Questions

Five times a day life in Saudi comes to a stop.  Shop windows close,  traffic slows to a trickle.  No one has to go very far to find a mosque.  My university has one.   My office building has one.  The airport has a big one.  You know when to go because the adhan (call to prayer) rings out from loudspeakers all across the city and from the minarets of every mosque. It's the only form of music you'll hear in public.  I find it peaceful and relaxing.  It slows the pace of life.  Its about more than just prayer.  The devout are encouraged to take the time to stretch, wash up, reflect about their lives, their relationship with God.  All in all it seems to be pretty healthy.  I'd like to take the time to stretch and reflect five times a day, maybe do some yoga.  Why not?  But as a foreigner, a non-Muslim, I'm expected to continue working, to continue with my daily life.  Sometimes this is harder than others.  Most retail shops and supermarkets will announce that prayer time is coming up and kindly ask you to make your way to the register so they can close.  Some restaurants will allow you to continue eating if you've already been served.  Most won't seat you until after prayer.  Islam permeates ever facet of life here.  Law, behavior, dress.

On the street the most visible example of this is the women, or should I say, lack thereof.  The ones you do see are covered head-to-toe.  Sometimes the oval of their face from the forehead to just under the chin is exposed, sometimes their eyes can be seen through a slit, darting back and forth.  I never look for longer than a passing glance.  And they're never alone.  A woman walking alone is seen as trouble.  A cause for suspicion, maybe even disgust.  Women can't drive or smoke in public.  Leaving the house without a male escort who's a member of the woman's family is highly taboo.  Some westerners do it, but they draw lots of disapproving stares.  Talking to a Saudi woman is never a good idea.  "You never know who that woman's father might be," I've been warned, "or who's watching."  There are parts of town where people are more liberal.  Where groups of women can walk about independently of male family members--mostly near shopping malls and large retail centers.  But this is a big city, metropolitan by most standards.  They're used to outside ideas, foreigners, westerners.  This aspect of strict Islamic culture makes little sense to someone from the outside looking in.  At least in my case.

The men I've met have been great.  Quick to crack a smile, quick to speak what English they know.  My broken Arabic draws lots of laughter.  We play the point and identify in your language game.  "Pencil"  "Spoon" "Garlic".  Great for learning nouns.  And a laugh. The westerners I work with who are Muslim exude a sort of peace.  The kind that only people-in-the-know feel, I guess-- a calmness and serenity that I find inspiring.  My students of course are a different story.  One for a later post.  But suffice it to say that most have lived a life of privilege and more than a few use their faith as an excuse to get out of class.  "Five minutes, teacher.  I go to Mosque."  "Sit down, Abdullah."  But for the most part, the faithful are some of the most peaceful, welcoming people I've ever encountered.  Refreshing compared to Prague, compared to a lot of places I've been in Europe.

But these are two pictures of Islam I have a hard time reconciling-- one of peace, the other of oppression, one religious, the other political.  I wonder what part of the culture here is Islamic and what part is Arab.  What part is imposed. Who benefits from the oppression I witness, what gains are there to be made.  The subjugation of women is nothing new in the history of the world.  But in this case its been fiercely defended.  By women in some cases. And faith is used as the justification.  How do the men and boys feel about seeing their sisters and mothers controlled like this.  Is there a movement of change.  Can there be when the laws in place are designed to punish women who stand out, who rebel, or anyone for that matter-- the punishments often being of the most severe nature.  Is change wanted.  I wonder about all of these things, but I don't expect answers.  At least not forthcoming ones.  And I won't go prying for them.  It wouldn't be wise.