New Age in the Middle East

For all their crackdowns on religions other than Sunni Islam, it seems to me like the Saudis have a huge blind spot toward one: New Age.

So while Bibles are illegal, I can run down to Jarir bookstore and pick up a copy of "The Secret" any old time I want. They put people to death for witchcraft, but always ask you about your astrological sign. It's not weird to find out people practice new-age-tinged yoga or meditation (focusing on emptying one's mind, as opposed to a monotheistic view of meditation that focuses on filling one's mind with the Word of God).

I find it creeping into the conversation here and there. People telling you to look inside your heart and do what seems right to you. A leaning toward the subjective and universalism. People who are mostly seeking self-actualization, not submission.

So, the odd thing is obviously that this is in contradiction to what I know of Islam--but it's totally socially acceptable, while other things in contradiction to Islam are completely unacceptable.

I blame this partially on the phenomenon I call "Sounds True." Telling a Muslim there are more than 3,000 gods is going to be rejected pretty quickly. But New Age beliefs are way more subtle than something like that. They don't slap Islam in the face. They just quietly nudge it in the ribs 'til it moves over.

The other thing, I think, is a propensity for the education system in the Middle East not to teach people to think and analyze, but to memorize and believe. For example, young people have been taught for ages that the Qu'ran is true, while the Bible is riddled with errors. And in these school systems, you are absolutely trained just to accept whatever your teachers tell you as truth--as opposed to how I was trained in the West to think, analyze, and compare with criticism. When an old religion like Christianity comes 'round, they slap it down fast. But when New Age pops up, I don't think people have been given the tools for critiquing it and judging whether it's true.

And it "sounds true."

Oh Saudi. You never fail to surprise me.

The Whirlwind Woman

Today I taught Um Zara a new verb: Inspire. I only wanted to teach it so I could tell her that she inspires me.

The woman's got a husband, five kids, and a grandson. She's got a big house to take care of and plenty of cooking to do to feed everyone. But somehow--somehow!--she still manages to always have some project going on. Learning English, studying the Qu'ran, learning how to use the computer...she never stops. On top of which, she's not one of those mothers who just let the television be the babysitter. Or hires someone else to clean her house, even. I just can't figure out how this whirlwind of a woman does it.

It brings up a need that I see in America these days: Awesome role models. One thing I've noticed about Americans is that they tend to hang out with people in their own age bracket. College students hang out with other college students; young marrieds chill with young marrieds; people with kids are friends with people with kids.

That's all well and good--it's a little bit harder to find topics of conversation when you're in a completely different place in life. But one thing we might be missing is the ability to find older women who have done things you aspire to do--and who did it well. I want to know what it takes to have a successful marriage, raise kids well, and manage to have time for my own projects, too. But I don't have too many friends in the States who are older and have done it already. Maybe that's part of the reason we have so many self-help books in America--instead of friends, we get literature to teach us how to do it all.

Lots of Saudis study in the U.S.

According to a new report by the International Institute of Education, Saudi Arabia sends more international students to the United States than any other Middle-Eastern country.

China sends the most students to study in the States, followed by India. Saudi Arabia is seventh in the pack.

All that to say, I'm feeling hopeful that I'll find an Arabic partner in CO next year.

Hajj time

I'm posting this at 3 a.m. cuz I can't sleep. Thank you, insomnia. Let's see if I'm a little more off my rocker than usual.

Well, it's time for Hajj, aka time to educate my readers about the tiny bit I've learned while living so close to Mecca. So, Hajj is basically the pilgrimage that's required for all Muslims. It's such a big deal that they've made it a pillar. (So, Islam has five "pillars"--statement of faith, prayers, giving, fasting, and pilgrimage. No other religion as far as I know refers to its most important duties as "pillars"--one more linguistic mystery for me to solve one day.) Last year during Hajj, about 2.5 million non-Saudis flooded into Jeddah donning this one-piece white towel-y-looking garment, which always for some reason reminds me of Gandhi. (p.s.--Gandhi? Not a Muslim. Don't get confused here.)

My first awareness of the Hajj-phenomenon came through an essay I read in college, which of course I now can't remember the name of, but which was a personal memoir of attending Hajj. All I remember of the essay is how crowded Hajj seemed. You've got 2.5 million foreigners, plus Saudi pilgrims, plus Mecca's actual inhabits, crowded into one city that normally holds 1.7 million people. It's got to be one of the worst places in the world to bring a bunch of small children--imagine trying to hold on to a three-year-old in that kind of crowd.

I can't say I've learned a whole lot since then. There's something about running between two mountains to symbolize Hagar's search for water for her son. People pelt pebbles at some columns that represent the devil. They circle a black box and pray. I think there might be some sheep sacrificed. Everybody is required to do every thing in the same exact order at the same exact time, which means that enormous crowd follows you everywhere. Or maybe you follow them?

All this ignorance of mine just highlights the fact that pilgrimages are sort of lost on Westerners. We don't really have a concept for the kind of preparation you'd do to make a trip like that, or the kind of importance it would have to you.

Instead, we have retreats. Ah, the phenomenon of the personal retreat--it's not about going anyplace special; no, it's about getting away from everything normal. Get out into nature, particularly. (Well, in my crowd anyway.) Have a mountaintop experience. Connect.

Why does humankind need to get away from the normal to feel as though they are really connecting with God?

My brain is fuzzy. I can't think about theology at this time of the night.

Going home...weird

Sorry about the long time since my last post. This always seems to happen around this time of year: A lack of writing in general on my part.

So, Husband recently got a job...in America. In my home state, no less, and we'll be living like probably 15 minutes from where I grew up. We'll be moving back to the States mid-December.

I am a big ol' bag of mixed feelings on the subject. I am so excited and happy that Husband has a great job, which I know is exactly what he wants to do. Who is lucky enough to get their dream job right out of school? I'm also happy to go home, where I know how everything works and I'm never completely unsure about things like how to get maintenance in my house. Also, America has one huge appeal to me: Nature. I really can't wait to take a jog next to the foothills, overlooking woods, streams and golden fields. AND. I'm tired of moving. So tired. I HATE moving, and I am so ready to just be in one place, for once. Not packing every six months. I want to sink my feet into the earth and grow roots.

At the same time, though, I feel super sad about leaving. I have already had to say goodbye to several people that I know I won't see again for a very, very long time...if ever. I feel like I am just an expert at saying goodbye, so much so that I'm starting to feel numb every time I do it. Also, I'm just sad about not living overseas anymore. Even though it can be frustrating, it's also a crazy experience that not everyone is lucky enough to have. And to be honest, I never saw myself living right where I grew up. I always saw myself in a foreign country, dressed in foreign clothing, speaking foreign words, having a foreign life. It's hard, suddenly, to adjust your expectations for your own life.

Did they just compare Bin Laden to the Dalai Lama, the Pope, and Jesus?

Why yes, yes they did. Check out the first few paragraphs of this story from the Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram.

I firmly, firmly believe that a wise person listens to both sides of a story before making a judgment...but after listening to the other side of this one, I just kind of want to throw up.