Syria

Christians here know how to co-exist happily with Muslims. The colonial period introduced some divisiveness. Syria is different from Egypt; here we're free to co-exist. Persian, Greek, and Islamic cultures all intersect here -- "we are a place of meetings". It is multicultural: "we don't need to be trained to conduct dialogue". Jews didn't leave because of persecution. [Although I have heard differently elsewhere. I haven't found any information on this topic that I fully trust.] Christians are free to observe the Sabbath, and shops usually have signs "closed on Sunday" or "closed on Friday". Christmas is a national holiday. Churches get their gas and electricity for free, just like the mosques. "We are being together; I don't even call it a dialogue."

Everyone in Syria thinks that America is a Christian country. Syria is not secular in the same way we are; every citizen is identified as belonging to a religious community.

The Patriarch recounts the time he met the U.S. Ambassador walking alone near the church. The Patriarch asked "why are you walking alone?" The ambassador answered "because I can't do this at home." This story illustrates the safety here; there is virtually no violent crime. Women can walk anywhere in Damascus any time of night and be safe. The police are not even armed.

The Patriarch does say that "things could be better", particularly citing the single-party system. But he is optimistic, and states that "change in the area must come from Syria and Lebanon". (He states that Syrians view Lebanon as a part of their country. We'll hear this many times in Syria.) "We are happy. Not very happy -- we can wish for better -- but we are happy."

He talks more about relations between the Christian denominations. He says that the churches have a "gentlemen's agreement" not to call for unity -- that they prefer the diversity. However, they are currently having problems with Protestant evangelicals who seek to re-introduce divisiveness.

The Patriarch discusses the Palestine issue. He regrets that Christianity seems to have no place in Israel/Palestine. Christians and Muslims here all pay a price for the Palestine issue, but Christians have no voice in resolving it. Christians are oppressed in Israel. (He says that there is a limit of 5,000 on the Christian population of Jerusalem. I find this hard to believe but won't dismiss it.) He states that Palestine is a political issue, not a religious one. If it were a religious issue, Christianity would not be ignored, as Jerusalem is as sacred to Christians as it is to Jews and Muslims.

"My religion", he says, "is very concrete." There is a very strong historical sense here, a sense of being bound to place. He also talks of "the oppression of hope." This part of the world is very religious; God is mentioned in almost every phrase here, by both Christians and Muslims: "God willing", "thank god", etc.

We go right to the Palestine issue. Syrians regard Israel as an occupying state. Al Jamal emphasizes the Madrid conference, where "America guaranteed peace". He believes that Israel doesn't intend peace, particularly citing home demolition and targeted assassinations. (These two actions were cited over and over again during our trip; they seem to particularly infuriate Arab peoples.) Syria, he says, has never been the aggressor, but Israel was. Like everyone else that we talked to, he accepts the existence of Israel as a given. Pressed for details on an equitable resolution, he supports pre-'67 borders (the "Green Line") and right of return. He also brings up the [untenable] idea of a Jewish-Arab state and criticizes Israel's refusal.

He would like to see the entire Middle East free of WMD, including Israel. It is unfair, he says, for the U.S. to attempt suppression of WMD in only the Arab states.

Al Jamal notes the religious pluralism of Syria, pointing to the diversity of the parliamentarians sitting next to him. Christians and Muslims often go together to mosques and churches on holy days, and some Christians fast at Ramadan.

The Syrian Parliament has 250 members, and there are 6 in the office of the President. Al Jamal has been assigned the task of forming a new government. This reorganization is taking place this very day, so many of the figures that we talk to will have different titles tomorrow.

Syria has no organized effort to communicate with America. We tell him about Saudi Arabia's highly visible public relations efforts in the U.S.

She cites some myths about the U.S. that are widely believed here: that the U.S. wants everyone to be a copy of themselves, that the U.S. media is controlled by the Israelis, that Americans believe that Syrian women are oppressed.

Of course we discussed Palestine. At the 2002 Beirut conference, Arabs agreed that a just resolution would guarantee Israel's security in return for withdrawal to the Green Line. Sharon refused this. The Madrid proposal is the closest we've come to a settlement, but Barak wouldn't close the deal. Arabs were particularly upset when Bush called Sharon "a man of peace." She also cites the targeted assassinations; a friend of hers, who she believes was never involved in terrorism, was one of the targets. She points out that Western legal systems forbid prosecution based on suspicion of intent rather than on action, and that these assassinations violate that principle. She does say that Syrians believe that Arafat is corrupt and is prolonging the violence for his own ends.

Syria feels left out of the peace process. They feel that Syria is a key player and cannot be ignored, and that America has been acting unilaterally and in ignorance. The U.S. can no longer claim to be a fair arbiter. A new administration might be able to reclaim this image. Arabs, she says, have generally viewed America favorably. America, after all, has never been a colonial power here. She professes a particular admiration for Jimmy Carter and for Anwar Sadat.

She discusses the problems of women, which sound very familiar to us: particularly the glass ceiling. She does note that Syria subsidizes daycare and that any business with more than 50 employees is required to provide it. Women in Syria feel safe -- the crime rate is very low. But there should be more women in decision-making positions. The parliament is 10% female. She feels that a major factor that holds women back is their own lack of self-confidence.

We touch on Iraq. "You could have had the oil and our love." The Iraqi government actually opposed the lifting of sanctions by Arab states. Lifting the sanctions would have given the Iraqi people more power to overthrow Saddam. She feels sorrow for the Iraqis, a very educated and westernized people. She recounts the saying (that I've heard elsewhere) that "Cairo writes, Beirut publishes, and Baghdad reads".

Shaaban, like many others, cites the title "Clash of Civilizations", hoping instead for a "Dialogue of Civilizations". The Arab world has become much more polarized after 9/11; many of Shaaban's friends deride her moderation, calling it naive. To mend it's image, all that America needs to do is to treat the Arab world with respect and fairness.

I ask a long and deliberately leading question: The Arab nations are so focused on the Palestinian issue that they aren't addressing their own internal problems. Some leaders even seem to be using the Palestinian issue to divert attention from their own shortcomings. What would be the prime problems, the "next steps", in the Arab world if the Palestinian issue were "magically" resolved? Ms. Shaaban nods in agreement with the question, then thinks for a moment, and says "unemployment and the economy, followed by democratic reform".

Islam decrees different courts for Muslims, Christians, and Jews. (Upstairs from us, Jewish and Christian Law are taught.) There is a separate discipline for "personal Islamic law", covering subjects like birth, death, and marriages. The role of the Imam is narrow; the government "handles everything".

We ask about pastoral counseling and mental illness. These are unfamiliar topics here; there is not much understanding even of disorders like schizophrenia.

We also ask about the role of doubt. The school does have a special course on "suspicions", where certain dangerous questions are entertained. For example, what if Mohammed, rather than God, wrote the Koran? However, the goal of the course is to allay all doubts; an Imam cannot have suspicions.

Philosophy and Theology are taught only after the 4-year undergraduate Sharia course.

The School of Sharia has more women students than men, and there are women on the faculty. There is no movement to allow women to be Imams. We are told that women can't pray or fast during menstruation, which would make them inappropriate Imams.

The University is trying now to build relationships with Universities in the U.S. Dr. Murtada visited the U.S. privately, and visited 15 U.S. schools, but was able to make a connection at only one, the University of Illinois at Chicago. [The Cultural Attaché of the U.S. Embassy of Egypt found this hard to believe; there are many exchange programs available, and her counterpart at the U.S. Embassy in Damascus is very active in this area.]

Dr. Murtada says that Syria has no problem with extremism now, citing with approval the 1980 suppression of the Muslim Brotherhood. [This suppression included the massacre of 20,000 to 30,000 people in one region, many of them innocent.] Syrians don't want extremist influence, and they think that the Saudis are very weird.