Distiction of Cultures

" After several months in the Middle East I had made a hobby of identiying nationality by the cut of a man's robe, the shape of his headdress, the way he said certain words." (p.90) I find it facinating and I admire Horwitz for spending the time to try to make those distictions between nationalities between their dress and speech. If two men from the Middle East were to walk by me, I would never be able to distinguish the differnce of nationality between them. For this I feel quite ashamed. Sometimes people get so wrapped up in their own countries and the fashions that are big in their country but are unaware of the common dress of the foreign countries. I believe it is very important to know these differences for you can insult someone by calling them a different nationality then what they truely are. An example would be if you called a Japenese a Korean, they would probably find that very insulting. When you are in a different country, you should know their customs and that even includes dress. I truely commend Tony Horwitz for his determination to become more aware of the other cultures that suround him. -ak

Poverty in Sudan

When something is wrong, most people look for something or someone to blame. In Sudan, for example, most would point fingers at their religion or something along those lines. But the fact is that they are a poor country. Their government doesn't provide enough jobs and a citizen is either extravagantly rich or dirt poor. There is such a divide in their social and economical classes. Few are considered "middle class". This is absolutely no way a country should be living. Ideally, people's incomes and "classes" should fall along something that on a graph would resemble a bell curve. However, in places like Sudan, their graph looks more like a V-shaped graph. Good to be on the high end of things, but on the low end, you would live a life in a "hole" that would be very hard to dig yourself out of. In America, we pride ourselves on the idea that you can build a life for yourself all on your own, even if you are born into a life were you are provided with few opportunities. However, over there, you are born into the life in which you will live. It must be awful to live your whole life and learn, while growing up, the difficulty of you ever being able to build a comfortable life with a comfortable amount of money because of what family you were born into. LB

I am amazed to still find that people hate each other enough to kill. It seems that car bombs like this one go off every day. The thing is though, they only seem to kill civilian’s who don’t care much about the war. I think whoever planned to send a car bomb to a popular shopping center, as what happened according to the article, is quite arrogant. Resorting to tactics like this is wrong, mainly because you can kill anyone. Anyone could be walking by when it goes off, and that is usually the case. It kills someone who is not connected to the war in anyway. It also makes it hard to stop because we don't want to stoop to their level, of killing everyone. I think they need to find a solution or compromise quickly because not only is it wrong but a stupid way to fight a war. ed

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/11130498/detail.html

"Iran to Take Part in Iraq Security Conference"

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/28/world/middleeast/01iraqcnd.html?ex=1330318800&en=19827d2513c79f90&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
By:By RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr.
Published: February 28, 2007
Accessed: February 28, 2007

This article featured in the New York times is very significant because it will be the first direct, high-level diplomatic contacts between American and Iranian officials in more than two years. The meeting is going to be a regional security conference very important to all countries of the Middle East and it is a big step that Iran will take place. Just like in Baghdad Without a Map there is still conflict with Iran, Afghanistan, and many nations of the Middle East. The question this article makes me think about is why the Middle East is still suffering from problems this day that they were almost ten years ago? Why can conflict not be resolved? Will it ever be?

TH

Exchanging Weapons

While Tony Horwitz spent some time in Libya, he came up with an assessment, which was to go up to random people and ask them for different weapons, curious to see if they would give him what he had asked them for. The reason why he did this was to gain the knowledge of just how easy it is for, say, a terrorist to go up to a person and demand a weapon from them. On page 149, Horwitz discussed the type of weapons he could take from people with a man he was sitting with on the plane, who knew a lot about weapons. It is amazing how in Libya, people can exchange weapons so casually. In America, if anyone was caught illegally exchanging weapons of any sort, they would be thrown in jail. Laws and regulations in the Middle East and laws and regulations in America are so different. America allows things that the Middle East does not, and vice versa. An example of that is, as many of us have discussed to a great extent before, that some Middle Eastern women might not be able to show their faces, but people can, however, exchange weapons freely. - a.v.

Uncomfortable Encounter

“Mercenary for eight years, I was,” Stead said flatly. “Cyprus, Belgian Congo, few other bad spots.” He Laughed. “See the world, kill people.”(148) While waiting in line to board the Libya Air plane Horowitz began to talk with a man named Jim Stead who worked as a diver on an oil installation near Tripoli. They began to talk and Jim told Horowitz that he used to be a Mercenary. In this situation you would believe one would become uncomfortable or uneasy but Horowitz did just the opposite becoming incredibly intrigued. He looked at the mans tattoos and listened to the stories each one had and also looked at the man’s wounds which he so openly showed to Horowitz. They talked about the best gun for doing a “job”, and Horowitz soaked every single bit of information right up. When the landing card came asking religion though Horowitz was frightened to put down Jewish as his religion so he safely put Quaker and exited the plane, with Stead’s address and the invitation to his camp outside Tripoli. Horowitz again in this instance puts himself into a situation that may be seen as uncomfortable some but he has the ability to take information from a man and learn so much about the Middle Eastern culture. My question is why are people so willing to open up to just any stranger on a plane about being a mercenary? How does he have this ability to get people to open up and tell him things that should not be told to just any stranger? Or do they just tell it to everyone?
TH

Israeli Apartheid

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,253906,00.html?sPage=fnc.world/mideast

"An independent report commissioned by the United Nations compares Israel's actions in the West Bank and Gaza to apartheid South Africa "
I found this rather short article to be very interesting for two reasons. One, it made me think of the negative side of Israel. We always hear about how bad the middle east is, which may be true, but we rarely hear the bad things about our ally. Israeli's obviously look down on the palestinians and may even treat them like blacks in the apartheid system of sout africa. The other thing, is the general miss information about Israel. We here are so quick to defend this country, but few really know what is going on over there. (I don't). But they may be just as opressive and cruel as their bordering countries, but they atleast support the U.S. Islamic extremists have a clear goal. To wipe out isreal and the west. But what is israel's goal? Do they want to wipe out the middle east? Or do they want peace in the region? If so, even after war has subsided in the middle east, how do they expect to have peace if they instill this prejudice in their children against arabs? MW

Sudan

When Horwitz went to the Sudan, I thought it was absurd how horribly they lived there, but I realized, it has nothing to do with the people or the religion. There are places in the world that have always been centers for poverty. Africa for example has the lowest number of native animals that can be domistaced for any continent (except antarctica). But that doesn't mean it is something that can't be prevented. There are a lot of charities that go into the sudan to help, but an opressive islamic government and a country constantly at Civil war, it is hard to affect change here because in such turbulant times, the people want to hold on to what they know. It will take time to make a difference here and is something that others should think about. I do not think it is a result of Islam or anything to do with the middle east, but just an example of how geography affect people like this. MW

Outsourcing

Just to make a quick observation how in the story the United Arab Emirates and other countries surrounding the Persian Gulf have few natives boating across the gulf with their oil and other exports/imports. This is neither unfair nor inhumane, they are merely protecting their own people and preventing their citizens from undesirable (and dangerous jobs). I found it interesting how Indians, Koreans and other people from all over the globe were boating across the gulf at around this time. While outsourcing to the point of slavery and poor job treatment is wrong, my argument is when countries such as the U.S. do it, it cannot be blamed. Sweat shops, for example, with all of their atrocities, create jobs for those that have the worst opportunity for them. People working in sweatshops do not always deserve the treatment they receive (rarely ever, seeing as it appears like very poor treatment), but these people are actually improving their lives. From the standpoint of U.S. citizens, it is atrocious that ‘we’ could do this to people within our country, or anywhere outside it just for our ‘material needs.’ While I believe much material possessions-especially those commonly made in sweatshops-are superfluous and trivial, some person some where wants them made. With this continual demand, we will see the misfortunes of the continuation of extremely low wages and poor working conditions. We also need to ask ourselves though, if we would rather have a bad job and barely provide for our family, or not have a job at all and (unfortunately, literally) sift through dumps-thus not getting anywhere. I agree that the majority of outsourcing that the United States of America does is not with the correct integrity or fairness. I wish that selfish company owners would improve wages and conditions for their workers. These business owners won’t unless they are made to, however, because they understand that a) since their workers are already working their hardest his or her (the boss’) company will not improve with increased wages or improved conditions, and b) these jobs that people have are better than no jobs. All of this seems very different than the skilled boating needed throughout the Persian Gulf, but I would argue it is similar. 1. These foreigners-from dangerous places with poor economies-take jobs that the locals refuse to. In the case of the United Arab Emirates, their economy(s) was flourishing at the time, so they had even fewer willing employees than usual. Who can blame people who recently got rich off of the oil industry that don’t want to boat for weeks at a time through bombed and mine-infested seas? Why would anyone take such a dangerous job? In the case of the Indians that Tony meets, they do it because they are good at it. With all of their experience, they have faith they will not blow up. They make sacrifices for their families, however, and take these jobs with POOR CONDITIONS. Something to mull over.
-C.S.

9/11 preventable

Especially with President Bush’s second term, approval for the war in Iraq has decreased a great deal. People say that it has nothing to do with the ‘war on terror,’ yet there have been proven links between al-Qaeda and Saddam Hussein. [See http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/04/27/walq27.xml for more]. The problem that I see, with the little I know on the topic, is that previous commander-in-chiefs, one in particular, was too selfish to stop known terrorists (Bin Laden). The following article talks about Clinton’s failure to act on two (maybe more) separate occasions about Bin Laden and proven terrorist crimes. Again, had Clinton done so with just reason there would be no problem. However, he was known to be very nervous when it came to foreign action because he feared anything aggressive would cost him his re-election. Clinton did get re-elected, but Osama Bin Laden executed a near flawless 9/11/01 attack on the citizens United States because he was never captured or killed. I am not even trying to blame any of the deaths of the 9/11 victims on a former president, because of course he had no knowledge of what would happen. He did, however, take his own success over his country’s safety by refusing to work with Sudan and their evidence against Bin Laden (and known associates). http://www.washtimes.com/op-ed/20030901-102359-9067r.htm
P.S.---As for the credibility of the article it was written by the former secretary of defense (under Ronald Reagan) Caspar Willard "Cap" Weinberger. He was also a former publisher of Forbes magazine and recently passed away.

C.S.

A mask of kindness?

I thought that Libya was a rather contradicting country. They showed no affection or justice for people at some moments and at other moments they seemed to actually care. Libya first gathered up all the reporters they could and enrolled them on a program. The reporters thought they were going to get great stories and maybe see the chemical weapon plant they were convinced was there. The reporters never got any good stories however, and were robbed of hundreds of dollars by the hotel. They paid for a one-week stay with U.S. dollars and were kicked out after a few nights. Their money was refunded in Libyan dinars (a worthless currency). When the reporters were traveling around on the program they saw many mobs chanting, “Down down U.S.A!”. Finally, when Tony is standing in line at the airport his wallet gets stolen. Up until this point Tony along with the other reporters had been treated poorly, but when Tony tackles the guy who stole his wallet things change. The guards take Tony to a room where he tells them what happens. The guards beat up the man who stole Tony’s wallet. They then rush Tony past all security, lines, and checks-ins, and put him on his plane. They also tell him, “There was a mistake, but it has been corrected” and “Remember, this does not happen in Libya”. Why would the guards go through all this trouble to help Tony out when they already shown that they don’t care about reporters or Americans? ed

Shipping Through a Battlezone

Looking back on the chapter of the Persian Gulf, I noticed amazing things about the Iranian men on the shipping boat that Horwitz stayed on. The men were fearless over navigating through mines and persian boats. It reminds me of the American men who king crab-fish in Alaska. Because there are designated months for crab-fishing, the fisherman go out in storms and dangerous weather. King crab fishing in Alaska is said to be one of the most dangerous jobs in our country. When comparing it to being an employee of the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (during the Persian Gulf War), it does not seem so bad. Imagine knowing that an unknown water mine could vaporize your boat at any point during the day.
"The last time Kochrekar had made this run from Dubai to Fujairah, just south of the Strait, the supply boat patroling ahead of him struck a mine. Kochrekar reached the scene in time to haul his fellow captain out of the sea. 'The man was not broken but he was swollen with water, like a fish,' he said. The others came ashore in pieces."
Crab fishing in a storm does not seem as bad as hitting a mine on a calm sunny day. Just the thought of "The others came ashore in pieces." is shuddering. How much more complicated would your life be if a war came to our countrie's soil? When the property of a private company is damaged, your profits plummet. Warzones create problems for capitalism. The companies that shipped goods were hurt during the gulf war.
-MAD

The problem has always been there!

Here is an article showing that the problem was not created by the American Invasion- hopefully we can help to solve it (AS)

http://www.slate.com/id/2159936/

Women Gaining Power

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4874990.stm

"I have broken the ice and hope this will benefit the cause of women." said Dr. Khader. This article found on BBC News informed that women in Kuwait are allowed to run as a candidate for the seat in the Salmiya district for the first time in history. This is a huge step towards women's rights in the Middle East and will hopefully have a good turn out. Not only are women allowed to run as a candidate, but also they are allowed to vote (since they were granted equal political rights last year). "They have given us some attention. We became equal," said voter Iman al-Issa talking to AP. This differs from the novel, Baghdad Without A Map, because even though it took place just a few years ago, women then did not have these rights to vote and to run as a candidate as they do now in Kuwait. Hopefully the outcome of women candidates will be successful. -a.v.

Women in Religion

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6392531.stm

Above is a link to a BBC news report that reports on the fact that recently, Islamic Women are now being let to be priests in Morocco. One new women priest(ess) spoke about why women should now be aloud to be part of the bigger picture of religion in middle eastern countries: "Women make good priests because God has made them more sensitive, merciful and more patient than men!" I thought this was relatively interesting because it is relatively true based on the behavior of men in the various other middle eastern countries and I think it will be interesting to see how this new radical movement will play out. AM

Faces of the Dead

http://www.nytimes.com/ref/us/20061228_3000FACES_TAB1.html

This a interactive thing that allows you to search a name, hometown, or state of a fallen US solider in the Iraq war. To us, or most certainly to me, the war seems so far away it almost feels like a story or a movie and that all these events we hear about so much aren't really happening. To play around with this "faces of the dead" thing, it hits home and makes you think about how every single square in the picture that they show repesents a real person. A father perhaps, a friend, someone who was just like you and they lost their lives in the war. To put all these faces to people that you hear about dying in a helicopter accident or a shooting, really makes you think. I saw that 4 people died today, one year ago. Today the families and friends of 4 different people mourn the death of a young solider. It hurts my heart to know that people everyday suffer over the lost of their loved ones over in Iraq and that people are still dying over their. Maybe even as I type this, a poor, young solider lost his/her life for their country. LB

Harmony

"War is the only language Jews Understand"(page 133). In this region of the world, war is such a big part of people's past and even present. War to us is something that is happening so far away and almost seems unreal. However, Middle Easterns, especially people in Israel and Iran, war is a part of their world. There is a strong hatred between Israel and Iran. It reminds me of the rivialry between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. Only the baseball teams fight with bats and balls. Red Sox fans and Yankees fans always bicker and when the teams come together, it is like a baseball war. Sometimes fights even break out in the stands or once in a while on the field. But yet, Sox and Yankees fans have to live in a some what harmony. Israel and Iran will always have that rivialry but hopefully one day citizens can live among one another peacefully and not bicker and fued. Hopefully there will not be wars between the two in the furture and the countries and their citizens can learn to live as peaceful neighbors. LB

Differences

People including Americans tend to not know much about other cultures. I am no different. When I think of the Middle East I picture a place were everyone is the same, the same clothes, food, religion and traditions. I am getting better at recognizing differences, but still am not where I would like to be. Tony Horwitz discovers a difference for himself. “The first thing you notice, coming to Israel from the Arab world, is that you have left the most courteous region of the globe and entered the rudest.” This is a bit of a stereotype but a good beginning. Not all the Israelis are nasty and Arabs nice but to him there seems to be a pretty obvious distinction between the two. The Israelis have been affected by different events, ideas, customs, and problems; therefore the people will have a different disposition. ed

"Crazed Cabbies"

“Cus ummak!” he screamed, finally giving in. Cus ummak is the one Arabic phrase known to every Israeli cabbie. It means “your mother’s cu*t.”(Page 138). All of theses harsh words were delivered to Horowitz while taking a cab ride in Israel. Not only do the cab drivers recklessly drive through the crowded streets, but they also try to cheat everyone out of their money. They hide their meters in the glove compartment, so that no one can see them and they can run the price up on you as much as they want. Horowitz was very aware of their scheming ways, and confronted his cab driver asking him to turn the meter on so he would not be cheated out of his money. Upon reaching his hotel the driver asked for ten shekels for the fare of the half mile they drove without the meter on and he yelled at Horowitz, who yelled back and won the argument causing for that dramatic outburst by the cab driver. I think this conflict with the cab driver shows how criminal, and unjust so many people in the Middle East are. I know it may sound and I will be criticized for generalizing all of the Middle East as I have before, but the sad part is that it is the harsh truth. Why are so many people in all of these countries in this area thief’s and crooks? Everywhere you turn you are getting scammed by someone. You cannot trust anyone, and why is that? If people think that one day this region of the world can get along with all of the others in the world I think we need to look again and see what these people do, and how many wrongs they do, and why they do them?

TH

Slim Irony

In Cairo, the night clubs are very different from those in America, and the women who are performers in each night club are also quite different from each other. In Cairo, the people cheered for the belly dancers even though they were not particularly skinny, the way most American men like women to be. When Horwitz asked the manager of the club what he thought of the dance the dancer was performing, the manager said that “My customers drink, they joke, they say bad words. They do not know good dance or bad dance.” (95)
This passage of the novel proves that America is filled with people that believe that being skinny is the right way. In other countries, including many countries in the Middle East, it certainly shows that the men there don’t particularly care for skinny women. Belly dancers are actually known for having curves, but I know that I once believed that belly dancers had “perfect” figures. I was wrong. It is very interesting how men of different countries see and treat women. In America, men treat women better, I believe, but they also demand beauty (as in skinniness). In the Middle East, the majority of men treat women like dirt, but they are more open to not so beautiful appearances. Why is that? -a.v.

How Could They Live Like This?

I could not believe the extent of poverty in Southern Sudan. I had always heard about starving children and the like, but I never realized it until reading Southern Sudan: Six Dinka Deep. Horwitz talked how "they were eating grass and tree leaves to stay alive". What a horrible way to live. These people have absolutely nothing, and yet they still care for each other. "A middle aged man named Andreea Atyek had come north to search for his three children, snatched two years before in an Arab raid. He had wanted to come earlier, he said, but felt he had to provide first for his remaining family members" (205). After reading this, I felt ashamed to go down and eat my dinner of steak and potatoes. I had so much that I couldn't finish, and that made me feel even worse. These people would kill for some of the food that I had, and I was just throwing it away? It really made me appreciate the saying "finish your food there are starving children in Africa". I wish more people would appreciate what they have, and give more to relief efforts. Even giving a few dollars to be able to wear jeans many people don't do, even though the money goes to great charities. At The Governors Academy we should do more to help these starving nations.
Another thing that struck me was about the quality of life in Beirut. It is a war zone, bombs are going off right in front of people, entire city streets are being leveled, and people still live there. How can people live in a country where at any second they could be killed by a bomb? I was very surprised that people actually were returning to Beirut after they had left. As one man said it, "its home", but how can home be a place where you and your family might die at any second? *gr*

Quote Unquote Living

In the Natural History Museum, one of the more prominent museums in Khartoum, "the Living Collection was mostly dead" (176). That statement seems to most accurately describe the residents, and the city itself, of Khartoum, Sudan. They are like the opposite of the living dead; people supposed to be living, but all of their dreams and hopes are dead. There seems to be nothing to live for, certainly not pride in ones country. It is a shame that their museum has be so neglected as so that most of their exhibits are dead. They don't even care enough to feed the animals, never mind make a healthy habitat, replace the animals when they die, or even take the animals out of their cages when they succumb to starvation. Besides feeling bad for the poor animals, I also felt bad for the people. Where is their pride, their desire to have a great country? The people seem to sit back and watch as their world crumbles around them. Most want to escape the degradation and poverty that they call home, but once they realize that it is almost impossible, they sit and wait. They are waiting for what? Allah to come rescue them? Where is the drive to make a better life for themselves instead of waiting for someone to help them? Al-Rabaa, the curator of the museum, tried to raise money abroad, but when no one responded, he was content to sit back and wait for some one to magically appear, instead of taking action and trying harder. How are we supposed to help them if they don't want to help themselves? It seems to me that the entire country of Sudan has become like the Natural History Museum, considered living, but actually dead. *gr*

Journalistic Integrity

Journalistic Integrity

While reading about how the journalists in Libya were reporting their news, I realized how easy it is too be fooled by the media. Many of the reporters were simply reporting rumors! "The pack circled again, pens poised, taking down details that were now tenth-hand" (153). Don't the reporters care that the information they are getting could be completely false? How are we supposed to believe anything that we read in the newspaper, now knowing that it could be the busboy's opinion on something he never even considered before that moment? The duty of a journalist is to report the news fairly and truthfully. However, all these journalists are one step above making up their stories. It scares me to think that we don't know virtually anything about the world around us because we have no idea if the information we are fed has any truth in it. This reminds me of some of George Orwell's novels, and most of the Middle East in general, where newspapers blatantly publish lies on their covers. How do we know that this is not happening right here in the United States? *gr*

The Middle East; Racist!

"The second striking thing about Israel, arriving from the Arab world, is how much the two cultures have in common" (138). Israel and the rest of The Middle East have so much in common, but they refuse to get along. Many Middle Eastern countries won't even stoop to call Israel their proper name, instead naming it "the Zionist entity" or something else along those lines. Some even refuse to believe that Israel is its own country, instead saying that it is still under their control. Israel is not completely free from blame. They seem intolerant of their Middle Eastern neighbors, letting Horwitz go with out inspection because he was Jewish, but detaining his Palestinian friends for further interrogation. This prejudice has almost no foundation. These countries are almost identical; Arabic and Hebrew are very similar, many people from Israel are from immigrants from the Muslim world, and their recent history is almost identical. Why do these countries hate each other then? Their hatred seems to me to stem from two ideas; fear and anger. The Israelis seem too different to the Muslims, and vice versa, and therefore they are scared of one another. The most apparent difference between Israel and the Arab world is their religion. Obviously, people from Israel are Jewish, and people from Arab countries are Muslim. They don't know about each others religion, and it is human nature to fear the unknown. Also, people who live is Israel are mostly immigrants from other countries. There must be some resentment from the Arab countries that they are losing people to this pagan nation. There is also the fact that Israel created their own country, how dare they do that! The Middle East must think that Israel is very egotistical; people in Israel think that they are special enough to have their own country! This hatred between Israel and the Muslim world reminds me of racism in the US between the whites and blacks. We hated each other simply because of the color of our skin, even though we spoke the same language, had almost the same history and saluted the same flag. Israel and the rest of the Arab world need to come to terms with each other and stop this blatant racism. *gr*

Finally Understanding

While reading the chapter titled "The Iraq-Iran Front: Bodies" I was struck about how real the war suddenly seemed to me., The descriptions by Horwitz of the bodies and death hit me hard. Even though Horwitz visited Iran and Iraq about 18 years ago, this is probably a similar description of what is happening today. I think most of America does not really know what is happening in Iraq; the death and destruction. Sure, we hear about it on the news, but I for one don't really watch the news that often. We certainly hear about the death toll, but that seems to just the numbers; I don't connect the figures with the faces. Reading this chapter in Baghdad With Out a Map, I actually realized what our soldiers go through when they are deployed, and how people actually die over there; go figure. The war became real to me; but I wondered, how many other average Americans don't realize what is actually going on in Iraq? Many people say that they don't support the war, but most of that is politics. How many of the soldiers didn't fully realize what they were getting themselves into when they signed up? Maybe we need to educate more people about what actually happens overseas instead of just throwing a bunch of numbers at them.
Another thing which struck me was the emotional detachment of the reporters. They seemed to not even care about the hundreds of dead soldiers littering the ground. One American journalist even said "This is all very scenic... but where are all the goddamn bodies?" (124). Aren't they affected by the death all around them? I know that reporters can not be biased, and are not supposed to have feelings about the event, but where is the compassion which would help their readers understand the war better? *gr*

Not So Far From '84

Although at first I thought the comparison between Saddam and Big Brother from Eric Blair’s (George Orwell) 1984 was unoriginal. Then I realized why it had been made: when Tony, the other foreign reporters, and the Iraqi officials are going to the battlefield to see the “bodies,” the airport’s attempt at normality is described. “To bolster morale, the Iraqis also tried to carry on as though the war hadn’t disrupted everyday life…Every passenger on board was a reporter or Iraqi official. No commercial planes had flown to Basra for years.” (pg. 120) None of this is strange, least of all in a country where the regime in power is very strict. By creating the situation on the flight that without a doubt had no commercial intent, reminded me of 1984. Another large similarity was the extreme press censorship. Of course every country has it-the U.S. supposedly leaves out the most graphic stories, images, etc.-but Iraq got away with ridiculous amounts of it. “…In eight years of war, no Iraqi defeats and no Iraqi casualties were ever reported.” (pg. 106) C.S.

getting a room

In the short story the hotel teller says right at the beginning "I
can't give you a room it's against the law for woman." At first she
cannot understand why she cannot get a room, earlier she did not tell
them she was a woman, so they suspected that she was a man, and got a
room with no problem. This is a prime example about the roles of woman
and men in Middle Eastern society. Also woman in the culture cannot
even walk down a public street without the proper attire, as well as
without a male escort. This is why it will be more and more difficult
for some of the countries in this region of the world to become
modern, because while half of there people are not allowed to even be
educated, only half of their people are allowed to have a chance at
succeeding in life.

ASM

The Middle East Compared to... The Middle East

In reading the prologue to The Nine Parts of Desire I found it interesting that there are such extreme differences in woman's rights even in direct bordering countries. It talked about how in Pakistan they were the first to elect a woman prime minister, but in countries like Saudi Arabia women are oppressed and infinitely disrespected. "In Saudi Arabia’s neighboring state, the united Arab emirates, Muslim women soldiers, their hair tied back in Islamic veils, jump from helicopters and shoulder assault rifles. a little farther, across the Persian gulf, the strict Muslims of Iran vote women into parliament"- page 5. Again, I learned something that I had no idea about, I will be the first to admit i know very little about middle Eastern countries, and as ignorant as it sounds I thought most were relatively the same but as I have come to realize through reading this book so far, and this passage for Nine Parts of Desire, I have come to learn that no, the Middle East is not basically just one big country, but in a lot of cases Middle Eastern countries are different from other Middle Eastern countries like we are different from say, England or a European country. AM

"Islam is the Answer"

While Ms. Brooks was in Egypt she met a woman named Sahar whom she believed embodied western life in the middle east. She called her a "yuppie". Yet when the month for the holiday Ramadan arrived, Sahar became a completely different person. She wore a veil instead of the business suit. When Geraldine Brooks asked, Sahar replied "Islam is the Answer". For muslims, it would be impossible to den this statement. How can a believer in God argue that something is greater than him, No matter what religion you are a part of. It just so happens that in the middle east it is Islam. Thats one of the problems for denying the radical ideas. How can you argue to defy the Koran in muslim countries? Even if it means (from a westerners point of view) exploiting women. In the western world we become more and more secularized as time passes, but if you believe in God, ask yourself, is there anything more important? Most truly religious people would say no. So here is Geraldine Brooks baffled by a woman she thought her middle eastern counterpart. She immediatly describes how Sahar veiling herself is like watching a butterfly re entering a cocoon. How it is for desperate people to look for heavely solace and how she has the worth of 1/2 a man, and can be beaten for misbehavior. But does Sahar believe in God? Most likely. And Is Mohammed her prophet and the Koran God's word? Yes. So if in the Koran it describes a lifestyle like this, and She deems herself a good Muslim how is it wrong to follow this? More importantly what right does Geraldine Brooks have to look down upon her and her "backwardness?" MW

The Roots of Oppression

While reading the prologue to nine parts of desire, the part which struck me most was when it talked about the prophet Muhammad and his many wives and how his life led to all the current oppression of women. As god told him his lessons about his wives and how he could have more than 4 and then that they must remain secluded or covered at all times, it slowly explained the traditions which are still major points of their religion and society today. I also found it interesting how the women being covered was hardly resisted in the neighboring countries and in some places it was actually an honor to be allowed to conver oneself and if a slave was caught doing this she could have "molten pitch poured over her head" (pg.5) This was very different from what i would have thought. It was a sign of class to have to cover yourself in public, it seems ridiculous to me but it is their customs. To see where the oppression began and how it was excepted was really interesting for me. -AB

unfortunate traditions

Gerladine Brooks’ Prologue to Nine Parts of Desire at first glance seems to be a personal story of herself being rejected from staying overnight in a hotel in the city of Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. After reading further, you soon realized that not being allowed to stay in a hotel was the least of problems. Brooks’ uses her experience to further describe the life of women in the Middle East. Brooks describes how women are looked upon as being “dangerous” and how staying alone in a hotel room for a few hours can result in the presence of an armed guard at the entrance of the elevator.

“They must think I’m dangerous,” I muttered. The bellman didn’t smile. “The think all women are dangerous,” he replied, dropping my bag just inside the door and retreating under the guard’s watchful eye.” (pg. 2)

This idea to me is puzzling since women are essentially oppressed by the men. A woman cannot walk alone unless she is a prostitute, has to be fully dressed, and can be just another of her husbands many items. Where is the “dangerousness” in that? After reading about Brooks personal story, I felt like I had a better understanding of the traditions surrounding the lifestyle of someone living in the Middle East. If the U.S. and Saudi Arabia changed lifestyles for one day, I can guarantee chaos. No one likes change, but in the U.S. change has proven, in the subject of more equality for women, that change has benefited our way of life. On the other hand, what if the traditions did change in Middle Eastern countries such as Saudi Arabia maybe more good things could come out of it that bad. However tradition is tradition and by what it seems, it doesn’t look like anything is going to change for women’s rights soon.
*ml

Women Hated in Saudi (and the rest of the Middle East)

After reading the fist half a page of this prologue I was immediately filled with disgust of the Middle Eastern culture. Geraldine Brooks the author of Nine Parts of Desire was denied the simple task of checking into a hotel in Saudi Arabia. She did not have anywhere else to go and was forced to sleep at the police station where she was surrounded by jail cells in a very harsh environment. All of the time in these Middle Eastern societies women are completely mistreated. They are looked down upon, made mockery of, and not even allowed to show their faces or any other parts of their bodies and some countries. Everything about the treatment of women in these countries is cruel and unjust and should not be permitted anywhere on earth. The treatment women receive is not right and I believe action should be taken to change the many ways of these countries horrible mistreatment of women.

TH

Protection In Style

After reading the prologue of Nine Parts of Desire by Geraldine Brooks, it was brought to my attention that different regions and countries have different styles of clothing that are acceptable for women to be allowed to wear. In the novel, Geraldine works with a Middle Eastern woman, Sahar, who was first known for her "poise and sophistication" (6). Later when Geraldine saw her during Ramadan, Sahar was dressed in the "uniform of a Muslim fundamentalist" (7). As I read on, it was clear that Sahar prefers to wear hijab - the Islamic dress. It is surprising that such a wealthy and sophisticated woman would rather wear hijab than her normal Westernized clothing. We Americans assume that all of the women in the Middle East would prefer to dress more similar to the Westerners. We are, however, quite wrong, because a counterexample is that Sahar would rather dress in hijab because it gave her "security on Cairo's bustling streets." (9) It is very rare that veiled girls get raped, so by wearing hijab, it makes some women such as Sahar feel more protected. As much as women might seem to get too protected by the men of the Middle East, it is evident that they would rather be protected than to have no protection at all. -a.v.

Right or Wrong

After reading the prologue to Nine Parts Desire by Geraldine Brooks, I realized just how poorly women are treated by Islam’s. A first example of the discrimination against women would be when; Geraldine Brooks was unable to get a room in a hotel without special permission because she was by herself. In a way women are forced into marriage, which can be just as harsh as the outside world. Women can be beaten by their husbands if they disobey him, are forced to share his attentions with three other wives, can be divorced whenever, and can lose custody of their children. I could not imagine many people who would enjoy these things happening to them.
When Geraldine interviews Sahar, I was amazed by some of her responses. Sahar believes that men and women are “different”. She agreed with the decision that banned all women from being judges in Islamic courts. She claims, “ Women are more emotional than men, because God has designed them to care for children. So, in court, a woman might show mercy where logic demands harshness.” What about the cases where logic demands mercy? Serah also claims that when she wears the Hijab she feels protected. She doesn’t have to fear going out in public in it. This is great for her, but what about the women who want to go out in public without it and without fear. Not all Muslim countries treat women 2nd rate, but everyone should have a choice like Sahar. “Islam did not have to mean oppression of women. So why were so many Muslim women oppressed?” This is a great question, and I have no answer for it. ed

Culture Shock

In the year 2008, Hilary Clinton will be the first woman running for president. Travel to the Middle East and say that people would never believe you. A woman, in their eyes, is property for them to handle at their will. It's not as if men just discriminate against woman, they create laws to restrict the things that woman can do. For example, when Geraldine Brooks tries to rent a room, the hotel receptionist says "But you are a woman..I can't give you a room. It is against the law for woman."(p1) That amazes me that a hotel would refuse to rent out a room to someone because of their sex. It reminds me of in Remeber the Titians when a restuarant refuses service to two men because they are black. It seems ridiculous to us now if anyone was to refuse someone service because of any dicrimantory reasons, but back then it was completely acceptable. It is the same way in the Middle East. Everyone accepts these certain ideas about woman because that's just how it is. In the Holocaust, same idea. The Jewish were lower than everyone else because that's the belief that was spread. It's so funny how easily people are influenced and how people can just believe the ideas they are forced to believe. People are affected by each other and their surroundings. The idea that woman are below men is just simply common sense in their part of the world, and personally, I think its outrageous to think that any person is below anyother human being.
LB

Behind Every Great Man

As the saying goes, “Behind every great man is a great woman.” This proverb hits the nail right on the head when describing Muhammad, the holy prophet of Islam, and Khadija, his wife. Muhammad was illiterate, poor, and orphaned, but yet he marries a rich business woman, Khadija. What is even funnier is that she had proposed to him. Even when Muhammad was most vulnerable, Khadija was there to help him. It was she which Muhammad had turned to when he was starting to question his sanity after his first visions of the angel Gabriel. “Then he made his way to his wife on his hands and knees and flung himself across her lap. ‘Cover me! Cover me!’ he cried, begging her to shield him from the angel (page 3, Nine Parts of Desire).”
Though Khadija had helped him through life, Muhammad had started to proclaim that God believes that men are superior to women (this event taking place after Khadija’s death). I found it very strange that Muhammad now tried to spread oppression over the very type of person who was his greatest aid through life. -mg

Qat

I thought that the idea of how people in such a poor country would spend a good part of their money everyday on what is simply a drug. My first thought was how pathetic it was that people would do that and why would they do that. Than, it hit me how so many people in our own country spend $20 on beer or cigarettes and how our country, just like theirs, has its own addiction. Only our addiction causes all sorts of cancers and health problems, often death. So many of my peers reactions were how stupid and strange it was that these people do this "drug". It is as if people dont see that what they are critizing is happening all around them. Qat is a funny thing that I've never heard about until this book, but now im most certainly intrigued by it.
LB

Lack of Trust and Respect

It’s sad to think about the lack of trust and respect women receive in the Middle East. In the prologue of Nine Parts of Desire, Geraldine Brooks talks about her personal experience with life in the Middle East. When she tried to check into a hotel, they refused to allow her to stay there, because women were not allowed to travel alone or else they would be considered a whore. In the Middle East men are allowed to have up to four wives, because they believe women need to be protected or they would be considered dangerous. Because of the stereotypical precedents set on women because of Mohammed’s wives, in the Middle East they believe a woman should not be left unattended. This reminds me of the laws about children in America, and how it is illegal to leave little kids in the car by themselves for just a minute while you run into the grocery store or something. As kids, we think that is the most ridiculous law ever, but how do you think the women in the Middle East feel about always having to be supervised or under the control of men? If women are considered to be dangerous in the Middle East and yet men control them, why wouldn’t men be considered dangerous, too? -rb

Dangerous Women

"'They must think I'm dangerous,' I muttered. The bellman didn't smile. 'They think all woman are dangerous.'"(p.2) Reading the prologue of Nine Parts of Desire, it was hard to believe that this hotel went to such great measures to make sure a woman was following the rules. Dangerous was not a word that I thought would be used to describe women in the Middle East. Men could have up to four wives because it was unfit for a woman to live alone and she would not be able to survive. It is also believed in those countries that women are ruled by their emotions which is a reason they need to always be under a man's thumb. So how can a woman that is always ruled, protected, by a man possibly be dangerous. "But out on the streets, among the ordinary people I really wanted to meet, most men only spoke to women to whom they were related. To them, being approached by a lone woman reporter was either an occasion for embarrassment or an opportunity to test the widely held assumption that all Western women are whores."(p.6) Women are now so dangerous that the men only talk to ones they are related to. Why are the lone women reporters compared to a whore? The men of these countries believe that women who talk to them with a man not by their side must indeed be a whore for if she wasn't she would have a man at her side. Women should be allowed to talk to a man without having the assumption that she is a whore and also should be allowed to stay in a hotel room alone. Allow women to have rights for it would be a huge step to become Westernized. -ak

A world different from ours (9 parts of desire)

Change is inevitable. If any form of institution or entity failed to change, it would not mix with the rest of the world. A perfect example of this mentality of living in the past is the Islamic Establishment. Poeple have not changed their beliefs for thousands of years which is absolutely insane. Many of these people are still living in the dark ages. As society changes, so must you. The belief that god created man to exceed the abilities of a female is just purely outdated/wrong. Imagine going to a hotel and being denied a room because you are a female. Any female who had been unexposed to the islamic culture would be extremely shocked and insulted. Even in middle-eastern history, women have proved themselves and yet still have half of the testamony that a man has in court. One of the most disturbing parts of the unequal rights in the middle east is that many women have not realized the atrocities of how they are being treated. Instead, they accept the law and the fact that men are greater. Women leave the catholic church here merely because of the opinions on birth control and abortion. In the middle east, women pray to allah every day and get flogged when they misbehave. Clearly Americans do not understand this mentality, Geraldine Brooks could not even find the answer to this strange loyalty. "I learned that one of the words for woman, hormah, comes from the same root as the words for both holy, sacrosanct, and sinful, forbiden." What makes the least amount of sense out of all of this, is that women are praised, and holy, yet "kept on a leash". Basically, the Koran says that if women are good, praise them, if they are bad then punish them. It sounds like a guide on how to train wild dogs not human females. Its just like AK said, "Wives or Pets?" Obviously it depends on how one translates the Koran, but in an extremist type interpretation, this is one of the crazy things that happens every day in the middle east and frankly, is an insulting aspect of the islamic tradition. MAD

Neighbors Try to Teach Saudi Arabia; Fails

While reading Nine Parts of Desire, I couldn't help but notice how Saudi Arabia continues to be held captive by its traditions. Brooks says that women in the neighboring United Arab Emirates "have their hair tied back in Islamic veils, jump from helicopters and shoulder assault rifles" (5). She also mentions how Iran and Turkey, as well as other Muslim nations, all have women in positions of power and prestige. In Saudi Arabia however, all the women are horrifically oppressed, They can not do anything with out their husbands, including sleep in a hotel alone, a basic right of which, in America, we would not dream of not having. Saudi Arabia says that the women in the West have way too many freedoms and that they are "whores". However many women in Saudi Arabia's neighboring countries, which can certainly not be considered Western, have many of the same opportunities and rights that women in the United States and other Western countries have. Saudi Arabia needs to learn from their neighbors and modernize their views about women. gr

Eygptian blogger sentenced for blog insult

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6385849.stm

Posted by KG


Egypt blogger jailed for 'insult'
An Egyptian court has sentenced a blogger to four years' prison for insulting Islam and the president.
Abdel Kareem Soliman's trial was the first time that a blogger had been prosecuted in Egypt.

He had used his web log to criticise the country's top Islamic institution, al-Azhar university and President Hosni Mubarak, whom he called a dictator.

A human rights group called the verdict "very tough" and a "strong message" to Egypt's thousands of bloggers.

Soliman, 22, was tried in his native city of Alexandria. He blogs under the name Kareem Amer.

A former student at al-Azhar, he called the institution "the university of terrorism" and accused it of suppressing free thought.

The university expelled him in 2006 and pressed prosecutors to put him on trial.

'Slap in the face'

During the five-minute court session the judge said Soliman was guilty and would serve three years for insulting Islam and inciting sedition, and one year for insulting Mr Mubarak.


On blogs everyone is allowed to write what they want. This proves how unintelligent the president and Al-Azahr are
Kasia


Egypt arrested a number of bloggers who had been critical of the government during 2006, but they were all subsequently freed.
Hafiz Abou Saada of the Egyptian Human Rights Organisation called the sentence "a strong message to all bloggers who are put under strong surveillance".

The UK-based organisation Amnesty International said the ruling was "yet another slap in the face of freedom for expression in Egypt".

Fellow blogger Amr Gharbeia told the BBC it would not stop Egyptian bloggers from expressing opinions as "it is very difficult to control the blogosphere".

There have been no reported comments on the sentence from the Egyptian authorities.


Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/middle_east/6385849.stm

Published: 2007/02/22 14:48:36 GMT

© BBC MMVII

Iranian Prisoners

I thought it was very interesting how the Iraqi prison was described. Not much description was given about both the prison and the inmates and I was struck by the lack of emotion. It didn't really seem as if Tony Horwitz saw these people as they were. They are in a country were people are known to be treated in humanely as it said the prisoners were "writhing from gruesome wounds", but I would think that this scene would stir emotion more than it appeared to. For instance, a 22 year old man scribbled a note asking Tony Horwitz to tell his brother he is still alive. It seems as if he brushed off this prison scene too quickly. Maybe he is excluding emotion so we as the reader can interpret it ourselves, but that would contradict his interjections and thoughts throughout the book. I think the lack of physical and emotional description in this scene was interesting.MW

Schools for Peace

http://www.metimes.com/storyview.php?StoryID=20070213-025944-3463r
This story caught my attention because it shows how education is the key to peace in the Middle East. The Taliban does not want education because it will make people think for them selves which would obviously be a threat to the Taliban. It shows how Islam, although not a violent or oppressive religion, has become violent in order to push the agenda of a frightened people in a chaotic region.
It was devastating to learn how many people’s dreams had been ruined by a government starved for power and purpose. These people, determined to educate themselves to improve their country, are the hope for peace. They would accept all religions, because they would feel secure and therefore unthreatened by other religions; they would not need to put other people down. In their self-peace, they would not need the rock of anger to make them feel secure. The Taliban does not want peace because then they would not be in power. They need power to feel useful. They have grasped that their anger can survive only in war, like how many revolutionary leaders kept creating a crisis situation, because they could not control a peaceful country. Education would create a people who thought for themselves. A thinking person would except all religions and would never burn the schools that perpetuated peace. as

Great Website for Articles about The Middle East

A great website for news and articles regarding The Middle East written by reporters from The Middle East is the Middle East Times. It has both articles about Middle Eastern Countries and international news. Subjects include Business, Culture, Women, and Sci-Tech. One article that I found fascinating was that Iran is looking to create a women-only island for female tourists. Check it out!

www.metimes.com

gr

The Strength of the Hijab

Geraldine Brooks appears to misinterpret the role of religion in the life on the Arab woman. Iit was fascinating to learn that Mohammad changed his views on women, as it became convenient to lock them away. However we must keep in mind that Ms. Brooks appears biased and that there must be a lot of conflicting information about what happened in the 7th century. In defense of the Prophet, maybe it is better for his wives to live away from men, where their reputations will not be sullied by ridiculous gossip and they will be free to focus on more important things. Geraldine Brooks seemed most upset not about the religious, but about the fashion, conversion of her friend Sahar, yet if a woman has enough self-respect to wear ugly clothes and still feel good, then we can only envy her and perhaps try and emulate her strengh. Sahar felt freer in the hijab to focus on work, walk the streets, and make friends. She also felt more connected to her religion. Brooks seems to treat the conversion as a sort of mental illness, that adhering to religious beliefs so strongly is as hard to understand as the mind of a schizophrenic.She believes Sahar has imprisoned herself. Yet we should admire those with such strong beliefs and the will-power to maintain them. Indeed, Brooks would herself if she did not think they clashed so strongly with her own feminist ones. Her feminism seems to believe that there is one way for a woman to live a productive and happy life. This life does not seem to include ugly clothes or a faithful and strong connection to God and one’s faith. Yet is the one way of life for an Arab woman which drives her so insane. If Brooks seems to forget that a woman’s strength is oftentimes to look around and draw in the good from different ideas, not to be as militant as the men who fight wars. Because she forgets this, she forgets that she has no right to feel anger with the Islam which has made her friend so happy and free. She should be happy, for the peace of Sahar’s Islam may allow her to use the strength she derives from the hijab to bring peace to other Islamics. There are different ways to live and fight. as

Culture Shock

"After several months in the Middle East I had made a hobby of identifying nationality by the cut of a man's robe, the shape of his headdress, and the way he said certain words." -90 When he said this i was impressed with the ability to pick up such details and knowledge in the limited amount of time he had been a part of this foreign culture. I feel as though, and we have discussed this many times, the fact that we know so little about the middle east even after so much media coverage over the last couple of years still amazes me. When Horwitz describes the differences in the apparel of the people, and he distinguishes the differences between the different cultures it fascinates me, because before i was totally blind towards the fact that different robe cuts meant different cultures and different countries. In the beginning of this seen he is sitting at a bar examining people walking in and he then explains the fact that he could distinguish visitors from other countries from the people who are part of the town. It just opened my eyes to the fact that there really is so much unknown to me about Middle Eastern culture that it makes me wonder what else could possibly be so different. For me, if I sat down to eat at a restaurant I would not be able to tell a person from across the country or across the town, so it fascinates me to think that there culture is rich enough to have such differences even as specific as robe cuts and differently folded head dresses. AM

The World as an Enormous Dinka Soccer Field

Tony Horwitz, although a funny guy and very brave, is nearly as intolerant as the Arabs he makes fun of for their intolerance. He views them with a prejudiced eye and makes many Arabs appear ridiculous caricatures rather than real people. He never edits their grammar, so we end up interpreting most of Arab’s comments as ridiculous and juvenile, rather than insightful. He seems to underline more than anything that they cannot speak English. When he meets Mr. Z in Tehran, he shrugs off Mr. Z’s name as pointlessly long and incomprehensible to him, a Westerner, while to Mr. Z himself his name is obviously of immense significance and pride. He does not even bother to discover the truth about someone, which might lie in a name. He portrays the Dinka as unable to comprehend the concept of shirts and skins. To his mind this is a simple concept. Misinterpreting it is ridiculous and asinine. But the Dinka have never come across it; their people would rather walk naked and they are happy enough to oblige the strange white man. Horwitz never considers that perhaps his directions were incomprehensible He laughs at their field and focuses on their physical attributes more than any personal ones. He does not absorb the sheer joy and bravery of these starving people playing soccer. He comes with the idea that there is a right and a wrong way to play, just like East and West come to the UN table. He wastes a lot of time discussing broken telex machines (does anybody know what these are, by the way?) and whining about the inconveniences of phones and travel instead of discovering what is so distracting these people from modernization or perhaps, what is more important to them. He makes fun of the quotations in his Yemeni travel book, certain that they are impossible to understand. But perhaps he has not opened his mind to different ways of thought. Well that sounds familiar doesn’t it? It is exactly what he says about Arabs. To the Arabs mind, he is a stupid, pampered American who plots to overrun their countries, while to his they are stupid, backwards and lazy. He refuses to look beyond his American mindset at the desert in front of him and try to understand why these people have become what they have, and, if what they are is so bad after all. Modernization is not a synonym for Westernization: what is so great about a telex machine in the first place? What is wrong with living in a city half falling down when its people are still standing up? What is wrong with playing soccer on a enormous field without keeping score? America keeps score and the Middle East keeps score and it has ended in two wars and thousands dead. Maybe we should try it the Dinka way. Modernization does not mean becoming enclosed by dull technology, but interpreting old ideas and the ideas of others in a way which allows for progress. Until Horwitz and the Arabs come to a real agreement, with true open minds, not just running up and down a field together thinking snarky comments about how the goals are too big. Maybe the goals are too big, but no one will know until someone tries to score by trying or thinking something new.

When reading about Iraq, it was easy to parallel the country to the U.S.S.R. when Stalin ruled. There was so much propaganda as well as censorship. Iraq reminded me a lot of a communist country. Saddam’s pictures were everywhere similar to Stalin, but what struck me more was that although the countries are so similar in many aspects, they have one major difference. In Russia, Stalin’s pictures were everywhere because although they had no religion anymore, the communist leaders understood the people needed something to look up to. Also, Stalin had a huge ego. Similarly, Saddam’s picture is everywhere. Tony Horwitz commented on how Saddam was trying to act like God yet Iraq is an extremely religious country. How is it that Saddam can balance a worship of him and keep up Islam? The answer is because Iraq is so isolated from everything else. They know nothing of what is going on outside, and they fear too much to even question Saddam at all.MW

A Secluded world

"America could vanish in a mushroom cloud and I'd still be sitting there watching Saddam on television as the chorus sang,'The people love you, oh Saddam, and you love the people.'"(112) People who live in Iraq are in total isolation from the rest of the world. Saddam has made his country secluded from the outside world. All the telephones are tapped and on the television is only positive information on Iraq and Saddam. Trying to reach other countries is impossible even for a reporter like Horwitz. But why does Saddam do this to his country? This is really plain and simple; if the people of Iraq have never witnessed or seen how any other countries are ruled then they believe the way Saddam is ruling is the way other rulers are ruling their countries. Saddam makes his people naive to a better way of living. If some people realize this is the way people shouldn't be living and speak out, they will be prisoned and most likely killed. The Iraqis have no sense of freedom of speech, they must speak positively about Saddam no matter what they truely believe. But here in present times, Saddam has been killed and American troops are now in Iraq. Will this change anything? The people have been brainwashed for such a long time that dictatorship is the only way a country can be ruled so it won't be easy to form a democratic form of government in Iraq. Although there culture has been with a dictator with absolute power, Iraq should change into a democratic form of government to help them become more Westernized. This would be for the best of the country for it would no longer be secluded. -ak

Big Brother: God or Tyrant

In Baghdad, everything is watched over by Saddam Hussein. Putting aside current events, Hussein was a loved figure in the eyes of many. There were posters and signs with his image everywhere. He was also featured on merchandise. To somebody with no knowledge of Hussein, he appeared like a great person. However, there were a few people willing to talk about negative feelings toward Hussein. “Saddam Hussein, he is the worst dictator ever in the history of man.” (page 111) This is the current feeling of many people in America, but I wondered why more people didn’t feel this way towards him in Baghdad (remember, this book takes place around 1991). He tapped phones and restricted almost everything, yet he was popular. I think that his popularity, though some may be genuine, is deeply rooted in the fear he instills on the people of Baghdad. Why wouldn’t people like him when others who hated him were killed? -mg

“Too much education and too little to do.”

This quote is found on page 102 of Baghdad without a Map. Yousri, a Nubian, uses this sentence to explain why he lives the way he does. Despite having qualifications that could get him a job as a businessman or professional in America, he works the graveyard shift at a hotel and lives in an apartment with his parents. He isn’t the only one stuck in this predicament. While Tony and Yousri are eating at a restaurant in a hotel, they spot a waiter with “Dr.” written on his name tag. I’m sure that there are also countless more people that would fit into this category.
The idea of somebody with the potential to be a doctor or a businessman being limited to such mediocre jobs is simply astounding. Those who go through the work of being educated are just getting by while people who smuggle and steal do much, much better. All of the education people acquire is being tossed away, and nobody can do anything to help. Personally speaking, if I knew that being a learned individual wouldn’t get me far in life, I wouldn’t care about education. I believe that this is the mindset of many people in the Middle East and the reason for the state of affairs going on today. -mg

Wanted: A Sense of Community

Besides how to respect women, another thing that the United States could learn from Arabian countries and cities, such as Cairo, is how to have a sense of community. Cairo, Egypt is a enormous city, however it still has a sense of community and family. "Still, like so much of Cairo, Shubra retained a village air... It was also that someone at every corner recognized Sayed as he tore past on his motorbike" (73). There is something nice about living in a place where everyone knows your name. At The Governor's Academy, it is like a small village; everyone knows everyone else, and we all seem to care for one another. On a typical day, one can see people shouting greetings to each other and inquiring about the health of a family member. Once we leave GA though, it all changes. Unless you move to a tiny town in the midwest, that sense of community no longer exists. Even in Boston, which has suburbs, like Cairo does, one will never step out of their apartment and recognize everyone they see. Maybe we should learn from Cairo, and try to foster a sense of community in our cities and streets. Take a chance and introduce yourself to your neighbors, so that there can be a feeling of friendship, even in the big city. gr

Iranian Oil

"Iran might mine the oil chokepoint, Turn off the tap on the Free World's Energy Lifeline" (pg69). As Tony Horwitz states, oil drilling is a major part of the Middle Eastearn economy. As we saw in the movie, different groups have targeted forms of government strictly around who is in charge of the drilling profit. Due to this nature, the people of these lands cannot agree on an efficient government since only a small group of people will be satisfied with it at a time. As we have seen, the Middle East has gone through many changes ever sine the “humiliation” they have endured since the end of World War I, as their Ottoman Empire collapsed. Since then they have gone through a series of leaders, that have tried to change every aspect life as they knew it. Some of this was done by westernization. This term means that these leaders would rebuild their government and life stile around ours, such as taking religion out of the government. That one act created an uproar, which had over throne many rulers through rioting and other forms of a revolution

ASM

Al Qaeda Video Attack On U.S. (In Afghanistan)

I thought that the article was very interesting. Although threatening, I am not worried that America-the-Beautiful will prevail. The Al-Qaeda is very immature with these threats. All though they underestimate the U.S. military’s skill, might, and will to get the job done, I think many Americans underestimate the fearlessness of Al-Qaeda. I truly believe ‘none of this’ would have happened had Bill Clinton failed to capture or kill Bin Laden on the several chances he had. Although the article is not about the Taliban, things add up to groups such as the Al-Qaeda bashing everything from the U.S. especially our current president. Although people argue that war in the Middle East is fueled by ‘gung-ho’ Bush and his troops, I argue that it is fueled by extremist groups that have nothing but blind hatred for things they do not know about (The Taliban, and currently the Al-Qaeda). Any responses would be great.
A.M.

http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,252358,00.html

Hostility and Weapons in the Middle East

After reading the first chapters of Bagdad Without a Map I have come to realize the hostility and fierceness of every person in all aspects of life living in the Middle East. In the movie Road to 9/11, we saw many examples of the adults’ community acting out with violence and crime. Now through the writing of Tony Horowitz we see that not only is the adult community like this, but also the children are being taught this. Every man in Yemen carries at least a sword, and most even more weaponry. These ways from the eyes of an American can be seen as that the community of Yemen is very warlike and dangerous but, the reason that they carry these weapons is fear of invasion says Horowitz. Driving through on the roads of Yemen, you are able to see the hostility and fear of all the people in the country. Another point that surprised me is the criminals in all of these countries. I got the feeling that the police officer that pulled him over was in fact not a police officer. He negotiated his price for driving without a license and also would not go to the police station. He clearly was not a police officer not having a badge and was just a criminal looking to rip off an American. All of these events that occurred in these first few chapters shocked and opened my eyes to other countries of the Middle East beside the ones that we know so much about, such as Iraq and Afghanistan. It opened my eyes to that it is not only Iraq and Afghanistan that are like this but most countries in the Middle East have the same views of the world and of the western world.

TH

Foreign Culture

I find it amazing how different our society is from the society Tony Horowitz writes about. From carrying around “jambiyas” to chewing qat daily, it seems completely foreign to me. Qat is used so naturally and socially, “We must get to know each other, he said, we must chew qat” It is used to become acquainted with new people. This seems incredible in comparison to how unspoken drugs are in our culture. And the jambiyas are extremely natural as well. I understand that they are for protection and to remember their past but it still seems strange to always carry a sharp dagger at all times. It interests me just how different their culture could be. The differences portrayed in “The Road to 9/11” documentary also struck me as outstanding. I found it incredible how they almost became a westernized civilization and then went completely in reverse and almost undid all the changes they had made. I never knew so much about their history; it is really very interesting to me. - AB

Protection

"Israel Puts Webcams at Disputed Site" (and Palestine overreacts)

http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_wires/2007Feb15/0,4675,IsraelHolySite,00.html

I picked the article because it contained information on Israel. I am sick of reading news on the Middle East that is only about Iraq, Iran, (the U.S.’s involvement); oil etc. so I thought one of Israel and Palestine would be interesting. My biased in favor of Israel opinion is that the Palestinians against the cameras discussed are overreacting. Even after Israel’s willingness to go along with every procedure and inspection by Turkish government officials, some Palestinians are not happy. They both want the disputed location, so a slight feud is predictable. However, the fact that the stubborn side-Palestine-is also the side harassing the other more does not seem just to me. Had Israel literally just stolen the land from Palestine, not agreed to any evidence handed out or inspections made, then Palestine would have a legitimate argument. Anyway, those were just a few quick thoughts. Someone who is willing and have the time, please respond, or else it will remain a boring subject! Sincerely,
C.A.S.

Living in the Real World

While reading the first few chapters of the novel Baghdad Without a Map by Tony Horwitz, the lifestyle perceived to me sounded like the stereotypical lifestyle of an inner city. Horwitz describes the importance of guns, weapons and drugs. He describes the feeling he got while waking up the roar of gun fire as a father is teaching his son to shoot a rifle. While reading, it seemed as if everyone owned a gun, not just for “looks” but to protect themselves. Life is not at all at constant peace, and living in a situation where there are not strict laws could result in crossfire on your way to school or work. As I read about the muggers and thieves that roamed the streets, I got the feeling that it was an “everyone for themselves” type lifestyle. If you weren’t armed, you got stolen from, or even killed. Guns and knives were of course worn by men for protection, but in some cases for a sense of pride. In a way, your weapon marked your “social status.” The prettier weapon, the wealthier you are; which means more power. Besides weapons, one thing that caught my eye was the use of the drug Qat. Like in the United States, many people rely on drugs to “escape their daily dilemmas” because they want control over something in their life. In both countries unfortunately, drugs often find their way towards to the poor. Horwitz explains how people spend up to 20 dollars a day on Qat. So far, it seems that Horwitz gets a real life experience while traveling to Baghdad, and begins to think more about what he has rather than what he doesn’t.
*ml

Yemen Pride

The People of Yemen go about their daily lives in a very different way in relationship to the way that Horwitz leads his life. They carry weapons and dress in turbans, sandals and a robe with pants and a dagger below the waist. Horwitz needed a way to dive into this culture and used Qat as a tool to be accepted by the Yemenis. It allowed him to socialize with the locals and by doing so, he learned a great deal about life, the people, and culture of Yemen. The people of Yemen are individualistic from those of other Middle Eastern countries. Because most people revolve their life around a hallucinogenic drug, life seems to be much slower and easy going than life here in America. Horwitz even engaged in a conversation with Mansour which describes just that. "I think Americans like drugs that hit fast and hard and then wear off, such as whiskey and cocaine," he said "They could never get used to something that makes you sit around all afternoon doing nothing." What Mansour is saying makes complete sense because to the Yemenis, drugs are used for an entirely different reason than for the reasons they are used here. Kids use drugs to get high fast and others use drugs either because they are addicted or because they want to hurt themselves. In Yemen, they use a slow drug that passes the time, it is used socially, and even to become closer to Allah. The Yemenis that Horwitz met in the Yemen chapters seemed to be very proud of their Qat chewing pastime. Not only are they proud of Qat, but they seem to think that many important things have derived from Sanaa. In a Qat induced conversation, Mansour says that the stucco/adobe style that characterizes New Mexico and much of Mexico, was a variation of the Yemen Mud-Brick architecture. Mansour says that steam baths were invented in Yemen and had the idea stolen by the Ottomans. He even says that William Shakespeare was a Yemeni who was really named Sheik Zubayre. Regardless of whether Abdul and Mansour awere revealing one-hundred percent true facts to Horwitz, it is the interest and love they have for their simple lives that makes them individual. M.A.D

Wives or Pets?

"Islam allowed a man to have up to four wives, but marrying more than one was frowned on by the younger generation And though technically a husband could divorce a wife by saying "I divorce thee" three times, but this too was discouraged, unless the wife was barren."(p.57)The Islam men said its frowned apon to have more than one wife and to divorce here when they please but they still have four wives. It almost seems as if to them wives are like pets, you love them but you can get rid of them when you please and can have more than one. The younger generation frowns apon this but in ten years will it actually change? Probably not because it's a part of their culture. Wives can be even gambled off like they are of no need to the men of course because they probably have three more. Woman also have to cover themselves head to toe when out in public and they have a certain way they must conduct themselves out on the streets. Once again they are like pets, they are like on a leash by their husbands telling them how they must conduct themselves. "Women must be protected and cared for because they are controlled by emotions."(p.57) All humans whether man or woman have emotions but this is saying woman because their emotions controll them but have a man to protect and care for them. Woman in this culture are said to be unfit to live on their own. The women are the men's pets, they are owned. -ak

Guns, Daggers… and More Guns

Weapons are an everyday part of life in Yemen, and it seems that not even Tony Horwitz finds it strange. “I awoke the next morning to the sound of automatic gunfire,” (page 40) was the thought that starts Tony’s day after his first night in Saada. It turns out that the gunfire is coming from a father teaching his son how to shoot. It seems as if guns in the Middle East could be related to a game of catch in America. However, guns aren’t the only things that are commonly found in Saada. Daggers, or jambiyas, are also seen with almost everybody in Yemen. Abdul, a Yemeni, tells Tony “Yemenis carried daggers the way Western men carry wallets.” (page 34) Even Tony eventually buys a dagger of his own. Guns become such an ordinary possession, that nobody even looks twice when a small boy of ten is seen carrying an AK-47. -mg

A More Compassionate World

In every society, there needs to be balance. The differences between the Muslim and Western world are striking, and who are we to say which one is better? The United States is all about freedom; of speech, religion and most importantly, freedom to be equal. In Islamic countries, they feel that the West has too many freedoms; that their more conservative way of life is better. An ideal world would be a combination of both sets of ideals. The freedom to be equal is very important, however, in the Muslim community, it is different. Mobarak, a friend of Tony Horwitz says that "women must be protected and cared for, because they are controlled by emotions" (57). He continues to say that "man is not woman, and woman is not man". While this must seem very backwards to Westerners, it has a shred of truth in it. In our modern world, caring and love often seem to be pushed to the side in pursuit of materialistic goods. Some of us will back-stab anyone to get what they want. Where is the compassion for our fellow human beings? In the Muslim world, women are cherished and cared for, abet for the wrong reasons, but cherished all the same. In our modernized word, many of the old values have been turned obsolete? In our hurry to become equal, women of today have lost much of the respect that our elders held. Where are the gentlemen, who will gladly hold the door open, or give a women their coat when it is raining out? Now everyone has become so equal, that we are all the same. There is almost no respect for either gender. In India, "a woman is not to be used up and then thrown away... In India a man takes only one wife and they are one until the funeral pyre" (64). Today, most married couples will become divorced. There is something to be said about a country which has an insignificant divorce rate. Even though the "unmodernized" world of Arabia can be seen as backwards, maybe we need to learn from them, to try to create loving and gentle world, where compassion is valued above all. gr

road to 9/11

The blog on the UAE leads to one of the ideas brought up in the documentary “road to 9/11”. Osama bin laden talks about an oppression for the past 80 years. Western powers came into the region and easily took control. So the Arabs looked to their oppressors with hatred and began to resent all things Western. Unfortunately as the society turned its clock backwards to resist the West, they also turned their back on many aspects of society a culture needs in order to thrive in the modern era. No longer did they allow for the education of at least half their citizens, allow for political competition, or the pursuit of modern sciences. If one was to look at the distribution of Nobel prizes for the past ten years, the Middle East has an embarrassingly low number which is interesting for a society that’s turned its back on modernity, yet wishes to fight a war against it. There aren’t many positive ways out of that dilemma. But there are compromises. The Middle East doesn’t have to change its traditions; many non “western” people live symbiotically in the west. But they cannot continue to fight a war they will never win. How could they progress even militarily, if they refuse western culture? One can be pretty sure Arabs carrying around Jambiya’s won’t put up much of a fight against the US army. Eventually they will have to put down their arms to allow many positive aspects of western society to filter into their own. Hopefully they chose the latter of the two.
MW

UAE

The United Arab Emirates is a contradiction to the Middle East. “Abu Dhabi was blinding. White sky. White buildings. White robed men in white Mercedes’, calling each other on car phones” (pg51) Arab men became extremely wealthy from this area due to the discovery of oil. It seems the city adapted western business techniques to maximize its profit. Yet socially, the country is part of a reactionary movement throughout the Middle East. How can a country that’s made such economic progress look to the past to answer its social questions? The answer is the concentration of wealth within the Middle Eastern population. This select group of wealthy Arabs does not want to see change, so they don’t allow others to oppose them. They also have made many educational reforms to control how their people think. As a few live in wealth, the majority will continue to live in poverty.
MW

Why do drugs?

“They are all on drugs!” could be a first thought after reading the beginning of Baghdad Without a Map. This seems to be true too, considering an average of 20$ a day is spent on qat. This was surprising to me. Why would already poor people spend so much money on a drug daily? The first reason is that it is a social event for them. Instead of watching a football game or going to the movies they chew qat. If someone came to America and started chewing qat for hours at school he would most likely get laughed at. However in their society, it is almost expected that everyone chew qat daily. Another reason why they started chewing qat in the first place was to mask their problems. The same reason anyone uses a drug for. It seems to many that the Arabs do not have much going for them. They live in a desert with not much food, polluted water, no money, and violence. The only thing that they have is oil, which countries like the United States wants. We are fighting a war to assure ourselves an oil supply, since America runs on oil. In the end, two of the main things the Arabs have are religion and qat, so those are the things they devote their time too. It may seem odd to us but to them, it is just like watching baseball or going to a movie with your friends. ed

Guns

Guns… Why does it seem that everyone has a weapon? The most obvious answer is for protection. Unfortunately there is very little law enforcement compared to what there should be out there. Religious cults and groups are constantly at war and people are always caught in the crossfire. It would not be too smart to be walking around the streets with muggers and gunfire without some sort of arms yourself. When Horwitz meets the boy on the side of the road carrying a loaded gun he gets intimidated, and almost runs back to his car. The point being that, if there is someone with a deadly weapon, it will make you stop and think twice. Another reason that everyone carries a weapon is that it is a status symbol. Horwitz noticed that many people walked around with a lavishly decorated silver or gold dagger. Again the weapon could be for defense if necessary, but most likely to show off your wealth. Often in the Middle East people try to show off their wealth, and investing it in weapons seems to be the things to do. ed

Qat: How It Affects Yemen.

Baghdad Without a Map, a novel by Tony Horwitz, vividly describes Tony’s many adventures in the Middle East. The usage of “qat”, a very popular drug used in Yemen, is very common among many men and women. “All days in Yemen we chew qat” (Mansour, 20). I find it amazing how certain places allow specific drugs while others certainly do not. An example of this is that Yemen allows qat, a drug which closely resembles marijuana, while America does not permit any drugs to be legal, unless it is for medial reasons. What puzzles me, is that the people of Yemen, especially the government officials, are allowed to be under the influence of qat at any given time. How can people make legitimate decisions when they are not fully aware of their surroundings when under the influence? “It [qat] gives you ideas all over the world” (21). It seems like qat produces clever ideas in ones brain, but not realistic or good ideas. It is evident that qat is the main focus on everyday life in Yemen, and people base their ideas and ways of life on it too, resulting in a land extremely different from America.
Two of the few most known characteristics of the Yemeni society is the amount of weapons and the major usage of qat (19). It is evident that the Yemeni people do not see drugs the way we Americans do. Yemeni people drive with qat, eat with qat, and some even claim that “chewing every day since the age of fifteen” (22) does not make you an addict. If somebody in America has been basing their everyday life around drugs for decades, they would probably be in either rehab or jail. I believe the legal usage of qat in Yemen largely reflects on the people’s ways of life and their surroundings. If qat were not permitted, Yemen would probably be a much more safe and put-together environment to live in. -a.v.

Access to Weapons Hinder Peace Efforts

While reading about Tony Horwitz's journey through the middle east in his book, Baghdad Without a Map, one thing that I especially noticed was the excess of guns. I think that America as a nation thinks of the Middle East as a violent, dangerous, ticking time bomb. This notion is reinforced by the apparent abundance of guns. In fact, the Yemen diplomat in Baghdad thought "there are more weapons per capita in Yemen than in any other country on earth" (29-30). This is amazing. In the United States today we despair about the amount of weapons and guns available to teenagers, worrying that someday another Columbine will happen. Imagine a place where everyone, well all men, have 2 or more guns, all readily and cheaply available. In Yemen, any man can buy a firearm, provided he has the money; a scary situation. How can a nation, riddled with a corrupt government and no lack of military power, hope to establish a lasting peace? If weapons are so commonplace that regular households have many, how will Yemen, and other Arabian countries, ever become non-violent? If the United States is to complete their goal of establishing stability in the Middle East, they will have to find a way to remove the easy access to weapons. gr

Malesh: the story of the Middle East

The problem with Egypt, and perhaps the entire Middle East, is their false sense of entitlement. People demand money for what in any other part of the world would be considered common courtesy: pulling out a chair, showing one the local sites, delivering bills, or receiving technological services on time. They feel entitled as well to completely mooch off their women for food and a place to rest. This would be fine if they worked hard as well, but instead they expect all this in exchange for a long morning at the coffee shop with the water pipe. They seem to follow whichever rules suit them: charity is a pillar of Islam, so why work? They drive without looking where they are going and without a care for the rules. Moreover, they believe that they know what God wills. “Allah wanted it dead,” about some bird he had squished, said a taxi driver, and not only that but they seem willing to barrel through traffic lights and over birds to impose it. So what happens as a result of their pride? Fundamentalists easily gain support, and on a smaller scale, women look worn and bedraggled before they hit 25, innocent birds die; they will never sing, children are forced to rely on others for their welfare because their fathers are too lazy to work, and people like Sayed have to move far away from their families in order to find a job where they can support themselves and not be held down by some ridiculous bureaucracy that no one bothers to change because that would not be “charitable” and they are too lazy, too inundated with “malesh, never mind” to fix it. But perhaps their sense of malesh is only to be expected in a country which has tried dictatorships of various kinds, of the pharaoh, of the religious Nasser, and now democracy, without experiencing any real change. But then again, perhaps this is their own fault for feeling so entitled that they are not willing to work. Until the Middle East has the courage to look around them and say, we may have been sitting around drinking coffee for 5000 years, but it is not giving us a healthy nation, politically, economically or religiously, and from that get the courage to admit that sometimes malesh is just not enough to build a life on, it will never change. -a.s

The Boat vs. The Middle East

The boat that Tony Horwitz took from the UAE to Iran is the exact opposite of the Middle East. On board, people of different races and religions mix freely and discuss their ideologies in order to better understand those of others. Jesudaysn is determined to understand and discover every idea around him not to look down on those ideas but to add them to his knowledge of the world. He has found his own religion not through dogmatic tradition but through his heart, and has recently converted to Christianity. The captain Kochrekar is in charge but is far from dictatorial; the cook Lawrence of Goa is required to decide what to cook and how for himself (“A cook must be his own master.”) and even Tony gets a chance to steer the boat, which is basically a democracy where everyone works to their strengths. Conversation about love and sex is open because women are not considered the scourge of the earth, too dangerous to be freed. The crew says openly that they are in the Middle East only for its money (‘I am not interested in these Arabs…Only in their money.”), rather than hiding greed behind falsely polite language and bureaucracy, as do many people Tony meets during his trip as they speak about bribes. The boat appears to be a sort of paradise, yet ironically these people who deserve so much have no money to stay on shore and eat their food out of old containers. Their oppressors the Arabs fight wars over the oil which has made them so rich. Why is it that those who deserve the best get the worst and vice versa? The answer is that the Arabs got lucky and unlucky: they were lucky enough to stand on oil, and unlucky enough to be in hardly the political position of choice at the time it was discovered. They were still angry at the Western colonizers and Attaturk for destroying their culture and only partially understood that this was gone forever and some of it must be abandoned in order to survive healthfully. When the West came looking for oil, they gave it to them, but took only money, not ideas, in return. They ended up with a society of supposedly traditional Arab values with European cars. A society unsure of its place in the modern world, but leaning towards fundamentalism, is a dangerous place for the people like the crew of Tony’s boat-a.s

Yemen: This is the Middle East on Drugs

Yemen seems to be arrogant for no reason except history. Although the people are friendly and nationalism can be laudable, they are mainly friendly when influenced by qat and looking around their country, there is not much going for it. Towns and cities are devoid of running water and sanitation and a deadly fight could erupt at any time. Disrespect for others is rampant; whether for a woman’s body during sex, a foreign boy’s while riding a dangerous camel or a Jew forbidden to wear shoes. They care for nothing not wearing a sword while chewing narcotics, yet what is so great about that? They seem to pride themselves on resisting Westernization, yet have produced no viable alternative. Instead, they claim Shakespeare as their own. That they do admire Westerners proves that they are afraid, not scornful, of Westernization. They hide behind glorious and proud traditions: carrying swords and eating in the desert in order to provide reasons not to Westernize. But these reasons are false shadows of their real lives; they really use guns and live in luxurious apartments. It seems perhaps that in their pride, they are ashamed to admit that they were wrong to shut out change and thus champion isolationism even more. Yemen is a cautionary tale of not only pride before a fall, but that pride causes a refusal to accept the truth (that Yemen comes up short to Western human rights and technology), which creates a hyper yet falsely traditional society which creates only chaos. According to “The Road to 9/11,”, this is the story throughout the Middle East, a story of a society already acclimated to tradition, but ravaged by chaos, turns easily to religious fundamentalism. Strong, angry ideas have taken hold in formerly proud but later devastated societies, such as post-WWI Germany, as a way fuel their wounded pride by saying “We are right and everyone else is wrong.” a.s

Nine Parts of Desire

Another book that I really enjoyed about the Middle East was Nine Parts of Desire by Geraldine Brooks who just happens to be married to Tony Horwitz, author of Baghdad Without a Map! My guess is that they were writing the books at the same time while they lived in the Middle East.

Nine Parts of Desire is about the lives of women in the Middle East. Brooks is a Pulitzer Prize winning writer. I just finished her latest book March............also terrific!




www.geraldinebrooks.com