September 22, 2001

After school today, one of the Muslim teachers from the school brought her mother over for a visit. Last year, she had made friendly overtures, but our pathetic Arabic and her long-forgotten English were a poor ground for conversation. Apparently, we've improved enough (though not as much as she thinks - she speaks really fast!). For the last two years, she has been the Islam teacher for the older Muslim students (when Marthame and Abuna Aktham teach Bible to the Christians). We talked to her about a number of issues - war, of course, is on everyone's lips. She, like us, yearns for peace. She, like us, is ashamed of those who use their religion to perpetrate injustices and horrors upon others. She and her family live in Zababdeh, part of the growing Muslim minority here. She talked about how she likes Zababdeh more than Jenin and some of the other villages nearby, which have very strict, perhaps provincial views. For example, in some towns, all the women wear long robe-like dresses, and they'd stare at her for wearing her nice, conservative slacks with long jacket. Refreshing to be reminded very personally of the wide variety in the practice of faith here, particularly as many in the States seem to assume all Muslims are the same.

We temporarily have no TV.

We turned on the TV today to get the latest news, only to find out that we have no TV. Normally, this would probably be a good thing, but given the situation, it's imperative to stay abreast of what's happening in the world. We went on the roof to discover the reason - a new concrete wall now stands in front of our satellite dish, part of the construction. But the landlord promised to take action soon, so we can keep abreast of the situation.