It was the "day of dignity" in Syria and the "day of rage" in Bahrain. In Amman, it was "March 24th" rally which CNN identifies as "large protests". The eye of Sauron (the media) is fixed on Syria and Bahrain, and Jordanians whine on twitter that the March 24th rally is not getting enough attention. At the protests, a man died of a heart attack; Al Jazeera and just about every pro-change news source is labeling it as a death by police-incited beating. The truth is unfortunate. It was Jordanians throwing stones at Jordanians. Protesters protesting protesters!
The common denominator over the last few days has been "mixed nuts". I eat them, I see them, I read about them. The meaning is threefold..
1) It seems that much of the worlds problem is caused by assorted nuts--Qaddafi, Mubarak, the pro-gov protesters throwing stones at their own citizens peacefully using their freedom of speech. I could go on but you know the type...Sauron and his minion Saruman of Many Colors. (Middle East and Middle Earth are only two letters apart....coincidence? I think not).
2) I have been on a diet of Trix cereal, fruit, and Lebanese Mixed Nuts: pumpkin seeds, peanuts and almonds in their shells, cashews and sunflower seeds.
I like Lebanese nuts! (please don't take that the wrong way) The company is called Al Halabi, it's reputed among Jordanians as the best of the best.
3) Sarah Miller and I met a young man of mixed French and Arab (mixed nuts get it?) descent who just happens to be Jordan's Jiu Jitsu Champion. We befriended him at Matrix gym and so far he is the only Jordanian I have befriended aside from people we met through SIT staff beside the man who sells mixed nuts at Safeway near my house. Mabruk to me.
This past weekend I attended Friday prayers at a mosque on the main highway in Amman. As an observer, I was impressed. The whole affair took 1 hour tops, sermon included. There was a separate prayer room for the women located above and behind the men's larger prayer area. There must have been 350 people total. I watched through the wood parting that shielded the women from the men below. Everyone was facing east; men ages 10 and up knelt on the floor shoulder to shoulder. A holy man sang into the microphone for a while, and people genuflected of their own accord. The sermon was more powerful than any english/christian sermon I have ever heard. The Imam, on his romeo-juliet style balcony, raised his arms and let out a tymphonic ordeal. His voice crescendoed every 3 minutes and I could not force myself to stop listening. I heard a lot of "Allah's", some "mohammad's" and the names of several political figureheads like Hosni Mubarak and Ben Ali. Apparently, the sermon suggested that everyone look back at the life of the prophet and his political actions to determine how they approach the popular demonstrations and revolutions in the Middle East.
The most intimate (literally and figuratively) moments occurred directly after the sermon. Everyone formed long lines shoulder to shoulder and the the man begin to sing again. Not loud enough so that you wanted to flinch, but exactly loud enough so you couldn't hear yourself think. His voice filled you and you could feel that everyone's attention was captivated by it. After every set of "Allahu Akbars", everyone would move at once, standing up and kneeling back down. There was a murmur of emotion-less (AND YET ENTIRELY EMOTIONAL) response that resounded like the rumble of thunder. The magnitude of people performing the same movement was unlike any other religious experience I have witnessed. I have seen congregations as large but they were unable to achieve the level of interconnectedness that I could feel in this room. Even the divider between the men and women seemed impertinent. This wasn't like the "congregation stand and repeat after me" sort of communal motion, it was more akin to a dance. A dance of submission of mind and body to Allah, the perfect, the greater beyond great. And I am glad to have witnessed it. The experience was entirely personal and yet impersonal at the same time. It was otherworldly and worldly, It was an indescribable serious of very describable events.
And now to address the thought that is inevitably going through my parent's mind as they read this...will she convert???
The answer... no no no no (echoing Mel Brook's History of the World Part One: The Inquisition)
While I was interviewing Dropek's host sister about how religious she perceived herself to be, she turned the question back to me. And I think I was as surprised by my own answer as she was...
"I do belong to a Presbyterian Church in the States and I was baptized by choice at age 16 so I could participate in my first mission trip to Cuba...but I do not believe in God and I have never experienced faith in that context. I am currently incapable of feeling "faith" in a "God" (intangible being). But at age 16, I renounced evil and agreed to begin a "journey of faith". I've was lost before then and I am still lost."
Now I would like to addend and amend this statement....
My first week of college, I volunteered to be hypnotized in front of the entire Freshman class at Hopkins. At that time in my life I had moved my mentality from reputed "risk avoider" to avid "risk taker" in a naive attempt to "find myself". 10 minutes into the process, I was one of 2 students left awake. The pulsating music and punctuating words had no effect on me and I removed myself from stage with a "thanks anyway" from Hypnotist Tom Deluka. Around 1/3 of the American population is unhypnotizable, and from that day on I labeled myself as such. I also assumed that this newfound character trait was applicable to other aspects of my unconscious. For example, I am unable to experience faith because I do not have a malleable conscious. I blamed my temperament above anything else, and condemned myself to a life of juggling the tangible. Spirituality and religion were out of the question.
But, I have experienced faith. Perhaps not a pope-worthy dose of it, but faith nonetheless. There was a time in my life where I was situationally depressed. We've all had em, it's part of the burden of humanity. Caught in the emotional cycle of desperate introspection and constant disappointment and disillusionment, I nearly gave up. Have you ever been caught under a wave when it breaks near shore? You get tossed around and you lose your sense of what's up and what's down. In that moment of panic, the thought crosses your mind that you might never come up. This might be the end, and it is dark. And then your feet meet the sand and there's light again; the tides had other plans for you. One day, I just acknowledged that even in my darkest moment it would get better. It was that simple and yet that confusing (such is faith in the context of religion). Christianity and Islam both promise great afterlives (something better!) and acknowledge that life is full of sorrow but if you live (commence confusing guidelines and restrictions in the way you live your life) there will be better, lighter times. I am one step closer to understanding why people follow religion.
Some noteworthy comments I have heard in the past few days:
The common denominator over the last few days has been "mixed nuts". I eat them, I see them, I read about them. The meaning is threefold..
1) It seems that much of the worlds problem is caused by assorted nuts--Qaddafi, Mubarak, the pro-gov protesters throwing stones at their own citizens peacefully using their freedom of speech. I could go on but you know the type...Sauron and his minion Saruman of Many Colors. (Middle East and Middle Earth are only two letters apart....coincidence? I think not).
2) I have been on a diet of Trix cereal, fruit, and Lebanese Mixed Nuts: pumpkin seeds, peanuts and almonds in their shells, cashews and sunflower seeds.
I like Lebanese nuts! (please don't take that the wrong way) The company is called Al Halabi, it's reputed among Jordanians as the best of the best.
3) Sarah Miller and I met a young man of mixed French and Arab (mixed nuts get it?) descent who just happens to be Jordan's Jiu Jitsu Champion. We befriended him at Matrix gym and so far he is the only Jordanian I have befriended aside from people we met through SIT staff beside the man who sells mixed nuts at Safeway near my house. Mabruk to me.
This past weekend I attended Friday prayers at a mosque on the main highway in Amman. As an observer, I was impressed. The whole affair took 1 hour tops, sermon included. There was a separate prayer room for the women located above and behind the men's larger prayer area. There must have been 350 people total. I watched through the wood parting that shielded the women from the men below. Everyone was facing east; men ages 10 and up knelt on the floor shoulder to shoulder. A holy man sang into the microphone for a while, and people genuflected of their own accord. The sermon was more powerful than any english/christian sermon I have ever heard. The Imam, on his romeo-juliet style balcony, raised his arms and let out a tymphonic ordeal. His voice crescendoed every 3 minutes and I could not force myself to stop listening. I heard a lot of "Allah's", some "mohammad's" and the names of several political figureheads like Hosni Mubarak and Ben Ali. Apparently, the sermon suggested that everyone look back at the life of the prophet and his political actions to determine how they approach the popular demonstrations and revolutions in the Middle East.
The most intimate (literally and figuratively) moments occurred directly after the sermon. Everyone formed long lines shoulder to shoulder and the the man begin to sing again. Not loud enough so that you wanted to flinch, but exactly loud enough so you couldn't hear yourself think. His voice filled you and you could feel that everyone's attention was captivated by it. After every set of "Allahu Akbars", everyone would move at once, standing up and kneeling back down. There was a murmur of emotion-less (AND YET ENTIRELY EMOTIONAL) response that resounded like the rumble of thunder. The magnitude of people performing the same movement was unlike any other religious experience I have witnessed. I have seen congregations as large but they were unable to achieve the level of interconnectedness that I could feel in this room. Even the divider between the men and women seemed impertinent. This wasn't like the "congregation stand and repeat after me" sort of communal motion, it was more akin to a dance. A dance of submission of mind and body to Allah, the perfect, the greater beyond great. And I am glad to have witnessed it. The experience was entirely personal and yet impersonal at the same time. It was otherworldly and worldly, It was an indescribable serious of very describable events.
And now to address the thought that is inevitably going through my parent's mind as they read this...will she convert???
The answer... no no no no (echoing Mel Brook's History of the World Part One: The Inquisition)
While I was interviewing Dropek's host sister about how religious she perceived herself to be, she turned the question back to me. And I think I was as surprised by my own answer as she was...
"I do belong to a Presbyterian Church in the States and I was baptized by choice at age 16 so I could participate in my first mission trip to Cuba...but I do not believe in God and I have never experienced faith in that context. I am currently incapable of feeling "faith" in a "God" (intangible being). But at age 16, I renounced evil and agreed to begin a "journey of faith". I've was lost before then and I am still lost."
Now I would like to addend and amend this statement....
My first week of college, I volunteered to be hypnotized in front of the entire Freshman class at Hopkins. At that time in my life I had moved my mentality from reputed "risk avoider" to avid "risk taker" in a naive attempt to "find myself". 10 minutes into the process, I was one of 2 students left awake. The pulsating music and punctuating words had no effect on me and I removed myself from stage with a "thanks anyway" from Hypnotist Tom Deluka. Around 1/3 of the American population is unhypnotizable, and from that day on I labeled myself as such. I also assumed that this newfound character trait was applicable to other aspects of my unconscious. For example, I am unable to experience faith because I do not have a malleable conscious. I blamed my temperament above anything else, and condemned myself to a life of juggling the tangible. Spirituality and religion were out of the question.
But, I have experienced faith. Perhaps not a pope-worthy dose of it, but faith nonetheless. There was a time in my life where I was situationally depressed. We've all had em, it's part of the burden of humanity. Caught in the emotional cycle of desperate introspection and constant disappointment and disillusionment, I nearly gave up. Have you ever been caught under a wave when it breaks near shore? You get tossed around and you lose your sense of what's up and what's down. In that moment of panic, the thought crosses your mind that you might never come up. This might be the end, and it is dark. And then your feet meet the sand and there's light again; the tides had other plans for you. One day, I just acknowledged that even in my darkest moment it would get better. It was that simple and yet that confusing (such is faith in the context of religion). Christianity and Islam both promise great afterlives (something better!) and acknowledge that life is full of sorrow but if you live (commence confusing guidelines and restrictions in the way you live your life) there will be better, lighter times. I am one step closer to understanding why people follow religion.
Some noteworthy comments I have heard in the past few days:
"Do you think Qaddafi just wakes up every morning and takes a pill of his own self-righteousness? Cuz I do." -anonymous
In response to "Why are there so many speed bumps in this country?"
..."Every time someone gets run over they put one up."- Mohannad
In response to "Why are there so many speed bumps in this country?"
..."Every time someone gets run over they put one up."- Mohannad
Recently, I have tried to imagine a cause that I consider worth dying for. A wonderful fact about life is one's ability TO CHOOSE one's battles. What would I demonstrate for? What would I risk my life to protest?
I came up with the following list:
Causes I would consider risking my life for...
1) Protecting endangered turtle species. I would.
2) Smaller government and less taxes in America.
3) Protecting freedom of religion
Causes I wouldn't risk my life for...
1) Mar 24th rally. I believe King Abdullah is doing the best that he can given the pressure.
2) Global Warming
3) Most anything else
The above exercise made me realize how dispassionate I am about things. It's much more agreeable to be aloof to controversial issues and I rather dislike making people mad/uncomfortable. Yet, indifference and indecisiveness (pretty much any word starting in "in" describing a human) can be dangerous. For example, political apathy is one of the main arguments supporting the statement that Jordanian's aren't ready for a full-fledged democracy. I say try them.
While walking along Zahran street, Sarah Miller and I experienced this popular excitement...a group of about 15 cars with young men hanging out waving Jordanian flags and shouting "Jordan!" in support of the King drove by us. I raised my fist and answered "Jordan" and some of them cheered. It was an exciting time. One of the cars decided to slow down to our speed and the two men inside shouted "welcome to Jordan" and then some broken english that was probably something like "come with us". Using my newly found vocab I responded "Tiroo min hon!" Which translates to "Fly you fools" in Wizard, and "Fly from here" in english. Then Sarah and I continued on our march to experience the internationally standardized goodness that is Starbucks Coffee.
To do list for my last few months here:
1) Ride a camel
2)Commandeer said camel
3) Write a 40-50 page research paper
4) Translate and memorize "I Want it That Way" in Arabic
5) Run a half marathon to the Dead Sea
6) Sleep out under the stars at Wadi Rumm
7) Answer the question "Wayne Dignity?"
8) Fall in Love with Jordan
9) Fly a Kite on one of Amman's many hills
10) Learn the harmony to "Afternoon Delight", and "The Blackest Crow", a project I am
working on with Dropek and Ben
To be continued...
3) Most anything else
The above exercise made me realize how dispassionate I am about things. It's much more agreeable to be aloof to controversial issues and I rather dislike making people mad/uncomfortable. Yet, indifference and indecisiveness (pretty much any word starting in "in" describing a human) can be dangerous. For example, political apathy is one of the main arguments supporting the statement that Jordanian's aren't ready for a full-fledged democracy. I say try them.
While walking along Zahran street, Sarah Miller and I experienced this popular excitement...a group of about 15 cars with young men hanging out waving Jordanian flags and shouting "Jordan!" in support of the King drove by us. I raised my fist and answered "Jordan" and some of them cheered. It was an exciting time. One of the cars decided to slow down to our speed and the two men inside shouted "welcome to Jordan" and then some broken english that was probably something like "come with us". Using my newly found vocab I responded "Tiroo min hon!" Which translates to "Fly you fools" in Wizard, and "Fly from here" in english. Then Sarah and I continued on our march to experience the internationally standardized goodness that is Starbucks Coffee.
To do list for my last few months here:
1) Ride a camel
2)Commandeer said camel
3) Write a 40-50 page research paper
4) Translate and memorize "I Want it That Way" in Arabic
5) Run a half marathon to the Dead Sea
6) Sleep out under the stars at Wadi Rumm
7) Answer the question "Wayne Dignity?"
8) Fall in Love with Jordan
9) Fly a Kite on one of Amman's many hills
10) Learn the harmony to "Afternoon Delight", and "The Blackest Crow", a project I am
working on with Dropek and Ben
To be continued...
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