Dove's Eye View

Bush on Global Warming: Save the Bears!

He's changing his mind about global warming - at least where the polar bears are concerned:

The Bush administration on Wednesday made one of its most significant concessions to date on the dangers of global warming, proposing protection for the polar bear, whose habitat is threatened by the melting Arctic sea ice.

The recommendation by the Interior Secretary, Dick Kempthorne, that the bears be added to the list of threatened species, marks a reversal by the administration from its reluctance to acknowledge the consequences of climate change.

It would bar US government agencies from any activity that would jeopardise polar bears or their hunting grounds, and could potentially require the administration to compel US industries to curb their carbon dioxide output.

The move was hailed as a victory for environmental organisations which have increasingly resorted to the US courts to try to bring America in line with other countries on global warming.

I'm glad for this sign of hope, since we got more disturbing news today about the Polar ice cap.

Bush Wishes Muslims Happy Eid

Either he means it, and those rabid Islam-bashers out there have to deal with it, or he doesn't, and the haters have to accept that he's a liar. I tend to think he means it.

Bush sends best wishes to Muslims (from THE ASSOCIATED PRESS)

CRAWFORD, Texas -- President Bush on Friday sent holiday greetings to all Muslims in America, Iraq and across the world as they celebrate the Eid al-Adha religious festival.

"Eid al-Adha is an important occasion to give thanks for their blessings and to remember Abraham's trust in a loving God," Bush said in a statement released from his Texas ranch, where he is spending the week pondering changes to U.S. policy in Iraq and staying abreast of Saddam Hussein's execution.
...
"During the four days of this special observance, Muslims honor Abraham's example of sacrifice and devotion to God by celebrating with friends and family, exchanging gifts and greetings, and engaging in worship through sacrifice and charity," he said.

Bush noted the contributions of Muslim U.S. citizens.

"This holiday reminds us of the values that so many of our citizens hold in common, including love of family, gratitude to God, the importance of community and a commitment to respect, diversity, tolerance and religious freedom," Bush said.

The SF Chronicle reports on the beginning of Eid al-Adha: Unity is dominant theme. Another article full of peace, love and understanding. I know this sort of thing doesn't change the minds of people who are convinced otherwise, but I'm posting the links anyway.

For you Christians out there who fear and despise Islam, remember that Muslims regard Jesus as one of their prophets, and venerate him greatly.

Happy Eid to my Muslim readers, happy New Year to the ones celebrating that tomorrow night, and to all, salaam 'aleikum.

Muslim, Christian and Jew: the Faith Club

I missed this book when it came out, surely because my father was dying and I was not reading the papers: USATODAY.com - Moms find spiritual friends in Faith Club.

When the news abounds with incendiary stereotypes, contradictory theologies and confusing cultural identities, can any ordinary person sort it all out?

Yes, if they're bold, persistent and open-minded, say the three women of the Faith Club: Ranya Idliby, a Muslim; Suzanne Oliver, a Christian; and Priscilla Warner, a Jew.

This New York City trio is out to share with a fractious world their way of fostering interreligious understanding soul to soul.

A memoir of their experiences, The Faith Club (Simon & Schuster), arrive(d) in stores on Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, and during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Read the whole article. I plan to get the book as well. Its related website contains much more information.

The internet seems to be full of people muttering darkly about the evils of Islam, and the perfidy and violence they are certain exists in the Koran. I am more frightened of this new level of religious prejudice and hatred than I am of Islamic extremists harming me. Let's hope that this new book reflects a sea change.

Tip of the hat to Len and Libby Traubman.

Blogging Syria

Thanks to the Arabist I have been introduced to a whole new world, that of Syrian bloggers.

Imad Moustapha is the Syrian Ambassador to the United States. He used to be president of a technological university in Syria, and combines graduate degrees in the sciences with wide-ranging artistic and cultural interests. In his blog, for instance, he reviews a Margaret Atwood novel he picked up at the airport. Browse around his main site for photos of himself posed with George Bush. Guaranteed to irritate neo-conservatives.

George Ajjan, the Aleppine Elephant is a Republican MBA in New Jersey, personable and good at organizing. Mr. Ajjan also runs an independent political blog devoted to Syrian affairs: Syriapol.

Ammar Abdulhamid is a Syrian-American dissident in exile from Syria who keeps A Heretic's Blog. Fascinating.

Syrians Refuse to be Silenced is another dissident blog.

Look at the website for the Syrian Cultural Center in Montreal - not a blog, but a whole website devoted to the culture and history of Syria. Their Syrian Think Tank page hosts an online weekly debate by Syria's top analysts.

Two local blogs (I don't know if they're actually based in Syria however) that post intermittently are Across Syria (focusing on Homs) and Damascene Blog (focusing on Damascus).

Another activist site: The Syria Monitor, defined as news on the Syrian Opposition compiled by researchers from the Center for Liberty in the Middle East (CLIME).

And as always, the ever-popular Joshua Landis of Syria Comment, professor of Syria Studies at Oklahoma State University and husband of a Syrian emigree. Check Josh's site for news and analysis. I wonder if his blog didn't touch off the whole Syrian blogger movement - Syrians began reading and commenting on his blog during the tense months after Lebanese former prime minister Harriri's assassination in early 2005. We heard that everyone in Damascus was reading Syria Comment during the crisis. Professor Landis went from being the historian visiting to observe events, to being part of the events themselves. One thing led to another and now blogging is a good way to find out what's happening and keep in touch.

So there you have it. Syrian government officials, Syrian exiles, Syrian-American businesspeople, Syrian-Canadians. The above is just a quick sample.

Virgil Goode, meet Justice Gould

The Head Heeb (Jonathan Edelstein) applies his legal skills and his knowledge of British history to the question of swearing oaths on the Koran: Virgil Goode, meet Justice Gould.

It was subsequently taken for granted that, under whatever name, the Koran could be used to swear oaths, as evidenced by other cases in 1787 and 1832 in which such oaths were taken as a matter of course. Also, because the decision in Morgan's case was issued prior to the American Revolution, it became part of the common law of the United States, and by the early 1820s, courts in New York and Illinois described it as "settled law" that "Mahometans may be sworn on the Koran; Jews on the Pentateuch, and Gentoos and others according to the ceremonies of their religion, whatever may be the form."

... Before the First Amendment existed, John Morgan and other Muslims took their oaths on the Koran, gave the testimony that their consciences dictated, and were thus recognized as participants in the public life of their countries. Now that the Constitution ensures not only the right to participate but the right to do so on the basis of equality, the case in Ellison's favor is even more open and shut. There's someone deviating from American constitutional principles here, but Ellison isn't the one.

You really must read the whole thing to appreciate this tale of 18th century Muslim sailors in English courts.

Leila Abu-Saba podcast on Radio Tahrir

I'm on Radio Tahrir's first podcast: Radio Tahrir podcast. Check out the December 25, 2006 show.

The other two writers on the show are Syrian-American writer Mohja Kahf and Lebanese-American poet Etel Adnan. It's an enormous honor to be included with those two. I can't quite believe it.

For those of you who don't know what a podcast is - it's just radio archived on the internet. Go to the link, click on the show you want to hear, and if your computer's media software is running properly you should hear it.

Etel Adnan and I both have pieces in a new anthology published this week:

Homelands: Women's Journeys Across Race, Place, and Time edited by Patricia J. Tumang and Jenesha De Rivera.

My essay in it is titled "Heartbroken for Lebanon." For the Barbara Aziz interview, however, I read an old piece about a Palestinian boy in a Lebanese orchard in Sidon.

The Peaceful Crusader - New York Times

For Christmas you must read this Op-Ed about St. Francis and the clash of Muslim and Christian civilizations: The Peaceful Crusader - New York Times.

In Francis’ view, judgment was the exclusive province of the all-merciful God; it was none of a Christian’s concern. True Christians were to befriend all yet condemn no one. Give to others, and it shall be given to you, forgive and you shall be forgiven, was Francis’ constant preaching. “May the Lord give you peace” was the best greeting one could give to all one met. It compromised no one’s dignity and embraced every good; it was a blessing to be bestowed indiscriminately. Francis bestowed it on people named George and Jacques and on people named Osama and Saddam. Such an approach, in an age when the most visible signs of the Christian religion were the wars and atrocities of the red-crossed crusaders, was shockingly otherworldly and slyly effective.

(from editorial by Thomas Cahill in the NY Times, 12/25/2006)

I had no idea of St. Francis' history; I thought he was the lover of animals and of course founder of the Franciscans. I did not know that he proselytized the Caliph in his palace, and reached out to Muslims in amity. Read the article to find out about Francis' extraordinary journey to the Middle East.

I will be reading more about St. Francis after this. I always did want a statue of St. Francis for my garden, and of course he is the patron saint of the Bay upon which I live (and the city at the entrance of the Bay). San Francisco values include a strong civic concern for the poor and the downtrodden. Again, this interfaith aspect is new to me. What a great Christmas message.

Impermanence: The time of man

For Christmas, here's another story about my father, Elias Abu-Saba.

Dad had this friend, David Hodge, who is a filmmaker and video artist here in California. Mr. Hodge was doing a piece on Impermanence as part of an artistic tribute to the Dalai Lama, and asked Dad to give his thoughts in a long video interview.

Hodge used Dad's voice in an installation of 16 I-pods broadcasting the words of 108 people, playing simultaneously in a large room. Read about it here: Impermanence: The time of man.

Last May, months before his death, Mom and Dad got to view/hear the installation. Mom says that Dad was particularly articulate and that his words were really moving. He didn't know he was dying when he made the interview or when they listened to the whole piece; he was diagnosed with cancer two months later.

I hope I get to experience this unusual art installation devoted to impermanence and to peace.

My father did some amazing things in his life, but this one surprises me. Even after his death, he still gets to tour the world, talking, in an avant-garde performance piece using I-pods. That would be my dad, an earthy peasant poet immortalized in the latest technology. He had this paradoxical quality of being cutting edge and completely old-world at the same time. Part of him loved the land, olives, and history, and part of him loved computers, engineering, new architecture, and gadgets. Both of these aspects are very Lebanese. You can see this paradox at work in Beirut today - and all over Lebanon.

People are impermanent. Love the ones around you because tomorrow they will be gone. Everything changes, everything passes.

Merry Christmas, everybody. And Dad, wherever you are, we love you and think of you each day.

Update: read the comments for links to the virtual tour of the art gallery, and more info on the main show. The video installation is part of a large group exhibit including Laurie Anderson, Bill Viola and Jenny Holzer. I am just staggered.

Dove Blogging

The Dove wonders sometimes why keep up a blog devoted to "signs of hope in the Middle East." A common reaction from new readers is disbelief, i.e., "you can find some hope?"

Richard Silverstein just emailed me about a lovely music event he hosted in Seattle, with selections from across the middle of the world. He expressed some doubts in passing about whether such efforts make a difference. I wrote back:

"In fact, every such effort is aided by angels. We do not know what ripples we send forth when we make an effort for unity, for love, for humanity.

"There's no way to know how long peace could take. We could have horrific war for another generation and suddenly have peace and reconstruction. Look at Germany amidst the rest of Europe.

"In the meantime, we here in America have to shine our lights the brighter. We have to continue to hold the thoughts - the reasonable, true, honest, pure thoughts - of peace and justice on behalf of those who are too oppressed/tyrannized/frightened to hold them for themselves."

When I post a sign of hope, I hear inside my head the voices of the angry and the resentful, attacking me for daring to assert that peace on earth and good will toward humanity can grow out of the chaos of modern affairs. I've read enough of my troll commenters to know what some of them might say - the names change but the voices of fear, hatred, self-righteousness and anger remain the same.

I am only human and I succumb to fear, hatred, self-righteousness and anger as easily as anyone. But the point of this blog is to assert, for the record, that peacemaking, diplomacy, good sense and old-fashioned brotherly love do work. They have worked in the past and they can work for us today. Our leaders are blinded by their own fears, ignorance and ideology; they make terrible mistakes that cost lives and treasure. But peace is always possible. And even if our societies go mad all around us, we still know that human beings are capable of better behavior; we still cling to principles of tolerance, democracy, human rights, intellectual freedom and the rational, peaceful resolution of differences.

This blog is an attempt to document good behavior. Signs of hope. I post them, and then they get archived, and the months and years pile up. January 2007 will be three years of Dove's Eye View. I have come very close to abandoning this project more than once. For the new year, I plan to continue, insha'allah.

Keep the faith, baby!

Olmert to Meet Abbas in Jerusalem - New York Times

For Christmas? Olmert to Meet Abbas in Jerusalem - New York Times.

If all the Dove's wishes could be granted, then the USA would support international laws and treaties to the fullest, give help to the weak and rein in the violent, exercise diplomacy and fairness. All the parties at the table would talk and listen and agree to continue to talk and listen.

Dear Santa, please? For Christmas?