Dialogue of Civilizations

Just before Indiana Jones found "the Treasury", he may have found our able teacher-guide, Mr. Abdullah, in one of the thousands of crevices in the Siq (canyon into the hidden city of Petra). A great hike through the ancient city of limestone temples, which honor many ancient cultures - Greek, Roman, Egyptian, pre-Islamic Arabia, Assyrians ... Talk about respect for diversity and multiple faith traditions! The Nabateans clearly had that. 

It was just announced that Ramadan officially starts tomorrow, Monday. Here is a sweet message we received from our host partner, Qasid Institute.  Dear Denis Sullivan, With the arrival of the month of  Ramadan , we will preview changes to the daily routine in Jordan (and throughout the world). Of the most visible changes will be that nearly all markets  and restaurants are closed for most of the day.   Eating, drinking (and smoking) publicly also become essentially unlawful in light of the fast being observed by over ninety percent of the people.  At sunset, however, city life reawakens in full.  Mosques overflow in the evenings.   Invitations to festive dinners from neighbors, family and friends are common.    Whether you are observing the sacred month or not, we invite you to enjoy the climate of personal purification and social good will and hospitality it entails.    Here at Qasid, we will provide ...

Friday, the holy day of the week here in Jordan (as with most Arab/Muslim societies), we filled our day with Syrians (all refugees; some working as farm laborers) in the northern Badia (Bedouin, semi-arid region of Jordan). We started outside the famous/infamous Za'atari refugee camp and the "Freedom Wall" that has become a site where many supporters of the refugees come to write their hopes and dreams on the wall. Our guide was Ms. Dema Al-Aoun (similar name as our president, Joseph Aoun), a human rights lawyer and someone whose family sponsors nearly 500 Syrian refugees in a system that enables the Syrians to work (legally) as farmers. After the Freedom Wall, we went to Dema's family farm, met her father (former Brigadier General in Jordan's army, and a successful pediatrician in Amman), and then went to the farm where we met with the leader of these 500 Syrians (an elderly Syrian woman, a "Sheikha" from a rural area of Aleppo, in nort...

Dr. Abad Al Saud brought her life experiences to our students today in Amman.  Dr. Abad was the youngest woman ever elected to the Jordanian Parliament.  She is a professor, and a former Dean, at Islamic University in Amman.  She spoke about women in Islam, women in politics, women in Jordanian society and as business leaders. Dr. Abad spoke entirely in Arabic, with frequent phrases in English; my friend and brother Nidal translated throughout the lecture as well as the discussion. Our students were well informed about women's issues (and general political issues), with questions ranging from the quota for women in Jordanian Parliament ("do you favor the quota system?") to her view of Western Feminists and Feminism ("I find a lot of common ground, but also women working at cross-purposes across the globe.") to her view of the role of religion in American politics and questions of violence against women and sexual harassment in Jordan -- what are the reaso...

In celebration, our dear volunteer, Ms. Aya Nidal Zannad, gave all of us a red "kefiyah scarf" to wear, in solidarity with our hosts, the Jordanian people.  Here we are in 'Umm Jimal, "Mother of Beauty", in northern Jordan, near Za'atari refugee camp and outside of the city of Mafraq. This is an ancient Roman city, also part of Byzantine Empire and later the Ottoman Empire. The city was built out of volcanic rock.    Below, our host Sheikh Khaled (Sheikh/leader of a local tribe in Mafraq) hosted us at his brother's farm, and then at his own house, where his wife prepared an amazing "light meal" (not light) for us to enjoy.  the Sheikh also taught us about his role as tribal leader, marriage counselor, dispute resolver, and otherwise problem-solver for issues (large and small) that affect his 18,000 tribal members. "I can see Syria from my mound!" Below, students are channeling Sarah Palin by pointing to the distant ...

'been a long time without posting ... time to get back in the game! I'm in Amman with students on my "Jordan Dialogue 2016"!  Had to stop in Beirut (thanks APSA-MENA!), prior to joining up with my group here in Amman.  I want to give a shout-out to Mr. Charles, Ms. FaHu, and Lt. Briskin plus the inimitable Dr. Shakir for leading the group here ahead of me. Now we're all together and my first day with everyone was a trip to Ajloun Castle after they all toured Jerash ... Note - I was standing right in front of this group, but they insisted on using the selfie stick!  And I found a kindred spirit with a nearly matching hat.  Plus, a non-selfie with the amazing Farhana. Ajloun Castle - built by  nephew of Salah ad-Din al-Ayyubi ( Saladin ), in AD 1184-1185. 

We've been in Jordan now for over a week; it's been a crazy-busy 8-9 days already: orienting students to Amman and Jordan and their Homestays; starting Arabic classes; guest lectures; and a quick trip to the Dead Sea as well. Yesterday, we visited a Syrian refugee community of around 200 people in the north of Jordan, near Mafraq.  We were asked to set up a "community center" in the form of a UNHCR ("UN Refugee agency") tent.  It was a simple task, given the eagerness of so many NU and Project GO students.  We accomplished it in less than an hour - and our students were asking to do more ... "what next?" they asked, hoping that we could contribute even more than we just did.  But that was it - the Syrians have so little already, and our efforts were so minimal, yet the end result is a nice tent for young kids to hang out and play, draw, or do whatever they and their parents want them to do. After our visit to the informal camp, including sever...