Arabic Graffitti near the Damascus Gate

By Amy Loewenthal, RRC student and Multifaith Studies Intern in Israel

13 July 2009
Walking with a friend from the Damascus Gate to the Western Wall, I stopped to photograph sights in the Muslim Quarter, including archways and a beautiful display of pastries. I photographed some graffiti on a wall because its colors and nice details caught my eye. I wondered what the Arabic writing said.

Several weeks later I started studying in the municipal ulpan and met a friendly Arabic speaking classmate who said she would be happy to translate the writing for me. I printed out the photo on paper and brought it to class.

A number of the Jewish students had arrived early and they looked at my photo. They also were curious what the Arabic writing said. I pointed out that it might be a statement of Arab or Palestinian pride, since the colors used were the Palestinian national colors. When I pointed this out, all the Jewish students nodded at my observation, then uniformly groaned and guessed that the writing was therefore something derogatory about the Jews. I suggested it might be an expression of pride without any aspersions.

The young Muslim woman came in and glanced at the photo. “Oh,” she said, “this is an individual’s announcement. His name is Suleman [last name withheld here] and he is saying that he just returned from making hajj in Mecca.” She pointed out the repeating image that lined both the sides – the Ka’bah, the cube-shaped building in Mecca in whose direction Muslims all over the world face to pray.

“So he painted this announcement on the wall?”

“Yes, because he was happy and proud and wanted to tell people that he had made hajj.”

The other students were wrong in their gloomy prediction.
Here is my prayer: May those who fear the worst in people receive such pleasant and surprising glimpses of the best.

Read Full Post »

LEARNING ABOUT “BLOGISTAN”

This past weekend I had the privilege of attending the 46th Annual Convention of the Islamic Society of North America in Washington, D.C.’s Convention Center. This is a huge community gathering, part conference/part celebration that attracts tens of thousands of Muslim Americans from illustrious scholars of Islam to national and local communal leaders, from singles interested in matrimonial meeting  to families with young children in tow.

The mood in the hallways was friendlier and less chaotic than I am used to at a convention. Only after I got home did I read in the program  bulletin a page of “Guidelines for Participants” that included “Go out of your way to greet others with Assalamu Alaykum” and “Be kind, polite and patient with hotel and convention staff.”  Hmm…

There were many wonderful learning opportunities. I found particularly valuable a session entitled Blogistan: Muslim Americans on the Web. The four speakers and the moderator were all bloggers with a following that includes non-Muslims. (There is another, much larger, network of Muslim blogs written for Muslims themselves.)  They explained how their presence on the web serves  both to create virtual community for far flung Muslims  and also to impact the way stories about Islam are understood by others, including how the stories are handled by the main stream media.

These relatively young, highly educated and exceptionally smart individuals are making a difference far beyond what was possible before the internet. What struck me was the gentleness and humility with which they presented their work, stressing their efforts to support one another and to empower new bloggers.  I was impressed by the lack of ego and competitiveness on display; the relationships felt genuine.  These are men and women on a mission.  Evidently, they  trust  that there is enough work to go around.

If you are new to this world,  a good place to begin is with the writings of Hussein Rashid who not only spoke on this panel but also will be teaching for RRC during the spring, 2010 semester.  He has his own blog called Islamicate , contributes to Altmuslimah and also is a regular contributor and editor at a blog created at Emory University called Religion Dispatches.

I  was particularly charmed by Wajahat Ali who says he blogs on a “lap top that is on life support”  at Goatmilk: An Intellectual Playground. He encouraged the young people in the audience, saying  “If I can do this, you can too.”  Wajahat, in addition to his day job as an attorney and his blogging, has written a play about a Pakistani-American family that will be opening in New York City on September 11, 2001. The combination of humor and depth that Wajahat  brought to his presentation led me to believe we will be hearing more about him soon.

Read Full Post »