Public Opinion on the U.S. Government Shutdown

My favorite comments thus far:

“If I were a panda in the National Zoo in Washington, I would be outraged that my zoo is closed because of the government shutdown and my zookeepers aren’t being paid, while the House Zoo on Capitol Hill stays open with its members still paid. I would petition to have the animals take over law-making, and the House members put in cages and fed bamboo shoots. Then we could watch pandas on C-span and would have budgets on time, too. Win-win!” – Nicholas Kristof for the New York Times

 

“Our government may be shutting down in a few hours. So, folks, get ready for absolutely no noticeable difference.” – Conan O’Brien

 

“The shutdown would be less expensive if the Obama administration didn’t have workers setting up barricades around the World War II memorial and the Lincoln Memorial and if guards weren’t stationed to prevent citizens from walking on federal paths and trails.” – from Brooklyn

 

“And who are these people, exactly, who will realize how useless most of the government is? Surely they are not low-income preschoolers and their parents who benefit from Head Start. They are not the poor, elderly, or disabled who need efficient resolution of their Medicare, Medicaid, or Social Security claims. They are not people who visit national parks. They are not veterans. They are not people who believe in the correct apportionment of the House through the Census. They are not people who care about a safe workplace or civil rights enforcement. I don’t recognize this as the profile of anyone I know. Maybe they’re all in Rep. Blackburn’s district.” – from Los Angeles

 

“‘Listen, we’re going to pay you. We’re just not going to pay you today, but we’re going to pay you with interest, and we will pay everybody that’s due money’ [Florida Republican Representative Ted Yoho’s word for America on the worries of the current shutdown’s effect on global markets]

If I told my credit card company that they’d raise my interest rate.” – from New York

 

Al-Ahram: “New Syria in the Making”

The opposition is preparing a de-facto government and have chosen a leader (prime minister) as they wait for Assad to go. The opposition’s previously divided 2 military and political groups have recently united under a National Coalition. There is also a new head of the opposition’s joint command which is for military organization and focuses on militarily overthrowing the incumbent president. It has the support of many foreign states. Opinion, however, is yet divided on the transitional government and its priorities. For example, the fact that it is physically unable to operate within Syria is being criticized.

The National Coalition can’t be a perfect Titanic from the get-go (metaphorically speaking – we all know how it ended for the Titanic). But, these are very important first steps, and I especially applaud the effort for unity. Hopefully a new Syria will be built from a united front within, rather than by outside powers.

Assad, your time is coming up.

“Islamiya”, Morsi supporters chant

Dec. 1, 2012 – Dokki, CAIRO, EGYPT – Morsi supporters chant “Islamiya,” and “Morsi,” and “Allah is the greatest” (الله أكبر).

 

DOKKI, CAIRO
Dec. 1, 2012
Morsi supporters rally

Their loud voices chant loyalty for Morsi. His face is on the posters they hold. They wave the red white black Egyptian flag, the same flag being waved proudly by anti-Morsi government protestors in Tahrir Square not too far away. After January 2011, Egyptians are now too well aware that they have a voice which can and should be heard. Fathers carry their children on their shoulders and mothers hold their child’s hand. Men, women, families. They walk because they want their Muslim identity to be reflected and protected by the newly drafted constitution and sharia law.

They shout,

“الشعب بؤير قرارات الرئيس”

“The people affect the decisions of the president”,  

“ندعم قرارات الرئيس“

“We support the president’s decisions,”

Rally groups began walking through the neighborhood from noon, and they kept coming – in other places as well, Morsi-government supporters gathered and took the metro to Dokki to walk towards Cairo University where the Muslim Brotherhood called for people to gather to show support for the president after the large anti-Morsi protests last weekend and yesterday.

Egypt’s united voice during the 2011 revolutions that toppled Mubarak’s reign is now split between the liberals and Islamists under President Morsi as the nation tries to draft a new constitution. Liberals are angry that Morsi has given himself “pharoanic” powers in a constitutional declaration (Nov. 22) and that the draft constitution was passed by an overwhelming Islamist majority without consideration for certain human rights and freedoms, while supporters of Morsi chant that his ‘qarar‘ was right. Morsi is trying to reassure the public that these powers are temporary until the new constitution is put in place – the referendum on the constitution will be voted upon soon. The president is currently unable to unite Muslims, liberals, and Christians to put Egypt on a stable path of working democracy.

A conversation with a Morsi-supporter on the street ends by his telling me, “There are only 3 things I want to tell you. Welcome to Egypt, welcome to Egypt, welcome to Egypt.” Welcome to new-born democracy.

If the 2011 revolution was the labor pains of democracy, fall 2012 is a frail incubator which holds the fragile new-born.

And democracy in its adolescence? It won’t be a smooth ride.

 

Mary Hayoung Kim

DOKKI, CAIRO
Dec. 1, 2012 12:15 p.m.

 

DOKKI, CAIRO
          Dec. 1, 2012 “NOW WHAT?” reads the Egypt Independent’s headline news               Copyright: Mary Hayoung Kim

 

DOKKI, CAIRO
Dec. 1, 2012
Morsi supporters walking downtown

 

DOKKI, CAIRO
Dec. 1, 2012 4 p.m.
Morsi supporters

 

DOKKI, CAIRO
Dec 1, 2012
Morsi supporter and son
Copyright: Mary Hayoung Kim

 

DOKKI, CAIRO
Dec 1, 2012
Morsi supporters out on streets

 

DOKKI, CAIRO
Dec. 1, 2012
                 the little boy holds a sign that reads, “WE SUPPORT THE PRESIDENT’S DECISIONS”                                                  Copyright: Mary Hayoung Kim

 

DOKKI, CAIRO
Dec 1, 2012 5 p.m.
Morsi supporters make their way to Cairo University campus downtown

 

November 27, 2012 Tahrir

CNN VIDEO: “Egypt drafts a new constitution” 

November 27th Tuesday

Late Tuesday afternoon, curiosity got the better of Nina and me as we began our stroll from Dokki past Opera towards Tahrir Square. On the bridge from Opera to downtown Tahrir, groups of people were gathered exchanging greetings, couples holding hands, small children in the arms of their parents – all walking towards Tahrir Square. It felt like one big family trip to the zoo rather than an atmosphere of violent clashes as portrayed by the media, although one person died from the protests on Tuesday.

 

downtown Tahrir
November 27, 2012

 

November 28th Wednesday

Modern Standard Arabic class with Ustaz Ibrahim:

Me: “Did you go to the protests yesterday?”

Ibrahim: “No. I stayed at home.”

Me: “But there were so many people in Tahrir Square. 200,000?”

Ibrahim: “There were more people at home.” :)

 

There is no united Egypt, and whenever the people (whether they be pro-Morsi or the liberal opposition) are disgruntled they head to Tahrir Square.

I wonder how Egyptians define citizenship.

What is democracy? What is leadership?

November 15, 2012 Tahrir

Arab League Union headquarters
November 15, 2012
Copyright: Mary Hayoung Kim

 

Being “directionally”-challenged leads to unexpected coincidences. My refined art of getting lost thrust me into the middle of anti-Israel protests in downtown Cairo around 5 p.m. today. A couple dozen protesters carrying Palestinian and Egyptian flags had gathered in front of the Arab League headquarters in Tahrir to convey their support for their brethren in Gaza and to express their anger against Israel. Chanting against the Israeli Gaza Strip occupation and Israeli airstrikes, protesters began to make their way from in front of the Arab League headquarters into Tahrir Square while Egyptian local media captured the scene. The constituents of the protests appeared to be mostly young men in their twenties. (The Al-Ahram news reports on anti-Israel demonstrations from Monday (12th) say the National Front for Justice and Freedom and the Revolutionary Socialists were among the participating groups.)

At the scene, there was economic profit being made by men selling big and small Egyptian and Palestinian flags. I was also approached by a man with paint who, before I could refuse, began to draw a large “I” and a red heart on my right cheek and an Egyptian flag on the left cheek before demanding an outrageous 25 Egyptian pounds which I of course did not pay but haggled down to 4.

At the scene, there was a lot of requests for a photo (despite being unrelated to the protests, I failed to blend into the crowd).

At the scene, there were local journalists looking out for me when there appeared to be any sign of harassment from young boys, and local media people giving me a 101 low-down on ‘what-to-watch-out-for-at-a-Tahrir-rally.’

While Egyptians hold anti-Israel rallies, in Israel schools have been called off today and the coming Sunday and the region is on code red after continuing airstrikes between Israel and Hamas over the last couple of days. Pandora’s box of rockets seems to have been opened on November 9th when Palestinian militants fired an anti-tank rocket at an Israeli army jeep along the Gaza border. Since then, Israeli airstrikes in Gaza have not only killed Ahmad Al-Jabri, the top Hamas military leader, but also a tally of 15 innocent civilians while injuring dozens more. In response, Hamas has begun firing rockets into southern Israel killing 3 Israelis in Kiryat Malachi. Just a while ago, a rocket from Gaza landed in the south sea of Tel Aviv causing sirens to go off and people to take refuge.

For the Arab world, an attack on Palestinians is considered to be an attack on the Arab family as anti-Israel protests in Cairo continue to demonstrate. This is further exacerbated by photos and stories of the dead in Gaza that include a pregnant woman with twins, an eleven month-old baby, and a four-year old girl – civilians unrelated to Hamas or terrorism.

Among Arab nations, Egypt has had the most cordial relations with the state of Israel. Egypt’s perpetually-tested cordiality with Israel dates back to their peace treaty in 1979 after Camp David, when it became the first Arab nation to recognize the state of Israel. When the Muslim Brotherhood were elected after the 2011 January revolutions that toppled Mubarak’s 30 year rule, they promised to abide by Egypt’s previous international treaties, which a nervous Israel had to take at face value. After the 1979 Peace Treaty since the Sadat administration to the 21st century, Egypt has enjoyed economic and military aid from the  U.S., an amount too big to hastily breach its treaty with Israel at a time when Egypt is struggling economically.

The Morsi administration negotiated a truce between Israel and the Hamas government on the 12th but as soon as Israel assassinated the top Hamas military commander on the 14th, Egypt was quick to condemn the continuing airstrikes and moved to recall its ambassador from Israel. Anti-Israel protests have been a daily event in Tahrir this week. Furthermore the Muslim Brotherhood has not been shy in calling the state of Israel “rascist” and a “Zionist occupier.” How Egypt-Israel relations will unfold and whether Egypt can contribute to further negotiations between Israel and Hamas remain to be seen.

As military operations of the Israeli army and Hamas continue to be posted online, ‘World War III?’ is a question on people’s minds. How ironic appear the words of the daily greeting among Arabs and Israelis, “Peace be upon you.” If only those words held more authenticity and accountability.

 

Mary Hayoung Kim

 

the gate of the Arab League headquarters, downtown Cairo
November 15, 2012
Copyright: Mary Hayoung Kim

 

protesters rally in front of the Arab League headquarters, downtown Cairo
November 15, 2012
Copyright: Mary Hayoung Kim

 

the anti-Israel rally moves to Tahrir Square
November 15, 2012
Copyright: Mary Hayoung Kim

 

Egyptian man selling Palestinian flags
November 15, 2012
Copyright: Mary Hayoung Kim

 

downtown Cairo
November 15, 2012

Turkish politics: nationalism, secularism, and prayer

TRT video clip: MHP leader Bahçeli ends speech in prayer

 

Turkish nationalism, Turkish secularism, and prayer to Allah – can a reconciliation between the three exist in Turkey? 

Source: http://www.worldbulletin.net

MHP stands for ‘Miliyetçi Hareket Partisi’ which can be translated into ‘Nationalist Movement Party.’ It’s the third biggest political party in Turkey after the AKP (Justice and Development Party – the current party in power) and CHP (Republican People’s Party – the main opposition), and as the name suggests is a strong right-wing nationalist party. The party’s flag consists of three white crescent moons against a red background, a tacit display of its religous conservatism (random note: it was the Ottoman Empire that adopted the crescent moon as a symbol of Islam which spread and was commonly accepted under its vast ruling influence). In the video, the current party leader Devlet Bahçeli is ending his speech (which called for a stronger Turkish nationalism and criticized the ruling party and the main opposition of a lack thereof)  in prayer. He prays for Allah’s bereket over the nation. The voices of those in the room reply with an enthusiastic “Amin” after each sentence.

This is where Turkish politics gets interesting.

Disclaimer to Turkish politics: Granted, it is a given that a majority of Turkish politicians are Muslim. Unlike Egypt or Syria whose population has a large minority population of non-Muslims, Turkey’s demography reflects a 99% Muslim population. Yet the founding father of the Republic of Turkey enforced a strong laicism, a separation of religion and politics derived from the French term for secularism. Atatürk’s laicism however played out looking more like state-control over religion (Islam) for the sake of development and purging of Ottoman remnances after Atatürk saved the country from being torn apart by Allies after the demise of the Ottoman Empire after the first World War. Turkey’s secularism is a cornerstone to its constitution and politics that is continued to this day which is why Turkish democracy is unique for a predominantly Muslim nation in the Middle East. This is why the AKP’s policies and actions of its leaders (president, prime minister, and foreign minister) are being watched with hawk-like wariness by the opposition and any slight tendency of incorporating religion into the public sphere is criticized as going against the founding principle of the republic. Secularism is to be guarded at all costs, an axiom attested by the military coups of 1961, 1970, and 1980. The AKP walks a fine line of being accused of bringing Islam into the public sphere.

Back to the topic. Granted, it is a given that a majority of Turkish politicians are Muslim. And all Muslims pray – 5 times a day. Not in the political public sphere shouts laicism. Conceding the fact that Bahçeli was only praying at the party’s general assembly as the party leader, not as the president or prime minister. But perhaps a separation of state and religion is more of a sensitive issue in countries like Turkey where secularism is a founding principle of the republic. Not just in Turkey but also in countries like Egypt where a new democracy is taking shape with debates between the liberals and ‘Islamists’ over what degree Islam should influence the nation’s policies.

Nationalism, religious identity, and national policy on the Kurdish issue are contested by the 3 main political parties in Turkey. There is no Kurdish issue says the MHP, choosing to ignore the greatest threat to Turkish national identity. We are effectively addressing the rights of the Kurds says the AKP, reassuring the EU that it is upholding the rights of its minority. Hijaps should be allowed, greater freedom to Islam says the AKP. Uphold secularism, don’t threaten Atatürk’s republic says the CHP. “Allahım” says the MHP, praying to Allah after shouting ‘nationalism’.

Interesting dynamics to watch out for as Turkish nationalism rhetoric and its Kurdish policy as well as the degree of religious identity in politics will drastically change depending on who is in power, in the lines of a constructivist argument.

 

Mary Hayoung Kim

The Battle of the Camel

Egyptians like to make fun of everything, my Egyptian friend Asmaa tells me. On Friday (12th), there were protests in Tahrir Square which turned violent injuring over one hundred. There were those out to express discontent over the new constitution (passed by an overwhelmingly Islamist majority panel), those out to support President Morsi, and those from the Muslim Brotherhood angered over the judicial decision to acquit 24 men charged with plotting an attack on protesters in Tahrir on February 2, 2011. Known as the ‘Battle of the Camel’ because Mubarak supporters stormed into the crowds in Tahrir Square on camels and horses from all directions to break up the crowd which had been demanding the removal of Mubarak for over a week, the ‘battle’ resulted in the deaths of 21 people whose names are stenciled on the walls in Tahrir, and injured several hundred more.

Included in the Friday protests were the demands for the removal of the Prosecutor General Mahmoud whom President Morsi attempted on Thursday, to send to the ambassadorial position to the Vatican (somewhat unsuccessfully it seems since Mahmoud simply refused to go).

Where is justice?

If the 24 men are acquitted, and if the prosectuor general who acquitted those men goes undealt with, then at least put the camels to jail, Egyptians are saying.

:)

(But what crime did the camels commit, some people also jokingly respond.)

__________________________________________

이집트인들은 모든 것을 유머로 소화해 낸다고 이집트 친구가 얘기해줬다. 이번 금요일(12일), 타흐릴 광장에서는 100명이 넘게 부상당할 만큼 거친 시위가 벌어졌다. 새로 통과된 헌법(‘Islamist’들이 대부분인 패널이 통과시켰기 때문에)에 대한 불만을 나타내려는 자들, 무르시 대통령의 지지자들, 그리고 작년 2월 2일 타흐릴 광장에 시위자들을 상대로 습격을 계획했다고 혐의를 받은 24명의 무죄 판결이 난 것에 대해 화가 난 무슬림 형제단이 한 자리에 모였다. 무바라크 지지자들이 타흐릴 광장에 낙타와 말을 타고 광중에 돌진 했기 때문에 ‘낙타의 전투’이라고도 불리는 작년 습격 사건으로 인해 21명이 사망하였고, 그들의 이름은 타흐릴 광장 벽에 남겨져 있다. 100명 넘는 부상자도 생긴 사건이다.

이번 금요일 시위는 마흐무드 검찰총장의 해고 또한 요구 사항 중 하나였다. 무르시 대통령은 그를 바티칸의 대사 자리로 보내려고 했지만 실패한 셈이다.

정의는 어디에 있다는 말인가?

24명이 무죄 판결을 받고, 무죄 판결을 내린 검찰총장 또한 아무런 조치를 받지 않을 것이라면 낙타라도 감옥에 보내라고 이집트인들은 농을 나눈다.

그런데 낙타는 또 무슨 죄가 있냐고 맞장구 치는 사람들도 있단다. ㅎㅎ

재밌다, 나도 어서 빨리 아랍어로 농담 던질 수 있었으면!!

my peace prize goes to,

The Nobel Peace Prize Committee has awarded this year’s peace prize to none other than the EU. Yes, the entire institution. It seems dismissive of its current plight: the far from peaceful relations between the economically struggling European nations and the economically stronger nations within the EU, not to mention the increasing riffs between Germany and France on a viable solution to save Europe’s finances. If the Nobel peace prize to Obama in 2009 was based on futuristic hope for peace from Obama’s policies (only a mere nine months into his presidency), then their decision to award the EU is perhaps a nostalgic acknowledgement of past achievements of its contribution to the advancement in peace.  Which is why receiving it in the present European state of affairs leads to raised eyebrows. Nonetheless, can we expect celebrations in Europe? Only if it’s on the house (EU).

The Nobel prizes were established in in the early 1900s after Alfred Nobel’s death, and according to his will, Alfred Nobel originally intended the peace prize to be awarded “to the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between the nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies, and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.”

I don’t find the EU very inspiring for peace. But there is another individual who I do find very inspiring. Someone who worked to bring change to a cause they believed in and stood their ground, someone who instills their courage into peers and other people worldwide, someone who raised their voice against the Pakistani Taliban abusing the basic right to education for girls: Malala Yousafzai.

Malala Yousafzai
Copyright: Pak News

Armed masked men stop a school bus heading from school. “Which one of you is Malala? Speak up, otherwise I will shoot you all,” the Taliban gunmen yells. Shot 1 to the head. Shot 2 to the neck.

At gun point a simple nod of acknowledgement at that moment, a ‘yes I’m Malala,’ is inspiration enough. The fact that the Taliban found her voice to be so threatening to their value system that they sought her out, the fact that although she is in critical condition after her surgery her family proudly say that she will go back to school and continue her cause, the fact that she stands for peace in Swat, the fact that as a 14-year old girl she possesses greater courage and perseverance than most of us who have lived twice the years in her life.

She is not ‘a symbol of infidels and obscenity,’ as the Pakistani Taliban claim. She does not stand for U.S. interests. She stands for the universal right to education. Something that is not against Allah’s will, surely.

As a female, I support her cause for girls’ education. As an individual, she gains my respect and she inspires me to stand my ground for the things I really believe in, for peace where aggression and hostility abound and where the Taliban wage war against education for girls. She makes me ask myself what is something I stand for, something I could take a bullet for.

Malala, you get my peace prize this year.

 

Mary Hayoung Kim

*Link to Malala’s diary blog from 2009 when the Taliban issued an edict banning girls from attending school: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7834402.stm

Turkey: 25 years of refocusing

President Abdullah Gül
Copyright: Hürriyet Daily News & AA

Old habits die hard, but so do ‘childhood’ dreams. At least for Turkey. Since the birth of the republic of Turkey and Kemal Mustafa Atatürk’s (the founding father of the republic) drive towards ‘westernization’ (in the forms of the nation’s  secularization and purging of Ottoman remnances), the aspired goal has been to be part of the ‘West’, the pinnacle of which has been the European Union since its inception in 1951.

This makes for an interesting but long hackneyed topic. Geographically, only 5% of Turkey technically lies in Europe. Istanbul (former Constantinople and Byzantine) lies at the ambiguous boundary. While Istanbul’s commercial hub lies in the ‘European’ side, most of Istanbul’s residents live on the ‘Asian’ side. In half an hour, one can travel from Europe to Asia and vice versa on the frequent ferry rides across the beautiful blue Bosphorus. Culturally and in terms of religion, Islam perveates Turkish society, customs, traditions, and national holidays which gives Turkey a closer cultural proximity to its Middle Eastern and Arab neighbors. Speaking in the language of sports and culture, Turkey is part of the European Cup (soccer) and participates in the Euro Vision (yearly singing contest).

When the AKP (Justice and Development Party) came into power in 2001, with much talk about whether its leaders with political Islamic pasts would shift Turkey’s long track for the EU bid (the general assertion being that ‘Islamization’ is on the opposite course from ‘European-ization’), the AKP has been doing as much if not more than other previous political parties to join Europe’s club despite the constant disappointment along the way.

Turkey’s ambitious goals are to be a role model in the Middle East (Foreign Minister Davutoğlu’s ‘strategic depth’ foreign policy) as well as to join the EU. Will it be able to accomplish both or is it one or the other? How will one affect the other? I think having EU membership while retaining a strong Islamic tradition and culture (and bashing Israel once in a while), not to mention having a strong economy might make Turkey the utopian beacon of the Middle East. And having good relations with its neighbors can’t hurt Turkey’s EU bid either. Turkey won’t ever give up on EU membership, hence President Abdullah Gül’s recent call to the Turkish parliament to refocus on Turkey’s EU membership bid. In the end the well-known formula is, after all [economy = power + influence]. Although Europe’s economy isn’t doing so well at the moment (an understatement to be sure), yet through good and bad, Turkey’s still on the EU track for 25 years.. I call that, commitment. And focused.

Here, I also have to add that while Turkey is hailed as a role model by Arab nations by the likes of Egypt, it isn’t exactly Turkey’s politics or its secularization that is being deemed as exemplary. The dress codes of Turkish women, its free drinking culture, and its more open and liberal society, the aspects of Turkey that gives it its resemblance to Europe is not up for emulation for Arab countries – la’ shukran, not quite yet. Then what is it about Turkey that makes it a role model, I asked one Egyptian. Its economy, they replied.

Afterall, wasn’t it frustration with a poor economy that ignited the Jasmine Revolution and the Arab Spring across the Middle East? Were the Arab peoples really demanding democracy or were they demanding their daily bread? Let’s revisit the formula, [economy = power + influence (foreign policy)/ = stable domestic politics & content citizens (domestic policy)]. As long as Turkey keeps up a good economy, its chances of achieving its dual goals will only increase insha’allah.

NOTE: BUT, what’s interesting is that the best and the brightest of Turkey, including the Turkish friends I have gotten to know here (in Egypt), don’t plan on going back to live in Turkey because they see a lack of a good opportunity in politics/economics back home. Will EU membership stop a drainage in the new generation of intellectuals? We could probably discuss a number of consequences of Turkey’s accession into the EU, but realistically viewing the current possibility, maybe they should start focusing on getting their new generation of intellectuals to come back home for one thing.

 

Mary Hayoung Kim

 

the true price of ‘innocence’

“Innocence of Muslims”

There’s a double ironic jeopardy to that title whether it be in referrence to the film trailer or to the reaction against it in the Middle East. It’s the title of a trailer made in America, the contents of which contains blasphemy against the prophet Mohammed (uh, hello, bad idea?), and it’s been the catalysis of anti-American protests spreading across the Middle East which began with Egypt on September 11th (you can read more about it here). 4 Americans died in the American diplomatic mission attack in Libya on Tuesday including ambassador J. Christopher Stevens. Many more locals (note: locals) have been injured amongst anti-American protests in Egypt, Tunisia, Sudan and so on. The irony is not lost that the trailer was first posted online in June, but that its translation into Egyptian Arabic and its rapid spread occurred in the days before September 11th. President Mursi has condemned the attacks in a national address and requested the protection of foreigners in accord with Islam. A strain in U.S.-Egypt relations is not desirable for an Egypt that is struggling economically and being tested diplomatically.

I’ve been getting a lot of messages from people confirming that I’m doing okay and safe. One of my dear friends, Tim, who is studying in Israel was just checking in on me, and I’ll go ahead and share my reply:

 

Thanks Tim! Maybe it’s because I’m not American or maybe because I’m not in the U.S. embassy area that I wouldn’t even feel the anti-American sentiment/anger unless I kept up with the news. But if you talk with an Egyptian, they definitely get worked up. Rationally speaking, they just feel that it’s not appropriate to speak bad about or create an insulting video about any religious prophet- but would you blame them? It just seems common sense, right? Would I get worked up if some people blasphemied against Jesus and made a video about it? 어이없겠지, and most likely offended but then again I wouldn’t go out trying to harm the people of that country or its embassy. That also seems like common sense, right? But I also don’t want to categorize it as “Muslim backwardness” (as one Western media outlet put it) – I understand that the people in Libya, and the people in Egypt and elsewhere who are out and protesting are trying to send a message. That by no means is this acceptable for them. Religion and life are intertwined here in the Middle East, as you already know so well! Religion is life, and life is religion. But yeah, the way they’re going about doing it is definitely wrong. I think what Huntington actually meant by ‘clash of civilizations’ was the clash of religious fundamentalism and innocent people getting hurt inbetween. What’s up with the person/group who made the video. The CIA should put them on their blacklist because they’re just as dangerous as any extreme terrorist group. They’re like the catalyst for extreme religious fundamentalists and terrorist groups. I bet they loved this (just the fact that they spread the translated video in the days before September 11 says something I think). I also think it wouldn’t probably have been such a big deal (at least not across the whole Middle East) if say, the video had been made in Lithuania. It’s just one more thing to be angry at against America (the symbol of Western Christianity), you know? 

I’m curious to get a feel for the protests [I want to know the accuracy of media portrayal..!] but I’m listening to advice and staying away from that area. Apparently over 200 protesters have been hurt? I’ve been out and about other areas of Cairo the last couple of days and there’s nothing to suggest any awaiting harm for me as a foreigner. But yes, I will keep safe! And I appreciate your prayers! How’s Israel? Is there any twist to the story or different approach from Israeli news? Pure condemnation or just apathy? We need to find a time to skype. Miss you so much and can’t wait ’til spring!!

_________________________________________________________________

• “Protests against film spread in Middle East”, Hurriyet Daily News
• “86 arrested in US consulate attack in India”, Hurriyet Daily News

Postscript: I had a brief interesting conversation with Andy about the situation in Cairo right now which made me reflect on the importance of balanced, unbiased journalism and balanced, unbiased insight into any situation. Andy’s an American, but his take into the situation was frustration over the stories that journalists are selling in the West that blow up ‘physical’ action without fully checking into or trying to understand the truth.

I think both sides (the West and the Middle East) need to pop their balloon.

Like Andy was telling me, Egyptians need to realize that unlike some Middle Eastern countries, there is no government censorship in the U.S. so it shouldn’t automatically be assumed that everything that’s been produced in America (especially low-budget poorly-made videos) has government approval or that it’s the general consensus of a population of 300 million. They should see it for what it is – senseless religious fundamentalism at its worst. Americans also should not take the protests as an ‘Islamic war against Christianity’ or against the U.S. Yes, those who are protesting are angry, but their methods don’t represent the whole nation and neither does it represent all Muslims.

Both sides need to take a step back and calm down.

Whether the ‘clash of civilization’s on a religious front is hypothetical or being seen right now, if people do not choose to be objective, that’s all they’ll see. Then who are the victims of this ‘deadly myth’ as Frieson puts it? The loss of objectivity, the ‘deadly myth’ – innocence pays the price.

• Highly recommend his article: “The deadly myth of a clash of civilizations”, Isaac Frieson, The Record.com
• “Update: Copts and priests join protests”, Egypt Independent
• “A day at the protests at the American Embassy in Cairo,” Ali Abdel Mohsen, Egypt Independent