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| 2014 Jeddah Art Week promotion - photo by: Susie of Arabia |
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| Untitled - by Sylvestre Monnier |
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| Balance in the Air - by Victor Vasarely |
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| The Eye - by Cesar Baldaccini |
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| Three Piece Reclining Figure No. 1 - by Henry Moore |
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| Personage II - by Joan Miro |
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| Al-Anani Mosque along Jeddah's Corniche |
"The American ideal is not that we all agree with each other, or even like each other, every minute of the day. It is rather that we will respect each other's rights, especially the right to be different, and that, at the end of the day, we will understand that we are one people, one country, and one community, and that our well-being is inextricably bound up with the well-being of each and every one of our fellow citizens." C. Everett Koop, former US Surgeon General.
In a week or so, Ramadan will be ending. Ramadan is the month during each year when all Muslims fast from sun up until sundown in an effort to grow closer to God, to cleanse the body, and to gain compassion for those who suffer from hunger and who are less fortunate. Because the Islamic calendar is actually based on the moon's cycles, it is 11-12 days shorter than the regular twelve-month calendar year of the West. This means that Ramadan begins that many days earlier each year, so it never falls only during one particular month or season of the year, like many Western holidays do, such as Christmas or Halloween. 
There are only two official Islamic holidays, and the one that marks the end of Ramadan is called Eid al-Fitr. It is usually a time when Muslims go their mosques to attend services, for families visiting and sharing meals together, for new clothes and maybe gifts for the children, although nothing way overboard along the scales of some people's idea of Christmas gift giving. This year the end of Ramadan happens to fall around September 11th. Eid al-Fitr is not the type of celebration where there is dancing in the streets, swinging from chandeliers, or fireworks or things like that - Muslims are more reserved or low key, and they just don't "celebrate" in many of the ways that Westerners do when one thinks of celebrations. But because the end of Ramadan coincides with September 11th this year, many Muslims - especially American Muslims - are facing a dilemma because they are fearful that some Americans will misinterpret their Muslim holiday celebration as a celebration of the anniversary of the terrorist attacks of 2001. 
With Islamophobia reaching new heights recently, inflamed by the animosity created by protesters of the proposed "Ground Zero Mosque," American Muslims have a right to be concerned. I hope that's not the case. What we need to do is to stop buying into the rhetoric and lies spread by those hate mongers on TV and in politics who perpetuate the fear of diversity and fan the flames of hate. Does America really want to define itself as a country of religious intolerance, where right-wing Christian nut jobs defiantly plan to burn Korans on 9/11? I mean, how disrespectful and malicious can some people be? It's time for Americans to remember that their country was founded centuries ago by people who were SEEKing religious freedom, and that all religions should be tolerated. It's time for Americans to stop blaming all Muslims and Islam for what happened on 9/11 nine years ago and to try to understand that those 19 twisted young men responsible for it acted without the support or approval of the vast majority of Muslims. It's time for healing, for peace, for understanding, for compassion. It is time. 
Click here to read an in-depth article on this same topic written by Rachel Zoll, a Religion Writer for AP.
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I
try not to talk about religion very much on this blog because it is such a volatile topic that people get really worked up over - and I am clearly no expert in this department. I read and hear so many different and conflicting interpretations all the time, it's difficult to decipher "what is" and "what isn't" when it comes to religion. People believe so many different things and always seem to make it so complicated, when it shouldn't be. And then when I ask questions because I don't understand, some people think I'm being disrespectful - when I really just want answers. So it is with trepidation that I write this post.
First, one of the most significant stories concerns Sheikh Ahmed Al-Ghamdi (right), the head of the Makkah religious police, who has come out with a few extremely controversial comments regarding traditional Saudi Islamic behavior. The Sheikh is preaching that gender segregation is not supported by Islam and that it represents cultural extremism as it is practiced in Saudi Arabia. The other issues the Sheikh has made waves about recently concern the enforced closings of businesses during prayer times and men praying in the mosques together. Al-Ghamdi says that businesses should not be required to close during each of the five daily prayers. He went further to say that nothing in the religion says that men must pray the daily prayers together in groups at the mosques. I like this guy! I really like him!
More repercussions have surfaced in the wake of Al-Ghamdi's remarks when a group photo of Saudi women with the King and the Crown Prince of KSA made headlines around the world of late, further fueling the fiery flap on the issue of gender mixing. The profound significance of this photo is that it seems to indicate that on the highest level here in Saudi Arabia, opinions are changing about men and women socially mixing together. Another kicker is that most of the women in the photo are not wearing the traditional face veil (called niqaab) that a large percentage of Saudi women always wear when out in public. Indeed religious police in KSA have scolded many women for not having their faces covered.
But then, on the other side of this gender mixing tug-of-war, in this article in Arab News, you have this Saudi religious cleric, Abdul Rahman Al-Barrak (right), urging that "modernists" be ignored. He said that "liberalization of women was one of the major outcomes of the enemies’ plots" and decries gender mixing as "keys for evil." 
Do other religions around the world even HAVE religious police that make sure its followers behave "morally" according to the religion? 
Instead, they hastily descended the hill, some say, to greedily confiscate the spoils of their short lived victory. The Meccans seized the opportunity and returned, much to the surprise of the Muslims, and managed to turn their embarrassing loss into a victory.
Madinah is the second holiest city of Islam because it was chosen by the Prophet Mohammed as the location for the very first mosque ever built. This mosque is called the Quba Mosque. (See photo at right.) The original structure was torn down and completely rebuilt in the 20th century, but still stands on the very same spot that the Prophet chose for it initially. 
The hotel we stayed at was literally a few steps away from the Prophet's Mosque, so the location was great. However the hotel itself had seen better days. Since we were late in making our hotel reservations, this was the only one available. Honestly it was a bit disappointing. Now considered a "Hajji" hotel which is used to house large groups of religious pilgrims who come to the country for the Hajj, our "two bedroom suite" was actually furnished with a total of ten twin beds - six crowded into one room and four in the other. There was not room for much else in the units, as you can imagine. It was clean, but clearly it was past time for the carpeting to be replaced and the bathroom and kitchen could definitely use updating. The booked-to-capacity fourteen floor hotel had nine elevators which were totally full every time we wanted to get on. This was a major pain! But not only that, this was the first time in my life that I have ever seen segregated elevators. Yes, there were signs clearly marking certain elevators for "Men" only or "Women" only, and it was enforced! Luckily we didn't spend that much time in our hotel rooms and the rest of the family that arrived a day after we did were booked into a couple of neighboring top notch hotels, so we spent more time relaxing in their luxurious suites. 
The first night we ate dinner at the Intercontinental Hotel, one of the fancier hotel restaurants, and it was lovely. They offered a magnificent self serve buffet with a wide variety of exquisite dishes. The Hajj attracts visitors from all over the world, people from different cultures with different customs, with one thing in common: Islam. Even so, the Saudi culture is a much more closed society than most countries, and other Muslims may not be entirely familiar with proper Saudi etiquette and customs. So there can be a bit of clashing of the cultures as I found out in that hotel restaurant that night. 
Since I arrived here in Saudi Arabia a little more than a year ago, my husband has constantly reminded me that Saudi women do not speak to or even look at other men. Ok, but I am not Saudi and I never will be. He brings this up when we go into a shop and I naturally greet the clerk, or say "Thank You" or "Goodbye," in Arabic of course! To me, this is just part of my friendly American upbringing in being polite and acknowledging another person's assistance. Anyway, as we sat at our table enjoying our meal, the group of men at a neighboring table got up to leave. An older gentleman of the group stopped by our table, smiled, and said "Good Evening" to us in some type of European accent. Then, apparently having heard me speaking English, he directed a question to me, asking if I were British. So I replied that No, I'm American, and he asked from what part, etc. The man was only trying to be nice. But after he left, my husband made a little stink about how the man should not have spoken to me, that culturally this was very wrong of him, and that I shouldn't have answered him. I'm sorry, but I feel to ignore someone speaking to me is rude. This is a very Saudi thing, just like wearing the abaya. I wear the abaya and if I had my druthers, I would not. But we are here in Saudi Arabia where all women must, so I do. Now honestly, I am in my 50s and have been very comfortable speaking to people/men all my life, and to expect me to change this behavior at this stage of the game is just not something I can or will do. 
I might add that during this trip to Madinah, no fewer than a dozen men - mostly sales clerks, and yes, even the lovely Ahmed Ezz! (that's him on the right) - asked me where I was from, or if I were Turkish or British. Luckily my husband wasn't around or did not hear. I do not mind being spoken to and I do not mind answering. It's what I have always done. Actually I was a little surprised and flattered by my husband's little display of jealousy, but he made a big deal out of it in front of his brother and the family too, and they agreed with him. Of course, remember that THEY are Saudis too. What do YOU think?
Madinah is also a holy city for the Islamic faith. It is home to the beautiful Prophet's Mosque, where Mohammed's tomb is located. This would be my first trip outside of the Jeddah area since my arrival in the country over a year ago. We caravanned with my husband's brother and his family for the drive up to Madinah. The trip should have taken less than four hours, but ended up taking about six hours. My jolly brother-in-law (BIL) decided to pull off at almost every exit for various wants and needs, like coffee or snacks or restrooms. My dramatic hubby feigned impatience, acting as though he was at the end of his rope, and it all became quite a hilarious joke and a much more memorable trip than if we had just driven straight through. 
Not far outside of Jeddah, the terrain began to change. It became much more hilly, then rocky and mountainous with more vegetation than the Jeddah area. I'm no expert, but along the way, there appeared to be large deposits of untapped ores and minerals in the rich looking earth, which ranged in color from red to almost black in some places. The further we got, the more beautiful and interesting the mountains became, with layer after layer of mountain ranges becoming lighter and lighter off in the distance. It reminded me of how the gorgeous and graceful San Juan Islands loom in the hazy mist off the coast of Washington State, for those of you who are familiar with that lovely part of America. We also began to notice an enormous amount of traffic going the opposite direction - bus after bus, car after car, most of them probably headed from Madinah to Makkah. At one of the police checkpoints, vehicles seemed to be backed up for miles. Luckily there was not much traffic going our direction, so it was smooth sailing for us.
About halfway there, we saw several cars pulled off on the side of the road. BIL, who was leading our tiny caravan, pulled over and we followed suit. Much to my surprise and delight, there on the large area off the road were a couple of dozen wild baboons, which I found out are native to this habitat. This was the first of two families of Hamadryas baboons that we saw during the trip. I also learned that baboons live in large family groups called clans consisting of one male or father and several adult female mates and their kids. Some harems can have as many as ten female wives to the one lone male leader, considerably more than the four wives Islam allows for Muslim men! 
The male of the group that I managed to get a few photos of was a magnificent looking creature. Males have longer fur which can appear to have been crimped with a crimping iron, a result of the painstakingly loving attention and grooming by the female mates. Their fur is mainly a silvery color but can look almost white to dark brown in certain places on the body. The male is also the largest member of the clan, weighing up to 45 pounds. The females are smaller at around 25 pounds, with shorter hair which is a usually a drab brown color. Both males and females are quite distinctive with their bright pink hairless padded rumps. Baboons' faces resemble a very long drawn out doggie face. They are mostly vegetarians, but they also eat insects and sometimes meat. The only native primate on the Arabian peninsula aside from humans, the baboon was considered as somewhat sacred by the ancient Egyptians, featured in the drawings on temple walls and even mummified in tombs. 
I also read that earlier this year back in April, because of severe drought conditions these wild baboons attacked nearby homes and farms in search of food and water. They have been known to attack humans and are considered quite dangerous with their powerful jaws and teeth and strength. Indeed all the cars that were stopped there on the side of the road kept their windows rolled up and no one dared to step out of their cars. 
Baboons weren't the only native animals we saw that day. Even though I have seen camels here before herded together at various spots just outside of Jeddah, I still got excited when I saw many loose camels along the way. I even spotted a rare white camel. There were also many herds of sheep and goats dotting the hills, as well as numerous birds. And I was equally excited when we were treated to the second family of baboons we spied later on, who seemingly lived in some abandoned ramshackle hovels. 
Another thing that struck me on this drive was the sheer number of mosques we passed along the way. I know that in Jeddah, there seems to be mosques every few blocks in every direction. But out in the middle of nowhere, it felt that even in extremely remote and sparsely populated areas, mosques stood every couple of miles or so. Some were very minimalist, with a floor, walls, a roof, and of course a minaret, and just bare openings without actual doors or windows affixed. Even very small villages seemed to have numerous mosques within their boundaries. When Muslims are traveling, they can delay saying their prayers until they arrive at their destination, but with mosques conveniently located every few miles, delaying prayer times is not really necessary. 
