الإرشاد الرسولي والحوار: توصيات عملية

My conference at the Assembly of Patriarchs and Bishops of Middle Eastern Catholic Churches (Bethania, Harissa-Lebanon, 06-12-2012) on Muslim-Christian Dialogue and its implementation. 

Dr. Pamela Chrabieh

Dr. Pamela Chrabieh

د. باميلا شرابيه

    منذ بداية العلاقات بين المسلمين والمسيحيين، ترتبط مسألة الحوار ببعدين أساسيين: الحياتي والعملي (أي خبرات العيش المشترك بين الأفراد والجماعات) واللاهوتي والروحاني. لا يُمكن لتاريخ هذه العلاقات أن يُلخّص في تعبير واحد: السلبيّة أو الإيجابية، ولكن يمكن أن نقول أن هذه العلاقات تميّزت تارةً بالتنافس والخصوم والحروب، وطوراً بالحوار البنّاء والاحترام والمشاركة والعمل معاً من أجل تحقيق العدالة والحرية والسلام.

    تكمن إحدى التحدّيات التي نواجهها اليوم ليس فقط في أهمية "توسيع" مساحات الحوار والعيش المشترك على الصعيدين المحلي والعالمي ولكن أيضاً في إعادة بناء ذاكرتنا الجماعية التي تدعم الأحكام المسبقة والهوايات المتصارعة أكثر من الخبرات السلميّة، أكانت في الحياة اليومية أو في الأوساط الأكاديمية واللاهوتية.

    يُظهر الإرشاد الرسولي الذي وقّعه البابا بنديكتوس السادس عشر أثناء زيارته إلى لبنان في أيلول 2012 أهمية الانفتاح على حوار حقيقي بين الأديان – لا سيما المسيحية واليهودية والإسلام – دون الوقوع في الطائفية، مبنياً على الإيمان بالإله الواحد. ويدعو الإرشاد إلى تنقية الذاكرة، إلتزام لغة السلام، العمل معاً لتدعيم الحوار الديني وحوارالحياة من خلال المناهضة المشتركة لكلّ أنواع الأصولية والعنف باسم الدين، والبحث عن مستقبل مشترك أفضل.

    بناءً على هذه المقدمة، وعلى ما جاء في الإرشاد الرسولي، وعلى نتائج أبحاث ميدانية أقوم بها منذ سنوات في الجامعات والمجتمع المدني، أعرض في ما يلي بعض التوصيات العملية.

1-  الانتماء الديني من اجل بناء السلام:

أعتقد أن الانتماء الديني والقناعة يحفزان الأفراد والجماعات للدعوة الى سياسات ذات صلة ببناء السلام (Advocate for Peace – Related Policies). من خلال التعاليم اللاهوتية والخدمة في الرعايا، تلعب الجماعات الدينية دوراً مهماً في تشكيل المواقف والعمل من أجل السلام. من هنا أهمية استكشاف وعرض المفاهيم الرئيسية لبناء السلام التي تمّ تحديدها في الكتب المقدسة والتقاليد الدينية، بما في ذلك الحوار، والمصالحة، والعدالة، والمغفرة، ونبذ العنف، الخ....

عملياً، يمكن تنظيم ودعم حركة حوار بين أساتذة جامعيين مسلمين ومسيحيين وباحثين في الكليات الدينية والعلوم الإنسانية، من اجل تحديد "معجم" أو "ثقافة" الحوار من أجل السلام، تعتمده المدارس والجامعات والرعايا والأبرشيات. من الأفضل أن تكون هذه الحركة محليّة، وثقافتها ترتكز على خبرات المجتمع المحلّي وتُلهم هذا المجتمع.

2-    محاربة الجهل الثقافي وتهديم هيكل الأحكام المسبقة والذاكرة المتألمة

 (Wounded memory)

    الجهل يطوق معظم المسلمين والمسيحيين: جهل بالتراث والتاريخ، جهل بالتصرّف مع الآخر باحترام، جهل سبل معالجة الأزمات دون اللجوء الى العنف، جهل تقييم الحداثة وما بعد الحداثة (Modernity-Post)  التي سمحت لأفراد وجماعات معتدى عليهم في أوطانهم باللجوء إليها للدفاع عن قضاياهم.

    الظاهر أن حالة الجهل التي تسود مجتمعاتنا رافقتها حالة استعلاء ديني و"طاووسية إيمانية" و"جنون العظمة" بدت جلية في خطاب البعض. وفي حالة الجهل، تبدو صورة الآخر المهيمنة هي صورة المعتدي والمتسلط في مقابل الأنا الضحية والمعتدى عليها. النقد الموجّه الى مرّوجي هذه الآراء هو التعميم في إصدار الحكم على الآخر. فالشعوب والأديان والثقافات ليست كُتل متجانسة.

    تضم حالة الجهل، جهل بحقوق الإنسان التي استُبدلت في خطاب المتشددين بثنائية الحلال والحرام والدفاع عن حق الله لا عن حق الفرد. من الحقوق التي يشدّد عليها الإرشاد الرسولي، الحق بالحرية الدينية، التي في نظرنا، ليست قيمة يتمتع الواحد فيها بينما يُحرم الآخرون منها. لا يُمكن غضّ النظر عن انتهاكات الكنائس وقتل رجال الدين وانتهاكات حقّ ممارسة الشعائر وشتم الرُسل والأنبياء...

    عملياً، أقترح ما يلي:

·        إدخال مواد تُعنى بالتنوّع الديني والحوار في الجامعات والمعاهد والمؤسسات التربوية، تمنح لكافة طلاب الجامعة، مثل على ذلك في جامعة الروح القدس – الكسليك التي تستقطب كلّ سنة أكثر من 1500 طالب مع مواد الـ Electives. يمكن أن تتضمن هذه المواد مقدمة في العقائد والممارسات الأساسية للأديان السماوية، العلاقات بين الدين والسياسة، أهمية بناء ذاكرة جماعية سليمة ومن هنا تاريخ وهوية ،سليمين علاقة المسيحيين والمسلمين  بالزمن الحالي وتصوّرهم له وكيفيّة حلّ مشكلة الانتماء الى زمنين في نفس الوقت (زمن العولمة  والمكاسب المدنية، وزمن مصادرة الفكر المختلف وتصفيته عند  الاقتضاء).

·        تأسيس مراكز أبحاث ميدانية في الجامعات ترصد وتحلّل وتنشر معلومات ودراسات عن خبرات الماضي والحاضر في العلاقات الدينية والثقافية، وتنظّم دورات وحملات توعية مع الشباب في المدارس والجامعات وزيارات للأماكن المقدسة واحتفالات ثقافية وفنيّة... من المهمّ جداً أن المعرفة لا تبقى مع النخبة بل يجب أن تعمم. الندوات والأبحاث لها دور فعّال ولكن تكون فعاليتها أوسع عندما تتواصل مع الميدان وتتبلور في ذهون الشباب خصوصاً وأفراد وجماعات المجتمع المحليّ كافّة.

أضف أنه يجب رصد الحالة البحثية حول الحوار وكافة المحاور التي تعنى ببناء السلام لتجنّب التكرار والسجال وسعياً الى التقدم.

3 – دور الشباب:

مصدر التغيير يكمن، على ما هو متعارف عليه، في الشباب، وطليعة الشباب غالباً ما تكون من كوادر طلاب مثقفين. والجامعة مركز هؤلاء وملتقاهم ومكان تفاعلهم، كما هي الحال في جمعيّات المجتمع المدني والحركات الشبابية على الأنترنت (Online Activism). لذا أقترح ما يلي:

·        تأسيس اتحاد للطلاّب ذو تحرّك غير موسمي أو وفقاً لمنطق الفعل وردة الفعل, إنّما تحرّك جماعي متعدد الانتماءات الدينية والسياسية، منتظم وطويل الأمد، له جهود مختلفة الوجوه، لا يقف عند مظاهرة أو اعتصام أو إضراب، ويبرز ضرورة العمل على إزالة النقمة العارمة لدى الطلاب على الجيل السابق وعلى المؤسسات الكنسية بغية حثّهم على اقتباس نجاحاتهم، وللإنعاظ في إخفاقاتهم وقد يعمل هذا الاتحاد على ابتكار أدوات ومفردات جديدة في العمل السياسي عوض تكرار شعارات الحرب، ابتكار حلول جديدة ومشاريع وإشكاليات جديدة، وتنظيم حلقات فكريّة وتطبيقية، ومحاربة اللامبالاة في التعاطي بالشأن العام والتسييس المعتمد، والإحباط واليأس والاستقالة والانكفاء.

·        تأسيس قاعدة حوارية في الشرق الأوسط على الأنترنت، تضمّ كافة الوسائل الشبابية التي تناضل من أجل السلام وتستعمل الوسائل التي أصبحت لغة الشباب مثل: , Facebook، Twitter، Blogs (المدونات)...

4 – دور المجتمع المدني:

لدى المجتمع المدني دور في الحفاظ على النسيج المحلي، خاصة عندما يكون موحّد، بعيداً عن خطاب التصادم وغياب المعالجات الحقيقية والاكتفاء بالاستنكار والتمني. هذه الهيئات – أي هيئات المجتمع المدني – هي عنصر توازن (contrepoids) بالنسبة الى قوى حزبية قد تنمو الى الهيمنة والتسلّط.

        أقترح هنا تأسيس قاعدة تجمع بين الجمعيات الغير الحكومية التي تناضل من أجل الحوار والعيش المشترك وإدارة تنوّع عادلة والسلام وحقوق الإنسان  الخ... على الصعيدين المحليّ والشرق الأوسطي، ودعم حركاتها في التوعية والتثقيف.

5 – دور المرأة:

        جاء في الإرشاد الرسولي توصية للكنائس في الشرق الأوسط تُعنى باستخدام الوسائل المناسبة لتشجيع احترام المرأة ودعمها وصون كرامتها ودورها وحقوقها. من هنا اقترح ما يلي نسبة إلى مسألة حوار الأديان وبناء السلام:

·        دعم الحركات التي تناضل من اجل حقوق المرأة مثل حملة Facebook "لمناهضة المرأة في العالم العربي" والتي تضم مسيحيين ومسلمين، نساء ورجال، من كافة البلدان العربية والغربية، والذين أصبح عددهم اليوم أكثر من 70,000 مساند للحملة.

·        دعم باحثات وأساتذة جامعيات تتمحور دراساتهنّ في مجال حقوق المرأة والحوار الديني والحياتي.

الخاتمة:

        من الواضح أن الحوار تواجهه اليوم صعوبات وتعترضه عقبات جديدة، من هنا أهمية أن يكون معرفياً وتطبيقياً لا أيديولوجياً وتكتيكياً وميكانيكياً و"لتمرير الوقت". الحوار في التنافس الحقيقي والشراكة في رفع التحديات وتجاوز العقبات والمعوقات النفسية والدينية والسياسية و المعرفية وكشف النقاط السوداء (points aveugles). إن الرهانات التي تواجه المسيحيين والمسلمين اليوم هي كيف السبيل الى استبدال ثقافة العنف والموت بثقافة السلام والحياة؟ وكيف السبيل الى القضاء على ثقافة العنصرية و الإقصاء وتأسيس ثقافة الاحترام المتبادل؟ فنحن مدعوون الى أن نعيش معاً وأن نحافظ على خصوصياتنا وأن نستمتع بالغيريّة.

        لا سلام من دون العمل على الصدمات (traumas) في سبيل استيعابها داخلياً (Mentalisation) لأنه ليس لدينا طريقة هروب فنفرغ الصدمات بافتعال مشاكل أو بالهجرة.

        لا سلام إن لم يندرج الحوار في إطار المؤسسات ويتعلق ليس بالشؤون الكيانية بل بالسياسات العامة. الخطر الأكبر هو "دكتاتورية انسداد الأفق التي تنطبق على مسار مجتمعاتنا اليوم إذا لم يحصل تجدد عملي ومؤسساتي".

        أخيراً، إن التجدد لا يمكن أن يحصل دفعة واحدة، ولا أن يتخذ أكثر المواضيع حساسية في مرحلته الأولى. وإنما يقتضي العمل بتدرّج، وتجزئة المطالب الى مراحل. إن التجدّد، قبل كل شيء آخر، مناهضة للواقع بأدوات الواقع.

Catholic Teachings on Dialogue and Conviviality

My conference on the teachings of the Catholic Institution on dialogue and conviviality. In the Encounter of Academic Faculties and Institutes of Lebanon (Christian and Islamic), St Josef University, Human Sciences Campus, 8th floor, Saturday November 17, 2012

Relax… Don’t be Afraid of Feminists!

This is my answer to one ‘intellectual’ - and highly educated - person who expressed yesterday his ‘fear’ of Feminism in Lebanon and the Arab World: ‘you, Feminists, want women’s power over men. Men will not help you in your fight. Even most women in our countries, who are impregnated with the Patriarchal System, seem to like it; or they must be thinking: too much of a risk! You, Feminists, are all alike!’ Fortunately, I was only drinking a Perrier while having this conversation. Unfortunately, this statement is not an exception in our context, even - and especially - in the Academic circle. I often hear the following: ‘There are no gender stereotypes’; ‘Gender Studies should not exist’; ‘Feminists want Matriarchy’; ‘Feminists are Lesbians, thus hate men’; ‘Why do you complain? Women and men have particular functions. Stick to what is being assigned. You bring children, we rule’; ‘God created men, and gave them women to serve them!!’ etc… In the most ‘refined and advanced’ elitist areas, this is a sample of what I and other women have to deal with. Being a Feminist, as I see it, as I am, as others also are, simply = fighting for equality, partnership and a better management of diversity in a society.

A little bit of history (included in my upcoming book on ‘Womanhood in Western Asia’, to be published by Dar el Machreq by the end of this year) is needed here in order to differentiate the many movements within Feminism. 

Feminism is both an intellectual commitment and a political movement that seeks justice for women and the end of sexism in all forms. However, there are many different kinds of feminism. Feminists disagree about what sexism consists in, and what exactly ought to be done about it; they disagree about what it means to be a woman or a man and what social and political implications gender has or should have. Nonetheless, motivated by the quest for social justice, feminist inquiry provides a wide range of perspectives on social, cultural, economic, and political phenomena. Important topics for feminist theory and politics include: the body, class and work, disability, the family, globalization, human rights, popular culture, race and racism, reproduction, science, the self, sex work, human trafficking, and sexuality.

The term ‘feminism’ has many different uses and its meanings are often contested. For example, some writers use the term ‘feminism’ to refer to a historically specific political movement in the United States and Europe; other writers use it to refer to the belief that there are injustices against women, though there is no consensus on the exact list of these injustices. Although the term “feminism” has a history in English linked with women's activism from the late 19th century to the present, it is useful to distinguish feminist ideas or beliefs from feminist political movements, for even in periods where there has been no significant political activism around women's subordination, individuals have been concerned with and theorized about justice for women. So, for example, it makes sense to ask whether Plato was a feminist, given his view that women should be trained to rule (Republic, Book V), even though he was an exception in his historical context.

My book involves two claims: normative and descriptive. The normative claims concern how women ought (or ought not) to be viewed and treated and draw on a background conception of justice or broad moral position (men and women are entitled to equal rights and respect); the descriptive claims concern how women are, as a matter of fact, viewed and treated, alleging that they are not being treated in accordance with the standards of justice or morality invoked in the normative claims. Together the normative and descriptive claims provide reasons for working to change the way things are; hence, feminism is not just an intellectual but also a political movement.

My book is based on a third wave feminist approach. In order to understand what this approach is about, it is important to present a general overview of the different waves of feminism:

It is common to speak of three phases of modern feminism; however, there is little consensus as to how to characterize these three waves or what to do with women's movements before the late nineteenth century. For instance, some thinkers have sought to locate the roots of feminism in ancient Greece with Sappho (d. c. 570 BCE). Still, this book introduces to Western Asian women who also fought for their rights, long before Sappho.

However, it was not until the late 19th century that the efforts for women's equal rights coalesced into a clearly identifiable and self-conscious movement, or rather a series of movements. The first wave of feminism took place in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, emerging out of an environment of urban industrialism and liberal, socialist politics. The goal of this wave was to open up opportunities for women, with a focus on suffrage. The wave formally began at the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848 when 300 men and women rallied to the cause of equality for women. Elizabeth Cady Stanton (d.1902) drafted the Seneca Falls Declaration outlining the new movement's ideology and political strategies.

In its early stages, feminism was interrelated with the temperance and abolitionist movements, and gave voice to now-famous activists like the African-American Sojourner Truth (d. 1883), who demanded: "Ain't I a woman?" Victorian America saw women acting in very "un-ladylike" ways (public speaking, demonstrating, stints in jail), which challenged the "cult of domesticity." Discussions about the vote and women's participation in politics led to an examination of the differences between men and women as they were then viewed. Some claimed that women were morally superior to men, and so their presence in the civic sphere would improve public behavior and the political process.

The second wave began in the 1960s and continued into the 90's. This wave unfolded in the context of the anti-war and civil rights movements and the growing self-consciousness of a variety of minority groups around the world. The New Left was on the rise, and the voice of the second wave was increasingly radical. In this phase, sexuality and reproductive rights were dominant issues. This phase began with protests against the Miss America pageant in Atlantic City in 1968 and 1969. Feminists parodied what they held to be a degrading "cattle parade" that reduced women to objects of beauty dominated by a patriarchy that sought to keep them in the home or in dull, low-paying jobs.

Because the second wave of feminism found voice amid so many other social movements, it was easily marginalized and viewed as less pressing than, for example, Black Power or the effort to end the war in Vietnam. Feminists reacted by forming women-only organizations (such as NOW) and "consciousness raising" groups. In publications like "The BITCH Manifesto" and "Sisterhood is Powerful," feminists advocated for their place in the sun. The second wave was increasingly theoretical, based on a fusion of neo-Marxism and psycho-analytical theory, and began to associate the subjugation of women with broader critiques of patriarchy, capitalism, normative heterosexuality, and the woman's role as wife and mother. Sex and gender were differentiated—the former being biological, and the later a social construct that varies culture-to-culture and over time.

Whereas the first wave of feminism was generally propelled by middle class white women, the second phase drew in women of color and developing nations, seeking sisterhood and solidarity and claiming "Women's struggle is class struggle." Feminists spoke of women as a social class and coined phrases such as "the personal is political" and "identity politics" in an effort to demonstrate that race, class, and gender oppression are all related. They initiated a concentrated effort to rid society top-to-bottom of sexism, from children's cartoons to the highest levels of government.

One of the strains of this complex and diverse "wave" was the development of women-only spaces and the notion that women working together create a special dynamic that is not possible in mixed-groups and that would ultimately work for the betterment of the entire planet. Women, due whether to their long "subjugation" or to their biology, were thought by some to be more humane, collaborative, inclusive, peaceful, nurturing, democratic, and holistic in their approach to problem solving than men. The term eco-feminism was coined to capture the sense that because of their biological connection to earth and lunar cycles, women were natural advocates of environmentalism.

The third phase of feminism began in the mid-90's and is informed by post-colonial and post-modern thinking. In this phase many constructs have been destabilized, including the notions of "universal womanhood," body, gender, sexuality and heteronormativity. The third wave feminists have stepped onto the stage as strong and empowered, eschewing victimization and defining feminine beauty for themselves as subjects, not as objects of a sexist patriarchy. The web is an important aspect of this new feminism. At the same time, it permits all users the opportunity to cross gender boundaries and so the very notion of gender has been become more problematic.

This is in keeping with the third-wave's celebration of ambiguity and refusal to think in terms of "us-them" or in some cases their refusal to identify themselves as "feminists" at all. Third wave feminists tend to be global and multi-cultural and they shun simple answers or artificial categories of identity, gender and sexuality. Their transversal politics means that differences such as those of ethnicity, class, sexual orientation, etc. are recognized as dynamic, situational, and provisional. Reality is conceived not so much in terms of fixed structures and power relations, but in terms of performance within contingencies. Third wave feminism breaks boundaries.

Lebanon: Mimesis, Scapegoats and Violence

The latest events occurring in Lebanon following the explosion at Achrafieh, violent demonstrations in Beirut, clashes in the city of Tripoli and hatred between supporters of 8th and 14th of March political movements, reminded me of the theory of Rene Girard on mimesis, violence and scapegoats.

According to Girard, much of human behavior is based on mimesis, an all-encompassing expression of imitation. He describes a situation where two individuals desire the same object; as they both attempt to obtain this object, their behavior becomes conflictual, since there is only one object. Violence is generated by this process; or rather, violence is the process itself when two or more partners try to prevent one another from appropriating the object they all desire through physical or other means.  However, they often deflect their destructive energy from one another onto a substitute… The Scapegoat. Anger and hostility must be vigorously dispersed or vented according to Girard. A dramatic and cathartic event must occur: the destroying of the scapegoat.

Try to apply this theory on the Lebanese case:

1) When a sectarian community or a political party/current faces great stressors, it has the potential to believe that one individual or group of people are the cause of its problems. Despite having no rational evidence of guilt, the community or political party/current frequently proceeds to victimize the individual or group as scapegoats.

2) However, it becomes more dangerous when rivals or enemies desire the same object – in Lebanon, political power. The Scapegoat  would be the Lebanese people – at least individuals and communities who are vulnerable and close at hand, more easily persecutable, with no direct bearing on the problems that are causing national disturbance, but bearing the signs of the victims. Unfortunately, the scapegoat does not disagree with the charges laid against him/her. He/she believes the charges.

One might criticize Girard's theory because it proposes conflict and rivalry as a core interpersonal dynamic. It is difficult to imagine that cooperation would ever be able to occur in such a situation. Girard doesn't propose a mechanism that would account for general cooperativity found in communities and one might not expect as much since his purpose is specifically to elaborate mechanisms of conflict. However, his theory does at least describe the phenomenon of cooperation, especially in relation to the community persecution of the scapegoat.

In conclusion, one should bear in mind that:

1)      to dispel violence, the scapegoaters must know and understand that they are being scapegoated.

2)       peace achieved by the scapegoating process is not lasting, nor is it ethical. The process itself lays the seeds for future violence and embeds patterns of violence within the framework of a nation’s ritualized processes. Violence begets violence! As I see it, conflicts are resolvable by means of transformation, mediation and compromise rather than violence.

LA FEMME DANS LES SOCIETES ARABES

Will be presiding a round table on violence against women in the upcoming international conference 'La femme dans les societes arabes'. USEK (Lebanon), Friday, October 26, 2012.

Programme / Program

Mardi 23 octobre 2012 Amphithéâtre Jean-Paul II 18h00 : Inauguration 

Allocution du R. P. Jean Akiki, Vice-Recteur à la Recherche de l’USEK 
Allocution du R. P. Hady Mahfouz, Recteur de l’USEK 

Allocution de la Première Dame du Liban,
Madame Wafaa Sleiman
18h50 : Première conférence 
Madame Randa Berriمستقبل المرأة اللبنانيّة ودورها في حياة الدولة والمجتمع 
على ضوء المتغيّرات في المشرق العربيّ 

Mercredi 24 octobre 2012
9h00 : Conférence - Salle des Conférences
Amel GRAMI - Tunisie 
نساء يكسرن الأقفال: إسهامات النساء في مجال المعرفة الدينيّة 

Salle des Conférences 

• Table ronde I : 11h00-12h30 Modérateur : Nayla Tabbara - Liban
  
  Souheila HAMMAD ZEIN EL ABIDIN - Arabie Saoudite
  المرأة العربيّة المسلمة بين النصّ الدينيّ والواقع الاجتماعيّ
  Rima FAKHRY - Liban
  المرأة العربيّة وحاكميّة الدِّين
  Clémence HÉLOU - Liban
  المرأة المسيحيّة المشرقيّة بين الكتاب المقدّس والواقع الاجتماعيّ
  
  Pause
• Table ronde II : 14h30-16h00 Modérateur : Victor El Kik - Liban
  
  Mohammad SAÏD - Tunisie
  Des femmes arabes distinguées dans la période préislamique
  Nayla TABBARA - Liban
  Rôle de la femme arabe dans la transmission de la culture religieuse musulmane. Survol historique
  Eqbal BARAKA - Égypte
  The Veil: “A Contemporary Vision”
  
  Pause
• Table ronde III : 16h30-18h00 Modérateur : Carine Azzi - Liban
  
  Jean AKIKI - Liban
  من تفّاحة حوّاء إلى قربان رفقا، رَغَبُ الموجوع
  Joumana HADDAD - Liban
  Thou Shalt not Covet Thy Neighbour’s Wife nor Donkey
  Bacima KHOURY - Liban
  المرأة في الكتاب المقدّس عامّة وفي العهد الجديد بشكل خاصّ

Auditorium Jean El Hawa

• Table ronde I : 11h00-12h30 Modérateur : Fadi Ahmar - Liban
  
  Victor EL KIK – Liban
  المرأة والتنمية
  Abdelbary ALMUDARRES - Kurdistan/Irak
  المرأة الكرديّة والحركة النسويّة في كردستان العراق ودورها في النظام الديمقراطيّ الجديد
  Hosn ABBOUD - Liban
  تصوّر الوطن في شهادة السجينة العربيّة
  
  Pause
• Table ronde II : 14h30-16h00 Modérateur : Marie Fayad - Liban
  
  May HAZAZ - Liban
  Des femmes libanaises « agentes actives anti-guerre »
  Fadi AHMAR - Liban
  Le rôle de la femme syrienne dans les conflits géopolitiques :
  contexte socio-religieux et enjeux politiques
  Bouchra EL HINDI - Bahreïn
  الواقع الحقوقيّ للمراة البحرينيّة (انتفاضة اللؤلؤة أُنموذجًا)
  
  Pause
• Table ronde III : 16h30-18h30 Modérateur : Joseph Khalil - Liban
  
  Mohamed BAHI - Maroc
  La femme tunisienne : de la soumission à l'explosion
  Imane Nora AZOUZI - Tunisie
  L'écriture politique de Hélé Béji
  Mirna MZAWAK - Liban
  La femme maronite : positionnement socio-ecclésial

Jeudi 25 octobre 2012
9h00 : Conférence - Salle des Conférences
Nahla CHAHAL - France 
وجود النساء في الحقل العامّ: معيار وهدف 

Salle des Conférences

• Table ronde I : 11h00-12h30 Modérateur : Khalil Abboud - Liban
  
  Hayatte LAKRAÂ - France
  Femmes arabes dans l’imaginaire occidental : de victimes à
  révolutionnaires
  Elham KALLAB-BISSAT - Liban
  إدراك وتصوّر المرأة العربيّة لدى الرجل الغربيّ. الفنّ الاستشراقيّ أُنموذجًا
  Paul ZGHEIB - Liban
  Image de la femme dans la photographie orientale de 1839-1885
  
  Pause
• Table ronde II : 14h30-16h00 Modérateur : Joseph Chreim - Liban
  
  Hanane HALASEH - Jordanie
  بين عشتار... وحوّاء: الفكر النسويّ لدى كاتبات الرواية الأردنيّة
  Ghada CHBEIR - Liban
  دور المرأة العربيّة في مجال الموسيقى والشعر على مرّ العصور
  Hala NOHRA - Liban
  فيروز
  
  Pause
• Table ronde III : 16h30-18h00 Modérateur : Chakib Khoury - Liban
  
  Watfa HAMADI - Koweit
  خطاب الكاتبة والكاتب وتجلّيات الرؤية النسويّة في النصّ المسرحيّ العربيّ
  Khaled BENFAFA - Algérie
  تمثّلات المرأة في الغناء الشعبيّ: غناء المدّاحات أُنموذجًا
  Georges HOSRI - France
  المرأة الشاعرة والمراثي العربيّة: هل من أسلوبيّة رثائيّة "نسويّة"؟

Auditorium Jean El Hawa

• Table ronde I : 11h00-12h30 Modérateur : Najib Abdo - Liban
  
  Carmen BOUSTANI - Liban
  La femme de lettres libanaise dans son contexte arabe
  Nehmetallah ABI-RACHED - France
  Ailleurs, sexualité et identité chez les romancières libanaises
  Raif Georges KHOURY - Allemagne
  Les grandes femmes arabes de May Ziyāda et leur importance
  dans son œuvre
  
  Pause
• Table ronde II : 14h30-16h00 Modérateur : Mireille Issa - Liban
  
  Élisabeth VAUTHIER - France
  Du silence à la parole dans Retour vers l’enfance de Leila Abouzeid
  Khadîja BENAMMAR - Algérie
  Réécriture du mythe et construction de nouvelles réalités féminines
  à travers Ombre sultane de Assia Djebar
  Laurence DENOOZ - Belgique
  Interrogations identitaires féminines et errances mémorielles fantasmées
  
  Pause
• Table ronde III : 16h30-18h00 Modérateur : Mirna Mzawak - Liban
  
  Norma ZAKARIA - Liban
  L’éducation de la femme chez les pédagogues du patrimoine arabe à travers les propos éducatifs de Ibn Sahnoun, Al Kabissi, Ibn Hazm, Al Ghazali
  Fahmieh CHARAFEDDINE - Liban
  صورة المرأة في الإعلان والكتاب المدرسيّ في مناهج التعليم العامّ
  Fatiha HARRAT - Algérie
  La distinction sexuelle dans l'éducation familiale au Maghreb : une survivance stéréotypée  

Vendredi 26 octobre 2012
9h00 : Conférence - Salle des Conférences
Youssef TANNOUS - Liban 
المرأة العربيّة والموسيقى 

Salle des Conférences

• Table ronde I : 11h00-13h00
  Modérateur : Pamela Chrabieh - Liban
  
  Chérifa BOUATTA - Algérie
  Violences contre les femmes : une guerre de basse intensité
  Marta LUCEÑO MORENO - Espagne
  L'affaire du voile : une construction médiatique et politique
  Pascale SALHANI - France
  Pourquoi les femmes sont-elles discriminées et qu’est-ce qui permet à cette discrimination de se perpétuer ?
  
  Pause
• Table ronde II : 15h00-17h00
  Modérateur : Georges Hobeika - Liban
  
  Soheil KASH - Canada
  Le féminin pluriel arabe au singulier
  Catherine CORNET - France
  Naked Aliaa: The Democratization of Art through New Media, its New
  Agency on the Middle Eastern Public Sphere
  Mhammed Hassine FANTAR - Tunisie
  La femme dans l'imaginaire de la Tunisie d'hier et d'aujourd'hui
  
  Pause

Auditorium Jean El Hawa 

• Table ronde I : 11h00-12h30
  Modérateur : Charbel Chléla - Liban
  
  Sobhi HABCHI - France
  عشرقة المحاربيّة: من رماد العشق إلى فضاء الحرّيّة
  Nael ABOU CHACRA - Liban
  شاعرة القصر حلا طليقة سجن القبيل
  Hoda NEHMÉ - Liban
  المرأة في رائعة نادين لبكي "وهلّأ لوين"؟
  
  Pause

17h00 - Salle des Conférences 
Conférence de clôture avec Madame May Mikati suivie de la lecture des recommandations 

20h30 - Amphithéâtre Jean-Paul II 
Ghada CHBEIR Hymne à la Femme 
Soirée musicale


For more information: http://www.usek.edu.lb/csr/Lafemme

The Rise of the Phoenix

Following the enormous explosion of yesterday’s afternoon at Achrafieh (Lebanon), one cannot but think of the absurdity of hate, tensions and conflicts between fellow citizens, brothers and sisters, even if different in their political and religious/sectarian affiliations. 

So many Lebanese died, disappeared, suffered psychologically and physically, from all sides, for absolutely nothing, paying the price of twisted minds and Machiavellian schemes. Continuous wars, murderous identities, wounded memories… A sick nation unable to heal itself, lost in a vicious cycle of violence. 

Still, no amount of manifest absurdity could deter those who believe in the rise of the Phoenix or the Phoenix’s ability to be reborn from its own ashes, not to be the offspring of the older version, but a new being. Lebanon, and Beirut in particular, was often depicted symbolically as a phoenix bird having been destroyed and rebuilt 7 times during its long history.

I am a believer, and I have a duty to transmit this belief to my readers and my students; especially those students who lost faith in their country; those who are ready to leave everything behind, even the memory of the ones who fought and sacrificed to keep the dream of a ‘unified in diversity’ nation alive. I will keep on digging in the past, not to revive it, but to understand it and transmit its lessons, while searching for something to look forward to. Maybe, one day, soon, we will all be able to live out of its dark shadows.

Youth and Peace: alternative voices in Lebanon

Announcing the publication of my latest book chapter: "Youth and Peace: Alternative Voices in Lebanon", in The Metamorphosis of War. Plaw, Avery (Ed.) Rodopi, Amsterdam/New York, NY, 2012, XVIII, 257 pp.

Abstract: In the last few decades,

 Lebanon has witnessed several armed conflicts, piling new war memories onto old, reviving old wounds and shattering the 

dreams of reconstruction and stability. In this context of multilayered social and political crises and conflicted identities, the role of Lebanese civil society, Diaspora and transnational civil society in spreading courage and hope despite constraining conditions, and in working towards breaking the cycle of War by building a culture of Peace is of the utmost importance. This chapter presents a summary of recent research conducted on five organizations (including youth groups and a collection of forty Lebanese individuals between 25 and 40 years old). In their work and output, these groups and individuals illustrate the necessity of testifying to personal war experiences, learning the lessons of history, sharing the mourning, breaking the cycle of hatred and revenge, connecting divisions and embracing a common humanity. In doing so, they run against the grain of the political class and large parts of Lebanese society, forming a cross-sectarian ‘counterculture.’

For more information: http://www.rodopi.nl/nt.asp

About Women’s Rights in Western Asia (Middle East/Arab World)… My opinion

I have been following closely the “Uprising of Women in the Arab World” Facebook Campaign. Somehow, most testimonies reflect my concerns. As a Western Asian woman, but also as a university professor, researcher, author, artist and activist, in one of the most Patriarchal institutions i.e. the Religious circle of knowledge production, I can assure my readers that our Lebanese society, as well as most Western Asian societies are struggling not only with social, political and economic crisis, but they also suffer from diverse forms of discrimination based partly on highly selective memories serving particular interests and ideological positions. 

Still, there are spaces of dialogue and conviviality, and gender equality cases. Just as memory and identity support one another, they also sustain certain subjective positions, social boundaries, and, of course, power. Every identity implies and at the same time masks a particular relationship. When one speaks of Western Asian women for example, one automatically refers to some never changing objective entity, but in fact one is participating in the process by which certain relationships among women called Western Asian and between them and others one calls the Europeans, Eastern Asian, African and Americans are constructed and sustained. One speaks as if deprived of motherhood for example, or of their housekeeper status, or even of their ‘oppressed situation’, Western Asian women would cease to be Western Asian.

While writing my last book to be soon published, on Womanhood in Western Asia, my journey to the past, investigating ancient religions and cultures, made me realize that womanhood cannot be summarized in ‘clichés’. It is a complex undergoing construction going back to thousands of years of a multiplicity of roles, situations, status, characteristics, values, visions and practices. Even what is called ‘patriarchal system’ or ‘patriarchal conditions’ vary. Some societies, religions and communities gave women a certain importance by tracing descendants from mothers rather than fathers (matrilineal societies). Others viewed and treated women as inferior and partly ornamental. Within ancient societies in Western Asia, patriarchal frameworks were usually the norms, still, examples of gender equality existed. In several ancient societies, many women could gain some relief through religious functions, which could provide a chance to operate independent of family structures. Still, other women internalized the culture of patriarchy, holding that it was their job to obey and to serve men and accepting arguments that their aptitudes were inferior to those of men. Patriarchal laws defined some rights for women even within marriage, protecting them in theory from the worst abuses, but the application of laws depended on many factors: social, political, economic, religious, tribal, etc.

In nowadays Western Asian societies, there are women suffering from deficits in human rights. Societal norms that relegate women to subordinate status continue to impede progress. Governments remain resistant to addressing inequalities for women through progressive policy or legislation and often actively pursue policies of repression. Laws against marital rape and spousal abuse are largely absent in the region, so-called "honor" killings persist, and segregation and discrimination remain par for the course in educational and political institutions.

Local and international NGOs should continue the good work they have done to support civil society activities in the region. Still, much is needed in order to implement full gender equality or at least expand existing spaces of equality. 

To be continued ;)