PowerPoint presentation from Ms. Numan's iRead session

Enjoy!

iRead recap: Ms. Thana Numan, Olive Tree Foundation

Ms. Numan, a young Muslim woman, began her presentation by showing images of women wearing hajabs, the traditional Islamic head covering. She asked the audience what thoughts these images evoked. Most of the replies were that the hajab was a sign of the oppression of women. Ms. Numan then showed images of Mother Theresa and other nuns wearing head coverings and noted that this is traditional in all monotheistic religions including Judaism and Christianity, and it is seen as a sign of modesty, purity, and dedication to God. Ms. Numan explained that this is also true in Islam. Muslim women wear the hajab to show their religious devotion. She explained that wearing a head covering is a cultural norm in the Middle East. In some cultures the entire face is covered but this varies from region to region.

According to the Quran, women are completely equal to men in the sight of God. Muslim women have the right to education, to be supported (when married), kind treatment and independent ownership. Women are active members of Islamic society and serve in many capacities. Mohammed’s wife, Aisha, owned a business and even employed him at one time. The Prophet also referred followers to women doctors, trusting in their skills and abilities. After his death, Aisha had a large political following and led an army in the Battle of Camel.

At the end of the presentation there were many questions and comments concerning Islamic law and cultural traditions.

Ms. Numan will be teaching Arabic in the near future. If interested in learning more about this, you can e-mail her at: thana_numan@yahoo.com.

This presentation was arranged by Olive Tree Education, an Islamic outreach and education group based in middle Tennessee. More information on the organization may be found at http://www.olivetreeeducation.org/.

iRead recap: Dr. Michael Rex

On Tuesday, February 23, Cumberland University English Professor Dr. Michael Rex spoke about Afghani art, literature, dance, and music.

Background
The arts in Afghanistan are influenced by three major things: 1) Geographic location. Goods and people traveling from the East and into Europe passed through this area had a great effect. 2) Various groups of people. The three major groups that make up the Afghanistan population are the Pashtuns, the dominant ruling class, the Tajik, a large percentage of people of various origin who have settled here, and the Hazar who are wanderers or nomads. Other minor tribes make up a small percentage of the population. 3) Philosophical standpoint. This culture, influenced by the mysticism from Buddhism in the East, is always seeking the “middle way.”

Music
There are two major instruments used in Afghani music. The national instrument called a Rubab, is a stringed instrument similar to the lute. The zerbaghali, or tabla, are head drums made of goat leather.


Dance
The national dance of Afghanistan is called the Attan and is based on an ancient dance for the goddess Artemis. It is danced by a group or men or a group of women, not couples. When the dance is done with a prop, it is called Khattah. Formerly dancers used swords as props, but now they use scarves. Kuchi is the dance characterized by a lot of jumping and tossing of the head. During the rule of the Taliban from 1996-2001, dancing was declared illegal and punishable by death.



Art
The Afghan region is known for art created during the Grecco-Buddhist period which was from 400 BCE to 700 CE. Two famous statues of Buddha, called the Bayman Buddahs were carved into the side of cliffs. These 1,700 year old statues were destroyed by the Taliban in March 2001. Discovered inside when they were destroyed were frescoes painted in oil on canvases made from woven straw; these are the first known oil paintings.
Other popular art forms are Beggram ivory carvings and jewelry carved out of gold. Afghani art differs from much of the art in the Islam world because they still depict people and animals in their art work.
Rug making and kite making are almost exclusive to Afghanistan. The kites are used for kite fighting and are made of paper or silk and bamboo. The strings are made of a combination of glass and glue. Kite flying was also banned under the Taliban regime.

Buddha statues:













Beggram ivory carving:


Afghani Jewelry:


Afghani Rugs:



Literature
The two most influential poets in Afghanistan are Rahman Baha and Rabia-al Adawiyya. Rahman Baha is considered the father of Afghan letters, and his only surviving work is a book of 60,000 rhyming couplets. Rabia-al Adawiyya, a woman who lived during the 8-9th century, ascribed to the Islamic movement known as Sufi, and this connection to the divine is apparent in her writings.
Contemporary writers from Afghanistan include Malalai Joya, a member of Parliament, and Khaled Husseini, a novelist and the author of bestsellers including The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns.


Today
Currently, the arts in Afghanistan are still recovering from the oppression during the Taliban rule. Most Afghanis who are preserving the arts from this area do not actually live in Afghanistan, but are living in other countries and plan to return to Afghanistan in the future. Contemporary writers and artists hope to achieve a synthesis of the classical and contemporary art, to preserve and progress Afghanistan in the modern age.


Please join us on Tuesday, March 23 as a representative from the Olive Tree Foundation will speak about women in Muslim life.

iRead recap: Dr. Buck Smith

The fourth iRead session for Three Cups of Tea featured Cumberland University English Professor Dr. Buck Smith speaking about his first-hand experiences as a Green Beret in Afghanistan following September 11, 2001.

Dr. Smith began by giving a brief history of the Green Beret Special Forces. Their history traces back to Lawrence of Arabia and can be seen throughout World Wars I and II. The modern day practice of wearing green berets got its start in 1961 when President Kennedy visited the Fort Bragg military base. While there, he stated that he only wanted to see the Special Forces if they were actually wearing green berets. The troops obliged and the practice continues today.

The motto of the Green Berets is “To Liberate the Oppressed.” They do this by requiring soldiers to be knowledgeable about culture—speak the language, meet with local leaders, and develop relationships. During the beginning of the war in Afghanistan, there were even some soldiers who trained to become “horse soldiers” by riding with local leaders and learning how to carry supplies while on horseback. This process of learning the culture is the same approach that Greg Mortenson took in Three Cups of Tea.

Green Beret soldiers go through a rigorous training process which culminates in a field exercise in unconventional warfare in a rural part of the United States. Throughout the training, the twelve man groups learn warfare tactics and the ability to work together as a team. When they have completed training, they are a self-sufficient unit that can survive anywhere in the world.

Dr. Smith’s company arrived in Kandahar in December 2001. One of their first missions involved reconnaissance which allowed them to have a birds-eye view of a goat-herding family. During this mission, they observed this family’s daily life, which included the men praying and the children playing. These observations humanized the Afghani people and changed the idea that they were “the enemy” for Smith and the other soldiers. When they developed this attitude, they began to see their mission differently. Like Mortenson, they determined that the Afghani people needed to be able to help themselves in their own way, in accordance with their own cultural traditions, and that the West shouldn't necessarily try to remake Afghanistan in its own image.

Dr. Smith closed with a quote from Capt. Sir Basil Liddell Hart in Thoughts on War: “If you wish for peace understand war, particularly the guerilla and subversive forms of war.” Dr. Smith also provided the following quote from Greg Mortenson, which appeared on the dust jacket of the book Horse Soldiers, by Doug Stanton. Mortenson said: “Their [the Green Beret Horse Soldiers] secret mission against the Taliban was intelligent, brave, and undertaken with great care for the good people of Afghanistan.”

Dr. Smith offered suggested readings for further knowledge on the United States' role in Afghanistan:

• Horse Soldiers by Doug Stanton
• One Tribe at a Time by Jim Gant
• The Only Thing Worth Dying For by Eric Blehm
• Steven Pressfield Blog: A Video Blog from Author and Historian Steven Pressfield
• The Ugly American by William Lederer and Eugene Burdick

iRead recap: Lamia Afghan Foundation

This recap will be a little different than the others. Instead of summarizing what happened during the session, we would like to show a video presentation. The following video is based on the PowerPoint Presentation shown during the session. Enjoy!

iRead recap: Dr. James Ray

Our second iRead event for Three Cups of Tea featured guest speaker, Dr. James Lee Ray, Professor of Political Science at Vanderbilt University. Dr. Ray’s research includes American foreign policy, international law and politics, and the causes of war and international conflict. He has published widely on these subjects.

Dr. Ray began his talk with a brief outline of the history of Afghanistan noting that historically they have been a part of many empires. The emergence of a national entity can be traced back to 1747. However, this “Graveyard of Empires” alternated control between the British and Russians up until 1919 when it came under monarchial rule. During the 1960s and 1970s strides were made toward democracy. Late in the 1970s the monarchy was over thrown, and in 1978 Afghanistan was under local communist power. Concerned that the local communist were not strong enough to fight the militant Islamic mujahideens, the Soviet Union invaded in 1979. It was noted that President Jimmy Carter was funneling support through the CIA to the mujahideens in order to lure the Soviet Union into a Vietnam like war to drain their resources and end the Cold War. The initial Soviet invasion easily toppled the communists in power however; the result was a brutal war of occupation. The decade of the 1970s was a horrible decade for the people of Afghanistan. One million Afghans died, and 1/3 of the country’s population fled. When the Soviet’s pulled out, the United States lost interest in Afghanistan. A power vacuum was created and a civil war erupted making conditions even worse than those suffered in the 1970s. This prior relationship creates a problem for US foreign policy as it has created a lack of trust that the US could engage in Afghanistan and pull out again.

In the 1990s the Taliban took over 80% of the country. After the tragedy of 9/11 the US invaded Afghanistan and put an end to the Taliban rule. Hamid Karzai was put in power as the President. In 2004 a Constitution was approved giving the President strong powers with little power to the Parliament. Political parties were established and now there are over 90 political parties, all required to be pro-Islamic, and making it hard to distinguish one from another. There are two primary ethnic groups in Afghanistan: Pashtun (42%) and Tajik (27%) with the majority Pashtun controlling the government. The Presidential election of 2009 is crucial to US involvement as in needs a government to work with. However, the election was plagued with corruption. It is likely Hamid Karzai, a Pushtun, will defeat Adula Adula, a Tajik, due to the majority status of the Pushtuns. Foreign influence in Afghanistan is wide spread and penetrating, further complicating the political situation.

Dr Ray then spoke about “Insurgents, Tribes, and War Lords,” which are forces to reckon with in Afghanistan. They are all part of the Taliban. The most influential is Mullah Omar who has a dedicated following and presides over a shadow government. The standard view has been that the Taliban are a local group with local interests, compared to Al Qaida who have more global interests. Both are anti-American and some are beginning to think that these groups are now almost indistinguishable as the Taliban has intensified its radicalism. However, the US National Security Advisor, James Jones, still thinks the two can be separated to defeat Al Qaida. There are also powerful war lords and tribal chiefs who perhaps can be paid off to aid US interests against Al Qaida, a strategy used in Iraq. Critics of this strategy think this is a mistake as it will strengthen some factions and make it impossible to integrate the country into a modern entity.

Dr Ray concluded that the US military has a daunting challenge. General McCrystal, US Commander in Afghanistan, has proposed a counter insurgency strategy to create a stable country by sending more and more troops. President Obama has already doubled the number of troops in Afghanistan and it is uncertain that he will send 40,000 more as McCrystal has proposed. Another strategy would be counter terrorism which is a less ambitious plan. This plan would buy off elements of the Taliban, war loads, and tribal chiefs to establish a balance of power. The objective would be to concentrate on killing Al Qaida and the terrorists, rather than creating an integrated and stable nation. Given the nature of bureaucratic battles on foreign policy, it is likely a compromise alternative will be found and a middle strategy adopted.

Dr. Ray left us with two questions to ponder:

If a stable Afghanistan is achieved, how much safer would we be? There are a lot of other places terrorists can go to carry out their anti-American terrorist acts.

If the US is defeated in Afghanistan wouldn’t this be a devastating blow to the US and a boost to the Taliban and Al Qaida?

Interesting questions and discussions followed.

Join us on November 24 when Jan and John Bradley will speak about the Lamia-Afghan Foundation which provides humanitarian aid to the children of Afghanistan.

Pictures from the first session

This is just one of the 97 pictures we took during our first iRead session. To see all of them, visit our Facebook photo album. A big thank you to the National Guard and everyone who attended!