Living in de-Nile

Astute Reader –

Let me begin this week’s update with a moment of silence for that musical genius, dance-floor prodigy, and consummate performer: the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. In all sincerity, he is a legend whose mark will always be felt in the music world, and I for one am sobered by his passing. Everyone, please take time and watch the full fourteen minutes of “Thriller” in honor of the man.

Right, on to the news report. I have had some thoughts this week about the nature of Arabic, specifically the navigation between Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) and colloquial dialects. After talking to a professor of medieval Arabic history whom I attend church with, as well as a CASA alumna who now works in Cairo, I have confirmed the general sense I have that Arabic is impossible to grasp in its entirety. I could of course say that about any language; although I’m fluent in Portuguese, I couldn’t go into the belly of a nuclear submarine and talk shop with the engineer in that language. But the spectrum of linguistic skills necessary to negotiate the vagaries of Arabic really is so much broader than that required by European languages. Anyone who has tried to tackle Chinese or Sanskrit will be able to identify with me when I say that I’m coming to terms with the fact that I have to pick and choose what to emphasize in my efforts to improve in this language, and that I should probably abandon comparisons with fluency in Portuguese or Spanish.

As part of coursework for the CASA program, we also have weekly lectures and activities on Sundays to supplement classes during the week. Our first activity this past week was a lecture given by a judge and head of the government tribunal for districts in southern Egypt. His topic was fascinating: the relationship between civil and religious legal models in Egyptian law. Before the military coup of Gamal Abd al-Nasser in 1952, the Egyptian constitution was based primarily on French civil law, with Islamic law (shari’a) being one of its several constituent elements. However, the coup and succeeding political power plays ushered in a new interpretation of and discourse surrounding the Egyptian constitution, which came to be described as a product first and foremost of Islamic law. So, the trend has been one of increased application of religious legal precedent, and less of an emphasis on civil law. Fun times!

On a less brainy topic, we rode boats up the Nile this week. Woohoo! All the CASA students piled into wide sailboats called “faluccas,” in which we tooled around on the river for about an hour. The sunset was beautiful against the skyline and intermingling palms. Our captain was an elderly Nubian gentleman who long ago mastered the fine art of laying guilt trips. Needless to say, we rewarded him handsomely for his boatmanship skills.

So I promise that as soon as I get over being lazy and actually upload some of the photos from my camera, I will provide visual confirmation of everything I write about. Stay tuned for next week’s update, which will include tales of Egyptian cinema and possibly a trip to a museum in downtown Cairo. You won’t want to miss it.

Salaam,
K