T
his is an American women living in Jordan and her view on the Middle East
What I’ve learned…
Has been a month since I have stood on American soil, but I have learned more here in a month than I could learn in a year sitting in a classroom at my university.
So many new experiences and concepts continue to confront me daily. It takes a concentrated effort to fully synthesize my experiences and analyze them into a framework that helps me to understand better my own efforts here and the state of this region in general.
While it may be too premature to make concrete determinations about the Middle East, its people, state of affairs and prospects for the future, I can detail some overarching concepts that I have noticed. These may or may not change after further experience.
1. Israel is a problem.
2. The Revival of Islam
This scary, but very true trend is rocking the Arab world with more fervor than ever. This revival is a phenomenon that is affecting many of the youth in the Arab world and honest dialogue is needed concerning the source of this resurgence of Islamist sentiment. I have heard numerous times that if you look at a University of Jordan yearbook from 40 years ago, you would maybe find 4 women out of 100 wearing the hijaab (head covering). Today, it is hard to find 4 out of 100 that are willing to show their hair.
Today the statistics from the Sociology Department from the University of Jordan show that if elections were held now, among the youth voters, 40% would vote for the Islamic Action Party (Islamist Party). This is deadly for democracy, freedom, and tolerance.
This trend is very dangerous. Until Muslims are brave enough to stand up and admit that Islam has dark aspects as well as peaceful commandments, and that it must be reformed, true tolerance and freedom continues to be threatened.
3. There are peaceful Muslims
It is always encouraging to have candid relationships with those who refuse extreme orthodoxy and adapt religion to their day and time.
4. Woman are oppressed in the Middle East
Woman are generally not equal to men in most countries, at least socially. However, many countries have codified laws making men and women equal. This is simply not the case in the Middle East.
There is an incredibly long history of the subjugation of women in this area that stems from numerous reasons, none of which can be completely measured for their effect. In my view, this is partly from religious suppression, which also morphed into cultural/social traditions. (For example, Christian women in the Arab world are just as subjugated as Muslim women).
5. Democracy has many foes and many supporters
Democracy has never taken hold with staunch legitimacy in the Middle East even after the modernization of many areas. In my view, a large amount of this is due to the role of Islam and its influence on the social fabric of society. Islam, in its most traditional form as well as the greatly politicized forms, is quite illiberal. Shariah law as given to the Muslim Ummah directly from Allah cannot be altered. Shariah law allows for no man-made laws, the most fundamental democratic value. Islam also contributes to Muslims to view themselves as Muslims before nationals of a sovereign state, another precondition for the democratic process.
However when polled, many Jordanians (over 90%) feel that democracy is the best possible form of government. Yet, as I detailed in an earlier post, if completely free elections were held, studies show that Islamists would win a majority. So democracy as a process seems to be supported even when democracy as the end goal as a stable government framework is called into question (Islamists parties hope to gain power in order to reinstate Islamic law and political rule).