Religion...Women.....Environment...but I don't mean to offend you

Well there are certain things which you’re just not supposed to talk about. I am sure that we have all been told at one point or another “not to talk about religion or politics because you never know who you’re going to offend.” For the most part I have tried to follow these guidelines in my blog, not knowing who might be reading it. But I feel that because of my choice in study abroad locations I am compelled to talk about these two things. Not only am I in a developing country, and one that is located between “combat-enriched societies,” but I am also in a Muslim country.
On numerous occasions I have been advised not to talk about certain topics with people because they can literally be life-threatening conversations. This is hard to do when you take taxis nearly everywhere in this city and when every taxi driver wants to discuss your government’s actions. Luckily I have been able to answer all questions honestly by saying that I support my country and my government but that I wish our government’s leaders would choose life over death in many various issues. It is an interesting thing though that Jordanians view me(and any other American I suppose) as a responsible representative of their
government. I suppose this is the ideal behind a democracy, that the voter is responsible for the government’s actions. But that same sense of responsibility does not seem to be present when you talk to Jordanians about their government. For the most part they talk about the King and the royal family and not about the parliament. This past Tuesday the country of Jordan hosted its parliamentary elections. And not shortly after the celebratory gun shots members of the Islamic Action Front were claiming voter fraud and the PM resigned. I dare say that voter fraud is common in the elections here because everybody talks about it and nobody seems to be talking about it as though it were a problem or that it was wrong. And one of my teachers, who does not vote anymore, says that still too many people sell their vote for money in order to buy food and the other half of the voters vote along tribal lines versus voting for any real issues.
Over the past three weeks there have been weekly talks on various topics pertaining to the people of Jordan. the topics for the seminars were: Islam in Modern Jordanian Society, Women’s Rights in Jordan and Water Rights in Jordan. The first two seminars were inclusive in providing any real answers or solutions to problems (or even identifying problems at that). It seemed as though the key slogan for the politicians and religious leaders at these seminars was that any problem could be solved if “Muslims would go back to the ways of Islam.” I agree that this is most likely true, but so far I have not heard any practical steps to reach this harmony between faith and action. And it seemed to me as though the politicians and religious leaders were putting most of the burden for change on the people versus taking any responsibility for leading this change.

But I do not want to sound as though I have lost hope in Jordan. I think that the society here is fascinating in that it is a relatively new thing to be called a Jordanian and yet there is this sense of harmony here. Women pass each other in the street, some wearing the head coverings and others wearing “clubbing” clothes. Both of my arabic professors (one chooses to wear the head covering) and the bulk of my colleagues at the NGO I work at are female and are all highly educated. So it appears as though women enjoy a certain level of freedom in Jordan that might or might not be present in surrounding countries. Also, there are churches and mosques right next to each other. The family that owns the apartment I live in is Arab-Christian and host their priest weekly for tea and private bible study. It seems as though Jordan has been able to capture a relatively balanced sense of harmony between Christians and Muslims.

There is one thing which I have found most Jordanians split on, the environment. It seems to me that the government is trying to work towards changing environmental policy and towards correcting past mistakes in water pumping. But when I walk home in the evening I see countless piles of trash on the side of the street and numerous Arab youth throwing their trash wherever they happen to be at the time. So there is yet to be a grassroots campaign for environmental change. It is almost the opposite of what we have in the states, where our government is concerned with a non-renewable and high polluting resource whereas a portion of the people are concerned about the future of our environment.
I have some of my favorite pictures from the semester pertaining to government or mostly to the environment....I hope you’ll enjoy them and possibly the message they carry...
:: Joshua

Comments

[Ana Maria Wiseman]

Hi Josh, you have really raised a number of interesting issues. You'll remember when we talked about cultural encounters that what we observe about a certain culture may reveal more about the observer than about the culture. When I was in Jordan I found myself equating the covering of a woman with lack of freedom, but upon further investigation, this reveals more about my assumptions than about the actual freedom of individuals. I think I understood this a little better when I read Orhan Pamuk's Snow.
I have enjoyed reading your blog and I am so pleased that you have been so regular about posting your observations. I look forward to being able to discuss this and other topics with you upon your return.
Best AMW