Day 4 & 5

Hello!

The last two days have been jam-packed with activities and lectures, so I am just now getting the chance to catch up with everything on the internet.

Yesterday, our group visited the Princess Tagharid Institute. This institute was started by a Muslim woman named Dr. Aghadeer Jweihan, one of the most inspiring and empowered women. As a change agent, she has inspired and moved me. She was an amazing women with huge dreams. Besides being inspired, however, many of my preconceived ideas about Islamic women have been shattered. Her father and mother, and later her husband, were so supportive of her ambitions and goals. They encouraged and supported her in every educational ambition she had, both mentally and monetarily. They allowed her to become independent and follow her dreams, not their dreams for her. After years of education (BS in Law, Masters in Women's Studies, PHD in Education, and another Masters in Psychology), she began working in a school. She noticed the terrible condition and treatment of young girls who had been abandoned or orphaned and had a strong desire to do something. Therefore, a few years ago, she began work on starting this institute, which empowers young women to overcome their situation. She is now working on opening a new building that will give women training in beauty school, cooking and catering classes, or crafts and domestic work.

Last night, we attended a wonderful meal prepared by one of our Bethel profs, Doug, who lives in Amman with his family. His wife, Patti, prepared a delicious home cooked meal with "American" food: chili, baked potatos, vegitables, fruit salad, bread, crackers, and apple cake. It was a good night of fellowship and debriefing and lots of laughing.

Today, we visited the College of Islamic Art and had a lecture by Professor Minweir, who is also an advisor to King Abduallah. His lecture was on universal beauty and the theory of knowledge in perception, virute, and intellect. He also touched on the three gifts from God, which are also held by many religions which are Truth, Beauty, and Goodness.

One thing that I have been thinking a lot about while being here are my ideas and judgements about this society and how they have been altered or completely destroyed. Often in the West, we are under the impression that women in the Middle East are oppressed. However, Dr. Aghadeer is only one example out of many that show that this view is very wrong, in Jordan at least. Two other women that come to mind are a friend through EWI named, Asal, and a representative of the College of Islamic Art, Hannah Hijazi. Both of these women, as well as Dr. Aghadeer, have explained that it is culturally acceptable for women to make all of their own decisions, such as dress, work, and family. Also, they talked about a view that Westerners often misinterpret that they are oppressed because of their Muslim religion. However, they said that it is written no where in the Quran that women should be covered head to toe, only to be modest. They also say that the Quran very clearly shows that men and women are equal. Therefore, they say that these are characteristics of specific cultures, not of Islam. This was very enlightening for me, because I had always generalized the Middle East under one blanket. I assumed that everyone had the same culture, which was guided by Islam. However, being here and experiencing this culture, it is very obvious that culture varies from country to country and that women of all different faiths, Christian and Muslim, etc. all dress very modestly, often covering their heads. I realized that this generalization is extremely wrong and can be offensive, just as when other people from other cultures assume that our secular American culture is under the blanket of Christianity, since the US is a "Christian" country.