My first experience being in a Muslim country was visiting Egypt in 2011 with my friend Becky Oberlin. We were on a tour sponsored by Unity Village. We arrived in Cairo at night and the weather was beautiful and balmy. The drive to our hotel went right past Mubarak’s Presidential Palace, which felt surreal since this was right after the Revolution in which he had been cast out of office after 30 years. We stayed in the Marriott, which was right on the Nile, with a wonderful view. There was a lot of energy in the city from the deck of our hotel and wonderful foreign sounds. And in the morning and evening, we would hear the Muslim call to prayer broadcast throughout the area. It was very beautiful.
We met our guide, Gigi, that night...an amazing, brilliant Egyptian woman who was Christian. The head of the tour was a Muslim man and they were friends. Together, they took very good care of all of us. She informed us that on our first day, we would be staying near the hotel because 15 million people were expected in downtown Cairo to vote for their resolution since the Government was in major upheaval. Gigi said she was 46 and was voting for the first time in her life, finally saying “no” to her government. She sided with the more radical protestors who felt the resolution did not go far enough. And it ended up passing by about 70%. Ultimately, it did not turn out well for any sort of democracy. The people are still living under a dictatorship, though a different dictator.
Becky and I wandered in the streets near the hotel and took a few photos of the voters. The men and women were in separate lines. They ended up with a pink fingertip if they voted, and all day, people were holding up their pink fingers, so thrilled and excited to have voted.
Everywhere we went, Muslim women were out and about with only one other woman or a small group. Their burkas were all colorful and only covered their heads but not their faces.
They were generally very friendly. The only ones who were not were those dressed completely in black with the burka covering their faces. We were told they were the ones from Saudi Arabia. One actually yelled at Becky and me. We could not understand her language, but she did not approve of us for some reason. We were dressed in American clothes, but modestly, since we were aware of the culture. (I am not meaning to imply that any woman in a black burqa would do the same).
The men were generally very interested as the two of us walked around the safe areas, and they obviously have no laws or rules about refraining from verbally harassing women. It was a common experience there.
Being a tourist in a Muslim country or any country is very different than knowing friends there. I would have liked to really meet the people and converse with them. When I lived in the Los Angeles, California area, I would see Muslim women all the time and often wished I had a way to connect more deeply.
So, I was thrilled to have Ani Zonneveld visit my former church in Torrance to discuss the Islamic faith. It is so misunderstood in our western culture, just as I am sure Christianity is in theirs. The opportunity to learn from a Progressive Muslim woman who is also an activist was a rare opportunity. She is one of the few women Imams in the world. That is a religious leader who leads prayer and often is the leader of a congregation as well, which proved to be true in her case.
At her services, the men and women worship in the same space, which is not typical. She also did not wear any head covering. She had spoken at the United Nations about progressive values in Islam and more freedom for women, and she had numerous death threats on her life. I found her to be very inspirational and courageous. I am not certain if she still remains an Imam with a congregation, but I hope so. She is also a Singer/Songwriter who was putting Islamic hymns to classical music and attempting to create a new genre of music. I wish her well and also all of the women and men trying to bring greater awakening to our world religions.