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Interview with Sahar Taman, project leader
- in response to the Citizen Exchange to Egypt in November 2007
Which event was the most meaningful to you as a leader?Well,
I find that as a tour leader the most meaningful moments are not the
events themselves, but rather observing and engaging in the personal
transformations for each delegate who really come to be close friends.
Our prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said that you really get to know a person
when you travel with them. So I found that my own limitations and
boundaries drop through these experiential moments of learning. As you
know our delegation was diverse representing Jews, Muslims and
Christians and was also intergenerational and a good mix of men and
women. Among the Muslims there were immigrants and indigenous Muslims,
there were also in the delegation those with great knowledge of the
Islam in the Middle East and others not as much. Nonetheless we all
learned from each other. I think the point of highest learning for me
was when I shared in the celebration of the start of the Jewish sabbath
and understood the beauty of the symbolism as yet another way to
worship.
However the most powerful moment for me as the tour
leader was in a village outside of Cairo when we were graciously
welcomed in the home of an Egyptian farming (peasant) family. It was a
totally new experience for almost everybody and I first saw the unease
and discomfort in our delegates as well as our hosts. However as we
enjoyed a delicious homemade country breakfast and talked and learned I
saw our congregation humbled by the hospitality and I saw our hosts
moved to understanding about Americans and Jews and Christians.
Although I wasn't born in a village I proudly consider myself from
among the fallaheen (Egyptian peasantry) as my father is from a small
village and some of our family is still there Therefore I was
completely comfortable in the simplicity and beauty of that place and
at that moment I felt so powerful that I could transcend my own
experience and background to what I believed was full understanding. I
felt like I was the air, able to be everywhere.
Also, I am
pleased that our American delegation met with and were often hosted by
our delegates from Egypt who had recently come to the US for Study tour
that took them to DC and then throughout the Midwest including Chicago
and a visit to ISNA headquarters in Indiana. The relationship building
is so important, we continue to keep our connections and build on
them. One of the project's main focus is sustainability, not just
independent study tours that come and go.
Which event do you think had the biggest impact on the delegation? I
think there were two events of the many, many that transformed us (the
delegation as a whole). One was the meeting with the personal
representative of the Dr. Ali Gomaa, the Mufti of Egypt, and with Dr.
Umr ElWardany, the Director of the Dar El-Ifta Training Institute (the
center who trains Islamic jurists) who is also a counsel to Dr. Gomaa.
We were really honored with their presence.
From this
meaningful discussion we gained great knowledge about Sharia law and
the religious legal structure of Egypt. There is a lot of talk about
Sharia law in the US among Muslim and non-Muslims who often speak
without knowledge and dismiss Sharia as irrelevant or even dangerous.
What we heard were the facts; the bodies that address Sharia law and
provide interpretations, the process for requesting interpretations
from the Dar El-Ifta -- there is even an appeals process, the
organizational structure of the Mufti's office, the Al-Azhar University
and their authority, the number of schools in Egypt dedicated to
Islamic studies and the number of students (90,000), and the future
plans of Islam legal institutions such as a plan to have a branch of
Al-Azhar University (the oldest university in the world and the
authoritative Sunni institute), in the US and an ambitious plan to post
legal interpretations taken by the Dar el-Ifta online. What I think
the delegates walked away with was knowledge that impressed them, right
from the source. It was also revealing to see that there is discourse
and interaction with the Mufti's office itself as we noted the two men
who went back and forth as to whether legal interpretations (fatwa) are
binding or non-binding...two very different opinions.
The other
transformative moment (and it was a moment) for the delegation was at
the Institute for the Holy Quran where we met a distinguished scholar,
Dr. Mohamed Dawud, who heads several major projects at the institute
including a response to anti-Muslim, Islamophobic writings using the
framework of the author's intellectual discourse. However during the
program I saw a change (literally) in all of the people in the room,
from hesitation and almost fear when we started to understanding,
acceptance and even trust after the dialogue. It was from tension to
joy.
I am very proud that these National Peace Foundation
(NPF) and ISNA sponsored tours are rich in content. That is the best
feedback that our delegates give us. This depth makes the tours very
intensive and really emotionally powerful.
What misconceptions were met and challenged by delegates and/or hosts?Oh,
there were many, many. I think for the delegates there was the
knowledge gained in understanding the complexity of religion in Middle
Eastern (especially in Egyptian) society. That's the focus of our
dialogue: the study of the place of religion in society. We were
greatly impacted from our honest conversations with important leaders
taking us to their vision of religion. We met a senior priest from the
Egyptian Coptic church during our attendance at a mass at the Hanging
Church (the oldest church in Egypt and a historical antiquity) and
touchy as it was, we learned about the issues that face Egyptian
Christians, we also learned more about that, another perspective, from
leaders of the Presbyterian Church in Egypt-- the Synod of the Nile.
We also had the honor to meet with the Mrs. Carmen Weinstein, the
President of the Jewish Community in Egypt (unfortunately a small and
elderly community) at the beautiful Adly Street Synagogue which just
celebrated it's 100 year anniversary. She is a sophisticated and
cultured lady from whom we learned was as proud of her Egyptian
heritage as of her religion breaking the misconception that some hold
that they are incompatible. And we met Muslim leaders from political
parties who wish to engage in a political Islam and those who find that
harmful of society and those who approach Islam academically and those
using Islam for social activism. The diversity is there and we don't
often see in from the Western perspective. Finally there are the And
misconceptions about Egypt as a historical place where many only see
Pharaonic Egypt as the most important and visible facet of history. I
am so surprised when I take groups to littled visited amazing
antiquities such as Sultan Hassan of ElRefai mosque or Ibn Tulun who
were really not aware of the great Islamic impact over the many eras.
Also I find that when I go with people to see Greco-Roman Egypt (mostly
in Alexandria) such as the Roman Catacombs, that they had never heard
of it before....even the Egyptians. It's delightful for me to be a
part of knocking down the walls of ignorance that misconceptions hold
up.
What future plans are there for the project? There
are great plans for the project which will take NPF and ISNA into
further leadership in international citizen to citizen study
exchanges. There are 6 more study tours in 2008 and 2009; 3 bringing
Muslims from the Middle East to the US and 3 taking American
religiously diverse delegations abroad. The countries involved are
Egypt, Syria, Jordan and Saudi Arabia and we are just starting our work
with 3 Gulf countries; Yemen, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. It's
very exciting and there are great challenges facing us not just
continuing our rich programming which means we need to find and build
relationships with many organizations and individuals in these
countries, but also sustaining those relationships. Then of course
there are the delicacies of working with the governments who often
support the goals of the project, but it's challenging finding the
right people to do that. So, we are looking for participants for all
the six upcoming tours. Interested persons can contact the National
Peace Foundation SPolttila@nationalpeace.org or Amanda Mouttaki at ISNA.