Just in time for the end of this class, my friend with the Israeli flag on his bedroom wall -- let's call him Steve -- and I had a conversation about Hebron and Israel and his experience in Egypt. We went out for dinner early this week, and he brought up his friend who is now living in Egypt, dating a man who, according to Steve, is apparently part of a terrorist group or at least a strong supporter of a terrorist group. Steve calls him "Terrorist Boyfriend." Whether Terrorist Boyfriend is actually a terrorist or even a supporter or not is not clear to me.
Anyhow, this led to us talking about Egypt, which he was lucky enough to visit over the summer. Steve told me that he went with his mother and they took verrryyyy extreme measures, such as hiding their Star of David necklaces, to hide their Jewish identities. He said they were anxious the whole trip because of the conflict and anti-Jewish/anti-Israeli sentiment. He constantly made jokes about hiding his "Jewishness" in Egypt. However, despite all this, he seemed to have had a great time there. He said that he saw the pyramids, which were "right across the street" from his hotel.
This made me think that he perhaps experienced, to quote "Architourism" again, not "the reality of Islamic Egypt but a cruel Western perversion of it" (20). Perhaps this is why he enjoyed it. He never experienced the actual Muslim Egypt, but an ancient Egypt that worshipped Horus, Osiris, and Ra.
However, as he spoke more about his trip, it seemed he had seen more than just this side of Egypt, as he traveled to many different places throughout Egypt, not simply the pyramids in Cairo. As he described it, it was interesting to see, but it's difficult to say with what lens he viewed Egypt and whether it was a different one than I would have used. He said that, as a Jew, he was worried the whole trip about "being discovered," which leads me to think that perhaps his own slight anti-Muslim attitude may have colored his view on Egypt.
But when I really think about it, wouldn't I be worried as well, simply as a Westerner? In light of the recent attacks at Mumbai, where tourist areas were targeted, it seems that Westerners, regardless of religious affiliation, are also in the crosshairs of those radicals who believe that violence can resolve the conflict in the Middle East.
These "religious extremists," as some would call them, do not exist solely on the side of Muslims, of course. As Steve and I spoke further, the conversation traveled to Hebron. He informed me that a building in Hebron, which is currently inhabited by settlers, is in dispute. Settlers are being forced to vacate it, and they are unwilling to do so, which will probably result in them being removed by force.
Of course, Hebron, which is located in the West Bank, is technically Palestinian territory, the very little territory that the Palestinians now have left after Israel has claimed almost all of what used to be Palestine. Obviously these settlers were being unreasonable. I expressed this to Steve, hoping he wouldn't react sensitively, and I was pleasantly surprised when he agreed, dismissing the settlers by rolling his eyes and calling them "religious extremists." He said that these people believed that all of Israel belonged to the Jews, including the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, that the Palestinians had no right to be there at all.
According to this article, "About 500 of the settlers live in Hebron in heavily guarded enclaves among 170,000 Palestinians. They see Israel's government as too sympathetic to the Palestinians." Someone knowing all the facts and history of the conflicts relating to Israel could wonder how this statement is even close to being true. However, as members of a religious group which has faced immense amounts of discrimination, hatred, and genocide, some Jews may not find that this statement to be outlandish. They simply believe that Israel is theirs -- their safety, their home -- finally.
Attempting to see it from their eyes makes me understand why they would behave this way. However, they fail to try and see from the perspective from the Muslims and Palestinians. This was once their home as well, and now they have been evicted. And the little land they have is being encroached upon by Jewish settlers who believe that THEIR government is too lenient towards the people that they forced out of their homes. They also fail to see the life hasn't been easy historically for Muslims either.
In "Slumdog Millionaire," there is a scene in which the main character, his brother, and his mother are washing clothes in a river with a large group of others. Suddenly, his mother sees people running towards them with sticks, bats, and various other weapons. They shout something along the lines of, "Get them! They're Muslims!" Then they storm the people, attacking them ruthlessly. The main character's mother is killed in this attack, in the name of Hinduism. Of course, the All Indian Muslim League was not created without reason. And neither was Pakistan. And even after a Muslim country was created for Indian Muslims, conflicts continued to sprout afterwards, for example, the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.
Any religious group faces persecution, discrimination, and massive amounts of conflict. Apparently, this is unavoidable. I don't mean to be preachy, but perhaps if people were to be more tolerant of one another's beliefs, life would be easier for everyone. Trying to see things from another's perspective will make everyone more understanding and tolerant of those they disagree with or don't understand. I know that much of the reading for this class, especially Palestine and Persepolis, helped me to see more clearly what people in the Middle East are going through and to be more sympathetic of their plight.