Allen Webb
Webb and his students Literature from the recommend contemporary Middle Eastern texts and Modern Middle East: other resources that will help American students Making a Living learn more about this important part of the Connection world.
hile our country is deeply involved ings. As we did background research on texts we in the Middle East, most Ameri- were reading, we were able to post links on our cans, including our students, lack blogs that everyone could follow.2 Wknowledge about the region.1 Yet from Afghanistan to Palestine, from Morocco to Connecting with Characters Iraq, there is a vibrant and exciting literature by living authors that can bring the diverse experi- The Middle East is such a large, diverse, and his- ences and perspectives of this vital part of the world torically complex region it is hard to know where to to our classes. My students have found contempo- start. My suggestion is to begin with literature ad- rary Middle Eastern literature to replace stereo- dressing the Israeli/Palestinian crisis—it is central types, transform worldviews, develop personal to the confl icts in the region and offers students im- connections, and humanize Islam and Muslim peo- portant opportunities for rethinking preconcep- ple, and learn about Arabs, Turks, Kurds, Persians, tions about Arabic people. Perhaps the most and Pushtans. Readings from a class I recently important novel that my students read was Wild taught included many authors from the Middle Thorns by Sahar Khalifeh, according to ArabWorld- East, two of them Nobel Prize laureates. Some of Books.com, “the foremost Palestinian novelist, the works, such as Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseni, widely acclaimed for being the fi rst feminist Pales- are already well known. Many others, such as Men tinian writer, and for her ‘sensitive, economical and in the Sun by Ghassan Kanafahi, are gems waiting lucid’ style.” Wild Thorns captures Palestinian life to be discovered. The class also encompassed con- in the West Bank under Israeli occupation and it is temporary fi lms, video casts, speakers, and online an ideal text to introduce American young people resources—a variety of possibilities that any sec- to a living Middle Eastern writer (grades 10–12). ondary teacher can draw on. I offer resources, ideas, Wild Thorns takes place in the town of Nablus and strategies that other English teachers can use and focuses on the Karmi family, whose members to integrate Middle Eastern literature into their have diverse experiences and viewpoints. There is classes. Adil, seeking moderation and commuting against Several times a week my students and I wrote his father’s wishes across the border to work at a con- blogs responding to our reading and continuing struction site in Israel, and his beautiful sister Nuwar our discussion about the Middle East. Students secretly in love with a revolutionary. There is also were able to create their blogs for free in just a few Adil’s brother Basil, a teenager who throws stones at minutes on Blogger.com, and as the semester pro- Israeli soldiers and ends up in prison, and his cousin gressed they were able to develop and personalize Usama, a sensitive boy who left the West Bank to them, changing styles and font, adding links, im- work in the Gulf States but has returned determined ages, and video clips. All of our blogs were linked to become a resistance fi ghter. The book portrays the together via a “blog roll” listing class sites, and stu- challenges of everyday life in Palestine: unemploy- dents and I could comment on each others’ post- ment, military domination, travel through check-
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points, and the exodus of educated people. My West Bank. As we discussed in class, these Palestin- students reacted on their blogs: ians may be the people that, without reading this I like the contrast between Adil and Usama: the novel, my students would likely have thought of as difference in their opinions and ideals and how each “terrorists.” Identifying with characters from con- thinks the other goes about fi ghting the occupation temporary literature by a living Middle Eastern by the wrong means. Usama was a poet as a boy, he writer was transforming their understanding and dies a poet, and in between he seems to have tried to building a bridge between American and Palestin- convince himself he was another person, one with- ian experiences. out dreams and feelings. Adil was, I think, my favorite. He seemed at times to see past the propa- ganda of both the Jews and the Arabs. He was Additional Resources caught in the middle and trying to accomplish what to Understand Context he could and still maintain some understanding Reading contemporary Middle Eastern literature calls and dignity. . . . They are all just people grieving for bringing in additional resources. Rather than a and struggling in a diffi cult time.—Diane Hall background lecture before beginning the novel, I One of the most signifi cant parts of Wild Thorns, in my opinion, was the scene where Basil is found that learning about the context after connect- arrested. There are children fl ooding the streets, ing to the characters was more effective. Reading yelling and laughing at the Jewish soldiers. They Wild Thorns led students to want to know more, to be are screaming in protest to show their disgust at updated on the most recent the occupation. . . . There is absolutely no inno- happenings in the Palestine/ Developing personal cence left in Palestine, even the children are get- Israeli situation. President connections between ting arrested. When Basil is taken off, his father is Jimmy Carter’s book Pales- students and characters cold and shows no remorse or sadness that his son tine: Peace Not Apartheid had is in jail. He merely says, “But what came over the been recently published and was a strong starting point boy? Does he think he can free Palestine all by provided valuable back- for crossing the large himself?” (Khalifeh 106).—Molly Grube ground information. Indi- cultural distances between One thing I found very intriguing as I fi nished vidual chapters could be up Wild Thorns was the passion and love that sev- the United States and the eral of the characters had for their country. Basil, easily excerpted. Dan Brim Middle East. Teachers for instance, illustrates a typical young man who is blogged, can draw on personal willing to do anything for his country. He gathers I used to think that it connections to foster with his friends at the local cafe to discuss the pol- was a matter of “good more comprehensive itics and even risks going to prison to stand up for vs. evil” in the Middle his beliefs. He quickly realizes, though, how much East when I was grow- understanding. he doesn’t understand and how naive he actually ing up. After reading is. A lot of parallels can be drawn to American Jimmy Carter’s book, I see that things are hardly youth, and their response to the 9/11 attacks.— so black and white. The historical chronology in Heather Winowiecki the fi rst ten pages of this book painted a very clear picture for the points being made within the Notice how the students explore characters. book. Developing personal connections between students and characters was a strong starting point for cross- Perhaps the most disturbing thing Carter de- ing the large cultural distances between the United scribes is the separation wall being built by Israel in States and the Middle East. Teachers can draw on and around the West Bank and Gaza Strip. As Linda personal connections to foster more comprehensive Cross shared, understanding. In this regard, Heather’s comments The wall constructed around the West Bank area turned out to be especially productive. Many stu- is really unfair to so many. Built right along the dents know people fi ghting in Iraq and Afghani- border all the way around the West Bank, it stan. Making reference to Khalifeh’s Wild Thorns, divides peoples’ homes from their lands. There is Heather’s post connects American young people even a church where many Palestinian Christians after 9/11 and rebelling young Palestinians in the have worshipped for years that is cut off from the
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people it serves. The church is on one side of the curriculum. Our understanding was enriched by wall and the worshippers are on the other side. contemporary Palestinian short stories. Although not likely to be found in a standardized textbook, Other resources that were infl uential to stu- these stories are easy to add to your course. The dents’ understanding of the wall—and the reaction evocative four-page story “Stealing Away, We Re- of Palestinian young people to it—were powerful turned,” by Rasmi Abu Ali, captures the experience video clips that I found on YouTube and that we of Palestinians sneaking back to their homes and watched and discussed in class. The fi rst clip we olive groves after having been forced to leave (grades watched, “Israeli Apartheid Wall” (1-28-06), makes 6–12). My students responded positively to “Norma the wall real, as a person simply walks along it, ob- and the Snowman” by Yehia Yakhlaf, a story de- serving graffi ti, trying to fi nd “a view toward scribing a university student who decides to join a peace,” and wondering “Is there anybody out there?” group of Palestinian fi ghters (grades 10–12). Both (www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSgkxbHBdII). The stories are found in A Land of Stone and Thyme: An second YouTube clip we studied was a fi ve-minute Anthology of Palestinian Short Stories (Elmessiri and trailer about a fi lm called Slingshot Hip Hop shown Elmessiri). at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. In the clip, Many of the stories we read were from the col- Palestinian teenagers in Gaza, Akka, Tel Aviv, a lection Men in the Sun by Ghassan Kanafani—a West Bank refugee camp, and the Israeli town of writer who emerged as the students’ favorite. Ka- Lid use rap music to describe their situation (www. nafani’s stories often concern the experience of Pal- youtube.com/watch?v=1rdS8zNp3ow). Created by estinian refugees and the long (60-page) title story the “Palestinian Lyrical Front,” is a disturbing tale of four Palestinian refugees seek- the clip shows teenagers ex- While novels and Internet ing work in Kuwait. I won’t give away the powerful cited about rapping on stage ending, but Frankie and Dan were compelled to resources provide rich for the fi rst time. It depicts comment: resources for cross- Arab teen girls in tank tops cultural studies, shorter and baseball caps talking “Men In The Sun” gave me a whole new perspec- works can also be about how it was diffi cult for tive of the world. This story’s ending has left me in shock, and I feel as though there is this void effective and may be some Muslims to accept them that the story left empty on purpose. I really liked easier to fi t into the as rappers but that “they won’t stop for anyone.” A young how the story gave all of its characters life through curriculum. man walks along the street their memories. . . . The characters made you feel their struggle and understand their reasons so well and is detained by an Israeli that I really did feel sad for them by the end, even police offi cer. Two teenagers point to their high Abul Khaizuran.—Frankie Velazquez school and describe how the library was removed I’m sure I wasn’t the only person to sit down and replaced by a police station inside the school. and read this in an hour because I couldn’t stop We watched this short YouTube clip twice and dis- reading about halfway through it. Though the idea cussed the way the Israeli wall was affecting Pales- of smuggling workers and being utterly and totally tinian lives, how the young people were responding, poor in a barren land may be foreign to most of us and how American rap music, originally expressing in this class, the story was quite exciting, and it oppressed urban life in our country, has become a ended quickly and abruptly, with an echo in the universal medium. These living teenage Palestinian dark desert nighttime sky.—Dan Brim rappers were making an immediate and powerful Kanafani’s other stories are also powerful, and impression on the students in my class. students found “Tales of Sad Oranges” and “Letter from Gaza” especially meaningful (grades 7–12). Short Stories, Graphic Novels, Unlike the other Middle Eastern writers I and YA Literature refer to, Ghassan Kanafani is now dead; he might While novels and Internet resources provide rich be still living, if he had not been killed by a car resources for cross-cultural studies, shorter works bomb in Lebanon when he was 36 years old and had can also be effective and may be easier to fi t into the young children. His niece was killed with him. Ac-
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cording to Wikipedia, Mossad, Israel’s intelligence the texts, and recommended grade levels. Themes agency, has claimed responsibility for their deaths. of these texts include family life, Islam and women, Reading Middle Eastern authors will likely lead the impact of war, education, wealth and poverty, students to inquire about their lives, to understand class and ethnic differences, the relation of East and a different world through the reader-author connec- West, and so on. Using literature circles allowed tion. Students inspired by Kanafani’s writing will students to bring a wide want to see Steven Spielberg’s 2005 fi lm, Munich, range of texts to class dis- Incorporating literature which explores the actions of Mossad at the time of cussion (for more on this from the Middle East can Kanafani’s killing. Nominated for fi ve Academy method, see Daniels). go beyond individual Awards, including Best Picture, Munich offers one Given the war and classes to school or background to Kanafani’s short stories. American occupation, ex- Another engaging resource that will provide amining the situation in districtwide initiatives. students with historical context is the graphic novel contemporary Iraq is a nat- For example, in Palestine by Joe Sacco. Based on his visits in 1991 ural and relevant part of Parchment, Michigan, the and 1992, Sacco’s illustrations capture the destitu- reading Middle Eastern lit- school districts’ English tion of the West Bank, Gaza, and refugee camps in a erature. Of course there is a teachers are considering way that is still relevant and provides backdrop for deluge of information on including at least one works of Palestinian literature. This “comic journal- Iraq, most of it emphasiz- ism” is full of interviews with Palestinians and in- ing the perspective or expe- Middle Eastern literary cludes fl ashbacks to important historical events. rience of Americans. To work at each grade level For younger students, grades 6–9, a good explore Iraqi perspectives, from 7–12. choice for learning about Palestinians is Naomi Shi- teachers and students can hab Nye’s young adult novel Habibi. Nye is a re- look at the new collection of short works in the 2008 spected Arab American poet I have heard speak at anthology Contemporary Iraqi Fiction edited by Sha- NCTE Annual Conventions. Habibi makes it possi- kir Mustafa. Younger students may fi nd inspiring ble for American teenagers to understand Palestinian Thura’s Diary: My Life in Wartime Iraq. A nonfi ction life since the story is told from the point of view of work, City of Widows: An Iraqi Woman’s Account of Liyana, a girl from St. Louis with an American War and Resistance by Haifa Zangana, offers a more mother and Palestinian father. When she is 14, Li- mature perspective we don’t often hear. Blogs have yana’s family moves to Jerusalem and she learns fi rst- also been a vital way for ordinary Iraqis to express hand about her Palestinian relatives and their their perceptions of the occupation, and two books relationship with Israel. In a Romeo and Juliet twist, published from blogs and written under pseud- Liyana falls in love with Omer, a Jewish boy. (This onyms are high interest, educational, and appealing YA novel is a good pairing for Shakespeare’s classic.) to students: Salam Pax: The Clandestine Diary of an Another book for younger readers is Samir and Yona- Ordinary Iraqi (by Salam Pax) and Baghdad Burning: tan by Daniella Carmi. Samir, a Palestinian boy who Girl Blog from Iraq (by Riverbend). All of these breaks his leg, fi nds himself in an Israeli hospital works can be excerpted for class reading and discus- where he fi nds surprising friends. His memories give sion. I shared with students a powerful series of You- vivid depiction of life in the occupied territories. Tube clips titled “Iraq Five Years Later” that examines contemporary life in Iraq, the effects of the surge, and how Americans are perceived in ways that Broadening Perspectives go well beyond typical American news reports After focusing on Palestinian literature, students (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycJLL65dh60). were able to extend to a wide range of wonderful Incorporating literature from the Middle East works for middle school and high school students can go beyond individual classes to school or dis- by living authors from Egypt, Turkey, Iran, Af- trictwide initiatives. For example, in Parchment, ghanistan, and Morocco. Though there isn’t space Michigan, the school districts’ English teachers are here to address all of these works and countries, see considering including at least one Middle Eastern Appendix 1 for the titles, students’ comments on literary work at each grade level from 7–12.
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Addressing Stereotypes dents were surprised that she wore jeans and spoke by Reading Living Authors contemporary idiomatic English—she broke ste- reotypes and inspired discussion and reading about There are so many images in the news, in contem- Islamic women. A Turkish man showed the stu- porary fi lm, in video games, and online that distort dents slides of modern Istanbul and a fi lm clip the lives and realities of Middle Eastern people; about Turkish rock music. A Zionist defended Is- thus, reading literature from rael’s treatment of Palestinians. An Iranian dis- Reading Middle Eastern living authors in the Middle cussed his perspective on his country being East calls for teachers to help literature, learning about described by American leaders as part of the “Axis students carefully think about the culture and history, of Evil.” A Jordanian described two different schools stereotypes. An important way and thinking critically he had attended in Jordan, one in the city where the to consider these stereotypes is female students wore jeans and short skirts and one about the representations to have students discuss the in the countryside where women predominately of Middle Eastern people documentary fi lm Reel Bad wore burqas. An organizer of Iraq war protests in helped us become more Arabs (available in its entirety our community lectured students on how the savvy viewers. Often on DVD or in portions on America invasion violated international law. A team YouTube, www.youtube.com/ after seeing a fi lm we of three American soldiers with extensive on-duty watch?v=ewaox9UA6NE) and were motivated to do experience in Iraq and Kuwait talked about the explore the degrading images online research about the psychological impact of these wars on American of Arabs as bandits, sheikhs, troops. fi lm and its portrayals. and terrorists found in Holly- It is easy to fi nd speakers who might come to wood fi lms students have your class, and mosques, Islamic centers, and Is- likely seen including Aladdin, Raiders of the Lost lamic schools that your students might visit or— Ark, True Lies, Back to the Future, and so on. Of just go to http://www.IslamicFinder.org and put in course there are many contemporary fi lms address- your zip code. ing a wide range of issues in the Middle East— I was able to arrange for my class to visit a many that my students had seen or were watching mosque in our town. Students read selections of the on their own as the course progressed. Reading Koran recommended by the Imam and were sur- Middle Eastern literature, learning about the cul- prised to see that these selections were about Jesus ture and history, and thinking critically about the and Mary. We removed our shoes in the mosque, representations of Middle Eastern people helped us learned about Islamic rituals of prayer, and were in- become more savvy viewers. Often after seeing a vited to ask any questions. We experienced a warm fi lm we were motivated to do online research about hospitality and were treated with Middle Eastern the fi lm and its portrayals. Middle Eastern litera- deserts of honey, nuts, and fi lo pastry. We talked ture by living authors inspires us to seek cultural, with a young man who was the mosque’s historical, and political background information. “Hafez”—he had the entire Koran committed to That information may challenge our stereotypes memory in Arabic and shared some of it with us. and closely held ideas about the past and present Not only had none of my Michigan students ever role of the United States in the region. been to a mosque, but none had ever had a conver- sation with an Islamic person. Like the literature, Inviting Speakers and Visiting Mosques video clips, and speakers, the visit and conversa- Another powerful way to examine stereotypes is to tions were eye opening. bring in outside speakers. There are people from An important area that my class did not ad- the Middle East or with signifi cant experience in dress is the growing literature by Islamic Ameri- the region living in all parts of our country, and cans or Americans of Middle Eastern background they are often open to visiting classrooms. I invited or descent. Many schools have students with this a woman from Egypt who had only been in the background—clearly we need to learn how to sup- United States for a few weeks to visit my class. Stu- port them, especially in a post-9/11 world. In such
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schools, community members and parents may Sometimes the best starting point for incor- be particularly valuable resources as classroom porating living writers into the curriculum is to speakers. connect them to classic writers and works. In his essay “Turning Turk in Othello,” Daniel Vitkus ex- plains that some of the same ignorance that leads to Connecting Middle Eastern stereotyping today was present at the time of Shake- Literature to the Canon speare—the English frequently confused and con- The respected Palestinian American literary scholar fl ated terms as different as Turk and Moor, linking Edward Said, who died of cancer in 2003, has writ- Muhammad and the Pope as devilish enemies to ten about “Orientalism,” the stereotyping of Mid- good Protestant Christians. dle Eastern people tied to the European and The Renaissance was a time It is easy to fi nd speakers American interests in the region. I started our class of warfare as well as eco- who might come to your by looking at some of the historically early repre- nomic and ideological com- class, and mosques, sentations of the Middle East in classic European petition between Europe and British literature. and the Islamic world. One Islamic centers, and We read authors and texts frequently in the of my students, Diane Hall, Islamic schools that your secondary curriculum but that are often not put wrote a paper arguing that students might visit or— into dialogue with Middle Eastern writing. We by the end of the play, just go to http://www found classic works available for free online, and, “Othello possesses charac- .IslamicFinder.org and put using Wikipedia, students gained some background teristics that were [stereo- in your zip code. about the enormous Arab and Ottoman empires typically] attributed to that arose in the Middle East and that were centers Muhammad. He is lustful, of learning during the European “Middle Ages.” violent, angry, and delusional.” Drawing on Vitkus, We began our literary reading with the interesting Diane claimed that “The play Othello does in some ninth story from the tenth day of Boccaccio’s The sense portray Islamic culture; however, it functions Decameron (1350 AD) that tells about the visit of on a larger level to warn the audience about the Saladin, leader of the Muslim armies during the dangers of conversion. . . . These conversions are the Crusades. Saladin comes to Italy in disguise and is result of subtle actions and words that eventually so offered generous hospitality by an Italian lord who, envelop the victims that they cannot see clearly and later, during a crusade, fi nds himself Saladin’s pris- cannot perceive the consequences of their actions.” oner (http://www.stg.brown.edu/projects/decam- Foregrounding the Middle East as a theme led stu- eron/engDecIndex.php). When Saladin discovers dents to new perspectives on Chaucer and Shake- the prisoner is his former host, he treats him royally speare, on Coleridge and Shelley, and also allowed and has his magicians fl y him home overnight so he us to recognize the repetition and transformation of can be with his wife. In contrast to this “positive” stereotypes through time. romanticized depiction, we read the fi rst part of Chaucer’s “Man of Laws Tale” (ll. 1–380), the story Conclusion of Constance, a European girl who marries the sul- tan of Syria, converts him to Christianity, and then I admit that I decided to focus my literature class in escapes his death and a massacre of his court led by the way I did because the current situation in the her mother-in-law (http://www.canterburytales. Middle East concerns me. Some studies claim that org/canterbury_tales.html). We also looked at the more than a million Iraqis have been killed as a re- Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, Coleridge’s “Kubla sult of the American invasion, and no resolution to Khan,” and Shelley’s sonnet “Ozymandias.” The the confl ict appears in sight. Students can no longer mysterious, violent, lustful, and deceptive stereo- remember when America was not at war in Iraq and types we also explored in some of the tales from the Afghanistan. Some of my students, their family Arabian Nights, and, most extensively, in Shake- members, and friends serve, or will serve, in the re- speare’s Othello. gion. While I always think we should try to fi nd
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ways to make the literary works we teach relevant, I narrates this story. There is Muhtashimi Zayed, believe that at the present time it is imperative to the grandfather, and Elwan his grandson who at help Americans, our students and ourselves, better the moment is facing some diffi cult decisions in understand the Middle East. There is no more en- his life and hopes he chooses the right path. gaging or effective starting point than to bring —Ryan Kijewski writing of contemporary living Middle Eastern au- thors into our classes. A Thousand Splendid Suns and The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, grades 10–12 Students will love both of these best-selling novels Appendix 1: Contemporary Middle about Afghanistan. To learn about the country, A Eastern Texts Thousand Splendid Suns is better—it ends soon after Under the Persimmon Tree by Suzanne Fisher the American-led attack against the Taliban. Both Staples, grades 7–9. novels contain some disturbing passages. After A contemporary work set in Afghanistan at the reading either novel students should learn more time of the American invasion after 9/11. Staples, about America’s role in the “covert” war against the not from the Middle East, is American and was the socialist government and about the most current UPI bureau chief in South Asia, where she covered situation in the country. Hosseini is raising funds to Pakistan and Afghanistan and she led a US AID lit- support the desperate children in Afghanistan— eracy development project in the Cholistan desert supporting this effort would make a good class (described in her fi rst YA novel, Shabanu Daughter of project. the Wind); she is well informed. This appealing book This book [The Kite Runner] is, so far, beyond fan- will help students understand the Afghan war and tastic, and is quickly becoming one of my favor- the ongoing impact of the American invasion. ites. If I’m in another class, I’m thinking about this book—if I’m hanging out with my friends, I We begin in the small village of Golestan, North- catch myself wondering what’s going to happen ern Afghanistan, in October of 2001, mere weeks next.—Dan Brim after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The Taliban are A Thousand Splendid Suns was a gripping story passing through the Kunduz hills and creates con- and I connected with this novel even more than fl ict for a small farming family. . . . The images The Kite Runner because women’s rights are so conjured in this book of the violence and terrorism important and it gave more perspective on mod- of the Taliban are real and disturbing, but instead ern Afghanistan history and politics than the Kite of the American point of view, we are able to get Runner.—Jennifer Barns some insight from the other side of the playing fi eld. Why were American bombs falling on inno- cent people and villages in Afghanistan?—Sara Persepolis I by Marjane Satrapi, grades 10–12 Keeler This graphic novel set in Iran was made into a fi lm in 2007. The second volume addresses some mature The Day the Leader Was Killed by Naguib topics better suited to older students. The narrator Mahfouz, grades 11–12 is from an intellectual, privileged family in the cap- ital city—it would be interesting for students to One of the best known Middle Eastern authors, the search the Web to learn more about the Iranian rev- Egyptian Naguib Mahfouz won the Nobel Prize for olution and fi ll in other perspectives. literature in 1988 and died in 2006. The Day the Leader Was Killed (103 pages) addresses questions A woman from Iran has taken a form that is not facing young people from different points of view native to her country, and used it to tell parts of regarding living with their parents, fi nding em- her life. She tells it with humor and conviction, ployment, and marriage—all topics that will reso- and while being sensitive to all aspects as far as I can tell, she still lays the bald truth out there. For nate with high school juniors and seniors. that, I admire her.—Patricia Schultz The book takes place in Cairo, the capital city of I’ve read graphic novels before, and this has to Egypt. A middle-class family facing harsh times be one of the best I’ve ever read! Marjane Satrapi
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lived in Iran during the cultural revolution in the anyone looking for a book that shows the struggles seventies, and the book is from her perspective as a that some impoverished women face in the mod- young child. There is a very sad part in the fi rst ern Middle East.—Heather Winowiecki book where her uncle says goodbye to her for the last time as he is going to be executed.—Frankie Zaat by Son’allah Ibrahim, grade 12 Valezquez Son’allah Ibrahim is a popular nationalist writer from Egypt, imprisoned at one point for his politi- Dreams of Trespass by Fatima Mernissi, cal views. grades 9–12 Zaat is the name of a typical middle class Egyptian Fatima Mernissi is a well-known sociologist and woman. The chapters alternate between her every- feminist in Morocco. Her memoir of a childhood day life and the headlines of the Egyptian newspa- during the 1940s explores women growing up in a per that she works for. Many of these newspaper traditional Muslim household, crossing boundaries, events deal with Egyptian politics in the late and developing solidarity. 1980’s and early 1990’s. The chapters dealing with Mernissi was constantly questioning the people Zaat’s life jump from event to event. If this isn’t a around her. She wanted to know why the women story that fl ows, it is still well written and were confi ned to the home while they men were extremely interesting. Not the easiest, but defi - allowed to go about town as they pleased. Mernis- nitely a good read.—Heather Winowiecki si’s mother was defi nitely the strongest woman (or maybe even the strongest person altogether) that I Additional recommended Middle Eastern have read about.—Molly Grube literature for secondary students An Apartment Called Freedom by Ghazi Algo- The White Castle by Orhan Pamuk, saibi tells the story of Saudi Arabian young grades 11–12 men living as students in England. The Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk won the Nobel Aunt Safi yya and the Monastery by Bahaa’ Prize for literature in 2006. His writing often ad- Taher explores village life in Egypt and ten- dresses contact between East and West, traditional sions between violence and peace. and modern. The White Castle is one of his shorter and more accessible works. Autumn Equinox by Jabbur Duwayhi narrates the experience of a young man returning to This book was solidly the best read I’ve had in the his Lebanese village after studying in last year at least. . . . [I]t is extremely interesting America. to see how two people from very different back- The Bleeding of the Stone by Yusuf Al-Quaid grounds might have so much in common with one describes the encounter between a Bedouin another that their differing cultural identities can- young man in the desert in the south of not mask their similarities.—Ian Magee Libya and two foreign hunters.
Woman at Point Zero by Nawal El Saadawi, Daughter of Damascus by Siham Tergeman is grades 11–12 collection of related stories about growing up in Syria. Nawal El Saadawi is an Egyptian feminist writer and physician, and this disturbing short novel ex- Fate of a Cockroach and Other Plays by Al-Ha- amines the oppression of poor women in that kim, Tawfi q is the most popular work by Egypt’s leading playwright. country. Fragments of Memory is about a poor family in Firdaus has lived a truly unfortunate life. She was the north of Syria under the French mandate. beaten and neglected by her parents and sexually abused by friends and relatives before she even fi n- Girls of Riyadh by Rajaa Alsanea is written in ished high school. Married to a cruel man, she fl ees the form of emails between four young and turns to prostitution as a means of survival. It women in Saudi Arabi about contemporary was very powerful and I would recommend it to life in that country.
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Last Chapter by Leila Abouzeid tells the story Works Cited of a young woman high school student in Abouzeid, Leila. Last Chapter. Cairo: American U in Cairo Morocco who wonders if it is OK to be P, 2004. single. Al-Ghitani, Gamal. Zayni Barakat. New York: Viking, 1988. Memed My Hawk by Yasar Kemal is one of Algosaibi, Ghazi. An Apartment Called Freedom. London: the great novels of modern Turkey and Paul Kegan, 1996. Al-Hakim, Tawfi q. Fate of a Cockroach. Washington: Three addresses the struggle of a young man Continents, 1980. against a powerful rural landlord. Al-Koni, Ibrahim. The Bleeding of the Stone. Northampton: Interlink, 2001. Memory in the Flesh is by the fi rst novel writ- Al-Qaid, Yusuf. War in the Land of Egypt. London: Al Saqi, ten by an Algerian woman, Ahlan 1986. Mosteghanemi and treats the Algerian strug- Alsanea, Rajaa. Girls of Riyadh. New York: Penguin, 2007. gle for independence from France and disap- Al-Shaykh, Hanan. Only in London. New York: Pantheon, pointments of the independence era. 2001. Al-Windaw, Thura. Thura’s Diary: My Life in Wartime Iraq. Only in London by Hanan Al-Shaykh follows New York: Penguin, 2004. four airplane passengers from Lebanon, Carmi, Daniella. Samir and Yonatan. New York: Scholastic/ Blue Sky, 2002. Morocco, Iraq, and England as their lives Carter, Jimmy. Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid. New York: interweave in London. Simon, 2006. Duwayhi, Jabbur. Autumn Equinox. U of Arkansas P, 2001. The Other Place by Ibrahim Abdel Mequid Elmessiri, Nur, and Abdelwahab Elmessiri. A Land of Stone describes the experience of a middle class and Thyme: An Anthology of Palestinian Short Stories. Egyptian living in one of the oil-rich states London: Quartet, 1996. of the Persian Gulf. Halaby, Laila. West of Jordan. Boston: Beacon, 2003. Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner. New York: Riverhead, The Square Moon by Ghada Samman is a col- 2003. lection of unusual short stories with gothic ———. A Thousand Splendid Suns. New York: Riverhead, dimensions and surprise ending set in 2007. Ibrahim, Son’allah. Zaat. Cairo: American U of Cairo P, Lebanon. 2004. War in the Land of Egypt by Yusuf Al-Qaid, Kemal, Yashar. Memid, My Hawk. New York: NYRB Clas- sics, 2005. Yusuf tells the story of a young man from the Kanafani, Ghassan. Men in the Sun and other Palestinian Sto- village sold into the Egyptian army to take ries. London: Rienner, 1999. the place of the son of a wealthy man. ———. Palestine’s Children: Returning to Haifa and Other Stories. Boulder: Lynne Rienner, 2000. West of the Jordon by Laila Halaby portrays the Khalifeh, Sahar. Wild Thorns. New York: Interlink, 2000. coming to age of four young Arabic women Mahfouz, Naguib. The Day the Leader Was Killed. New York: in Jordan, Palestine, and the United States. Anchor, 2000. Meguid, Ibrahim Abdel. The Other Place. Cairo: American U Zayni Barakat by Gamal Al-Ghitani is an of Cairo P, 2005. historical novel set in Cairo at the time of the Mernissi, Fatima. Dreams of Trespass. New York: Basic, arrival of the Ottoman Empire. 1994. Minah, Hanna. Fragments of Memory: A Story of a Syrian Fam- ily. Northhampton: Interlink, 2004. Mosteghanemi, Ahlam. Memory in the Flesh. American U in Notes Cairo P, 2003. 1. The author expresses his thanks to the many peo- Mustafa, Shakir. Contemporary Iraqi Fiction: An Anthology. ple who helped with this article, including his students and Syracuse: Syracuse UP, 2008. his friends Mustafa Mughazi, Mustafa Mirzeler, Jahan Agh- Nye, Naomi Shihab. Habibi. New York: Aladdin, 1999. dai, and Zaydun Al-Shara. Pamuk, Orhan. The White Castle. New York: Vintage, 2. Student blogs have been signifi cantly edited for 1998. clarity and length, but we have preserved the authors’ inten- Pax, Salam. Salam Pax: The Clandestine Diary of an Ordinary tions. The original student blogs may be found at Oriental- Iraqi. New York: Grove, 2003. Interpretations.blogspot.com or AllenWebb.net. (For more Riverbend. Baghdad Burning: Girl Blog from Iraq. New information on the Internet, blogging, and teaching litera- York: CUNY, 2005. ture see my book Literature and the Web: Reading and Respond- Saadawi, Nawal El. Woman at Point Zero. New York: Zed, ing with New Technologies, written with Robert Rozema.) 1983.
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Sacco, Joe. Palestine. Seattle: Fanatgraphics, 2002. Tergeman, Siham. Daughter of Damascus. Austin: U of Texas Samman, Ghadah. The Square Moon: Supernatural Tales. U of P, 1994. Arkansas P, 1999. Vitkus , Daniel J. “Turning Turk in Othello: The Conversion Satrapi, Marjane, Persepolis I. New York: Pantheon, 2004. and Damnation of the Moor.” Shakespeare Quarterly 48.2 Staples, Suzanne Fisher. Shabanu Daughter of the Wind. New (1997): 145–76
Formerly a high school English teacher at West Linn High School near Portland, Oregon, Allen Webb is now professor of English education and literature at Western Michigan University. He has published four books including Literature and Lives: A Response-Based, Cultural Studies Approach to Teaching English and, with Robert Rozema, Literature and the Web: Reading and Responding with New Technologies. Email him at [email protected].
READWRITETHINK CONNECTION Traci Gardner, RWT Customize literature circle roles as you bring contemporary writing about the Middle East into the classroom with “Young Adult Literature about the Middle East: Cultural Response Literature Circles.” Adapted from Sheryl Finkle and Tamara Lilly’s NCTE book Middle Ground: Exploring Selected Literature from and about the Middle East, the lesson places students in roles that challenge stereotypes, broaden world perspectives, and build shared cultural understandings. http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=1136
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