The Paula Gordon Show |
Conversation 1 Geneive Abdo compares differences in how Egypt appears from within and from the West, for Paula Gordon and Bill Russell. Ms. Abdo describes what she believes is a profound cultural divide between Americans and Egyptians. |
Conversation 2 Ms. Abdo describes the range of skills that enabled her to overcome major obstacles to being a female Western reporter in the Middle East. She summarizes what she sees as the enormity of the importance of the rise of Islam and Islamic movement in the 20th and 21st centuries. She expresses concern that America is 30 years late in paying attention. She uses Egypt’s vibrant film industry as an example of many ways that Egypt is and has been pivotal to the Middle East for centuries. She describes the mass migrations that have created Greater Cairo and compares it to Turkey’s population shifts then enumerates important ways Middle Eastern countries are interconnected. She considers how a relaxed philosophy about life has helped Egyptians adapt. |
Conversation 3 Difference between being philosophically and religiously Islamic are explored. Ms. Abdo compares how geography has affected Iran and Egypt. She uses Egypt’s government as an example of false Western ideas about Egypt, She describes what she considers Western myths about Egypt. Explaining why she refrains from using the term “fundamentalist,” Ms. Abdo summarizes what she believes today’s Islamists want in their lives, for Egypt and future governments. She distinguishes between the kind of democracy she believes Egyptians want and commonly understood Western-style democracy. She begins to outline the basic freedoms moderate Islamists are seeking. |
Conversation 4 Ms. Abdo continues with fundamental freedoms Egyptian Islamists seek. She uses politics to describe today’s transformation of Egyptian society. She assures us that the Islamists she is describing want to be modern, but also to be able to pick which aspects of Western culture are in harmony with their beliefs. She elaborates. Sensitive issues around freedom of expression are addressed. Democratic universals are considered. Ms. Abdo talks about the results of cultural socialization. She describes the democratic longings of many moderate Islamists. |
Conversation 5 The role of women is explored. Ms. Adbo describes Islamist feminists. She speaks of women who consider the veil their source of freedom and challenges Western stereotypes. Egyptian women’s power is described in religious terms. Deep differences are noted between Middle Eastern and Western ideas about women Education, she reports, is seen by Islamist moderates as doubly important for women who are responsible for raising children and advancing the culture. She offers examples, summarizing the role of family in the Middle East. Ms. Abdo honors the courage of people she encountered who are paying dearly as they strive for rights most Westerners take for granted. |
Conversation 6 Egypt has much to teach the West, Ms. Abdo believes, and gives examples. She argues for the importance of allowing Egypt to be in charge of its own destiny. She calls for patience as Egypt experiments with what she describes as a new phenomenon -- a theocracy that is democratic. |
Acknowledgements Ms. Abdo and her husband were splendidly accommodating when we met at their Cambridge apartment to record this program. We thank them both. Oxford University Press publicist Susan Fensten was essential in making this Show possible and we are grateful to her. |
Related Links: Ms. Abdo's book, No God But God: Egypt and the Triumph of Islam, is published by Oxford University Press. In his book, No god but God, Reza Aslan examines what he thinks may be an Islamic Reformation. Reza Aslan has also written a book title No god, But God. His subtitle is The Origins, Evolution and Future of Islam. An important part of his perspective is that Islam, like Christianity at a similar point in its evolution, is now undergoing a reformation of sorts. Former ambassador Peter Galbraith has written extensively about the conflicts among various sects of Islam, particularly those exacerbated by the American invasion of Iraq. In her level-headed, fact-based style, Sandra Mackey continues to observe and write about the Middle East. |