Interfaith Dialogue at the Ball Game: A Model

Baseball season is great fun. In spite of Amman being SO small, there are some ladies I only see during baseball season. If your kids don’t go to the same school, it’s hard to maintain friendships the rest of the year apart from Eid/holiday phone calls. So, us seasonal-baseball-buds talk and laugh a lot during these ten weeks to make up for the off-season.

One such friend is “Alia”. We met when her oldest was on hubby’s first T-Ball team, whoa, years ago. One of those rare friendships where the moms get along, the dads like each other, and the boys play well. She is one of those amazing Jordanian women who raised her young boys (yea, another 3 boy mom) while caring for her home while getting her degree, and lived to tell about it. She and her hubby spent most of their lives in the US, but wanted to come back so their kids knew Jordan as more than a summer holiday destination.

She had several other baseball mom friends, including a very funny American lady who I am acquainted with as well. This woman had older boys, who Alia joked around with a lot, and has left Jordan. As Alia and I were getting caught up during a practice, she got very serious and looked in my eyes and said “Kinzi, I need to ask you a question”. She proceeded to tell me that the other woman’s son had sent her an email after he had been in college a few months that had really surprised her. The jist of it was, he didn’t understand how she could believe the tenants of Islam, and he was a little, um, disrespectful in the way he presented his questions. He also told her what he believed and why. (I choked a little bit, and wondered where this was going and what my response to her was going to be!)

She had been surprised and a little offended initially. After thinking about a response to him, she said he realized she had probably never talked to him about her faith and he had probably ran into some Muslims that surprised and offended him in their approach. She also knew he respected her and that was why he came to her with his honest questions, even if his manner was off-putting. She researched his questions, and understood how he could have them, and took time to answer them. Sh also knew that his way of sharing his faith with her was not tit-for-tatting, but that if he believed what he did about his faith, it was a love offering from him out of his concern for her eternity.

Alia asked me how I thought she handled it. I told I thought she did a beautiful job, and I wished there were more people like her. She said “Sub7an Allah for our friendships. You know, the basic tenants of Christianity are for us heresy; and for you, the basic tenants of Islam are heresy. You would be overjoyed if I became a Christian, I would be overjoyed if you became a Muslim. We have too much honesty between us to pretend that we believe the same thing, or that all paths lead to God, or that either of us should compromise what we believe in order to be friends. I see God in your lives, you see God in mine, and we can enjoy our friendship without blasting each other about our differences”.

I say “Sub7an Allah’ with Alia. I think that she and I accomplished more to promote interfaith dialogue, mutual respect and love than any of the big conferences held between scholars, leaders of faiths and countries. Maybe they should put baseball on the agenda.

I Heart Mona Eltahawy

I first read Mona’s writing at Natasha’s blog, then rediscovered her at the Sudanese Thinker. I just love how this woman thinks, how she calls it what it is, how she articulates tough topics and has never (that I have seen) resorted to the slash and burn contempt tactics that shut down dialogue for good. Here is her latest post, about Iraqi Christians.

Between Mona, HM Queen Rania and some of the American Muslims ladies I read and have now met (Umm Zain, Umm Farouq, Umm Omar & Umm oops, inseet, Bama Bedouin) I am beginning to think that it is going to be the strong but feminine voice of Muslim women that correct wrong perceptions of their faith, AND correct those Muslims who are reinforcing those perceptions.

They remind me of of the biblical account of Abigail, whose husband made some deadly choices. She, with winsome humility, spoke great wisdom to David and saved her family’s lives.

You go, girls, I’ll be cheering for you.

Ali Eterez on Archbishop’s Statements re: Sharia in the UK

Thank you, Ali. I have been waiting for a response like this. Via Drima.

Since our apostate friend was welcomed to America by his resettlement  agency with the comment: “Brother, with more like you we can make America an Islamic nation under Sharia”, I have been following this topic a little more closely.

Sudanese FaceBookers Defend Teacher

Drima at Sudanese Thinker quotes some fellow country(wo)men’s challenge to the Sudanese  government that they are the ones insulting Islam. Good for them for standing up and calling it what it is.

http://www.sudanesethinker.com/2007/11/30/teddy-bear-crisis-quotes-from-free-ms-gibbons-facebook-groups/#comments

Fasting Finale

I have continued to be moved and challenged by my Ramadan study of fasting in the Bible.

The majority of passages on fasting are consecrating a time when the focus of ones life is prayerful intercession in the midst of pain:

*King Darius fasted over his own foolish decision and beseeched God to have mercy on the Prophet Daniel by fasting from food, sleep and entertainment through the night. (Daniel 6:1

*The Prophet Samuel led the Israelites in a day of fasting, prayer and repentance for sinning against God with the ark of the covenant and personal idolatry. (1st Samuel 7:3-6)

*When Israel was warring between tribes, the people went to the house of God and wept, gave offerings and fasted until evening. (Judges 20:26)

*When the Prophet Jonah declared God’s impending destruction of Nineveh, the whole of the people, including the livestock, fasted from food and water to beseech the mercy of God. They received it, and Jonah got mad. He wanted to see them destroyed. (Jonah 3:7)

*The prophet Nehemiah heard of the destruction of Jerusalem’s wall, and wept and fasted for many days over the destruction of their land and exile caused by their disobedience. Nehemiah is a great example of intercessor, and man of action. When the time for weeping was done, the guy got to work and nothing stopped him. (Nehemiah 1:4)

Probably not surprising, my favorite aspect of this study was when God called women to fast, and what the outcome was. Having spent the last year dedicated to fasting, and seeing the changes in lives of nearly all I prayed for (primarily my own) I know that it is not an option not to fast, and God uses women in powerful ways to accomplish His purposes on earth:

*Hannah, a barren woman subjected to the ridicule of her husband’s fruitful additional wife, fasted and prayed for a son during a time of feasting. God opened her womb and gave her Samuel. She then gave him to the Lord, who then gave her five more children. (1 Samuel 1 and 2)

*Anna the Prophetess was present for Jesus’ dedication at the temple and prophesied over him (I wish I could know what she said!). Her faith was amazing, she had dedicated her whole life to serving God through fasting and praying day and night. It was her calling, and she was faithful.

*Esther is probably my favorite passage of all. A Jewish exile more known for her beauty than her intellect, she was chosen to become the second wife of King Ahasuerus. When her husband the king issued a deadly decree calling for the annihilation of her people, her cousin gave her these options: “for if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise from another place; but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet, who knows whether you came to the kingdom for such a time as this?”. Probably just a teenager, she could face death by approaching the king. Therefore, she declared a three day fast for herself and her friends from food and water, bringing herself to the point of death to face possible death. The fast prepared her, and she received courage to make a choice that saved her people.

One strong aspect I re-discovered is that the work of evil people and demons is thwarted by fasting. I learned the truth of Jesus’ words: “This kind (of demon) only comes out by prayer and fasting”, and the importance of mutual marital fasting for limited periods of time (1st Corinthians 7:5). The unity of our oneness in marriage empowers our prayers.

I also re-learned from the Prophet Isaiah n chapter 58 and Jesus Christ in Matthew 6 that fasting is not meant to be displayed, it is not meant to be an excuse for mistreating others but going about ones daily business normally. It is not meant to be observable, nor slept through, but prayed through.

I was encouraged for Muslim friends in the West, who don’t have a whole community to fast with, who don’t have restaurants closed nor rules to keep people from eating in public to ‘help’ them fast. They sat and prayed while others feasted before them, they had iftar alone (but with God Who saw). They fasted before an audience of One, and from what I studied this month, they will have the greater reward. Allah yateekum il afiyya!

Ramadan Post and Comments 2B in Luxury

My recent post (The Downside of Ramadan) and your comments will be in Luxury magazine next month. They thought the topic and conversation thereafter worth printing. Of course, I thought so too, but it is always nice when the editor agrees.

So, any who commented (although most of you are anon), if you want to edit anything you wrote, speak now or forever hold your peace.

The Down Side of Ramadan

It is quite fun to read about everyone’s Ramadan happenings, hear the stories of family gatherings, the latest musalsal. The hustle and bustle of activity in the morning, the gradual slow down in the afternoon, complete silence at sundown and the instant activity of night-time. It is the new natural rhythm of society.

The downside for me isn’t the traffic, slowed-to-a-stop- government offices or even grouchy fasters. It is the fact that my differentness and separateness from my adopted home is never more amplified than it is this month.

In contrast to the majority of Jordanians, my social life comes to a grinding halt. I had just gotten back into the swing of coffee mornings with moms of my kids classmates and re-established contact with friends who traveled over the summer. Now I am never sure when is a good time to call w/o waking someone, ‘they are perpetually tired. When plans are attempted to be made, there is that gracious but uncomfortable smile as they say ”oh, insha’allah, let’s see later’. I’m learning not to ask.

My kids get questions from their friends as to why they aren’t fasting, and the ‘religion thing’ is suddenly a new factor in child-friendships. You know how kids are, so black and white. My kids are just now learning that there are ”good people” who smoke, their friends are learning that there are ”good people” who don’t fast. At least not this month.

Everyone’s lives revolve around family now, ‘obligations’. We are ‘like family’ to some of our friends, but not quite enough to be invited for iftar. It seems a sacred circle. In fifteen years here, we’ve been invited to five iftars; three of those were in East Amman where neighborhoods are fluid communities and doors are still open. Maybe people wonder if we would feel comfortable.

Even activity-wise, since I don’t do argeelah or TV, I wouldn’t fit in. Or would I? Being a multi-cultural ‘global nomad’ involves developing a chameleon-like quality to fit oneself in anywhere.

Life as a minority, as most of you ex-pats know, involves seasons of fitting in, and seasons of looking in from outside. It is the same for foreigners living in the US…how many have been invited in for Christmas or Thanksgiving? Or do they observe all the activity of those sacred circles from a distance too?

I’m making mental reminders for when we return to the US, to seek out the ”foreigner” and make sure they have a place in the sacred circle in our lives there.

A Blessed Ramadan to You All

In case I missed commenting on your blog, I wanted to say to all bloggers and commenters:

May God richly bless you this month of Ramadan

 

I’m studying the concept of fasting this month and  hope to post what I learn, as I hope to learn from you all as well.

Shoo Scary! (With a Question)

One of the fun things about blogging is all the interesting links and bunny-trails one can visit in the pursuit of knowledge. Sometimes, though, one learns things that shake the status quo.

A post on Drima’s blog (Sudanese Thinker) linking the debate between Ali Eterez and shuismo about the Quranic legitimacy of establishing a worldwide Caliphate scared me a bit. Like most of us, I like to assume the best of people and probably spend most of my time with people I agree with, moderate sorts of people.

After a talk with my brother, who is a long-term resident of the UK, I looked a bit more into the ideas of Deobondi and Tablighi Jamaat.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article2419524.ece

This was, for me, scary kiteer. Does this kind of Islam exist in Jordan? I have another question, too…what is the name (and number) of the Ministry to complain about imams who preach hate and killing? A couple more people have heard Friday sermons calling for the death of Christians. Groan.

Good News From Sayid Imam Al-Sharif

The Guardian reports that Egyptian leader Sayid Imam Al-Sharif, author and former cohort of Ayman Al-Zawahiri changed his stance on the Muslim theological basis for violent jihad and plans to release a book he’s written from prison on his new non-violent views.

Check out this link and tell me what you think:

www.guardian.co.uk/alqaida/story/0,,2135870,00.html