the new islam

I moved to Cairo 5 years ago, and have noticed many changes over this time. One example is the niqab: 5 years ago, I barely saw any women wearing the niqab. Today, they are everywhere. Similarly, 40 years ago there weren't many veiled women in Cairo. Now, over 70% are veiled. The whole culture has become conservative, and who and what a Muslim is is now defined very narrowly. I know this term "extremism" is problematic, since many people don't think they are being extreme, but rather that they are following the "correct" Islam. However, there is no "correct" Islam. Islam is an interpretation of a variety of sources, including the Qur'an. Thus it varies according to person. "There are as many Islams as there are Muslims." I don't remember where I heard this quote, but it really struck me.
Anyway, to go back to the topic: why has Cairo become so conservative? And I don't think this is happening only in Egypt; Muslims all over the world seem to be becoming more conservative and narrow minded. Who a Muslim is is now such a narrow definition that many Muslims no longer fit into it. Apparently unless I cover myself head to toe, stay at home, obey my husband, and as long as I do not derive pleasure from anything in life, I am not a Muslim. Is this the new Islam? It certainly appears to be, from what I see in Cairo.
I have nothing against the niqab, but I think it is wrong to see it as a way of judging whether someone is a Muslim or not. Many good Muslims do not cover, while many niqabis are not practicing Muslims. Being a Muslim is more than just about what you are wearing. Sadly, the new Islam means being judged by your outward appearance. The new Islam is about making your supposedly private relationship with God public. The new Islam is about radical, literal interpretations. The new Islam ignores the SPIRIT of the Qur'an, and focuses solely on the pratical aspects, such as prayer. Why not a balance?
Coming from a liberal background, I find it sad that Islam has become to most people a strict, uncompromising set of rules. This is not the Islam I see when I read the Qur'an.
I wonder what the reasons for this growing conservatism are? Economic problems? Loss of identity? More narrow interpretations of Islam, on a global level?

sexual harassment

I mentioned before that sexual harassment is one of the worst aspects of living in Cairo. While some women can live here for years and not get harassed, more than 80% (iIm sure) do get harassed at some point or another. It's gotten so bad that it's affecting tourism, as a survey done by the Egyptian Centre for Women's Rights (ECWR) found that 98% of tourists get harassed.

Now, what does harassment mean? I don't mean a guy on the street winking, or whistling, or asking you for a number. I mean he stops whatever he's doing (including driving), to give you an "I want to kill you" glare. Don't ask me why women are supposed to respond positively to that. Then if you ever respond, they start cussing you out like there's no tomorrow. It's pretty scary.

Now most men will limit their harassment to just looking at you, which is pretty uncomfortable. Then there are those that will follow you, as has happened to me twice. One of these times was 2 nights ago when I was driving home and this guy started slowing down beside me and waving and laughing manically. As I was about to turn into my street, I took a u-turn and kept driving till I lost him, since I didn't want him to see where I live.

A more extreme story of harassment is the following, reported by the Egyptian Foundation for Refugee Rights:

Last week, a Sudanese refugee girl was sexually harassed in the street, while waiting for a taxi in the Al Haram district.

A taxi driver pulled up and verbally and physically harassed her. When she accused him of verbally and physically harassing her, he drove his car towards and hit her with the car repeatedly. She attempted to desperately defend herself, but did not have time to do so. The taxi driver then grabbed her arm and hand and began moving the taxi. She could not release herself from his grasp and was dragged through the street. She fainted.

After regaining consciousness, she discovered bystanders were able to write the number of the taxi.

I was absolutely shocked when I heard this, and I really hope they find this guy.

Sexual harassment happens all over the world, but I guess what makes Egypt different is how widespread it is: in a day I probably get harassed by 90% of the men I see, and I've heard the same from most of my friends. Why is it like this? Especially since it's an Islamic country, you'd expect the conservatism to curb this behaviour. I put it down to the way men are brought up here: parents still tend to treat their sons better than their daughters, and there is still a lot of sexism in Egypt. So these boys grow up thinking they are better than women and so why should we expect them to respect women on the street? Combine this with unemployment, frustration, general bad manners due this frustration, and I think we can arrive at some kind of explanation as to why sexual harassment is so pervasive.

As a concluding note, I want to also mention that it is usually the woman who gets blamed for being harassed. "What were you wearing/doing/saying?" is usually asked of her when she says she's been harassed. However, the ECWR survey found that 70% of women who get harassed are veiled; and 6% are munaqabat. Hmm!

cairo

while growing up in zambia, my family and i would visit cairo every year for a week or 2, and then move on to holland. i never really liked cairo that much, but i never really thought about it much either, since it was only a holiday. when we moved here, however, i formed an instant distaste for the pollution, traffic, driving, manners (or lack thereof), and sexual harassment. i have spent much of the past 5 years complaining about these things, and fantasizing about the day i leave cairo and never come back.

0n the other hand, i'm in love with cairo. i love how the city has 18 million people crowded into it, i love the nile, the pyramids, the mosques. i love the ottoman architecture, zamalek, heliopolis, and the fact that cairo has so much history to it you can almost feel it in the air. it really is a beautiful city, but unfortunately it's difficult to see that sometimes when you've been stuck in traffic for an hour, breathing in heavy pollution and being subjected to lewd comments and glares from passing men (and women).

this weird love-hate relationship is pretty common, i've found, among cairene residents. a lot of my friends complain about the city, but can't wait to get back once they leave. as i get ready to leave cairo sometime this year (inshallah), i wonder how much i'll miss it (because i know deep down that i will, no matter how strongly i deny this). i know for sure i'll miss the call to prayer, the beautiful mosques, and just the atmosphere of a city so steeped in history.

i was in heliopolis about a week ago, and as i drove past the old palaces with green gardens and overhanging trees, i realized how beautiful cairo must have been in the 1800s and early 1900s. this thought made me very emotional, and i wished i had been able to experience the cairo of then. back when the population of egypt was 20 million, not 80 million; when the idea of a modern nation-state hadn't turned the middle east upside down; when people worried less about surviving in the global capitalist economy, since it didn't yet have the far-reaching influence it has today; when the british hadn't yet taken over cairo; when life in general was easier. egypt today is struggling with an identity crisis, an economic crisis, a population crises, to cite a few, and it's a miracle that people are still moving from day to day. it's a miracle that the infrastructure of cairo that was built by muhammad ali for 2 million people still works in a city of 18 million. that although almost 50% of egytians live on less than $2 a day, mortality rates are much lower than other developing countries. that although not classified as developed, there are so many BMWs and Mercedes' on the street it's impossible to keep count. it really is a country of contradictions.

of course every country has negatives, and i think maybe in the end it comes down to memories - a lot of good memories in a country can tie you to it for a lifetime, whereas a few bad memories in a country can make you never want to go back. i have a lot of beautiful memories of cairo, and hopefully that'll make me eventually realize that the pollution, traffic, lack of organization, and sexual harassment in no way make cairo less amazing than lusaka, amsterdam, or anywhere else i might end up in the future.