It's the "Darruj-al-Romani," in downtown Amman. Now this is the hustling, bustling part of town known as "the Balad." Look at all of that land in the background. Wonder what a 'dunum' used to go for back then??
Saturday, May 27, 2006
Amman Then
I came across this picture when I was looking for things to print out for my third-grader who needed pictures of historical sites in Jordan. I'm not sure exactly when it was taken but I'm thinking around the 1950s??
It's the "Darruj-al-Romani," in downtown Amman. Now this is the hustling, bustling part of town known as "the Balad." Look at all of that land in the background. Wonder what a 'dunum' used to go for back then??
It's the "Darruj-al-Romani," in downtown Amman. Now this is the hustling, bustling part of town known as "the Balad." Look at all of that land in the background. Wonder what a 'dunum' used to go for back then??
Am I a Dinosaur?
Living here for four + years has shown me that among the Arabs, confrontation is a normal part of daily life, whereas in my upbringing I used to distance myself from confrontation whenever possible. I would never have told a house guest, "My, you've put on some weight! You looked better last year!" or asked someone, "How much is your weekly salary?" without cowering down in shame. There are boundaries that Americans typically do not cross, limits in 'comfortable' questioning that should not be exceeded. I can honestly say that I have never taken pleasure in making someone else feel belittled or humiliated through a line of small-talk questioning. I just don't work that way. Does that make me a dying breed among the Muslims? I'm leaning towards "yes."
This brings me to the crux of what I want to talk about. How can we as convert Muslims who are struggling to practice properly, living amongst the Arabs who largely are unaware of how to practice, while we balance this life of cultural ugliness, keep peace in the family, and maintain our own identity?
Last night I was sitting in the car with the kids while my husband went and bought some "cocktail" shakes to take to his Mom's house. During the course of about five to eight minutes, I employed my "people-watching" skills. Most of the folks walking in front of the car were women. Out of a dozen women wearing a scarf, only one of them wore a jilbab. I looked down at the abaya I was wearing, purchased 4 summers ago in Hashmi-al-Shimali, with its worn embroidered sleeves and frayed edges. My hijab (scarf) was also purchased that same summer, and I wear it in the simple style of pinning it directly under my chin and letting the long edges come forward over my chest. No, I would not stick out in a crowd. I would not draw attention from men as I walked by, with my abaya that is two sizes too big, intentionally.
This was the style of hijab / jilbab wearing I embraced back in 1995 when I decided to start covering regularly. Back then if we found out anyone had jilbabs for sale after returning from an overseas trip, we would go lickity-split (that's right!) to her house, pay whatever amount she asked, and wear our jilbab proudly at Wal-Mart, the masjid, the park, or anywhere else we ventured. Now, 11 years later, I am happily beginning to realize that I am a dinosaur. I guess I've been in a sort of jilbab bubble, not paying much attention to the trends and styles and arrays of color and creeping of "moda," or fashion, into the money-making Islamic clothing industry. I teach these young whippersnappers (ages 18 - 30, typically) who mostly say, through their words and actions:
Yes, we follow the teachings of Islam, Allah is our Lord and Muhammad (pbuh) is the Messenger of Allah. But at the same time, we listen to lewd music, we buddy-buddy with our male co-workers, we wear make-up because we don't want to look washed out and ugly, we buy high heels with toe points so narrow we could kill an army of roaches in a corner, we wear tight pants that expose our shapes so that we can attract a future husband, we attend mixed weddings because they are more fun, but we wrap this tiny piece of cloth around our heads to identify ourselves as Muslims, oh yes, and we boycott Danish cheese and Nido, which purifies our intentions...
What kind of mixed signals are the females receiving now? Let us define the Muslim identity here! Is it better to just go ahead and meld with the status quo, to not be labeled as "old-fashioned" or too conservative? Sisters, are you dinosaurs, or are you hip and trendy? One of my students told me a few weeks ago, "Teacher, your hijab is eating your face." Isn't my hijab supposed to eat my face?
This brings me to the crux of what I want to talk about. How can we as convert Muslims who are struggling to practice properly, living amongst the Arabs who largely are unaware of how to practice, while we balance this life of cultural ugliness, keep peace in the family, and maintain our own identity?
Last night I was sitting in the car with the kids while my husband went and bought some "cocktail" shakes to take to his Mom's house. During the course of about five to eight minutes, I employed my "people-watching" skills. Most of the folks walking in front of the car were women. Out of a dozen women wearing a scarf, only one of them wore a jilbab. I looked down at the abaya I was wearing, purchased 4 summers ago in Hashmi-al-Shimali, with its worn embroidered sleeves and frayed edges. My hijab (scarf) was also purchased that same summer, and I wear it in the simple style of pinning it directly under my chin and letting the long edges come forward over my chest. No, I would not stick out in a crowd. I would not draw attention from men as I walked by, with my abaya that is two sizes too big, intentionally.
This was the style of hijab / jilbab wearing I embraced back in 1995 when I decided to start covering regularly. Back then if we found out anyone had jilbabs for sale after returning from an overseas trip, we would go lickity-split (that's right!) to her house, pay whatever amount she asked, and wear our jilbab proudly at Wal-Mart, the masjid, the park, or anywhere else we ventured. Now, 11 years later, I am happily beginning to realize that I am a dinosaur. I guess I've been in a sort of jilbab bubble, not paying much attention to the trends and styles and arrays of color and creeping of "moda," or fashion, into the money-making Islamic clothing industry. I teach these young whippersnappers (ages 18 - 30, typically) who mostly say, through their words and actions:
Yes, we follow the teachings of Islam, Allah is our Lord and Muhammad (pbuh) is the Messenger of Allah. But at the same time, we listen to lewd music, we buddy-buddy with our male co-workers, we wear make-up because we don't want to look washed out and ugly, we buy high heels with toe points so narrow we could kill an army of roaches in a corner, we wear tight pants that expose our shapes so that we can attract a future husband, we attend mixed weddings because they are more fun, but we wrap this tiny piece of cloth around our heads to identify ourselves as Muslims, oh yes, and we boycott Danish cheese and Nido, which purifies our intentions...
What kind of mixed signals are the females receiving now? Let us define the Muslim identity here! Is it better to just go ahead and meld with the status quo, to not be labeled as "old-fashioned" or too conservative? Sisters, are you dinosaurs, or are you hip and trendy? One of my students told me a few weeks ago, "Teacher, your hijab is eating your face." Isn't my hijab supposed to eat my face?
Friday, May 26, 2006
First Post
Assalamu Alaikum Blog Readers,
I am sure I will be frequently checking to see who has posted comments to this, my first blog ever. I welcome you to my online catharsis and inshaAllah this will be a positive experience.
This is cheaper than therapy, isn't it?
I am sure I will be frequently checking to see who has posted comments to this, my first blog ever. I welcome you to my online catharsis and inshaAllah this will be a positive experience.
This is cheaper than therapy, isn't it?
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