating Jew you can find."  (pg. 122-123)

-- "The stupendous love for the Palestinians from so many nations that I keep seeing in this region is quite interesting. Some years ago I was in a Palestinian refugee camp called al-Wahdat in Jordan, where people live worse than the average cockroach.  No foreign government was helping them in any way, no NGOs around, and the Jordanian government was doing its best to make the life of these people a bit less intolerable.  It doesn't take a genius to know why the world 'loves' only certain Palestinians. I don't want to think about it."  (pg. 275)  

I kind of do want to think about it, though.


Also, an article by Tablet Magazine about his findings.

The Importance of the Opposites

I've heard people say there has to be darkness/pain/evil/death/a hell/people going to hell in order to give richer meaning to the opposite: light/good health/goodness/life/heaven/the Elect.  I thought of that as I read this quote.


What do you think about this guy's idea of heaven?  Do you tend to agree with him?  What is your ideal heaven and what are your beliefs about it (or an afterlife)?


"It is certainly too monotonous for an Eternity...to make a new life desirable it must give us something to do, something worth striving for, and a career by which we may improve in virtue ... If we are to increase in virtue we need occasion for self-denial, self-control, and self-sacrifice. But these cannot exist where there is no want, no offence, no pain. Want and pain, toil and trial, cannot be wholly banished out of my Heaven."  ~ Francis Newman


From The Call to Seriousness: The Evangelical Impact on the Victorians by Ian Bradley

What's land got to do with it?

The importance of land is a recurring theme in God Is Red by Vine Deloria, Jr.  You would have thought the name of the book would have given me a clue and it did in a way, but I thought more in broader terms like Mother Earth rather than specific parcels of land. Yet, what is Mother Earth made of than pieces of land and lots of water? 

I recall times when I've been irritated how people have fought for land.  Palestinians and Israelis.  That conflict readily comes to mind as both sides seek to keep what they say is theirs. The Israelis wanting their old homeland despite the fact they'd been driven from it centuries ago. And Palestinians who had been living there until Zionists drove them out.

Frustrated at the conflict, I remember "why are people fighting over dirt?!" coming out of my mouth.

Yes, really.

I've honestly been conflicted, too, because it seems in the history of the world "to the victor goes the spoils" is how it works. So if you fight and win it, you keep it.  I wasn't sure if Zionists fighting for Israel and their ability thus far to keep it, meant it "should" be theirs. Just as Mecca now belongs to Muslims and the United States belongs to former Europeans for the most part***.

But after reading this book, I think I understand better.  Vine Deloria speaks of lands having sacredness and certain properties so that even our lack of religious unity can be blamed on the land in which we reside!

With the movement of Christianity to the North American continent, and the subsequent freedom to develop religious expressions offered by the land, the possibility of constituting a Christian culture or unity vanished. Christianity shattered on the shores of this continent, producing hundreds of sects in the same manner that the tribes continually subdivided in an effort to relate to the rhythms of the land.  It is probably in the nature of this continent that divisiveness is one of its greatest characteristics, a virtually uncontrollable freedom of the spirit. (pg. 143)

See? We cannot help ourselves from splitting!  I wonder if this helps explain our political divisiveness as well ...

Tribal religions place more importance on land and sacred mountains or rivers.  Judaism is a tribal religion and you read often in the Bible about setting up stones to remember places.  Also the importance of land is a strong theme throughout the Tanakh.  So I understand why Jews desire their land (or what they consider their God-given land.) It also better explains why Muslims want Mecca and Medina only for themselves. It's not for those outside the "tribe" (i.e., faith).   Deloria explained that there were Native religious ceremonies done privately and not open to outsiders. This may explain why certain mosques do not welcome nonMuslims as well as why certain Mormon religious experiences are not open for nonMormons. 

Membership has its privileges.

What are your thoughts on land and sacred spaces? Do you think certain lands have certain properties that transfer to the quality of life? Do we have freedoms in the United States because the land oozes freedom?


*** This book shows how Natives view the land that we Europeans took. I now wonder how the Canaanites felt about the land before the children of Israel came through. And how the pre-Islamic Arabs thought of Mecca and other parts of Arabia. Are lands made for all or for whoever can keep them?  Are lands something to be possessed and, er, hoarded?

Tribal Religions v. Christianity on Views of Death

"If the Christian religion is a victory over death, why do Western peoples who have had the benefits of the Christian religion for two thousand years fear death?"

I'm currently reading God Is Red by Vine Deloria, Jr.  You might recall I read another of his books last year so I put this one on my Amazon Wishlist and received it for Christmas.  This "Native View of Religion" presents quite a few challenges for me especially since the author contrasts tribal religions mostly with Christianity, the predominant religion of the white man in the Americas.  On many issues he makes great points. I've read some of them to Andrew and we've agreed how sadly truthful those things are.

Yet I was reading this chapter on death and wanted to discuss a few things because I wasn't sure I agreed with his conclusions about Christian and/or Western beliefs on death. 


Deloria cites the work of Oscar Cullman who came to the conclusion that "death, in the Christian context, was a feared foe. ... an event to be avoided at all costs, because it meant the cessation of identity."

Cullman's book deals with the Greek and Christian ideas of immortality of the soul (Greek) and resurrection of the dead (Christian).  This he says explains why

"death was a welcome visitor for Socrates but a dreaded and tormenting experience for Jesus." Socrates was glad to be free from his body in which the Greeks  thought their souls were trapped.  So death was like getting out of prison apparently.  Yet for the Christian, death meant the body was no more. Thus death is much more traumatic, right? 


Deloria claims "a majority of tribal religions simply assume some form of personal survival beyond the grave. As Chief Seattle remarked, death is merely a changing of worlds."

"For the tribal people, death in a sense fulfills their destiny, for as their bodies become dust once again they contribute to the ongoing life cycle of creation.  For Christians, the estrangement from nature, their religion's central theme, makes this most natural of conclusions fraught with danger. Believing that they are saved and interpreting this salvation as accumulating material possessions, Western people cannot accept death except as a form of punishment by God. ... Death is feared and rarely understood. People somehow want to see the death of their loved one as part of God's plan (i.e., God needed Elvis to sing in heaven)."

Several things about this:

1. I believe similarly to Chief Seattle. How often have I heard "to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord" - a quote from Paul's letter to the Corinthians?  This is what I believe! This is what is quoted at Christian funerals all the time in order to give comfort to the families who are missing their loved ones' presence here. Yet thinking of them with the Lord is comforting. Or it is for me anyway.

2.  He mentions this "estrangement from nature" that we have several times in his book. I'm guessing he thinks we hate nature because we have chosen to cut down trees for houses and clear lands for shopping malls and dig and drill under the earth for oil and coal and natural gas. I suppose "progress" is actually a subjective term and for many living life simply - off the land - as our ancestors did is the better option.  Or maybe he has seen the truly bad things: the pollution from dumping chemicals in water sources, the depleted uranium from bombs contaminating soil, the slaughter of animals on the Plains.  Regardless, I don't know that this is Christianity's central theme!  What do you think?

3.  I've never been taught or felt salvation interpreted means that I'm supposed to accumulate possessions although I can see why Deloria observing us with all our stuff might feel this is true!  By contrast Jesus teaches us to give to the poor and often speaks of getting rid of things.  (Yes, I realize there is a disconnect between what Jesus taught and what Christians actually decide to do.)

4. I do tend to view the death of someone as part of God's plan although the Elvis example is taking it a bit too far. OK, I may have joked that way before, but .. maybe Deloria is too??  I don't believe God takes people to heaven because He needs a good laugh or great entertainment.

I could go on and say more, but I'm more curious what your thoughts are on this topic. Do you fear death? If so, why? If not, WHY?  Do you think Deloria has correctly assessed Christianity and/or the Western view of death?  We speak of someone "passing" rather than "dying" for instance.

By the way, why do you think death was a "tormenting experience" for Jesus (if you believe this)?

What does your religion or belief system teach about death?

I'd love to hear your thoughts on any of it.

NT Manuscript Variations and Inspiration

For those of you who have been to Sunday School classes or youth events where your questions were dismissed by your teachers because "you should just accept things by faith and not question God," I am glad to read that not everyone is this way. Thankfully many people have questioned and not simply accepted things blindly, but searched and studied.  I liked this little snippet.  Maybe because it's comforting to know scholarly people have studied and come out stronger in their trust of Jesus as he is presented in the New Testament.


In The Case for the Real Jesus author Lee Strobel recalls an interview he had with Bruce Metzger   "a scholar who's universally acknowledged as the greatest textual critic of his generation."  Bart Ehrman "even dedicates Misquoting Jesus to him, calling him 'Doctor-Father' and saying he 'taught me the field and continues to inspire me in my work.'"

Strobel was interviewing Metzger about the variations between New Testament manuscripts noting most of them "tend to be minor rather than substantive."

"Yes, yes, that's correct, " Metzger replied, adding: "The more significant variations do not overthrow any doctrine of the church."

Then I recall asking him how his many decades of intensely studying the New Testament's text had affected his personal faith.  "Oh," he said, sounding happy to discuss the topic, "it has increased the basis of my personal faith to see the firmness with which these materials have come down to us, with a multiplicity of copies, some of which are very ancient."

"So," I started to say, "scholarship has not diluted your faith ____"

He jumped in before I could finish my sentence.  "On the contrary," he stressed, "it has built it. I've asked questions all my life, I've dug into the text, I've studied this thoroughly, and today I know with confidence that my trust in Jesus has been well placed."

He paused while his eyes surveyed my face. Then he added, for emphasis, "Very well placed."   (pg. 99)

I just wanted to share this for those wondering what the Bible being inspired meant.


In an interview with Dan Wallace ...


"Seeking a crisp summary, I said, 'Complete this sentence: when Christians say the Bible is inspired, they mean that...'"

"'...that it's both the Word of God and the words of men.  Lewis Sperry Chafer put it well: "Without violating the authors' personalities, they wrote with their own feelings, literary abilities, and concerns. But in the end, God could say, That's exactly what I wanted to have written."'"  (pg. 74)

Good definition or would you say it differently?


Thoughts?

Four Journal Entries

Journal entry excerpts from The Hemingway Book Club of Kosovo by Paula Huntley. I am really enjoying this book!


MONDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2000

I am in love with my students. They are bright, fun, curious, receptive. Today they practice speaking, repeating each sentence after me in perfect imitation, and I realize with chagrin that these Kosovo Albanian students are being taught to speak English not only with an American accent, but with a southern accent!  It seems that, even after twenty-one years in California, my southern drawl is still with me - and now, with my students!  (pg. 51)


Haha!  I can totally see this happening if I were teaching ESL!  Samer would consider it great, I think. He actually wishes sometimes that I had a heavier southern accent if you can imagine! 



FRIDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2000


...And here is the key distinction, I've found, between Kosovar students and American students: American students study in order to secure lucrative jobs and a sense of individual achievement. Kosovo Albanians study so they can provide for their families - their parents, siblings, and grandparents, as well as any future family they will have. Education is a family goal, not an individual goal.  (pg. 115)


A few entries later the author talks about how shocked her students are when told that American teens often study far from their families and get jobs hundreds of miles away. Families are very important to Albanians and they cannot imagine this.  When "Teacher" reminds them that many of their relatives are in Western Europe working, they counter that they do this to send money back home, but their main goal is to return to be near their parents and siblings.



FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2001

At the bottom of Dragodan at an intersection close to the railway tracks, there's a sign that proudly proclaims: "This Corner Cleaned Up by UNMIK."  The signpost itself is invisible because of the mountains of rubbish piled around it. The trash of kitchens, offices, and shops surrounds the sign and spills over into the street.

There's a basic cultural misunderstanding on this corner.  UNMIK, wishing to set an example for the community, cleaned up the site and erected the sign to show what could be done. The community took the sign to mean that UNMIK would clean up whatever garbage they dumped there.  Thus, the messiest corner in the city. (pg. 171)

This just struck me funny. Cultural misunderstandings often are (and sometimes not, of course!)  Oh, the people just pile trash outside. Apparently there are mounds of it to wade through to go anywhere.



THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2001

As Leonard and I walk from the Monaco Café to the school today, I ask him: "Leonard, how is it that people here can always tell I am an American? Even before I open my mouth, shopkeepers, taxi drivers, people on the street can see that I am from the U.S."  I've been puzzled about this for a long while.

"That is easy, Teacher," he says. "You are not afraid."

I don't understand.

"Teacher" - he eyes me carefully, not wanting to insult me - "you think that because you like everyone, everyone will like you. You show everyone a friendly face, a face that trusts. You don't think anyone would hurt you. Everyone knows that is how Americans are." 

"Here in Kosova," he continues, "we have learned to be afraid.  Americans have not learned this lesson."  (pg. 182)

I remember when Samer and I were early in our friendship and I made a short video on my camera. Initially he told me if I came to Syria, I would blend right in with the locals because not all Syrians have dark hair and eyes and olive skin. (Since that area has had so many conquerors that have left their marks, the people can vary in skin, eye and hair color.)  So he told me until I open my mouth and reveal my English-speaking talk, they would probably think I was local. 

But then he saw a video where I was introducing myself to a few of his college friends and he changed his mind completely.  He said there was something about me - my body language (although the video was mostly a head-and-shoulders shot), my facial expression, my voice, something - that said "you are not Syrian!"  He said later that my eyes sparkled. And Syrian eyes did not so much.

Hmmm.

His friend "Jake" also thought I could pass for Syrian. He'd always seen the still-shot of me that I had on Skype or Facebook or somewhere!  But when he came with Samer to pick me up from the airport, he was amazed that I did not look Syrian at all and was very American-looking (whatever that means!)


What are your thoughts or impressions of any of this?  This book is great, by the way. Makes me want to learn more about that area of the world and the people and conflicts. I have been sorely ignorant. 

Jews in Muslim Lands and the Creation of Israel: "They did not wish to be dhimmis any more. Finally they had a choice."

Some more notes from In Ishmael's House: A History of the Jews in Muslim Lands by Martin Gilbert.  Now we're getting into the section on World War II, the creation of the State of Israel and the aftermath of that.



So we've seen Muslims and Jews actually got along quite well at times.  In those instances as long as the Jews kept their respectful stance as dhimmis, most often problems did not exist. After a time, however, this all changed and problems happened in places where Jews had thrived for years such as Iraq.  One former Iraqi administrator, Abraham Elkabir, "later reflected - while living in Israel - on what went wrong" between Muslims and Jews.  "He traced Muslim hostility to three factors:

1.  "the Palestine issue"
2.  "the Mufti of Jerusalem's campaign in Iraq identifying Jews and Zionists"
3.   "the 'anti-Semitic tendencies' of the British officials and other Westerners in Iraq"  (pg. 193)


Chapters 12 and 13 also mention Nazi Germany influencing Arab hatred towards the Jews.  This despite the fact Hitler's social ladder put Arabs only one step above Jews.  Wisely Hitler had this illustration deleted from the Arabic printing of his book Mein Kampf since he wanted Arab help.

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Observation: Part of the problem with Zionism is that it was in conflict with rising Arabism. So was this all a soured competition between nationalities?

COMPARE this thought ...

"The Muslim world, inspired by Arab nationalism but inflamed by Jewish nationalism, still considered Palestine as an Arab country and part of the Muslim patrimony, in which Jews could live only as a subject people." (pg. 201)

with this one:

"The imminent prospect of a National Home had given the Jews a sense of pride and a hope for a secure future. Jews would no longer have to put up with being second-class citizens, but that was how the Muslims among whom they lived considered them:  the eternal, born dhimmis, subject to one form or another of the Covenant of Omar." (pg. 205)

So was the problem that Islamic faith said Jews were God-ordained to a certain role that Jews no longer were willing to play?


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I found this fact very interesting and wondered how I should weigh it in considering the whole Palestine/Israel issue.

"Between 1922 and 1939 more Arabs had entered Palestine than Jews. These were Muslim immigrants including many illegals, from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Yemen, Iraq, Iran and Syria - as well as from Transjordan, Sudan and Saudi Arabia. These immigrants were drawn to Palestine by its opportunities for work and its growing prosperity - opportunities and prosperity often created by the Jews there. In 1948 many of these Arab immigrants were to be included in the statistics of 'Palestinian' Arab refugees."  (pg. 175)

So much for all the Palestinians living on ancestral lands for centuries, huh?  I'm sure many had, but not these 20,000+ who came only in the twentieth century from other Arab lands.


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The Partition problem also caused conflict in Egypt where the Muslim Brotherhood "called for the reintroduction of the dhimmi laws, which had been repealed by Egypt's Mohammad Ali dynasty a century earlier, allowing both Egyptian society and Egyptian Jewry to flourish."  (pg. 213)

Several times Arab suspicion of the Jewish communities giving money to Zionist organizations was noted. It seemed most Arab countries at this time simply wanted to make sure their Jewish populations didn't support the creation of a Jewish state and they wanted the Jews to renounce Zionism, declare their loyalty to their countries (whether Iraq or Morocco or Libya) and definitely not financially support any Jewish agencies which might work to relocate Jews to Palestine.  This reminds me of today in the United States where many Muslim "charities" are under suspicion for supporting what the United States deems as terrorist organizations.  If you want to support the Palestinians by giving to any charity with ties to Hamas or Hezbollah, forget it. 


And people here often want Muslims to show their loyalty to the United States. It seems some are suspicious of Muslim ties to that mysterious worldwide ummah.

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The last chapter I finished was about Iraq from 1948 to1952.  One Jewish man put the reason why his family left, "because of 'hostility at a popular level to the new State of Israel' - not due to any official Iraqi discrimination or expulsion.'"  (pg. 243) It's as if the Arab people hated Israel so much that they took out their frustrations on the local Jewish populations which caused most of them to flee.  The author noted by the end of 1951, over 113,500 Jews had left Iraq legally while 6,000 remained.  When Jews left Iraq they had to surrender all but a small amount of money so a few Jews decided to stay.

What I find ironic to consider is that European Jews discriminated against and hurt so much by the Holocaust and preceding years (and years) understandably wanted to flee Europe for the newly created Israel where they felt safe.  Most Arabs throughout the region hated this new creation so they took out their wrath on the Jewish people in their countries. Which, in turn, made those Jews want to leave.  So many Arab countries let them leave -- for Israel!  Which to me makes little sense. If you are wanting to destroy this newly-created entity, why bolster it with more people?  Especially Jewish people who seem to have an innate ability to thrive wherever God puts them?

I think I see more clearly why many Palestinians feel abandoned by other Arabs and why they are cynical of Arab nations truly wanting to aid them. If anything, Palestine and Palestinians have been used as a rallying point for some Muslims who are trying to unite a fragmented ummah. But has real effort taken place to do anything? Or is it mostly talk?  Arabs have often blamed their dictatorial leaders so we'll have to see if this Arab Spring - and new leaders coming to power - makes any difference for the Palestinian refugees.

All that said, it does not change the fact that I detest how Israel treats the Palestinians. I find it very shameful that people who have suffered so much over the centuries could, in turn, show they can be just as evil now that they are in superior positions. One would hope the human population would learn lessons from history, but that seems too difficult.


Thoughts? Corrections?  Please share!

(see the two previous posts for more information on this book)

A few thoughts on Arabs, Israelis and America: 'small tribes' talk and all that

The Much Too Promised Land: America’s Elusive Search for Arab-Israeli Peace by Aaron David Miller

When the Jewish State was created, many people's homes were stolen.

 My brother found this book somewhere and gave it to me for my birthday. He said he saw the word "Arab" and knew how much I like them so he got this.   About halfway through this nearly 400 page book I was ready to toss it aside because I was exasperated with how much time and money and energy has been used in trying to bring peace to this region! (Not to mention all the trees killed to write all those drafts and official treaties!)



The author is a former State Department historian, negotiator and analyst who worked for several administrations on creating treaties between the Arabs - mainly Palestinians but also Syrians were mentioned a number of times - and Israelis.  He is an American Jew (and I was shocked with just how many other people in this process were Jewish), but not religious.  The first section explores why Americans favor Israel. He speaks of the Jewish community and how Israel is like an insurance policy for them. He devotes much time to AIPAC and its influence on Congress and how it is highly influential in making US policy favorable to Israel and appropriating funds for the Jewish State. He also speaks of the conservative evangelicals who strongly support Israel. In one chapter he visits Jerry Falwell and later attends a night for Israel held at John Hagee's church in Texas.  Pastor Hagee presented millions of dollars to Jewish organizations and had a program the author stated didn't mention Jesus Christ one time. This was about Jews and Israel after all.  Jesus isn't so popular with that crowd. 

The organization that assures US support of Israel by controlling Congress.

The second section included rather long chapters on Henry Kissinger, Jimmy Carter and James Baker - three men the author thought worked the most on Arab-Israeli peace. I felt I knew much more about these guys after reading those chapters.  The last section dealt with presidential years  - how the presidents like Carter, Reagan, Bush 41, Clinton, Bush 43 dealt with the situation. He went into discussions of the various Israeli leaders and how the US presidents got along with them (or not). Another main player was Yasser Arafat and also mentioned several times was Hafez al-Assad from Syria.  He was a tough guy with little room for negotiating. The author stated how weird it was that a man who lost ground in a war would come with such confidence that he wanted everything back.  Perhaps the author believes what is lost in war is negotiable because, hey, you lost.  I didn't take extensive notes, but did mark a few pages especially in the earlier section about small tribes and great nations.

In the later chapters the only thing I noted was during the 6 months between Rabin's murder and the next election in May 1996.  The author admitted they did "all [they] could to ensure that Shimon Peres...won the election." Of course Benjamin Netanyahu did instead.  This quote stuck out to me: "The idea that America doesn't sometimes interfere in Israel's politics is about as absurd as the notion that Israel doesn't meddle in ours." (pg. 267)

In the section on smaller tribes ...  "Great powers...meddle in the affairs of small tribes at their own risk....Small powers can't always best you, but they can always outwit and outwait you."  He uses the example of Vietnam, "a nation that has defeated the Chinese, French, and Americans. It's a fact of life: small guys who have a single-minded purpose and resolve can wear out and wear down big guys who may be focused for a time but are far from home with many other things to do."  (pg. 45)  He also gives the example of Iraq. (This book was published in 2008.)

These ghosts of the past make Israel a security blanket of sorts for the Jews.

"Smaller nations will do just about anything to survive and are not inclined to listen to or even trust advice offered by a distant power whose political and physical survival is not at stake. The ghosts of the past, made real by history's fears and traumas, speak louder than the untested promise of a brighter future offered by American diplomats."  (pg. 37)

"Americans who recognize the galactic gap between a secure and confident America and the traumatized and insecure world of Israelis and Arabs fare best of all."  (pg. 38)

"This region hates big ideas, certainly those offered up from outside and usually those from inside as well. ... Small tribes don't convert or transform easily. In fact, if there's any conversion, it's usually the other way around. The last three truly big ideas floating around out there - Judaism, Christianity, and Islam - came from them, and they converted us."  (pg. 38)



Thoughts?

An American Indian's Thoughts on White People, Tribalism, US Culture, Churches

Custer Died for Your Sins: An Indian Manifesto by Vine Deloria, Jr. -- note: the author uses Indian to refer to himself and his people throughout the book when not speaking of specific tribes (e.g. Cherokee, Sioux, Seminole) so I will use Indian instead of Native American in this post, but do realize we are speaking of the inhabitants of present day United States and not the Asian country!  I have questions for you at the bottom. Be thinking how you would reply to the author if you could and what lessons we can learn from his thoughts.

Andrew asked why I got this book and I think it was mentioned in the footnotes of a book I read earlier this year. I decided I wanted to read a book about Indians from an American Indian rather than a white author so I found this one on Amazon and received it for my birthday.  I expected this book to be more about the wars between Indians and the white people who came to the United States. I expected Custer to play some role in the book (the title kind of conveys this) yet he only came up a couple of times. This "Custer died for your sins" thing was actually a bumper sticker "originally meant as a dig at the National Council of Churches" and which "referred to the Sioux Treaty of 1868 signed at Fort Laramie in which the United States pledged to give free and undisturbed use of the lands claimed by Red Cloud in return for peace.  Under the covenants of the Old Testament, breaking a covenant called for a blood sacrifice for atonement. Custer was the blood sacrifice for the United States breaking the Sioux treaty." (pg. 148)

I knew the title was a rather clever play on words since most Christians say Jesus died for our sins.  It's a bit weird and good reading this book just after Carl Medearis' Speaking of Jesus which stressed, well, our speaking more of Jesus and essentially not bringing western cultural baggage into the mix. Jesus wasn't a westerner and although many bad things have been done in the name of Christianity, Jesus never started this religion nor did he ever instruct us to go and make Christians out of people or compel them to join the Christian cause. 

As I was reading this book I was heartbroken at times especially when I realized how different things could have been and could be if we acted like Jesus instead of going into situations as Christians bent on solving the Indian problem essentially turning these "savages" into respectable white people. As if that's what Jesus meant when he told us to go and share the good news with every creature!  The disciples struggled with this. Do the Gentiles have to become Jews? Must they be circumcised? Essentially, must they be one of us, adopt our customs, follow our law in order to follow Jesus?

NO.

This book gave me a different perspective on tribes. Of course the Bible - the Old Testament - is full of tribe talk.  There are the 12 tribes of Israel as main players after all.  And, of course, I was familiar with Indian tribes. I've always loved the names and found them fascinating to say.  Yet when I hear of tribes today, I think of conflicts in the Arab world and places like Afghanistan and Pakistan. I think of divisiveness (sectarianism) and narrow mindedness and keeping women down and exalting the almighty man.  Saudi Arabia's tribal culture - rather than its religion - is often blamed for the things I don't like about that country. Sure there are a number of good things, but those tend to be overlooked when compared to honor killings and the importance of virginity in women and the control of parents over their daughters.  Honestly it makes me feel smothered reading about such things.

Yet, this book helped me see tribes in a better light. How if there is a good hunting season, everyone eats. And if there is a bad hunting season, everyone suffers. There is not this hoarding of wealth and this great divide between the haves and the have nots.  The author notes "each man must be judged according to his real self, not according to his wealth or educational prowess. Hence a holder of great wealth is merely selfish unless he has other redeeming qualities besides his material goods. Having a number of degrees and an impressive educational background is prerequisite to prestige in the white world. It is detrimental in the Indian world unless the person has the necessary wisdom to say meaningful things also."  (pg. 233)


This book was published in 1969 during the era of hippies and black power movements.  Hippies, the author notes, had shrugged off some of the prestige qualifiers of white culture yet he found fault with them for not adopting the things that make for good Indian prestige. Hippies were basically passing fads and out for publicity.  The Indians often rejected the black power movements because equality meant the blacks would be equal to the whites. To Indians, equal meant sameness and they did not want to adopt 'white culture.' They were Indian and they had their own customs thus they refused to be 'white' no matter the effort government agencies and churches undertook to make them 'white.'

Speaking of 'white culture', Deloria says it's like a cancer. It destroys other cultures and the whites essentially have no culture except the violent culture they brought from Europe to the New World.  He says when we cannot solve problems, we use violence - overkill - to stamp out our enemies.  He says this country "has never made a successful peace because peace requires exchanging ideas, concepts, thoughts, and recognizing the fact that two distinct systems of life can exist together without conflict.  Consider how quickly America seems to be facing its allies of one war as new enemies."  "Violence is America's sweetheart," and America "alienates everyone who does not automatically love it."  (pg. 256)

You can imagine how much love I felt reading this book, right?  Yes, it's often painful to see ourselves through others' eyes yet we often need attention drawn to our blind spots and things we'd rather not consider. This book has definitely made me reflect on several issues - some serious ones like how Jesus, the wonderful person that he is, got so separated from people who claim to follow him (these "Christians").  Other issues perhaps not so serious, but still thought-provoking: do we 'white' folks really have no culture?  Is violence really our "sweetheart" and why do we alienate people who don't love us? Why do we "overkill"?

Has this ever truly been a Christian nation?  Or shall we once and for all separate the word "Christian" from "follower of Jesus" since there seems to be a huge divide between most Christian action and the actions of the Christ.

Thoughts? What do you think of tribalism?  Do you tend to view it negatively, neutrally or positively? Why? What do you think of the author's view of white culture? Do you think white people have no culture? Do you agree with Deloria's thoughts on black power (equality = sameness)? This actually reminded me of Akbar Ahmed's thoughts that I expressed in this post about Barack Obama acting like the white presidents.  Do you agree that we love violence?  Why is this? Do you think we should separate Christianity in the US from Jesus?  What took your attention from this post?  How would you reply to this author if given the chance?  Any lessons we can learn from Vine Deloria's thoughts?

I've already alluded to Deloria's disdain for the Christianity as shown by most churches. You should also hear his loathing for anthropologists and his views of Democrats and Republicans.  I would share more, but this post is too long already.

Grrrrrr!! Why are we so angry?!?!

So today I was glancing at the Yahoo headlines and this article Poll finds Americans angry about pretty much everything caught my attention.  We are angry at Obama for not doing enough! We are angry at the congressional Republicans for not doing enough!  Dadburnit, we must be angry at God because He only has a 33% approval rate according to the poll! 

"The poll finds that Americans are being affected by their anger in other parts of life as well. Fifty-six percent are so angry that they can’t even sleep and 13 percent say the anxiety has affected their sex life. Twenty-six percent of married respondents claim the country’s economic problems have affected their marriage, with more than half of those people saying it has made their marriage worse."

In Journey Into America, anthropologist Akbar Ahmed talks about Americans living at such a fast pace and being so "connected" to electronics and social media and "drowning in information" that they don't take much time for self-reflection, for silence.  He claims "people have lost the capacity for self-reflection and find it difficult to see the majesty and mystery of life." 

Take time to enjoy the many pleasures God gives us every day

He describes today as "cynical, noisy, iconoclastic, and [a] materialistic world of consumerism" where even "heroes and role models provide little more than temporary entertainment." Often politicians, performers and sportsmen end up "as fodder for everyone's entertainment" when they fall from grace.

"It is perhaps an awareness of this predicament at various levels that makes Americans, in spite of consuming a disproportionately large share of the world's wealth, among the unhappiest people on earth while obsessively insisting they are happy.  Americans have much to be unhappy about: the incidences of suicide and depression are abnormally high, especially among their students and soldiers; their jails are the fullest compared with those of any other nation, their rates of obesity the highest, their marriages more in danger of breaking up, and more Americans claim to have been abducted by aliens than any other nationality. A foreigner may be forgiven for assuming Americans perpetually oscillate between two primary emotions, those of anger and fear, all the while proclaiming that their country is the greatest and best in history."  (pg. 461)

In another part of the book, the team had met with Noam Chomsky. I'll quote him in regard to the American fear factor.

"For Chomsky, it is not the idea of freedom and democracy that lies at the heart of America, but fear. A sense of fear and threat permeates every aspect of society, he explained to us: 'It's a very frightened country. Unusually so, by international standards, which is kind of ironic because [we're] at a level of security that nobody's ever dreamed of in world history....The theme is we're about to be destroyed by an enemy, and at the last minute, a super weapon is discovered or a hero arises, Rambo or someone, and somehow saves us. The Terminator or high school boys hiding in the mountains defending us from the Russians.'" (pg. 379)

Have you ever stopped to wonder why a nation that supposedly has a majority of Christians is so angry and so fearful? My pastor reminds us regularly that the Bible tells us "do not fear" over three hundred times.  Enough for nearly every day of the year. So why are we afraid? Why do we fear? Why do we let anxiety and fear and anger rule our lives?

"He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul."

How about we meditate on this instead?  Seriously. Isn't this great stuff?

 ⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ⁵ Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
 ⁸ Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. ⁹ Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.  (Phil. 4)

Too much freedom is a bad thing

More notes on Journey Into America by Akbar Ahmed

Speaking of equality between men and women is like comparing apples to oranges

So I finished the chapter on immigrants and it was interesting reading about people from the various communities in the United States. Some are very pro-America; some not so much.  From the section on Salafis, I marked a quote I found thought-provoking.  This from a "forty-seven-year-old Jordanian man from New Jersey [who] said it was 'unfair' and 'unjust' to speak of gender equality: 'You cannot compare apples with oranges.  So there is no justice when you try to make people equal because people are not equal in their abilities, and treating them equally is not fair. For example, when a woman is pregnant, she is not to fast during Ramadan. So she is not treated equally, but it is fair and better for her. So obligations are based on abilities. Justice is better.'"  (pg. 260)

What do you think?

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Now I'm reading a chapter on American converts to Islam.  They are only about 30,000 out of the country's 300 million people so a "tiny fraction." And the women to men ratio is 4 to 1 surprising to some who think Islam is oppressive to women. I've read about half the chapter and so far the overall theme to me is:

TOO MUCH FREEDOM IS A BAD THING

I was reading a bit and then came inside to clean and was pondering what Mr. Ahmed shared in this chapter.

We often celebrate freedom as a good thing. The Arab uprisings in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and beyond are rightly touted by many as people yearning for freedoms we often take for granted in the United States. Freedom to speak against the government if we choose. Freedom to express our views on most any topic. Freedom to assemble peacefully. Freedom to elect our leaders in fair elections.  Freedom to use Facebook and Blogger and YouTube.

Yet freedom without any structure is a recipe for chaos. Like anarchy.  If I am that free and there is no higher authority around to stop me, I can punch you in the nose because I am bigger and faster than you.  And, whoa to me if someone is bigger or faster than I as the same fate could await me!   So, how does this freedom stuff relate to this chapter on American men and women converting to Islam?

Because many of those who have converted found structure in Islam that they were unable to find in American society.  They've seen Christianity as too broad a thing without enough guidelines.  For them, you can go to church on Sunday and do whatever you want the rest of the week. By contrast, Islam with its emphasis on salat (prayer and worship of God) is structured around remembering God all the time. Five times a day, every day of the week, every week of the year, for your whole life.   It doesn't have ambiguous rules on the subject of alcohol. There is no freedom to drink moderately or abstain. You abstain if you follow the teachings of Islam.  There is no freedom to eat pork or abstain. You do not eat pork products at all.  One male convert who formerly used drugs and was attracted to Islam for the discipline it brought into his life said "Islam was unlike Christianity...in that 'it sets out a process for the entire day, every day.' In Christianity, 'you don't actually follow anything; you just say you're a Christian.'"***

Female converts often hated how sexualized American society is, how a woman was objectified by her body and the types of clothes she wore.  They were attracted to the ideas of modesty, honor and shame in Islam.

A former party girl, this Texan found dignity in the modest dress of Islam

Lesson for me:  the more liberated and relativistic America has become in its morals and values and style of dress, the more people will associate this with Christianity and when they find this lifestyle empty and start looking for something more satisfying in the spiritual realm, they will not go searching for Jesus. Why should they if America as a "Christian nation" has lead to this longing of their souls?

Carrie Underwood showing what is valued in American society?

*** Note: I have some problems with this, but for the sake of letting the converts speak for themselves, I won't offer my thoughts on their views of Christianity.  I know much of it is warranted by the way Christians have failed to be salt and light.  I'm sure those who know me can articulate what I would say anyway.


But I would love to hear YOUR thoughts so share! Do you think there is too much freedom in Christianity? In American society?  What did Jesus mean when he said, "Therefore if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed"? What about the truth setting us free?  Is freedom good; but rules better?  Thoughts?

African American Muslims

So I'm moving on in the Journey Into America with Akbar Ahmed and his team. I found the chapter on the African American Muslim community of great interest.  I was struck over and over with how many of those interviewed initially were part of the Nation of Islam (NOI) joining Islam not for spiritual reasons, but political and social reasons as one man put it.  It was a joining of something to express their hate of their situation and the white people whom they understandably blamed. Often they saw Islam as the true, original religion of slaves forced to America from Africa and they wanted to embrace their historical religion and reject what they considered the white man's religion which was forced upon their ancestors. 

NOI, of course, doesn't embody the true teaching of orthodox Islam. They revere Elijah Muhammad way more than Muhammad the Arab prophet (or so it seemed to me!) and they didn't encourage any sort of understanding between the races. In fact Ahmed noted there was some talk that the KKK had actually funded some NOI stuff because of their shared common goal of keeping the races separate!  NOI and KKK...how's that for strange bedfellows?

Thankfully many NOI members initially became mainstream Sunni Muslims and sought to have better relationships with whites.  I'm glad. The NOI's Yakub - the mad scientist - was a little freaky, what with his tinkering with genetics and creating the devilish white race, those blue-eyed monsters! 

I enjoyed reading of the teams travels throughout the country especially to the coastal region of Georgia where a Christian lady told of her Muslim ancestor who was known as Bilali. He had come to America as a slave. Mr. Ahmed was able to tell her the story of Bilal the slave from prophet Muhammad's time so she would understand the connection to her own ancestor's name and story.  Many black people remembered grandmothers who would shun pork and cover their hair and wash their arms and feet and such that Muslims do before prayers.

The testimonies of how Islam saved many people made me feel glad for them.  It's no secret that the black community has its problems. Everyone does, but it seems disproportionately black youth and men especially are in prisons and children are born out of wedlock more than they are born to married parents.  This means many black children are raised in poverty and drug abuse and gangs absorb many of them.  Yet I saw where finding Islam helped many of them. With its rules and highly structured way of life, Islam told them to do this, do that, don't do this and it has essentially stepped into the parental role.

Perhaps in a way, God had become a Heavenly Father to them.  Something - a person, a system to give structure - they were lacking in their own houses.

Wherever they went throughout the country Ahmed and his team asked what was the greatest threat to America. He had shared in an earlier chapter that ignorance, lack of education and loss of civil liberties were the most common replies. When asking the black community, the greatest threats to America tended to be "white people" and issues pertaining to racism and the "unwillingness to part with the notion of white privilege."

I was introduced to many African American imams, the two Washington politicians (one reared Catholic, the other Baptist, but went to a Catholic school) and some entertainers. Must say that I never heard that Snoop Dogg was Muslim before this book!  Did you know Mike Tyson cleaned the prayer rugs at a mosque as an act of piety?

Later I will share the major differences Ahmed observed in the African American Muslim community and the immigrant Muslim communities.

information from chapter 4

Darwin or Jesus: Who Influences Americans More?

In chapter 1 of Journey Into America, Akbar Ahmed speaks of the way Charles Darwin's "survival of the fittest" has influenced American life.  Recalling to mind that it's not the most intelligent or strongest who survive, but the one who is adaptable to change, he reminds us "those who succeed in the competition to survive are said to be the 'favored races.' ... [and] if the favored races are defined by a certain religion, language, and culture these will be imitated, preserved, and passed on. 

Because in America the English - and later by extension the white race - emerged on top in the competition, their characteristics have become the standard. ... In time, all others- African Americans, Mexicans, Native Americans, and Asians - were forced to imitate the dominant ethos if they wished to succeed."  He uses President Obama as an example. Despite his "dark skin" and "Muslim father from Africa," he has for the most part sounded and behaved like "other politicians from the dominant white race."

"A DEBILITATING TENSION BETWEEN DARWIN AND JESUS"

Mr. Ahmed says this tension lies at the heart of what defines and motivates American identity. Since Darwinian thought and Jesus' teachings are "diametrically opposed," they "cannot coexist simultaneously in one society without causing severe friction."

Think about it.  And think about Native Americans and other groups as you compare the two.

Darwin "represents adaptability and survival" and "acknowledges that those who cannot adapt will not - indeed must not - survive."   It's a struggle to survive and "the ruthless will to succeed, strength, speed, stamina, and force determine success. In turn, success generates pride and arrogance, the chauvinism of being on top, and a belief in the superiority of the dominant group."

Jesus' teaching of compassion and love for neighbors and enemies should motivate true followers to reach out to all people especially the "least privileged members in society" who often need the most help. Think of the people Jesus came to serve: basically all types!  Tax collectors, women, soldiers, fishermen, prostitutes, religious men like Nicodemus, ordinary people, children!  Even nonJewish people were not excluded from his help!

Yet why do we - who sometimes insist we are a "Christian nation" - act more like we follow Darwin with all the pride and hurtfulness that purifying the world of all the "bad races" involves instead of Jesus? I always thought the "Christ" part of "Christian" referred to the Messiah celebrated in the New Testament.  So why the Darwinian outlook in keeping the land pure for white people- Christian white people - Protestant white people?

We purified the land so let's keep it that way, right?!

Ahmed observes: "I have always found American fear and anger surprising.Why should the most powerful people on earth be fearful?  And why should the richest people be angry? If there was more true Christianity and less Darwinian thinking, I am convinced, there would be far more calmness in American social life."

I read this and noted "pg. 26 AMEN!" on my notepad!  Exactly!  Why are we going around fearful and angry? Why do we not live as people of faith and actually do what Jesus did and stop being so afraid and suspicious of everyone?

Anger and fear are not good foreign policy motivators!



"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."  ~ Jesus Christ (John 14:27)


TO BE CONTINUED ...


quotes from pgs. 24-26

Good Friday Sadness

So today was Good Friday, the day many Christians remember Jesus' crucifixion.  I found out about an event at a rescue mission located about 45 minutes away and went there to help serve lemonade to the people from the community who came to eat. The day was cool and rainy, but we had a large crowd to feed. I had a wonderful time smiling at others, talking to the adults and making funny faces at the children.  I wanted them to see Jesus in me and I hope they did.  The mission gave away bags of groceries, nice clothes, Easter baskets and had games and balloons and prizes for the children.

On the way down I was listening to a CD from a message my pastor spoke a few months ago. I remember liking it then so I saved it and today I remembered why. One part he talks about suffering with people.  How we enter into their suffering the same way Jesus suffered with us.  So this evening I've been suffering for Syria.

They had "Great Friday" there.  Each Friday they have had names for their protests -- the day of persistence and .. I'm drawing a blank, but you get the idea. Today being Good Friday for Christians, they decided to show solidarity with the Christians within Syria and gave it the Arabic version which Samer told me translates to Great Friday. So, Great Friday was a horrible day!  Almost 90 people killed and I saw some gruesome videos!  I "liked" Shaam News Network* on Facebook so my news feed has been full of the reality of the day there!  And it's awful!

So I am sharing in their suffering and am heartbroken for the beautiful people throughout that country who are seeing their country fall apart and for those precious souls who lost their lives today.  I weep with them.

Edited to add this video. A Syrian friend (not Samer who has been asleep in Germany for hours now) asked me to share it on Facebook just now and I decided to add it here. It will break your heart.






* Click the link, but be prepared for some graphic stuff. Some of my Facebook people seemed to have problems with a couple things I posted from it today.  Reality is too difficult for many folks whose vision of reality is Survivor and Hell's Kitchen.

To the Park, NK Book, World News

Happy April!  Hope you are enjoying lovely spring weather these days!  Yesterday Michael and I went to the park and had a picnic.  We went for a hike along a nature trail. (We took his "pet" fuzzy worm that his friend's father got him as part of a bribe that involved a scary ride at Great Wolf Lodge.  Wormy is fake and he's on a string, in case you were wondering.) 

Michael played with some children he met at the play area, and I continued reading Nothing to Envy a book about ordinary citizens of North Korea by Barbara Demick.  It was a very interesting read if you are interested in that sort of thing. Made me wish to go over there and take food to those in need.  Koreans have that cultural thing where the first born son is expected to care for the parents when they get old. Also in the case of divorce, the father's family gets custody of any children, riding a bicycle is considered a bit suggestive for women to do and they are much more modest (i.e., conservative) than their South Korean counterparts.  Kim Il-sung's era forced a pretty strict dress code including skirts a certain length, no blue jeans or t-shirts with Roman alphabet writing ("a capitalist indulgence") and men couldn't have hair longer than 5 centimeters on top (unless you were balding, they allowed 7 cms for comb overs apparently!).  Of course boys are preferred and women are blamed if they have daughters.  *sigh* Same old, same old.

Here is an example of the type of propaganda the kids get while attending school.  Consider this math problem...

A girl is acting as a messenger to our patriotic troops during the war against the Japanese occupation. She carries messages in a basket containing five apples, but is stopped by a Japanese solider at a checkpoint. He steals two of her apples. How many are left?  (pg. 120)

I greatly enjoyed the book and recommend it to those who like cultural things and learning about other people in the world.

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In other news, here is an interesting CNN Belief Net post that a Jewish guy wrote about the Bible.

It doesn't matter who wrote the Bible 

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Did y'all know Syrians had been protesting a bit in recent weeks?  That's pretty huge for a police state such as this.  The elder Assad had 15,000 or more of his people killed in an uprising in Hama back in the early 80s. The younger Assad, they hoped, would be better, but after 11 years in office, Syria is still pretty brutal to political dissidents and corruption is rampant.  I wonder why speaking your mind is such a thing to be punished?  Regardless, I've been following that news with interest.  I'm sure that is no surprise to any who know my love for Syria.  

Syria has a very pretty first lady.  In fact Vogue magazine did a flattering piece on Asma Assad a few weeks ago.  Many of my Syrian friends think it's crazy how Westerners love dictators as long as they have glamorous, modern (read: not outwardly-Islamic) wives.  Maybe if Ahmadinejad married a hot babe, we'd suddenly find him endearing.

Here is just one article about her, but there are many more that have been surfacing lately.

British-born first lady divides women of Damascus

A different British article that I read yesterday suggested maybe she could save the day in Syria!  Asma the Super Hero...expect the action figure in a Walmart near you come Christmas!  ;) 

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Here is an interview of an American student who was studying in Damascus and got arrested when he started recording something going on. (Turned out to be a protest.)  He was held by Syrian authorities for two weeks and describes his time there in this CNN interview.

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I've found the deaths in Afghanistan due to Nincompoop Floridian Guy's (NFG) actions disgusting.  I think burning holy books unnecessary and NFG's intentional provocation to be exactly what Jesus would not have done, but obviously, y'all, this dude is not a follower of Christ.  I don't understand why the Afghan leader would mention it knowing the kind of intolerant, abusive people who exist in his country. And for sure I don't understand people who kill because a book was burned. Not everyone in this world thinks the same things are good and holy. Suck it up.  Learn this lesson and get over it. Enough with the murdering because you don't like what people do. 

I swear sometimes I wish the world were still large and people didn't know what happened thousands of miles from them.  

So what's new with you?