January 30, 2002 — Mudeif Productions

*Zababdeh’s Sheikh mixing perfumes and colognes.*

We paid a visit to Zababdeh's sheikh - we had bought copies of a French documentary on Zababdeh made in the 1960s, and have been delivering them to the congregational leaders. He told us some of the history of the mosque in Zababdeh (built in the 1950s), and was clearly very proud of the new mosque which is being built on the main road from Tubas to Jenin that runs through Zababdeh. He took us on a tour of the grounds around the mosque, which house not only the sanctuary but also a kindergarten (where about 40 children attend every morning) and the Muslim town cemetery.

We talked about politics (surprise, surprise), but also a great deal about religion. There's an interesting aspect of Middle Eastern relations - it is as though you have to find the one thing about which you most disagree before you can move on to a place of understanding and agreement. We've had similar interactions in the village with Catholic and Orthodox Christians. We discussed the incarnation and resurrection (both of which the Qur'an deny), as well as the elevated place of Mary and Jesus (both of which the Qur'an affirm). In fact, there is far more about Mary in the Qur'an than in the Bible. Especially these days, it seems more important than ever to have these discussions to find out what people really believe, rather than relying on hearsay and rumor.

As we got up to leave, he insisted on giving us each a small gift of perfume/cologne, a field which he knows a great deal about - it turns out.