A Woman of Egypt

I just finished reading an autobiography by Jehan Sadat, A Woman of Egypt. The book is the story both of her and her husband, Muhammed Anwar el-Sadat, President of Egypt from 1970 to his assassination in 1981.

It was a very interesting book. Both members of this couple have been heralded for being "ahead of their times." President Sadat began to seek peace with Israel on November 9, 1977. It was this day that Sadat offered to go to Jerusalem. The offer, an acknowledgment that Israel existed, was the beginning of the road to peace, one still unfinished. It was also the point at which ties with Egypt and other Arab states became strained. Ultimately the fundamentalist response to peace with Israel, added to other policies put in place by Sadat, culminated in his assassination in 1981.

Sadat was part of the revolution of 1952 in Egypt. He and the Free Officers peacefully overthrew the Egyption government under King Farouk. As Jehan reports in the book, it was at this point and in the coming months, that Egypt gained its independence for the first time since 522 B.C. when the Persians invaded. It was an amazing time for Egypt.

While the politics of Egypt, including those of her husband, guided much of the story of the book, Jehan Sadat has a quite a story herself. She was born in 1933 to an Egyptian father and British mother. She grew up in what would be considered middle class Egyptian society. As she grew, she developed two great loves. The first was for her faith, Islam. The second was her country.

It is these two loves the influence Jehan Sadat as her story unfolds. With a husband exhibiting similar passions, she is wholly supportive of her husband. She also develops her own areas of influence in the care of the needy and the rights of women. She feels strongly that both these areas are spoken of in the Quran and are essential for Islam.

Jehan saw first-hand the effect of the subjection of women in the rural villages of Egypt. The laws allowing the men to easily divorce their wives, along with the allowance of multiple wives, created an environment for women that was difficult at best. In order to assist women in supporting themselves, she founded the Talla Cooperative. Here women were trained to sew to support their families as well as to support one another. Jehan also established Madinat el-Wafa' wal Amal - The City of Faith and Hope. Originally established as a training center for the rehabilitation of soldiers wounded in fighting, its vision expanded to include special housing, office buildings, a hospital and a school for handicapped children. Jehan raised funds from around the world for this project. Even the United States contributed 6 Million Egyptian pounds after Jehan informed Henry Kissinger, Secretary of State at the time, that it was the American's support of Israel in the war of 1973 that wounded so many of the Egyptian forces.

It was the chapter on "Women in Islam" that most captured my thoughts. To her, the difference between moderate and fundamentalist Muslims is linked primarily to interpretation of the Quran. Jehan believes that the the inception of Islam was revolutionary towards women. The Quran forbade killing infant girls, gave women the right to equal education, to work and open their own businesses and the right to initiate legal action and buy and sell property. She evens states that limiting a man to 4 wives was a significant improvement for the point of time in which the Quran was written.

These beliefs led Jehan to fight for reformed Status Laws, laws the govern how family life happens. These reformed laws required men to notify their current wife if they were to marry another woman, required men to pay alimony and to leave the family home with the wife and children if they were to divorce her. It also provided an easier process for women to divorce their husbands, a process that was next to impossible without this change.

Islam fundamentalists felt that the changes in the Personal Status Laws was an attack on the family, the heart of Egyptian society. Sound familiar? Let me be clear, I think the fight for women's equality in the US is a whole different scenario than the same fight in the Middle East. Sadat does not speak at all about honor killings and only briefly about genital mutilation. What submission means in the US, for the most part, is wholly different than what it means in most Arab countries. I do think that it's interesting that those who interpret the Quran most conservatively have similar arguments for the subjection of women as do those who interpret the Bible most conservatively. Jehan Sadat interprets the Quran as liberating and uses this view to meet the needs of the least in society; the poor, women, children, the wounded. The fundamentalists, taking a conservative view of their religious text, worry about the letter of the law and in the process miss meeting the real needs of the people around them.

The question I can't help but ask myself is this, "When fighting for our beliefs becomes more important than loving people around us, do those beliefs mean anything at all?"

Funny Bumper Sticker

I've been doing a lot of driving lately with 1st grade for my oldest and preschool for my middle kiddos. Thursdays are by far my most tedious driving days.

Some other minivan driver made all the driving much more bearable today. The van was plastered with numerous bumper stickers (just imagine the entire back-side of the van full). The one that made me laugh out loud said the following:

WHEN THE RAPTURE HAPPENS
CAN I HAVE YOUR CAR?

Not quite sure why it was so amusing, but I laughed for about 20 minutes straight!

Prayer Poem

There's a synchroblog going on about prayer. A lot of the the posts are listed at the Emerging Women site.

I've struggled personally with prayer lately. Well, let me take that back...I've struggled with prayer for a long time. I grew up in a church where great prayers were prayed. Praying in tongues was preferred. If you were a good person, your prayers would result in Porsches, Jaguars, a big house and an affluent American lifestyle. (Too bad for my husband we don't still ascribe to that system...it would be a great excuse to go out today and finance a Porsche)!

When we left that church, I began questioning prayer. I began questioning how I use prayer.

More recently, when I try to talk to God, I hear voices. The voices tell that it's never long enough, I should do more, I should be more, I don't measure up to the lists of "right" and "wrong." Worst of all I cannot turn from the reality that my prayers don't seem to make much difference in my day to day choices. I still really stink at being a "good Christian."

In trying to express my struggle with prayer, I wrote the following poem. (Note: creative writing has never been my strength, but I've found some things are expressed so much better this way):

Prayer.
My hand reaching out
to touch Divine.
A soul entwined with breath, with hope, with life.

My spirit longs for this fulfillment,
then shies away.
What if I reach for God
and find not love, but proposition?
My fingers caress those of Creator and
acceptance fades away as an empty promise?
What if the life of freedom promised
becomes a cage, inextricable, inescapable?

I step back, frightened to
move forward.
A warm hand enfolds mine.

Freedom, love, peace touch me.

A Potter's Consideration

At the beginning of Jeremiah 18, there is a story of the prophet being instructed by God to "go down to the potter's house." While there, Jeremiah sees the potter working at the wheel. The pot in his hands is marred, so the potter reshaped it into a form that was suitable in his eyes.

At that point, the word of the Lord comes to Jeremiah, "Can I not do with you, house of Israel, as this potter does?" God proceeds to tell the prophet that if he announces that a nation is to be destroyed, but the people clean up their act, then he will relent in the prescribed punishment. Likewise, if he has promised to bless a nation, but they do evil in his sight, then he will "reconsider the good I had intended to do for it."

Reading this section impressed upon me the responsiveness of God to humanity. The thought that my actions influence the Almighty is overwhelming to consider.

Our Pastor has made a commitment to seek God throughout the next 40 days. He's asked those of us that are willing to join him during this time. I am joining. Realizing the scripture above is directly addressing the nation of Israel, I have taken it on as my prayer for the next 40 days. I believe that as I personally seek God, that God will consider me. Also, as our church seeks God, God will consider us.

Girl Friends and Good Conversation

I had a lot of fun tonight. Four friends and I met to discuss the book Colossians Remixed: Subverting the Empire. We had some great discussion, wonderful friendship building and an overall terrific evening.

CBE Recap

I had the awesome opportunity to attend the Christians for Biblical Equality (CBE) International Conference this weekend. This year the conference venue was here in Denver. I couldn't let them visit my city without attending!

I had several take-aways from the weekend.

The first was gratefulness for friendships. I met up with a group of ladies there, one of whom I met at the Emerging Women's Gathering outside Chicago this last March. Sara is a terrific person (and a wonderful advertisement for Bethel Seminary, by the way). She is also a brilliant woman who wrote and presented a paper on Job Daughter's that is quite challenging. Her friends, Teralyn and Liz were just as wonderful. I had a terrific time renewing a friendship and beginning more. Who knows when we might meet again!

I also had the opportunity to bask in the work of people who have given their lives toward the cause of gender justice. I met Alvera Mickelson. She described herself as a spritely 88 years. She reminded me so much of my own grandmother, and yet my Grandma does not have a view anywhere near Alvera's. Alvera was also quite a firecracker and a whole lot of fun to have in workshop sessions. For those of you unaware of Alvera Mickelson's work, just type in her name at amazon.com.

The conference, not surprisingly, was weighted heavier on women than men. But there was a pretty good representation of men. There was also reasonable representation of minority groups. It was definitely a conference-style, but they went out of their way to try to bring in different elements in the form of art and music. I also liked that besides focusing on gender equality, the theme of the conference was "Seeking Justice and Loving Mercy" and touched on other areas of justice as well.

I think my favorite speaker was Kevin G. Giles. His presentation on "The Eternal Subordination of the Son and the Permanent Subordination of Women" addressed a topic that often comes up in conversation in my realm of the world, at least when it comes to women's place in the home and the church. He had a powerful presentation and answered many of my own questions. And besides that, he was not politically correct about the current proposal submitted by Wayne Gruden concerning the eternal subordination of the Son. It was both an informative and fun workshop session.

Overall, my biggest take-away was history. I looked around the room and saw many, many people in the over-60 crowd. A large portion of these were the founders of CBE and fought for gender justice at a time when it was much more controversial than it is for me today. I am so blessed by the heritage they have left for me and others like me. Thank you to the many who have fought, who have considered the voices of women valuable and worth defending. Their vision and passion make me realize that I cannot let their vision die.

First Flight

Earlier this summer I posted a picture of our Robin's nest. Well, back in early July, the nest took on a new tenant. A Morning Dove family decided the vacant home would work just fine for their new family. When my children and I did a bit of research on the Morning Dove, we found that they are not known for making good nests. We thought it was particularly interesting that rather than making their own poorly made nest, they would wisely use such a well-made abode!

Well, the baby of the family flew the nest this morning and we were there to watch it! The little one started flapping its wings and then pacing the brick ledge on which the nest is built. Unlike the Robins we've had in the past, the Morning Doves are very calm and I was able to get quite a few pictures without effecting their behavior. After I went back in, we watched the little bird fly from the ledge to the window sill right in front of us. The kids were in awe...as was I. Then, the baby joined her old brother on our sidewalk. Momma came around shortly to have a party, complete with a juicy worm to celebrate the day's accomplishment.

The feeding looked like all three birds were dancing together. They all faced into a circle. Then they crouched down with their beaks to the ground and quickly raised their heads together and then back down again. In the midst of this the momma would stick her thin beak down that of one of the babies. Absolutely fascinating!

What an amazing privilege to watch this fleeting moment with my children!