Escape from Saddam

Lewis Alsamari , at the age of seventeen, was taken in by Saddam Hussein’s army. The training was hard, and discipline by regular beatings was a part of a daily event. Lewis was one of the lucky ones, he made it through and, because of his fluent English, he was offered a post in Iraqi military intelligence. The job was going to make him powerful, and wealthy. But Lewis could not except, for he wanted no part of Saddam’s group and he knew what would happen if he turned this down. So his plane was to flee Iraq. His journey was defiantly not a walk in the park, the finally he made it to England, where he was granted political asylum. Once there he began building a life for himself. He even fell in love and got married. You would think at this point he was in the clear, but he was still haunted by thoughts of the loved ones he left behind in Iraq, he would hear his uncle’s words echoing in his ears, “we are sending you to freedom so that one day you may rescue us from this place.”

Then one day he finds his family paid a price for his escape. This mother and sister were interrogated, beaten, and thrown into prison. Soon after hearing this Lewis steals the thousands of dollars, to buy the release of his family, and the smuggles them out of Iraq, while his wife fallows him on his this journey.

WOMEN OF THE VEIL

WOMEN OF THE VEIL
by Hena Farooq

Her long, thick, shiny black hair
Fell against her back.
Her rich, copper skin
Gleamed in the sunlight.
Her slender figure outlined,
With her soft voluptuous curves.
But when she stepped outside,
She became a ghostly figure of the night.
Nothing more to the people
Than a dark, shadowy figure of oppression.
But she showed them.
As she walked down the street,
People made way,
Men lowered their gazes in utmost respect.
And others whispered,
As she held her head up high,
With pride in her belief
And showed them how oppressed she really was!
While they whistled at their women,
Looking them up and down as they were
pieces of meat to be inspected?
She pitied their savage ways.
As she walked into the arms of
her partner,
Her only love,
Her husband.
Where she was transformed,
Into her beautiful self,
For only his eyes to see.

Found this poem awhile back and it made me think of this class =)

Five Years of My Life: An Innocent Man in Guantanamo

In October 2001, nineteen-year-old Murat Kurnaz traveled to Pakistan to visit a madrassa. During a security check a few weeks after his arrival, he was arrested without explanation and for a bounty of $3,000, the Pakistani police sold him to U.S. forces. He was first taken to Kandahar, Afghanistan, where he was severely mistreated, and then two months later he was flown to Guantanamo as Prisoner #61. For more than 1,600 days, he was tortured and lived through hell. He was kept in a cage and endured daily interrogations, solitary confinement, and sleep deprivation. Finally, in August 2006, Kurnaz was released, with acknowledgment of his innocence. Told with lucidity, accuracy, and wisdom, Kurnaz's story is both sobering and poignant--an important testimony about our turbulent times when innocent people get caught in the crossfire of the war on terrorism.
www.amazon.com

Everyone should check out Murat Kurnaz website, http://www.amnestyusa.org/amnesty-magazine/spring-2008/five-years-of-my-life/page.do?id=1551002. This is one of the saddest stories I have ever heard

Hijab

Kavakci was a Turkish politician. On April 18, 1999 she was elected as a Virtue Party deputy (a person appointed to represent or act on behalf of others (Google Def). On May 2nd she went to the parliament to take an oath, just like any other politician must do, but sadly she was refused the right. When she walked into the parliament conference room that day, she was wearing her headscarf. The film showed footage of these and to be completely honest, I didn’t even notice the headscarf, this was probably because she was wearing it the whole time while running for the position, and I think I just got used to seeing it on her. It was the next part of the film that I was completely surprised by, soon after she walked in the room and sat down the Prime Minister raised his hand and pointed right in her direction, and screamed, “Put this woman in her place!” Then the other members in the room stood up and started clapping while yelling at her to get out of the building.
Kavakci paid a price for breaking the law. Soon after, things started to get real bad for her and her family. The media started terrorizing her by spreading hatred news all over the country. Her family was harassed. Even her two young daughters were bullied by other classmates. The worst was yet to come, 11 days after the incidence in parliament, her citizenship was provoked. Her and her family was forced to seek political asylum to another country.

"Beheading the Cat" and "Metallic Crocodile"

These two stories weren’t exactly my favorite. I had a really hard time understanding the Metallic Crocodile. Was this story supposed to tie in with religion? Bailey pointed out a part of the book that read “Logic prevents you from seeing reality”. After thinking about this for awhile Saralynn suggested that maybe the “logic” part is supposed to represent science and “reality” represents religion. If you really think about it science normally does go against religion. Another question I found myself asking.. was the black man supposed to represent a godly figure? IDK.
The Beheading the Cat was interesting, again not one of my favorites. I did like that the main character fell in love with the more independent, normal women. I liked how jenny put it in her blog “The main character chose a partner rather than a slave. Though the things he wished to do to the woman, like burn her and drink her may have been a little too much for me.” I would defiantly have to agree.

Waltzing with Bashir

This film starts out in a bar, where an old friend tells his doctor Ari about a recurring nightmare in which he is chased by 26 vicious dogs. The two men conclude that there's a connection to their Israeli Army mission in the first Lebanon War of the early eighties. Ari is surprised that he can't remember a thing anymore about that period of his life. Intrigued by this riddle, he decides to meet and interview old friends and comrades around the world. He needs to discover the truth about that time and about himself. As Ari delves deeper and deeper into the mystery, his memory begins to creep up in surreal images.
I found this film to be very interesting. It was unlike any other film we had seen I class and the message behind it was so powerful. Before this film I knew nothing about this massacre. I feel times it’s a film that everyone should see.

Two Women

Two women was released in 1999 in Iran. This film tells the story of women named Fereshteh and Royā who became friends, while studying architecture at a university in Tehran. Later in the film Roya’s path turns down a new path, one in which she never expedited to go. She marries a man she has very little feelings for, only to make her dad happy, for he blames everything that has ever gone wrong with his family on her life. The man she agrees to marry outs on a front at first but soon he true colors are shown, he becomes crazy obsessed. He won’t let her leave the house, use the phone, or even keep in touch with her old best friend. Later she becomes son, and is trapped in this world she never wanted. It’s not until her husband dies at the end the she feels free.

Arranged

This film is about two women named Nasira and Rochel. Both come from totally different background but in the end they become the best of friends. I felt after watching this film that Nasira had bit more say in what was going on in her life, opposed to Rochel who had to run away to her cousin to get away from the preachers of her parents. The principal in this film also really got under my skin. I hated that she held all these common misconception, and was trying to change the two women throughout the whole film. As for the differences between Rochel and Nasira , Rochel meets many men, but never showed much interested until the very end, where Nasira shows little interested as well but marries the 2nd man she meets. Rochels family was extremely rude to Nasira when she came to visit, but when Rochel goes to Nasira house, her parents are surprisingly welcoming. Although, both women come from different and com from different backgrounds, together the face western culture.

Does My Head Look Big in This?

This is a story of a teenage girl named Amal. She is sixteen year-old Australian, Palestinian, Muslim girl living in Melbourne with her mom and dad.These story is about Amal and her choice in deciding to wear the hijab. She is not the only one having to face hard facts, her friend’s travel somewhat of the same journey. For Simone, Eileen, Leila and Yasmeen each have problems of their own. Simone has serious body image problems and goes on ridiculous diets because of her mother. Being Japanese, Eileen puts up with some of racism for being different . Leila's parents care very little about her accomplishments in school and are only worried about finding her a suitor to marry, then lastly there is Yasmeen who is slight a shop-o-holic. Thought the book it deals problems such as, choice in religion and Muslim ideas in a westernized society. I feel this story also has a lot to do with finding ones true identity, how one sees themselve, and the sexual pressures placed on young girls.

This was one of my favorite books we read in class =) I didn’t want to put it done.

The Year of the Elephant

The Year of the Elephant was written by Leila Abouzeid's, it’s a novel full of short stories. One of which was about a female activist facing divorce in mid-life and her struggle to survive when her rights were already limited in a society that did not approve of her situation. Instead, it punished her for her failed marriage. Later I found that Abouzeid's story had some very similar issues.
Oufkir was a member of a high society, who went from the real world to prison, from being somebody to nobody. Abouzeid's heroine Zahra had a more ordinary life although her other life as an activist was extraordinary. She had to pick up even more courage after her divorce. Like Oufkir, she went from something big to nothing at all lossing family and friends. Zahra is divorced, illiterate and without money, but finds strength within her faith. This is story was about Morocco's struggle for independence, while being a working class woman, Trying to make a path to personal independence. Over all I really liked this book, and the different stories that came from it.

Memed, My Hawk

We read Memed, My Hawk a few weeks ago and had a class discussion. It’s truly sad, it was a coming of age novel about a boy whose family is being starved and punished by a controlling landowner. He runs away at first to escape the constant beating by the Agha, but being away from home for so long he begins to feel guilty for leaving his mother and his responsibilities, like most would. He is captured and returned, and tries to solve his problems before his family starves to death. He becomes a brigand and fights for the Agha for his family and village. A brigand is an outlaw and highly romanticized within the novel. The villagers appreciate brigands because they are fighting for their land, rights and lives. I thought that was pretty cool. What a geat book it kept me on my toes the whole time!

Honor Killings in Turkey

So I liked this topic so much that I rewrote my second paper on it. I’m really glad the Turkey group picked Women on the Front Line, for us to see in class. I learned so much from it! One of the topics I chose to go over in my paper was how the men could also be viewed as victims in these killings and I would love to share that with you.

Here it is: Many would not consider men victims in these situations, but in some cases, they are. Ahmed, a 52-year-old Palestinian Muslim states in Reputation Is Everything , “Honor is everything. If a person loses his honor, he becomes like an animal." The significance of honor among Muslims is complex, especially when compared to Western standards, but in the high-context, collectivist cultures of Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, the inappropriate behavior of relatives brings shame to everyone in the extended family. In Palestinian communities, family members often remain in the same village or neighborhood for their entire lives. Muhib Nimrat, a consul member of the Embassy of Jordan in Washington, D.C., adds "The family plays a role in every aspect of life in the Arab world, whatever you do, you have to consider the immediate family and extended family, even the neighbors. How will they react? What will they think? Unlike Western countries, which champion individualism, Arabs focus on the group. The family is more important than the individual (Emery).” In the film, Women on the Front Line, a masked woman spoke about how she was marked to be killed in the name of honor. The exaction day was already arranged, they were going to take her to the hillside near the village to kill her, but she escaped. Her brother who was also masked spoke in the film, stating he had been contacted many times and was told to give up his sisters hiding place or to kill her himself. When he said no, they said give us your sister or we will continue to kill people from your family. One can see now how he too can be viewed as a victim. From in class discussions, I also learned that if a man refuses to kill a loved one, and is disowned by his village, he can no longer buy food, or even walk down the street. While on this topic the film did some interviews with men who were put in prison for killing their mothers and sisters. When one man was asked, “what does a man live for?” he replied “his honor.” So I see the debate here as, is one man’s honor, worth another women’s life? I think many would beg to differ.

Paradise Now

I really liked the discussions we had in class about this film. It’s funny because before class discussions, I go in thinking one thing, and then after hearing people like Victor, Dan, and Katie, who challenge different point of views, I can leave feeling totally different about the subject because they’ll bring up points that I never thought of. I really enjoying hearing everyone’s point of view on these topics, it keeps the class interesting to say the least.
Ok back to the movie! I think the film did a really good job of putting a “face” like Victor said, on the suicide bomber. I was really surprised to find that Khaled was the one who didn’t go through with the bombing, because he was so sure about it in the beginning. I thought it was really sad that Said, felt he needed to go through with it because of his father. I know he was embarrassed of what he was, but was it necessary to kill for this embarrassment. I mean this man was living a normal life, he had a job and a family who loved him. It’s really sad that people think suicide bombings, will change things for the better. Killing another human being, only makes one a murder. And then what does one have to look forward to after death? That’s just the way I look at it.

The Two Short Stories

I really enjoyed the short stories we read for class, I think it’s because I have a harder time staying interested with full length novels. Some of the things in the stories really confused me at times and I don’t think it helped that I was absent when the speaker came in, it seems from everyone’s blogs that you all learned a lot! I really liked that in The Lawsuit, we got to see how the women brought the suit upon her family. The second story, A Long-Term Plan, was very interesting as well. I liked that the man in the story came to the conclusion by himself that he had lived his whole life doing nothing, never helping anyone. I guess that’s what happens when you only use others around you to benefit yourself and in the end you pay the price for that. After his mother dies and money disappears, he so calls “wins the lottery,” and becomes a millionaire. But later he dies, spending his last moments in alone….. I guess money isn’t everything!

The Day of Ahmed's Secret and Sami and the Time of the Troubles

The Day of Ahmed’s Secret is about a young man named Ahmed, who has big news to share with his family, but before doing so, he must complete all of his duties as a butagaz boy, doing things such as delivering cooking gas to customers.

Thought the story Ahmed is thinking about when it would be best for him to

share his secret. It was until the very end of the story that Ahmed finally did so. His big secret was that he could now write his own name. Thi

s was not what I was expecting at all, but it’s pretty cool that he was so excited about it.

Sami and the Time of the Troubles is a story about a boy named Sami. He is ten years old and lives in Beirut, Lebanon. His life is different from how most of us grew up, for his family and him spend most of there time in their uncle’s basement, due to the gunfire and bombing happening in the streets. I feel think book had a great message behind it, and I really enjoyed our class discussion about it. Sami is a lot like kids all of the world… he hates fighting, and violence.

```When we are older, we will have real guns,''' says Amir. Sami disagrees. ```The fighting will be over then. It cannot last forever.'''

When people get older it seems as if we are forced to take sides, but with children its different, they haven’t been around long enough to be forced into doing so, because of this they remain unbiased. Maybe if we still thought as if we were kids, there wouldn’t be as many problems with this world.

Gold Dust

Gold Dust was a very interesting read to say the least. I am still shocked by the amount of love Ukhayyad has for his camel. I mean after reading just the first chapter you already know how the camel came into Ukhayyad life and how very proud he is of it. Here in the states, people say a dog is a man’s best friend. Well in Ukhayyad case the dog is his camel. When I really think about it, almost everyone of my friends or family members have had a pet that they consider family, but where should one draw the line. I have to agree with Saralynn’s blog, Ukhayyad, love for his camel, does not allow him to make any connections with humans, especially women. At the end of the day Ukhayyad needs to realize that he needs human interaction in his life.

War in the Land of Egypt

In class, we were assigned to read War in the land of Egypt. I found this book to be very interesting. The story takes place during the 1973 Yom Kippur war. The author fuscous on one young man in particular, named Masri, who is sent into the Egyptian army. The story is told through several perspectives such as, the Umda, a broker, Masri friend, and father, the commanding officer, and an investigator. This was great because it helped the story truly come alive.
I thought it was very interesting, that Masri perspective was never shared. Then again, when you think about it, what really would he have to say, and even if there was something would it have changed his future? For he never had a choice in what he did. His father was the one who made the decision to send Masri in place of the Umda son. This also makes me question, should Masri really be considered a hero because of the choice others made for him?

Kalamazoo Islamic Center

Last Thursday my classmates and I went to the Kalamazoo Islamic Center on Westerns campus. It was an amazing learning experience. First we were given a tour of the center by the Imam himself, after that, He told us some stories about his religious background explaining how he got to where he is today. You could tell by just talking with Imam how passionate he was about his religion, for it is his life. While there all misconceptions and stereotypes were broken and I found how imported it is to not always believe everything you hear. At the end for our visit, we were able to sit down with Imam and ask him any questions we had. During this time I learned that all kinds of people pray at a mosque, black, white, Indian, it doesn’t matter because there, they are all the same. In the mosque people become family, and I thought that was really cool.

I cannot thank Imam enough! He did an amazing job with our class, and I learned sooo much. I think this is a trip that everyone should try to make at least once, I promise its well worth your time!

http://www.kiconline.org/

Relationship between Homosexuality in America and in the Middle East

In class we watched a documentary called, “The Road to Love,” a film about homosexuality in the Middle East. I had a hard time keeping up with the film at first, due to subtitles and bad lighting. But what I got from the film was very interesting. I had to ask myself is homosexuality for the people living in the Middle East that much different from here in the United States. In some ways yes, In the Middle East homosexuality was much more common in early years, it was a practice that was normal for a young man before marrying. In the United States homosexuality is more common today than it ever was in the past.

Homosexuals in both the Middle East and United States still face a lot of the same problems today, like having to tell friends and family. Having to worry about what one will think of them after telling them they are gay. Many still have to fight for the right to live happily with their partner. This film has shown me that homosexuality in the Middle East really isn’t that different from in the United States, maybe we have more in common than what we thought.

Blood and Oil

Today, I watched the documentary “Blood and Oil,” and found it to be very educating. To be completely honest before watching this, I never knew how, why, or when we started using oil from the Middle East. This film made some points, which totally shocked me, like in part 2 of the film. It was explaining how much of an effort the U.S. put into creating a very elaborate military establishment in Saudi Arabia, pervading them, with some of the best arms and military training. I know this was only done so they could help protect this oil, that is valued as gold, but still I felt this was putting, maybe a little too much trust in the Middle East at the time. I know the United States did whatever they could to stay on good terms with Saudi, so we would continue to use their oil. But when does it start to be too much? I mean at one point we were even fighting there wars for them? I found the end of the documentary to be very interesting, as it talked about how China and Russia, are preparing to fight for control over the oil in the Middle East, as are the United States. It’s scary to think about what could happen next! The last thing we need is another war.
After seeing this documentary, I can only pray that we find some kind of alternative for oil and if not find some way to decreasing the amount we use every day.

Women Rights in Middle East with Queen Noor

I found this video on YouTube and I thought it would be great to show to our class. Before seeing this, I thought all women in the Middle East were treated unfairly and I only assumed none of them had rights. I know that’s stereo typing, but unforchantly that’s all I know. Although it is true that some women still are not tried fairly in some places, but there are others who have the same rights as we do in the United States. Jordan is one of the countries where women have equal rights under the constitution and have had them since the 1950s. Places like Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Afghanistan are the total opposite and women are still fighting for those rights every day.
Check out the video! I hope you like it!

Chapters 1 & 2 of “Aunt Safiyya and the Monastery”

I just started this book and so far I am really enjoying it. There are a few key points I want to go over that caught my eye in the first two chapters, I thought it was really different that everyone who lives in the village is related and how they call one another brother and sister rather than a cousin also how they refer to one as “the son of my mother’s father’s brother”. Another thing that jumped out at me was the way the mother would act towards her daughters. For example when the girls were sent out to deliver cookies to their family, and accidently dropped them in the street, the mother reacted by giving them blows and kicks all the while complaining about the bad luck that had cursed her with the birth of such daughters. Last but not least, I thought it was horrible the way Harbi was treaded; being tied up to a tree and beaten is just brutal. I feel there is so much more I could say but I want to keep it short. Anyways I can’t wait for the next chapter.

Film: Reel bad Arabs

Before seeing this film I was totally oblivious to all the degrading images American films show about Middle Eastern people. Films such as Aladdin, True lies, Father of the Bride 2, and Gladiator make Arabs look as if they are uneducated, mean, terrorist, who should not be looked at as a real human beings. This documenter states that 25% of all American movies contain Arabic slurs. This truly upsets me because, what are these Middle Eastern people suppose to think when watching these films? I hope that everyone who lives in America knows that not all people from the Middle East are bad. Some people are just like us, trying to get through life day by day. In this generation I can only hope that the Middle East is shown fairly in Hollywood. We students need to replace these stereotypes by taking the initiative to learn more about the Middle Eastern culture.

Literature from the Modern Middle East: Making a Living Connection

A few days ago I was asked to read Dr. Webb’s article titled “Literature from the Modern Middle East: Making a Living Connection”, and boy was it an eye opener. In this article Webb points out how deeply involved our country is with the Middle East but how little we American’s know about their culture. I couldn’t agree with him more. All I know about the Middle East is what I see on TV and read in the paper, and that’s only about the war. I have never had a teacher who would go into great detail about the people that live there. Dr. Webb stresses this subject to students so they can replace stereotypes, transform world views, develop personal connect, humanize Islam and Muslim people and learn about Arabs, Turks, Kurds, Persians and Pushtans. If you are a teacher or are going to be, this is a great article to read. Dr. Webb gives examples of different films and texts, you may use to further your knowledge in the subject. Over all… great article, it is one that I believe everyone should read once.

Introduction

Hello

My name is Mary Hitt. This is my first blogging experience EVER! So please bare with me, I’m still trying to get the hang of it. Now where to start…. I guess I should tell you a little about myself. I’m a junior at Western Michigan University, where I am majoring in Early Childhood Education with a minor in History and Language Arts. I am a very active person. This will be my third year on the Western Michigan’s cheerleading team. I am a big fan of Westerns athletics! When I’m not cheering, I’m ether doing homework or working.

I am creating this blog for my English 1100 course, which I am really excited about! In this course my classmates and I will be working side by side with our professor, researching contemporary literature and film from the Middle East. This is unlike any English course I have ever taken at Western and I can’t wait to see what I learn from it.