1]
The Gainesville Sun
Gainesville, Florida
http://www.gainesvillesun.com/article/20071203/NEWS/712030306/1002/NEWS
3 dec 2007
I am happy to see the focus on UF's Study Abroad programs. It was a privilege to be involved as program director for the Fez, Morocco program this past summer. The dollar goes farther there, but the value of the experience surpasses even the economics. Students had real live everyday communications with Moroccans: each one was touched by their experience in an unforgettable way. Having a child help you find your way in the labyrinthine old city, or sleeping in a desert encampment under a canopy of incredible stars - study abroad itself is the star in this picture.
Thanks for highlighting it, and I look forward to more student stories!
Annie C. Higgins
formerly of African and Asian Languages and Literatures, UF
2]
The Gainesville Sun
Gainesville, Florida
UF experts: Civil war is a matter of perspective
By NATHAN CRABBE
Sun staff writer
Published: Wednesday, November 29, 2006 at 6:01 a.m.
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20060127/LOCAL/201270326
Some members of the U.S. media are debating whether the term "civil war" should be used to describe the conflict in Iraq.But Annie Higgins said Middle Eastern reporters have used the Arabic term for civil war, "harb ahliya," to describe the violence in Iraq for at least a month."I don't think it's much of a debate there," said Higgins, a visiting assistant professor in Arabic languages and literature at the University of Florida. "People don't really care about the term - the fact is you have this dreadful violence that is out of control."NBC News announced this week that it will start characterizing the bloodshed between Shiites and Sunnis in Iraq as a civil war. The Los Angeles Times last month was the first major media outlet to officially adopt the term, but other media outlets have been reluctant. Members of the Bush administration prefer the term "sectarian violence," portraying the conflict as a struggle against terrorists.One scholarly definition of civil war has two criteria: First, warring groups must be from the same country and fighting for power, land or policy changes. Second, at least 1,000 people must have been killed including 100 or more from each side.By that definition Iraq is clearly involved in a civil war, said Ido Oren, an associate professor of political science at UF. The Bush administration has resisted using the word because of the public perception it creates, he said. "It makes the situation in Iraq look like a failure for them," he said.For many Americans, the fighting between the Union and Confederacy from 1861-1865 serves as a point of reference for a civil war. But the U.S. Civil War has more differences than similarities with the current fighting in Iraq, said Matthew Gallman, a history professor at UF who is an expert on the American conflict.The U.S. Civil War was easier to define as such because it involved huge battles and clearly defined divisions and goals, he said. While that doesn't preclude the term from being used in Iraq, he views the current debate as a distraction."It's kind of a rhetorical red herring," he said.Debates over the language used to describe war are nothing new. The New York Times had for years shied away from using the term genocide to describe the Ottoman Empire's mass evacuation and killing of Armenians from 1915 to 1917. It reversed the policy in 2004.Oren said reporters differ from political scientists in what to call the fight between Peru and Ecuador over land in 1995. Some media reports called it a war, but he said political scientists refrain from using the term because there were fewer than 1,000 deaths.He said the current debate echoes the White House's initial reluctance to describe the enemy in Iraq as an insurgency. The administration only relented when the reality on the ground forced it to accept the term, he said.Such terms are in the eye of the beholder, he said."For the purpose of politics and political debates, a war is what people call a war," he said.
**************************
[old post 2b repositioned]
Quoted in WM News: Kennedy in WB, 8 sep 2005
William & Mary News
Against the wall: Kennedy (’08) finds little hope in the West Bank
Author: David Williard, Source: W&M News
Date: Sep 08, 2005
http://web.wm.edu/news/archive/index.php?id=5145
As he set off for the West Bank this summer, Judd Kennedy (’08) seemed to be the only one without concerns. Friends just looked at him wide-eyed when he announced his destination. His parents were frightened. A few people called him crazy. Even Annie Higgins, visiting professor of modern languages and literatures, who was instrumental in his decision to go, warned him, “If you have any hesitation whatsoever, you should not be doing this. It is not a laughing matter, and there are people who have either been harmed or killed.”
Kennedy remained determined. His primary reason for going was to learn Arabic—“the kind spoken on the streets,” he explained. Toward that end, he attended classes at Birzeit University during the day and spent many of his evenings and weekends traveling to the region’s holy sites, cafes and other public places, where he struck up what he called “non-touristy” conversations with residents. He quickly discovered that the encroaching Israeli security wall—dubbed the “apartheid wall” by many Palestinians—generated the deepest political exchanges. The wall, 20-meters tall and made of concrete, cuts apart communities as it sometimes follows the internationally recognized Israeli-Palestinian border called the “Green Line” and sometimes does not. In retrospect, it was the sheer impact of that structure that turned Kennedy’s sympathies toward the citizens of the West Bank. “There is a hopelessness among the Palestinians because they believe that the wall is going to segregate the West Bank,” Kennedy said.
“Yes, I have grown sympathetic toward them because I have seen the human side of the average, everyday person. You ask them, ‘What is your hope for the future? What can be done?’ Many of them will say, ‘We’re going to be Indians on a reservation.’”
Kennedy’s interest in the Middle East and in the Arabic language began when he came to William and Mary. Although friends of his family who were working with the government suggested it would be a smart course of study, in his small hometown in southwestern Pennsylvania, he had virtually no contact with Islam or with Arabic culture. He took an Arabic language course at the College, even though he did not need the credit, partially from a self-serving motive. “I thought it might lead to a nice career,” he admitted. Quickly enamored with the rich textures of Arabic phrasings, he subsequently enrolled in Middle Eastern history classes and was intrigued by the region’s “multiple layers of civilizations.” Within three months, he knew he would be a Middle Eastern studies major. Almost as quickly, he realized that his understanding could advance only so far in the United States. At the suggestion of Higgins—and with the help of a grant from the College’s Charles Center, he committed to study at Birzeit. The trip reinforced his determination.
Kennedy’s trip to the West Bank was funded, in part, by a grant from the Roy R. Charles Center. For information, see the center’s Web site.
During his stay, Kennedy maintained an on-line record of his experiences. If he did not post daily, he had to call home to reassure his parents, he recalled. The postings (see sidebar) included accounts of having a peanut-butter feast interrupted by apparent gunshots, of witnessing a hail of rock-throwing and of venturing toward the wall.
Noticeably absent from his accounts was any conversation about the Israeli withdrawal in Gaza—the subject that dominated U.S. media reports during the period Kennedy was in the Middle East. He said that the Palestinians seemed to downplay the withdrawal. Although people in the West Bank will not suggest that the process of the Israeli removal of settlements from Gaza was not a positive gesture, they fear that the international attention will prevent the Israeli government from feeling any pressure to remove itself from the West Bank. Beyond that, they recognize the danger if the Palestinian government stumbles in its efforts to generate order in Gaza.
“Many feel that the Israeli government is saying, ‘Here, Palestinians, is your chance to govern,’’’ Kennedy explained. “And the government will have one chance to control Hamas and stop terrorist activities and make a functioning government. If they don’t make it, that test run will be used against them for the next 20 years. Israelis will say, ‘We don’t have a partner to make peace.’”
Back at William and Mary, Kennedy realizes that his understanding of politics in the region will remain limited until he has had a chance to live among Israelis, an opportunity he may attempt to secure in the future. His trip-related research, conducted to fulfill the grant requirements of the Charles Center, focuses on ways the West Bank can benefit from globalization. An understanding of Israel, he knows, is enmeshed in whatever positive effects it will generate. Palestinian officials conceded that they were leaning toward tourism as a key economic engine. Yet, as one political leader told him, “Any effort to effect a liberalization of the market would have to put in context of the wall.” Meanwhile, Kennedy will pursue opportunities to make positive changes. This year, he is serving as resident assistant in the Arabic House. He also is continuing the International Justice Mission on campus, a group he started last year, which is “dedicated to publicity, advocacy and prayer” to bring greater justice into the world. He will also, no doubt, continue to speak about his experiences in the West Bank.
“I feel as if I have a duty to talk to people about the territories,” he wrote at one point in his journals. Back on campus, he explained that before he left the West Bank, he asked a high-ranking Palestinian official what would be the most-effective thing he could do after he returned to the United States to help bring justice to the region.
The man just said, “Tell people what you saw,” Kennedy recalled.
31 December 2008
Event: Arabic Cultural Association, University of Florida
http://grove.ufl.edu/~arabic/acawebpage.htm
This is a photo of the 2006-2007 Arabic Cultural Association Officers with Dr. Imad Moustapha, the Syrian Ambassador to the United States. Dr. Moustapha is second from the left.
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Annie Higgins (alias Tahani, on the far left in the photo); Dr. Higgins is a professor of Arabic Language and Literature in the Department of Africa and Asian Languages and Literature. She received her PhD in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations from the University of Chicago in 2001 and this is her second year at the University of Florida. Dr. Higgins has done much research and traveling in such countries as Egypt, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan.
photo to follow!
This is a photo of the 2006-2007 Arabic Cultural Association Officers with Dr. Imad Moustapha, the Syrian Ambassador to the United States. Dr. Moustapha is second from the left.
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Annie Higgins (alias Tahani, on the far left in the photo); Dr. Higgins is a professor of Arabic Language and Literature in the Department of Africa and Asian Languages and Literature. She received her PhD in Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations from the University of Chicago in 2001 and this is her second year at the University of Florida. Dr. Higgins has done much research and traveling in such countries as Egypt, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan.
photo to follow!
Quoted in the Gainesville Sun: Civil War, 29 nov 2006
The Gainesville Sun
UF experts: Civil war is a matter of perspective
By NATHAN CRABBE Sun staff writer
Published: Wednesday, November 29, 2006 at 6:01 a.m.
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20060127/LOCAL/201270326
Some members of the U.S. media are debating whether the term "civil war" should be used to describe the conflict in Iraq.
But Annie Higgins said Middle Eastern reporters have used the Arabic term for civil war, "harb ahliya," to describe the violence in Iraq for at least a month.
"I don't think it's much of a debate there," said Higgins, a visiting assistant professor in Arabic languages and literature at the University of Florida. "People don't really care about the term - the fact is you have this dreadful violence that is out of control."
NBC News announced this week that it will start characterizing the bloodshed between Shiites and Sunnis in Iraq as a civil war. The Los Angeles Times last month was the first major media outlet to officially adopt the term, but other media outlets have been reluctant. Members of the Bush administration prefer the term "sectarian violence," portraying the conflict as a struggle against terrorists.
One scholarly definition of civil war has two criteria: First, warring groups must be from the same country and fighting for power, land or policy changes. Second, at least 1,000 people must have been killed including 100 or more from each side.
By that definition Iraq is clearly involved in a civil war, said Ido Oren, an associate professor of political science at UF. The Bush administration has resisted using the word because of the public perception it creates, he said. "It makes the situation in Iraq look like a failure for them," he said.
For many Americans, the fighting between the Union and Confederacy from 1861-1865 serves as a point of reference for a civil war. But the U.S. Civil War has more differences than similarities with the current fighting in Iraq, said Matthew Gallman, a history professor at UF who is an expert on the American conflict.
The U.S. Civil War was easier to define as such because it involved huge battles and clearly defined divisions and goals, he said. While that doesn't preclude the term from being used in Iraq, he views the current debate as a distraction.
"It's kind of a rhetorical red herring," he said.
Debates over the language used to describe war are nothing new. The New York Times had for years shied away from using the term genocide to describe the Ottoman Empire's mass evacuation and killing of Armenians from 1915 to 1917. It reversed the policy in 2004.
Oren said reporters differ from political scientists in what to call the fight between Peru and Ecuador over land in 1995. Some media reports called it a war, but he said political scientists refrain from using the term because there were fewer than 1,000 deaths.
He said the current debate echoes the White House's initial reluctance to describe the enemy in Iraq as an insurgency. The administration only relented when the reality on the ground forced it to accept the term, he said.
Such terms are in the eye of the beholder, he said.
"For the purpose of politics and political debates, a war is what people call a war," he said.
UF experts: Civil war is a matter of perspective
By NATHAN CRABBE Sun staff writer
Published: Wednesday, November 29, 2006 at 6:01 a.m.
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20060127/LOCAL/201270326
Some members of the U.S. media are debating whether the term "civil war" should be used to describe the conflict in Iraq.
But Annie Higgins said Middle Eastern reporters have used the Arabic term for civil war, "harb ahliya," to describe the violence in Iraq for at least a month.
"I don't think it's much of a debate there," said Higgins, a visiting assistant professor in Arabic languages and literature at the University of Florida. "People don't really care about the term - the fact is you have this dreadful violence that is out of control."
NBC News announced this week that it will start characterizing the bloodshed between Shiites and Sunnis in Iraq as a civil war. The Los Angeles Times last month was the first major media outlet to officially adopt the term, but other media outlets have been reluctant. Members of the Bush administration prefer the term "sectarian violence," portraying the conflict as a struggle against terrorists.
One scholarly definition of civil war has two criteria: First, warring groups must be from the same country and fighting for power, land or policy changes. Second, at least 1,000 people must have been killed including 100 or more from each side.
By that definition Iraq is clearly involved in a civil war, said Ido Oren, an associate professor of political science at UF. The Bush administration has resisted using the word because of the public perception it creates, he said. "It makes the situation in Iraq look like a failure for them," he said.
For many Americans, the fighting between the Union and Confederacy from 1861-1865 serves as a point of reference for a civil war. But the U.S. Civil War has more differences than similarities with the current fighting in Iraq, said Matthew Gallman, a history professor at UF who is an expert on the American conflict.
The U.S. Civil War was easier to define as such because it involved huge battles and clearly defined divisions and goals, he said. While that doesn't preclude the term from being used in Iraq, he views the current debate as a distraction.
"It's kind of a rhetorical red herring," he said.
Debates over the language used to describe war are nothing new. The New York Times had for years shied away from using the term genocide to describe the Ottoman Empire's mass evacuation and killing of Armenians from 1915 to 1917. It reversed the policy in 2004.
Oren said reporters differ from political scientists in what to call the fight between Peru and Ecuador over land in 1995. Some media reports called it a war, but he said political scientists refrain from using the term because there were fewer than 1,000 deaths.
He said the current debate echoes the White House's initial reluctance to describe the enemy in Iraq as an insurgency. The administration only relented when the reality on the ground forced it to accept the term, he said.
Such terms are in the eye of the beholder, he said.
"For the purpose of politics and political debates, a war is what people call a war," he said.
Quoted in Gainesville Sun: Hamas elections, 27 jan 2006
The Gainesville Sun
UF experts: Hamas victory may actually do some good
By NATHAN CRABBE Sun staff writer
Published: Friday, January 27, 2006 at 6:01 a.m. Last Modified: Thursday, January 26, 2006 at 8:58 p.m.
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20060127/LOCAL/201270326
An Israeli-born professor at the University of Florida said an Islamic militant group's landslide victory in the Palestinian elections might actually help the peace process.
"Once you are in power, you see things different than when you were in the opposition," said Ido Oren, an associate professor of political science.
Hamas scored an overwhelming victory in parliamentary elections Wednesday as voters rejected the longtime rule of the Fatah Party. Israeli politicians and President Bush have questioned whether a group responsible for suicide bombings can be a partner for peace.
But Oren said being in power might moderate Hamas, which has called for the destruction of Israel. Even if it doesn't, he said, Israel has been unilaterally withdrawing from Palestinian territories and could continue to do so regardless of who is in power there.
Hamas will now have a vested interest in continuing the peace process, said Patricia Woods, an assistant professor of political science and Jewish studies at UF. It will face the same fate as Fatah, she said, unless it produces tangible results in gaining territory and other benefits for Palestinians.
"Hamas is going to have to change its spots on some really critical issues," she said.
She viewed the election of a protest vote against the corrupt rule of Fatah. While the party failed to improve the lives of Palestinians, she said, Hamas was working to help Palestinians.
"Hamas has really been doing grassroots work for the last 20 years," she said.
Annie Higgins has observed the lives of Palestinians firsthand as a volunteer in the territories from 2002 to 2003. The visiting assistant professor in Arabic languages and literature at UF said she's amazed elections can even take place there, given impediments to moving freely.
The fact there was such high turnout - nearly 80 percent - shows the election was positive in terms of providing average people a voice in the political process, she said.
"It gives people hope," she said.
But she said she didn't expect the results would have a visible impact on their lives in the immediate future.
The election could also mean other problems in the near future, said Dennis Jett, director of UF's International Center.
"In the short term, I'm not optimistic," said Jett, who worked 28 years in the State Department including nearly three years in Israel.
The bulk of the Palestinian and Israeli people want peace, he said, but extremists are determined to disrupt that process. Still, he said, he expects pragmatism to eventually take hold as Israel continues to withdraw from the territories.
"You can't occupy that land forever," he said.
Woods said she believes the Palestinian people disagree with Hamas on major issues, such as their desire for freedom as opposed to having an Islamic state. And the group will be forced to accept Israel as a negotiating partner, she said, if it wants to give people the movement and economic benefits they desire.
"They're going to have to change or they're going to be out of power pretty quickly," she said.
Nathan Crabbe can be reached at 338-3176 or crabben@ gvillesun.com.
UF experts: Hamas victory may actually do some good
By NATHAN CRABBE Sun staff writer
Published: Friday, January 27, 2006 at 6:01 a.m. Last Modified: Thursday, January 26, 2006 at 8:58 p.m.
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20060127/LOCAL/201270326
An Israeli-born professor at the University of Florida said an Islamic militant group's landslide victory in the Palestinian elections might actually help the peace process.
"Once you are in power, you see things different than when you were in the opposition," said Ido Oren, an associate professor of political science.
Hamas scored an overwhelming victory in parliamentary elections Wednesday as voters rejected the longtime rule of the Fatah Party. Israeli politicians and President Bush have questioned whether a group responsible for suicide bombings can be a partner for peace.
But Oren said being in power might moderate Hamas, which has called for the destruction of Israel. Even if it doesn't, he said, Israel has been unilaterally withdrawing from Palestinian territories and could continue to do so regardless of who is in power there.
Hamas will now have a vested interest in continuing the peace process, said Patricia Woods, an assistant professor of political science and Jewish studies at UF. It will face the same fate as Fatah, she said, unless it produces tangible results in gaining territory and other benefits for Palestinians.
"Hamas is going to have to change its spots on some really critical issues," she said.
She viewed the election of a protest vote against the corrupt rule of Fatah. While the party failed to improve the lives of Palestinians, she said, Hamas was working to help Palestinians.
"Hamas has really been doing grassroots work for the last 20 years," she said.
Annie Higgins has observed the lives of Palestinians firsthand as a volunteer in the territories from 2002 to 2003. The visiting assistant professor in Arabic languages and literature at UF said she's amazed elections can even take place there, given impediments to moving freely.
The fact there was such high turnout - nearly 80 percent - shows the election was positive in terms of providing average people a voice in the political process, she said.
"It gives people hope," she said.
But she said she didn't expect the results would have a visible impact on their lives in the immediate future.
The election could also mean other problems in the near future, said Dennis Jett, director of UF's International Center.
"In the short term, I'm not optimistic," said Jett, who worked 28 years in the State Department including nearly three years in Israel.
The bulk of the Palestinian and Israeli people want peace, he said, but extremists are determined to disrupt that process. Still, he said, he expects pragmatism to eventually take hold as Israel continues to withdraw from the territories.
"You can't occupy that land forever," he said.
Woods said she believes the Palestinian people disagree with Hamas on major issues, such as their desire for freedom as opposed to having an Islamic state. And the group will be forced to accept Israel as a negotiating partner, she said, if it wants to give people the movement and economic benefits they desire.
"They're going to have to change or they're going to be out of power pretty quickly," she said.
Nathan Crabbe can be reached at 338-3176 or crabben@ gvillesun.com.
Letter to Gainesville Sun: Syria, pub'd 7 oct 2006
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20061007/EDITORIALS02/210070317
Understanding Syria
Published: Saturday, October 7, 2006 at 6:01 a.m. Last Modified: Saturday, October 7, 2006 at 12:03 a.m.
Many thanks to The Gainesville Sun for front page coverage of the Syrian Ambassador's visit to UF ( Oct. 3). In fact, 300 listeners filled the hall to capacity, while 30 were turned away at the door for lack of seats.
Dr. Moustapha's logic and sincerity challenged the frequent demonization of Syria and her citizens. He presented the human dimension, combined with a realistic approach to thorny questions. Clearly, he reached his audience, for they gave him a resounding standing ovation. My hope is that other American citizens be willing to consider such voices and demand that our own government represent our desire to engage intelligently with issues before rushing to militancy.
Annie C. Higgins
Faculty Advisor,
UF Arabic Cultural Association
University of Florida
Understanding Syria
Published: Saturday, October 7, 2006 at 6:01 a.m. Last Modified: Saturday, October 7, 2006 at 12:03 a.m.
Many thanks to The Gainesville Sun for front page coverage of the Syrian Ambassador's visit to UF ( Oct. 3). In fact, 300 listeners filled the hall to capacity, while 30 were turned away at the door for lack of seats.
Dr. Moustapha's logic and sincerity challenged the frequent demonization of Syria and her citizens. He presented the human dimension, combined with a realistic approach to thorny questions. Clearly, he reached his audience, for they gave him a resounding standing ovation. My hope is that other American citizens be willing to consider such voices and demand that our own government represent our desire to engage intelligently with issues before rushing to militancy.
Annie C. Higgins
Faculty Advisor,
UF Arabic Cultural Association
University of Florida
Quoted in CSM: Mattson, pub'd 13 dec 2001
the Christian Science Monitor
from the December 13, 2001 edition
Muslim convert takes on leadership role
By Jane Lampman, Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
http://www.csmonitor.com/2001/1213/p16s1-lire.html
HARTFORD, CONN. - Ingrid Mattson had her own brush with the Taliban before they came to power. Back in 1989, just out of a Canadian university, she worked in a crowded Afghan refugee camp near Peshawar, Pakistan, teaching young girls and trying to improve conditions for their families.
"With some 100,000 refugees, it was a microcosm of most of Afghanistan," she says, "and we were able to work in the whole camp except for one small area, where the Taliban from Kandahar refused to let us teach the girls."
"Most Afghanis were perfectly happy to have their daughters educated," she adds. Her experience with the Taliban and their subsequent actions led Dr. Mattson - a convert to Islam and now a professor of Islamic studies at Hartford Seminary in Connecticut - to speak out against them in Muslim circles ever since.
A small, slender woman with an arrestingly calm demeanor, Mattson has no reluctance about speaking out on issues of import. Her articulate voice was one of the first after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks to call publicly on Muslims to condemn not only the attacks, but any resort to violence in the name of Islam.
"Who has the greatest duty to stop violence committed by Muslims against innocent non-Muslims in the name of Islam?" she asked. "The answer obviously is Muslims."
And her voice is one that is heard. Earlier this fall, she was elected by members of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), perhaps the largest and most diverse Muslim organization on the continent, to a two-year term as vice president. She is the first woman to hold that position.
It may seem surprising that a young Canadian-born convert should be the first. "Ingrid is seen by our community as a woman par excellence as representative of both Western and Muslim traditions," explains Sayyid Syeed, executive director of ISNA. "She is Western-born and raised, but has been well educated in Islamic scholarship."
And her election has significance beyond these borders, Dr. Syeed adds. "America is giving women the role that the Koran and the Prophet had given them originally, but has been denied them for cultural reasons in many regions," he says. Women, for example, are members of executive committees of Islamic centers across the country. "To have a woman vice president is a message from the Islamic community in North America to those in other countries."
The new VP is eager to work on ISNA priorities, such as helping to strengthen the Islamic schools across the US, and to broaden training for the local leadership of mosques and Islamic centers.
"ISNA provides training for leaders in such skills as marriage-counseling, conflict-resolution, and domestic-violence issues," Mattson explains. She has also spearheaded creation of an Islamic chaplaincy program to prepare men and women to work as chaplains in the military, in hospitals, in prisons, or on college campuses. The program will include a master's degree and a graduate certificate in Islamic chaplaincy through studies at interdenominational Hartford Seminary.
During an interview in her seminary office at the Macdonald Center for the Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations, Mattson credits Islam with bringing her back to belief in God.
She grew up in a Christian family in Kitchener, Ontario. Her father was a criminal lawyer and her mother stayed home to raise seven children. But she stopped attending church at age 16, she says, when she realized that she just didn't believe what she was being taught. She left religion entirely and studied philosophy at the university, embracing existentialism.
In a way, she adds, that philosophy (which emphasizes the freedom of the individual to make choices in a meaningless world) was good preparation for being a Muslim. "What you choose defines what you are, and while people may be limited in the choices they have in life, there is always the opportunity to choose good," she says.
"So the emphasis in Islam on human responsibility [for choosing right over wrong] made a lot of sense to me - it didn't absolve people from responsibility for their actions or give them an easy way out," she continues. "But when they embrace that responsibility, it gives them a sense of peace."
Most important, though, she says, "it was through reading the Koran that I became aware of the presence of God and was convinced of it - that is what touched my heart."
Given the importance to her of individual choice, Mattson is well aware of the major questions Westerners have about religious freedom in Muslim countries - and whether Muslims have the right to convert to other faiths. A few converts have had their children taken away or have been persecuted as a result. A specialist in Islamic law, Mattson says this is an area that is now being widely examined and contested.
"Many scholars have convincingly argued that apostasy is not a crime, while treason is, based on cases from the early days of Islam, where people who left the community for other religions were not punished, while those who left the political community and betrayed it were."
What happened historically in some Muslim societies, she says, was that no distinction was made between community affiliation and religious affiliation. But today's world makes other demands, and she supports the case being made for separation of the two.
Mattson's own research relates to application of Islamic law in society. Most recently, she's written on how poverty is defined when distributing the charitable funds Muslims donate in zakat - the annual almsgiving that is one of the five pillars of Islam.
At the center of her full life of teaching, research, and community activity, however, is her family - her husband and two children.
She and Amer Aetak met in the refugee camp in Pakistan, where he, an Egyptian engineer, was digging wells and constructing housing. One of her most touching memories is the response of refugee families when they learned the two had quietly married.
"When they heard I hadn't had a dress, they were so sad; they pooled what little money they had and presented me with this outfit of satin pants and a red velveteen dress with pompoms - it was incredible!" she says.
They now have a daughter, Soumayya, and a son, Ubayda, whom her husband helped care for while she completed her doctorate at the University of Chicago. The children attend public schools in West Hartford, where Mr. Aetak is a systems application engineer.
Since Sept. 11, life has become even fuller with the need to respond to constant calls from community groups and the press about Islam and where US Muslims stand. Besides giving talks and interviews, Mattson joined with her seminary colleagues in offering a Web course on Islam via Beliefnet.com.
When the terrorist attacks occurred, she found herself thinking, "It's all over - all the work you have done has gone down the drain." Just the week before, she had left ISNA's annual convention, attended by 40,000 people, "full of optimism, confident that American Muslims had begun to find a way to contribute positively to the public life of this country, while preserving our distinct identity."
Now, clearly weary with the strain of the past few weeks, she is committed to keeping the communication going.
"Ingrid always wants people to communicate, to keep the dialogue open," whether it's between family members or across faith communities, says Annie Higgins, a close friend from graduate-school days in Chicago.
Ms. Higgins remembers a small incident that occurred when she stopped to say goodbye to the family before going away for two years. Little Soumayya, unhappy about the day's events, wouldn't speak to her. But later that evening, the child phoned to say, "Annie, I love you."
She wasn't under pressure to do so, Higgins says. It's simply that her mother quietly talks things through. "Ingrid just doesn't like to see any door closed and has a way of always bringing about positive communications."
Mattson sees this difficult time as the opportunity to do that. Many Muslim Americans have shied from interactions with those of other faiths, she says. Now, some recognize they have an obligation and really want to get involved. "In some ways, this crisis has given many people the push they needed."
from the December 13, 2001 edition
Muslim convert takes on leadership role
By Jane Lampman, Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
http://www.csmonitor.com/2001/1213/p16s1-lire.html
HARTFORD, CONN. - Ingrid Mattson had her own brush with the Taliban before they came to power. Back in 1989, just out of a Canadian university, she worked in a crowded Afghan refugee camp near Peshawar, Pakistan, teaching young girls and trying to improve conditions for their families.
"With some 100,000 refugees, it was a microcosm of most of Afghanistan," she says, "and we were able to work in the whole camp except for one small area, where the Taliban from Kandahar refused to let us teach the girls."
"Most Afghanis were perfectly happy to have their daughters educated," she adds. Her experience with the Taliban and their subsequent actions led Dr. Mattson - a convert to Islam and now a professor of Islamic studies at Hartford Seminary in Connecticut - to speak out against them in Muslim circles ever since.
A small, slender woman with an arrestingly calm demeanor, Mattson has no reluctance about speaking out on issues of import. Her articulate voice was one of the first after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks to call publicly on Muslims to condemn not only the attacks, but any resort to violence in the name of Islam.
"Who has the greatest duty to stop violence committed by Muslims against innocent non-Muslims in the name of Islam?" she asked. "The answer obviously is Muslims."
And her voice is one that is heard. Earlier this fall, she was elected by members of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), perhaps the largest and most diverse Muslim organization on the continent, to a two-year term as vice president. She is the first woman to hold that position.
It may seem surprising that a young Canadian-born convert should be the first. "Ingrid is seen by our community as a woman par excellence as representative of both Western and Muslim traditions," explains Sayyid Syeed, executive director of ISNA. "She is Western-born and raised, but has been well educated in Islamic scholarship."
And her election has significance beyond these borders, Dr. Syeed adds. "America is giving women the role that the Koran and the Prophet had given them originally, but has been denied them for cultural reasons in many regions," he says. Women, for example, are members of executive committees of Islamic centers across the country. "To have a woman vice president is a message from the Islamic community in North America to those in other countries."
The new VP is eager to work on ISNA priorities, such as helping to strengthen the Islamic schools across the US, and to broaden training for the local leadership of mosques and Islamic centers.
"ISNA provides training for leaders in such skills as marriage-counseling, conflict-resolution, and domestic-violence issues," Mattson explains. She has also spearheaded creation of an Islamic chaplaincy program to prepare men and women to work as chaplains in the military, in hospitals, in prisons, or on college campuses. The program will include a master's degree and a graduate certificate in Islamic chaplaincy through studies at interdenominational Hartford Seminary.
During an interview in her seminary office at the Macdonald Center for the Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations, Mattson credits Islam with bringing her back to belief in God.
She grew up in a Christian family in Kitchener, Ontario. Her father was a criminal lawyer and her mother stayed home to raise seven children. But she stopped attending church at age 16, she says, when she realized that she just didn't believe what she was being taught. She left religion entirely and studied philosophy at the university, embracing existentialism.
In a way, she adds, that philosophy (which emphasizes the freedom of the individual to make choices in a meaningless world) was good preparation for being a Muslim. "What you choose defines what you are, and while people may be limited in the choices they have in life, there is always the opportunity to choose good," she says.
"So the emphasis in Islam on human responsibility [for choosing right over wrong] made a lot of sense to me - it didn't absolve people from responsibility for their actions or give them an easy way out," she continues. "But when they embrace that responsibility, it gives them a sense of peace."
Most important, though, she says, "it was through reading the Koran that I became aware of the presence of God and was convinced of it - that is what touched my heart."
Given the importance to her of individual choice, Mattson is well aware of the major questions Westerners have about religious freedom in Muslim countries - and whether Muslims have the right to convert to other faiths. A few converts have had their children taken away or have been persecuted as a result. A specialist in Islamic law, Mattson says this is an area that is now being widely examined and contested.
"Many scholars have convincingly argued that apostasy is not a crime, while treason is, based on cases from the early days of Islam, where people who left the community for other religions were not punished, while those who left the political community and betrayed it were."
What happened historically in some Muslim societies, she says, was that no distinction was made between community affiliation and religious affiliation. But today's world makes other demands, and she supports the case being made for separation of the two.
Mattson's own research relates to application of Islamic law in society. Most recently, she's written on how poverty is defined when distributing the charitable funds Muslims donate in zakat - the annual almsgiving that is one of the five pillars of Islam.
At the center of her full life of teaching, research, and community activity, however, is her family - her husband and two children.
She and Amer Aetak met in the refugee camp in Pakistan, where he, an Egyptian engineer, was digging wells and constructing housing. One of her most touching memories is the response of refugee families when they learned the two had quietly married.
"When they heard I hadn't had a dress, they were so sad; they pooled what little money they had and presented me with this outfit of satin pants and a red velveteen dress with pompoms - it was incredible!" she says.
They now have a daughter, Soumayya, and a son, Ubayda, whom her husband helped care for while she completed her doctorate at the University of Chicago. The children attend public schools in West Hartford, where Mr. Aetak is a systems application engineer.
Since Sept. 11, life has become even fuller with the need to respond to constant calls from community groups and the press about Islam and where US Muslims stand. Besides giving talks and interviews, Mattson joined with her seminary colleagues in offering a Web course on Islam via Beliefnet.com.
When the terrorist attacks occurred, she found herself thinking, "It's all over - all the work you have done has gone down the drain." Just the week before, she had left ISNA's annual convention, attended by 40,000 people, "full of optimism, confident that American Muslims had begun to find a way to contribute positively to the public life of this country, while preserving our distinct identity."
Now, clearly weary with the strain of the past few weeks, she is committed to keeping the communication going.
"Ingrid always wants people to communicate, to keep the dialogue open," whether it's between family members or across faith communities, says Annie Higgins, a close friend from graduate-school days in Chicago.
Ms. Higgins remembers a small incident that occurred when she stopped to say goodbye to the family before going away for two years. Little Soumayya, unhappy about the day's events, wouldn't speak to her. But later that evening, the child phoned to say, "Annie, I love you."
She wasn't under pressure to do so, Higgins says. It's simply that her mother quietly talks things through. "Ingrid just doesn't like to see any door closed and has a way of always bringing about positive communications."
Mattson sees this difficult time as the opportunity to do that. Many Muslim Americans have shied from interactions with those of other faiths, she says. Now, some recognize they have an obligation and really want to get involved. "In some ways, this crisis has given many people the push they needed."
Letter to CSM: NY and Jerus, pub'd 7 feb 1997
The Christian Science Monitor
pub'd 7 feb 1997
http://www.csmonitor.com/1997/0207/020797.opin.letters.1.html
New York and Jerusalem
The Monitor has historically served as a voice of balance on Middle Eastern concerns, correcting misconceptions often found in the news media. Thus I find it incongruous to read a statement in the Jan. 9 article, "Crusade in Jerusalem," which misrepresents reality and takes a scoffing tone. In comparing New York and Jerusalem, the writer shows how different Jerusalem is: "No one is trying to break off a piece of New York and make it the capital of another nation." Is the writer unaware that this "piece," referred to as "East Jerusalem," is occupied territory? Or that no nation - not even the US - has recognized Israel's annexation? Israel has tried, through occupation, to nullify Palestinian claims to their own land. The occupation of Arab Jerusalem is not recognized by international law.
Perhaps there are more similarities between New York and Jerusalem, in each mayor's approach to Palestinians. When President Arafat attended a function in New York last year, while meeting at the United Nations, Mayor Giuliani had him bodily removed from the concert hall. What Mr. Giuliani did to the world's most-recognized Palestinian, Mayor Olmert is trying to do to ordinary Palestinian residents of Jerusalem. Through harsher residency requirements that separate families, land confiscations, and other illegal methods, Mayor Olmert is creating facts on the ground by removing Jerusalem's Palestinian residents.
Annie C. Higgins
Chicago
pub'd 7 feb 1997
http://www.csmonitor.com/1997/0207/020797.opin.letters.1.html
New York and Jerusalem
The Monitor has historically served as a voice of balance on Middle Eastern concerns, correcting misconceptions often found in the news media. Thus I find it incongruous to read a statement in the Jan. 9 article, "Crusade in Jerusalem," which misrepresents reality and takes a scoffing tone. In comparing New York and Jerusalem, the writer shows how different Jerusalem is: "No one is trying to break off a piece of New York and make it the capital of another nation." Is the writer unaware that this "piece," referred to as "East Jerusalem," is occupied territory? Or that no nation - not even the US - has recognized Israel's annexation? Israel has tried, through occupation, to nullify Palestinian claims to their own land. The occupation of Arab Jerusalem is not recognized by international law.
Perhaps there are more similarities between New York and Jerusalem, in each mayor's approach to Palestinians. When President Arafat attended a function in New York last year, while meeting at the United Nations, Mayor Giuliani had him bodily removed from the concert hall. What Mr. Giuliani did to the world's most-recognized Palestinian, Mayor Olmert is trying to do to ordinary Palestinian residents of Jerusalem. Through harsher residency requirements that separate families, land confiscations, and other illegal methods, Mayor Olmert is creating facts on the ground by removing Jerusalem's Palestinian residents.
Annie C. Higgins
Chicago
Letter to CSM: Palestinian State, pub'd 10 jan 2003
The Christian Science Monitor
pub'd 10 jan 2003
http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0110/p10s01-cole.html
LettersContemplating a Palestinian state
Regarding "A bomb's echoes"
Israeli attacks on civilians in occupied Palestine have been as despicable as any in the past. "A six-week lull in suicide bombings" saw Israel's usual steady grind of killing with a death toll of more than 25 Palestinians. Israel uses any reaction to its blood-drenched occupation as an excuse to block constructive action.
Walk in the streets of any Palestinian village and you will see that 3 million people here, not to mention the diaspora, want freedom from the vise-like grip of occupation. As I write, Israeli F-16s circle overhead. A local youth says, "If you were to write volumes of letters, it wouldn't be enough." Nobody pays attention. Start paying attention. Dr. Annie Higgins Jenin, West Bank Jenin Refugee Camp
pub'd 10 jan 2003
http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0110/p10s01-cole.html
LettersContemplating a Palestinian state
Regarding "A bomb's echoes"
Israeli attacks on civilians in occupied Palestine have been as despicable as any in the past. "A six-week lull in suicide bombings" saw Israel's usual steady grind of killing with a death toll of more than 25 Palestinians. Israel uses any reaction to its blood-drenched occupation as an excuse to block constructive action.
Walk in the streets of any Palestinian village and you will see that 3 million people here, not to mention the diaspora, want freedom from the vise-like grip of occupation. As I write, Israeli F-16s circle overhead. A local youth says, "If you were to write volumes of letters, it wouldn't be enough." Nobody pays attention. Start paying attention. Dr. Annie Higgins Jenin, West Bank Jenin Refugee Camp
Letter to CSM: Consumption, pub'd 5 feb 2003
The Christian Science Monitor
pub'd 5 feb 2003
http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0205/p08s02-cole.html
Resource consumption vs. birthrates
In response to Jackie Leonard-Dimmick's letter in the Jan. 30 "Readers Write": Her remarks on birthrates reflect a common misconception about the correlation between the number of babies born and each baby's demand for earth's resources. As two new American babies grow in our US society, they consume approximately as much as 14 babies in some developing countries. Perhaps we could learn from populations that use less of the world's resources, and start using them more humanely. Annie Higgins Jenin, West Bank
pub'd 5 feb 2003
http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0205/p08s02-cole.html
Resource consumption vs. birthrates
In response to Jackie Leonard-Dimmick's letter in the Jan. 30 "Readers Write": Her remarks on birthrates reflect a common misconception about the correlation between the number of babies born and each baby's demand for earth's resources. As two new American babies grow in our US society, they consume approximately as much as 14 babies in some developing countries. Perhaps we could learn from populations that use less of the world's resources, and start using them more humanely. Annie Higgins Jenin, West Bank
Letter to CSM: Church and mosque, pub'd 7 may 2004
The Christian Science Monitor
pub'd 7 may 2004
http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0507/p08s01-cole.html
Welcome Islamic 'call to prayer'
Regarding your April 30 article "A call to prayer - by loudspeaker": I awoke this morning to the most melodious sound: the muezzin of the nearby mosque was calling the dawn prayer. His lilting voice made it seem the whole universe was inviting one to bask in its balance. Whenever I return to the US from an Arab country, I miss the call to prayer, although Islam is not my religion. I hope the residents of Hamtramck, Mich., will consider welcoming their neighbors' practice of their faith. Residents might take note that "Allah" is the name of God in the Arabic version of the Bible; hence, if you are Christian or Jewish, Allah is your God. In Arab countries, church bells and the muezzin's calls are harmonious neighbors - what a beautiful example to follow.
Annie C. Higgins Damascus, Syria
nb: This was in response to an article about complaints by Christian residents in Hamtramck, Michigan.
pub'd 7 may 2004
http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0507/p08s01-cole.html
Welcome Islamic 'call to prayer'
Regarding your April 30 article "A call to prayer - by loudspeaker": I awoke this morning to the most melodious sound: the muezzin of the nearby mosque was calling the dawn prayer. His lilting voice made it seem the whole universe was inviting one to bask in its balance. Whenever I return to the US from an Arab country, I miss the call to prayer, although Islam is not my religion. I hope the residents of Hamtramck, Mich., will consider welcoming their neighbors' practice of their faith. Residents might take note that "Allah" is the name of God in the Arabic version of the Bible; hence, if you are Christian or Jewish, Allah is your God. In Arab countries, church bells and the muezzin's calls are harmonious neighbors - what a beautiful example to follow.
Annie C. Higgins Damascus, Syria
nb: This was in response to an article about complaints by Christian residents in Hamtramck, Michigan.
Letter to CSM: Refugees, pub'd 23 dec 1987
the Christian Science Monitor
23 december 1987
Reaching out to refugees
I was very glad to see the article ``Plight of Sudan's `displaced' people: `illegal residents' in their own land,'' Nov. 24.
I'd like to point out that the phenomenon of ineligibility for refugee aid is not limited to those displaced within the borders of their own countries. I have met a sizable number of displaced Africans in the past year, and many who do ``flee across borders because they fear racial, religious, political, or social persecution'' are not considered refugees by the United Nations High Commission on Refugees. Therefore, they are not eligible for food, medical care, and shelter from this agency or others.
The definition of ``refugee'' is very specific, and fleeing civil war and starvation does not automatically qualify one for refugee status. Without official refugee status, a person cannot obtain a visa for passage to another country. The choice thus remains to return to their country and possibly face worse persecution than before they left, or to remain illegally in an unwilling host country. This predicament is of course related to the quotas on immigrants imposed by developed countries.
Is there any hope in sight? Some will testify that there is. People living or traveling in places such as Egypt have been able to reach out to refugees, whether officially categorized as such or not. These people have had a significant impact on individual lives, albeit in a relatively small number of cases. I tend to think that it is lack of awareness rather than lack of concern that keeps these instances rare. Certainly more can be done.
For a start, if each traveler to Africa were to take in not only the sights, but also the signs of the times, and seek out even a small way to ameliorate the situation of refugees, perhaps we would eventually read a more hopeful headline. No effort is too small when human lives are at stake.
Annie C. Higgins River Forest, Ill.
23 december 1987
Reaching out to refugees
I was very glad to see the article ``Plight of Sudan's `displaced' people: `illegal residents' in their own land,'' Nov. 24.
I'd like to point out that the phenomenon of ineligibility for refugee aid is not limited to those displaced within the borders of their own countries. I have met a sizable number of displaced Africans in the past year, and many who do ``flee across borders because they fear racial, religious, political, or social persecution'' are not considered refugees by the United Nations High Commission on Refugees. Therefore, they are not eligible for food, medical care, and shelter from this agency or others.
The definition of ``refugee'' is very specific, and fleeing civil war and starvation does not automatically qualify one for refugee status. Without official refugee status, a person cannot obtain a visa for passage to another country. The choice thus remains to return to their country and possibly face worse persecution than before they left, or to remain illegally in an unwilling host country. This predicament is of course related to the quotas on immigrants imposed by developed countries.
Is there any hope in sight? Some will testify that there is. People living or traveling in places such as Egypt have been able to reach out to refugees, whether officially categorized as such or not. These people have had a significant impact on individual lives, albeit in a relatively small number of cases. I tend to think that it is lack of awareness rather than lack of concern that keeps these instances rare. Certainly more can be done.
For a start, if each traveler to Africa were to take in not only the sights, but also the signs of the times, and seek out even a small way to ameliorate the situation of refugees, perhaps we would eventually read a more hopeful headline. No effort is too small when human lives are at stake.
Annie C. Higgins River Forest, Ill.
Interview: H Mahmood, Chicago Flame 30 apr 2002
Chicago Flame - Arabic lecturer teaches language, reaches across cultures
Spotlight
By: Hafsa Naz Mahmood
Posted: 4/30/02
As the University of Illinois at Chicago's language department continues to
grow, Annie Higgins, a lecturer of Arabic in the Department of Classics and
Mediterranean Studies, is sailing right along.
Higgins earned a doctorate degree in Islamic and Arabic studies, with a focus on
early Islamic history, from the University of Chicago.
"I wrote about a political religious sect, which looks especially at identity
issues such as poetry, for instance," Higgins said.
"These issues of identity and how it leads to current events are important to me
in any age and are a part of what I take an interest in.
"I studied in Egypt for a little more than two years, and learned some
recitation of the Koran," she said.
Higgins began teaching at UIC in 1997. She said that was the first year two
Arabic classes (Arabic 101 and 103) were offered concurrently. 2001 was the
first year Arabic 201 was offered.
Two years ago, Arabic and Hebrew were put into the Classics Department and the
name was changed to Department of Classics and Mediterranean Studies.
Higgins has striven to be involved in humanitarian efforts. "In December of
2001, I made a trip to Lebanon and visited four refugee camps — Shatila,
Nahrlal, Barid, Burjalh, which I was at on New Year's Eve," she said.
The United Nations Refugee Works Agency was established in 1948, when
Palestinians fled their homelands.
"There are schools and community centers, and while I was there, some students,
young people were taking computers to these camps to help with others'
education.
"I went mainly for the person-to-person contact, and as part of education for us
here in Chicago. It's getting to be aware that they exist, and to gain knowledge
of what life is out like there. These people were born as refugees, and I find
it amazing how they maintain a sense of hope," Higgins said.
"Education is very important to them, although they can't necessarily follow
dreams and put goals into practice. Because refugees are not allowed to work in
Lebanon, there are some people who have medical degrees, but are not able put
their skills into practice."
After returning from Lebanon, she "wanted to make a connection between UIC
students in Chicago and Palestinian students in refugee camps in Lebanon, in
part because those students are in a way cut off, and sort of forgotten,"
Higgins said.
She feels people have forgotten about 1948, when many Palestinians fled to
Lebanon. Higgins had her Arabic 102 students write to other young Palestinian
refugees in these camps.
"My goal was for them to be able to reach out a little bit and get acquainted
with our students, and our students to get acquainted with them."
This year is Higgins' last teaching both 100-level Arabic classes. "Next year
there will be one more teacher, who will be teaching Arabic 101/102 and another
course in Islamic studies," she said.
Higgins also is excited a new minor is being offered in Middle Eastern Studies
through the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
"LAS has developed a plan of requirements, and insha Allah, (God willing),
students will be able to declare a Middle Eastern Studies minor this coming
year."
Higgins said she also is grateful for her students.
"I think I really am fortunate because the students who take Arabic are there
because they want to be there. Even though they know it's challenging, there is
a high level of commitment and enthusiasm, and I am fortunate to have that.
Seeing my students is something I look forward to."
© Copyright 2008 Chicago Flame
Spotlight
By: Hafsa Naz Mahmood
Posted: 4/30/02
As the University of Illinois at Chicago's language department continues to
grow, Annie Higgins, a lecturer of Arabic in the Department of Classics and
Mediterranean Studies, is sailing right along.
Higgins earned a doctorate degree in Islamic and Arabic studies, with a focus on
early Islamic history, from the University of Chicago.
"I wrote about a political religious sect, which looks especially at identity
issues such as poetry, for instance," Higgins said.
"These issues of identity and how it leads to current events are important to me
in any age and are a part of what I take an interest in.
"I studied in Egypt for a little more than two years, and learned some
recitation of the Koran," she said.
Higgins began teaching at UIC in 1997. She said that was the first year two
Arabic classes (Arabic 101 and 103) were offered concurrently. 2001 was the
first year Arabic 201 was offered.
Two years ago, Arabic and Hebrew were put into the Classics Department and the
name was changed to Department of Classics and Mediterranean Studies.
Higgins has striven to be involved in humanitarian efforts. "In December of
2001, I made a trip to Lebanon and visited four refugee camps — Shatila,
Nahrlal, Barid, Burjalh, which I was at on New Year's Eve," she said.
The United Nations Refugee Works Agency was established in 1948, when
Palestinians fled their homelands.
"There are schools and community centers, and while I was there, some students,
young people were taking computers to these camps to help with others'
education.
"I went mainly for the person-to-person contact, and as part of education for us
here in Chicago. It's getting to be aware that they exist, and to gain knowledge
of what life is out like there. These people were born as refugees, and I find
it amazing how they maintain a sense of hope," Higgins said.
"Education is very important to them, although they can't necessarily follow
dreams and put goals into practice. Because refugees are not allowed to work in
Lebanon, there are some people who have medical degrees, but are not able put
their skills into practice."
After returning from Lebanon, she "wanted to make a connection between UIC
students in Chicago and Palestinian students in refugee camps in Lebanon, in
part because those students are in a way cut off, and sort of forgotten,"
Higgins said.
She feels people have forgotten about 1948, when many Palestinians fled to
Lebanon. Higgins had her Arabic 102 students write to other young Palestinian
refugees in these camps.
"My goal was for them to be able to reach out a little bit and get acquainted
with our students, and our students to get acquainted with them."
This year is Higgins' last teaching both 100-level Arabic classes. "Next year
there will be one more teacher, who will be teaching Arabic 101/102 and another
course in Islamic studies," she said.
Higgins also is excited a new minor is being offered in Middle Eastern Studies
through the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
"LAS has developed a plan of requirements, and insha Allah, (God willing),
students will be able to declare a Middle Eastern Studies minor this coming
year."
Higgins said she also is grateful for her students.
"I think I really am fortunate because the students who take Arabic are there
because they want to be there. Even though they know it's challenging, there is
a high level of commitment and enthusiasm, and I am fortunate to have that.
Seeing my students is something I look forward to."
© Copyright 2008 Chicago Flame
Article: W Payton, Chicago Flame 10 sept 2002
Humanitarian help
Former professor recounts time in Palestinian refugee camps
Whitney Payton
Issue date: 9/10/02 Section: News
http://media.www.chicagoflame.com/media/storage/paper519/news/2002/09/10/News/Humanitarian.Help-268863.shtml
Gold shoes lit up the African-American Cultural Center on Thursday, when Annie Higgins spoke about her recent experience in Palestine. And her gold shoes matched her spirit last summer as she brought light to the people living in refugee camps in the country torn by conflict with Israel.Higgins is a former University of Illinois at Chicago lecturer and professor of Arabic in the Department of Classics and Mediterranean Studies and a graduate of the University of Chicago. She has resigned from her position at UIC and will be spending a year conducting research in the Middle East, mostly focusing on Arabic poetry and the political and religious references found within it."I have enjoyed my Arabic teaching at UIC, especially because my students have been extremely devoted to critical thinking and looking at issues deeply," Higgins said.She went to Palestine with a group for an International Solidarity Movement from May 29 to June 21, visiting refugee camps in Balata and Jenin. Higgins, doctors and technicians helped families in the Palestinian refugee camps. She also spent time in Jerusalem.Higgins spoke Thursday at the African-American Cultural Center in Adams Hall. Her presentation, titled "Eyewitness: Israel's Occupation of Palestine," offered her personal accounts of her experiences in Palestine.She also presented a personalized slide presentation to the audience, about 25 undergraduate and graduate students, medical students and faculty members."Instead of looking at the political side, I want to look at the human side," Higgins said of the situation in Palestine.In March, the Independent Media Center put out a call for medical personnel to go to Palestine."There's a primitive urge to go help people," said Mike Nordine, a sophomore prenursing student at UIC and an emergency medical technician. Nordine went to Palestine from May 20 to June 23, and he also spoke Thursday about his experiences there.
Nordine and another EMT went to Palestine and Israel as autonomous individuals, he said, without political motives.Higgins talked about a young man in Balata who was studying in his room when he was killed by a sniper. His mother was shot two days later while she was kneading bread in her kitchen.Violence was present every day during Higgins' visit to Palestine."I saw an ambulance go by and heard shooting. They were shooting at the ambulance," she said. "There was a soldier firing an M-16."Nordine worked to help get ambulances through checkpoints by talking to Israeli soldiers. He felt the checkpoints were used "as a way of harassing people by opening the checkpoint for 15 seconds and letting 10 cars through, and then closing them for a half an hour so lines would build up," he said.Most Americans in the International Solidarity Movement group she was with were Jewish, Higgins said. There are Jewish and Israeli organizations that raise concerns and protests against some of Israel's actions.During the discussion segment of the lecture, Alexandria Kalika, a UIC senior majoring in physics, asked Higgins, "What is the attitude toward suicide bombing?" "I didn't hear people actively condemning them, or supporting it, but it is not a surprise anymore" to hear about suicide bombings, Higgins said.Another question Kalika raised concerned what Palestinians want for themselves."They want democracy, fair elections and peace with Israel," Nordine said. "No one I met liked (Palestinian leader Yasser) Arafat."Palestinians in the refugee camp asked Higgins why America and the world are letting these injustices happen."We have the privilege of taxation with representation. As U.S. taxpayers, we are involved by supporting a brutal system of apartheid and illegal collective punishment of an entire population," Higgins said. "Ask yourself, 'Am I doing this in the name of democracy? What am I doing to support democracy for Israelis and Palestinians alike?'"Around campus, UIC students talked about how they see the situation in Palestine. "The U.S. is being partial. It's unfair to Palestinians," Hafiz Ojler said. "I think it's wrong because Palestinians don't have their own land," Dodg Wan said. "Suicide bombing is not right, but they don't have any other means of retaliation.""There is hope as long as we think of Palestinians and Israelis as humans, and we work together toward human rights for everyone," Higgins said.
Media Credit: Photo Courtesy of Annie Higgins
Annie Higgins, former UIC professor of Arabic, stands outside the masjid Al-Aqsa in Jerusalem. Higgins recently returned from her humanitarian trip to help families in refugee camps in the Middle East.
Former professor recounts time in Palestinian refugee camps
Whitney Payton
Issue date: 9/10/02 Section: News
http://media.www.chicagoflame.com/media/storage/paper519/news/2002/09/10/News/Humanitarian.Help-268863.shtml
Gold shoes lit up the African-American Cultural Center on Thursday, when Annie Higgins spoke about her recent experience in Palestine. And her gold shoes matched her spirit last summer as she brought light to the people living in refugee camps in the country torn by conflict with Israel.Higgins is a former University of Illinois at Chicago lecturer and professor of Arabic in the Department of Classics and Mediterranean Studies and a graduate of the University of Chicago. She has resigned from her position at UIC and will be spending a year conducting research in the Middle East, mostly focusing on Arabic poetry and the political and religious references found within it."I have enjoyed my Arabic teaching at UIC, especially because my students have been extremely devoted to critical thinking and looking at issues deeply," Higgins said.She went to Palestine with a group for an International Solidarity Movement from May 29 to June 21, visiting refugee camps in Balata and Jenin. Higgins, doctors and technicians helped families in the Palestinian refugee camps. She also spent time in Jerusalem.Higgins spoke Thursday at the African-American Cultural Center in Adams Hall. Her presentation, titled "Eyewitness: Israel's Occupation of Palestine," offered her personal accounts of her experiences in Palestine.She also presented a personalized slide presentation to the audience, about 25 undergraduate and graduate students, medical students and faculty members."Instead of looking at the political side, I want to look at the human side," Higgins said of the situation in Palestine.In March, the Independent Media Center put out a call for medical personnel to go to Palestine."There's a primitive urge to go help people," said Mike Nordine, a sophomore prenursing student at UIC and an emergency medical technician. Nordine went to Palestine from May 20 to June 23, and he also spoke Thursday about his experiences there.
Nordine and another EMT went to Palestine and Israel as autonomous individuals, he said, without political motives.Higgins talked about a young man in Balata who was studying in his room when he was killed by a sniper. His mother was shot two days later while she was kneading bread in her kitchen.Violence was present every day during Higgins' visit to Palestine."I saw an ambulance go by and heard shooting. They were shooting at the ambulance," she said. "There was a soldier firing an M-16."Nordine worked to help get ambulances through checkpoints by talking to Israeli soldiers. He felt the checkpoints were used "as a way of harassing people by opening the checkpoint for 15 seconds and letting 10 cars through, and then closing them for a half an hour so lines would build up," he said.Most Americans in the International Solidarity Movement group she was with were Jewish, Higgins said. There are Jewish and Israeli organizations that raise concerns and protests against some of Israel's actions.During the discussion segment of the lecture, Alexandria Kalika, a UIC senior majoring in physics, asked Higgins, "What is the attitude toward suicide bombing?" "I didn't hear people actively condemning them, or supporting it, but it is not a surprise anymore" to hear about suicide bombings, Higgins said.Another question Kalika raised concerned what Palestinians want for themselves."They want democracy, fair elections and peace with Israel," Nordine said. "No one I met liked (Palestinian leader Yasser) Arafat."Palestinians in the refugee camp asked Higgins why America and the world are letting these injustices happen."We have the privilege of taxation with representation. As U.S. taxpayers, we are involved by supporting a brutal system of apartheid and illegal collective punishment of an entire population," Higgins said. "Ask yourself, 'Am I doing this in the name of democracy? What am I doing to support democracy for Israelis and Palestinians alike?'"Around campus, UIC students talked about how they see the situation in Palestine. "The U.S. is being partial. It's unfair to Palestinians," Hafiz Ojler said. "I think it's wrong because Palestinians don't have their own land," Dodg Wan said. "Suicide bombing is not right, but they don't have any other means of retaliation.""There is hope as long as we think of Palestinians and Israelis as humans, and we work together toward human rights for everyone," Higgins said.
Media Credit: Photo Courtesy of Annie Higgins
Annie Higgins, former UIC professor of Arabic, stands outside the masjid Al-Aqsa in Jerusalem. Higgins recently returned from her humanitarian trip to help families in refugee camps in the Middle East.
Interview by G Nkrumah: Al-Ahram Weekly
Annie Higgins: She is finding friends, not looking for victims
Bread and conscience: Profile by Gamal Nkrumah
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2003/631/profile.htm
Ahwak, 'I am passionate about you', by Abdel- Halim Hafez, is Annie Higgin's favourite Arabic song. The lyrics of the song might well refer to her love affair with Palestine. Higgins, an American- born peace activist and an independent international who has been living among Palestinians in the Jenin Refugee Camp for the past six months first went to Palestine with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) to stay with Palestinians in the Balata Refugee Camp near Nablus.
She fell in love with Palestine and knew she would return.
"My main goals were twofold: one, to use my presence to help people in ways they felt would be beneficial and to acquaint people outside Palestine with Palestinians at home, in more normal settings... to get to know them as friends rather than as victims," Higgins explained.
Many of her friends in the ISM were subsequently detained by the Israeli authorities and summarily deported says Higgins, whose acquaintance with Egypt long predated her encounter with Palestine.
She first came to Egypt in 1986 to study Arabic at the American University in Cairo (AUC). She returned again in 1992 to study at Al-Azhar on a Fulbright-Hays fellowship.
"I originally took up the study of Arabic because I felt that I was hearing only one side of the story. I decided to learn the language and hear Arabs speaking for themselves in their own language."
Higgins says that her commitment to Palestine was sparked by Edward Said during a lecture he gave at the University of Chicago during the Gulf War: "Both the spirit and the words of his talk made me see that the injustices done to the Palestinians are injustices to all and redressing these wrongs pertains to all who cherish some degree of autonomy in their lives."
In spite of her slender frame everything about the strawberry blonde with sparkling blue eyes and a ready smile is robust. She is a bundle of energy, hopping from one anti-war demonstration to another, from one refugee camp to another.
"Palestine's liberation is America's liberation," Higgins told a crowd of anti-war protestors in Cairo, speaking in impeccable Arabic.
"Are you Tahani?" one boy asked. Word was out. She had become a minor celebrity among anti-war protestors in Cairo after the widespread circulation of a photograph in which she holds her "American (female) Against the War" banner written in black, green and red letters against a white background -- the colours of the Palestinian -- and many other Arab countries' -- flags.
"You cannot impose democracy on Iraq by dropping bombs," Tahani -- as the crowds prefer to call her -- tells her listeners. She said that US policies are harming other people, innocent victims, lamenting her compatriots' seeming complacency. "It is almost as if my fellow Americans don't want to find out the truth."
But it would be a mistake to assume that there is any sentimentality in her work.
"At one of the moments of exuberance over an American woman opposing the aggression against Iraq a man offered to carry me on his shoulders," Higgins scowls, beating her chest in mock outrage. "I balked, so a woman carried me on her shoulders while the crowd cheered," she tells me, describing her experiences at the downtown Cairo demonstration that took place on 20 March.
Visiting Egypt has allowed Higgins an opportunity to familiarise Cairene anti-war protestors about the latest developments in Jenin.
"They need no reminders over here," her face lights up. Still, the crowds are fascinated by her thought-provoking, upbeat and promising tales of the lives of the Palestinians of Jenin Refugee Camp. It was they who christened her Tahani, which means "felicity" in Arabic. But "Tahani is just a longer version of Annie, really," she tells me in jest.
Higgins believes that Palestine has provided her with a priceless educational experience. "Palestinians are a generous people. They share what little they have. I am always awed by their generosity to each other and to foreigners."
Her mission entails correcting the "false picture" of Palestine in Western eyes. She says the truth must be told, and told loud and clear.
"Silence contributes to the oppression of the Palestinians," Higgins warns. "Before I went to Palestine I knew something of the Palestinians' predicament. But now I know that silence, keeping quiet about the Palestinian problem, is the crux of the Middle East crisis."
Higgins was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. She favourably compares the Jenin Refugee Camp to her native city: "Can you imagine if a Palestinian went to my home city, Chicago, and asked to spend the night at the house of a total stranger?"
More to the point: "There are thousands of homeless people in Chicago. There are no homeless people in Jenin Camp -- even after the April 2002 massacres and the systematic demolition of houses."
Hawiya -- identity -- is the one Arabic word all Israeli soldiers know. Higgins, perceptively, touches a raw nerve. "But the Israeli soldiers don't know what their identity is. They realise that the Palestinians have traditions and they envy the Palestinians their strong sense of identity."
She decries the veneration of foreigners and so- called foreign experts. "Many Palestinians living in the camps hope that someone will come from the outside and bring magic solutions."
Tragedy generates narrative. The hope that springs out of the ashes of despair can't help offering a story.
"Once you mention the word Palestine it immediately becomes a political subject," says Higgins. She doesn't consider herself a "political type". She feels that her mission is to honour the human voice. "Honouring the right to speak," is how she puts it. But she realises that her mission has political implications.
"Seeing my interest in exposing the oppression of the Palestinian people, the inhabitants of the Jenin Camp warmed to me. Any foreigner qualifies as a voice to the outside world. To the Palestinians every foreigner is a journalist who can potentially broadcast their plight to the outside world."
And for Annie Higgins the plight of the Palestinians catalyses human relationships and solidifies lines of communication. Her public persona is reinforced by distinctive Palestinian paraphernalia, a politically correct kufiyya, a tiny silver olive tree, the dangling photographs of two young martyrs of whom she was especially fond.
And Palestine and the Palestinian cause emerge as a consuming passion which infects most people who care to listen to the stories she tells about her life in Jenin Refugee Camp.
Ironically it was Egypt, and not Palestine, that was her first introduction to the Arab world. And, she loves Egypt with a passion, too, loves "the vibrancy, the colour and the generosity of spirit".
Different groups of demonstrators were pouring into Tahrir Square, the hub of Cairo. While I left early and made my way back to the office to work on this profile, Higgins, I was told later, stayed on inspiring and being inspired by the crowds. Higgins feels a special affinity with children and at the Cairo anti-war demonstrations she says that she had several interesting encounters with children.
"One, about eight years old, asked me why America wants to hurt Iraqi and Palestinian children. I said I didn't know, but told him I was glad that he cares about children in Iraq and Palestine. And I told [the children] that they reminded me of my young friends in Jenin." Indeed, her encounters with the children of Cairo who took part in the anti-war demonstrations that rocked the city were reminiscent of her experiences with the children she left behind in Palestine. "I felt as if I were back in Jenin Refugee Camp with cadres of children providing a friendly following."
"Many people gave me a thumbs-up or said 'thank you' as I passed them. Would a crowd of Americans treat an Arab with such respect these days?" she asks, flinging her hands wide open as if in despair.
After a two-hour chat over coffee and a photo session with Al-Ahram Weekly's photographer Randa Shaath, Higgins and I walked from the Nile Hilton, passing the Arab League headquarters, as we headed to the demonstration at 1.30pm. Police had cordoned off the American and British embassies.
"When I left about 9pm Tahrir Square was still full of demonstrators against America's aggression on Iraq. The [Egyptian] security forces returned my greetings as I headed for the Internet café," Higgins told me later. "Candles illuminated the proceedings and there was a festive air. I thought of the skies of Baghdad illuminated by rockets," she added.
Higgins moves on to the prickly topic of Palestinian collaborators. She notes that the Palestinians never use the term jasuss, or spy, but rather prefer to use ameel, or collaborator. She witnessed an incident in which one such alleged collaborator was hospitalised after a revenge attack.
"Not one of his family wanted to stay with him in hospital. But, an elder complained, 'what good will it do to kill him? These young people are being used.' That was a wise observation," Higgins said.
The Israelis often wonder how the Palestinians possess the stamina and patience to endure their brutal occupation.
"I love rooftops," Higgins said, explaining that like all Palestinians in Jenin she felt constantly watched by the Israelis.
She recalls a brush with the Israeli army. She saw Apache fighter helicopters coming straight at her as she was reading on the rooftop.
"I never ran so fast in my life. I was sure they were coming for me."
Higgins speaks of the predicament of those hunted by the Israelis: "Nobody wants to have a wanted man in their house. These wanted men are on the run. They are constantly moving from house to house."
Her yearning for peace and justice in Palestine is movingly real. Her single-minded dedication to Palestine is all the more endearing because her mannerisms are underpinned by an engaging lovability, a vulnerability and fragility.
In Palestine, she lives in much the same manner as her hosts and in humility she learns a little about their ways. A touching bedtime scene poignantly captures the mutual love and affection that binds visitor to host: "As we are settling onto our floor-level mattresses for the night, Raghda kisses me on the four diamond-points of my face, 'That's how you kiss a shahid [martyr] on the bier'. She has expeience with a number of family members," Tahani muses.
The American media is hopelessly biased against the Palestinians, even to the extent of plastering over the death of a young American woman who was run over by an Israeli armoured .00bulldozer. If there were any doubts about that, Rachel Corrie's tragic death removed them. "I feel freedom of speech in Palestine," she assures me. "More so than in the United States. And Rachel Corrie offered her own life as a price for her convictions defending Palestinian children."
Higgins says that she has been silenced in the US. "Once you mention Jenin in the US you are considered no patriot because you are critical of Israel. I've been silenced just for mentioning the word Jenin," she says, though she insists that she does not want to "advertise" the tragedy of the Jenin massacre.
"I want to show the human side. I want to tell the world why it is we do not want Jenin destroyed. The beautiful culture of the Palestinian people is worth saving. I want the world, and especially America, to get to know the Palestinian people a little better."
Higgins wrote a scathing letter of criticism to the Christian Science Monitor recently because of what she felt was the paper's biased coverage in Israel's favour.
"Israel has nuclear weapons and has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and uses its conventional weapons for massive bloodletting and bulldozing, even of humans," Higgins wrote in protest against an editorial in the Christian Science Monitor.
At a lecture she gave at AUC Higgins was challenged to say something about democracy, or the lack of it, in the occupied territories under the Palestinian Authority. "There is no American democracy," she responded, and spoke instead about the brutal reality of America's blind backing of Israel. For Higgins this double standard remains confusing.
When, Higgins wonders will the crimes against humanity committed by Israel in the occupied territories become too glaring to be overlooked?
An accomplished academic, Higgins obtained a PhD in 2001 from the University of Chicago's Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilisations. The subject of her doctoral thesis was The Qur'anic Exchange of the Self in the Poetry of Shurat (Khariji) Political Identity.
Higgins lectured at the University of Illinois before giving up teaching to serve as an international in Palestine. She describes herself as an "independent scholar" but she doesn't rule out a return to academia.
She has presented papers on topics as diverse as the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon; Qur'anic Borrowings in Ummayyad Poetry; Tuareg Poetry and a paper entitled The Qur'an: God Speaks to the Seminar of Islam, Meadville- Lombard Theological Seminary, Chicago.
Higgins' father was a lawyer, and apolitical. Her mother, who went on anti-Vietnam War protest marches and scrupulously read Congressional Reports, was more of a political animal. The youngest of four sisters, Higgins says that she was brought up in an environment in which visitors were always welcome. "We've always had visitors in our house," she explained, saying that she was socialised early to accept cultures and traditions other than her own.
As an adult Higgins never made much money and was never particularly interested in making a fast buck. Her university job paid the bills and helped her save a little money.
"I saved half my salary, but I didn't have specific plans," she explains. "I never do. I just quit my job at the university and left for Palestine. Most of the Palestinians I got to know in Jenin couldn't understand why I gave up my job as a lecturer in America to come and live among them in a refugee camp."
She returns to the subject of Palestinian generosity: "I was accustomed to being poor but I never felt deprived. I don't spend much money. And it doesn't really cost much to live in Jenin Camp. I'm so privileged. The doors are open before I actually get to the doorstep. I don't have to ask people to let me in."
There was another impulse behind Higgins' decision to move to Palestine, and it had much to do with family values. Her upbringing was one dynamic, religion another.
"I think I understand the Bible more now. Jesus walked in this very place called Jenin."
She smiles broadly and shrugs her shoulders: "I feel like I am bringing one loaf of bread to Palestine."
"The Palestinians, like Jesus, are always trying to feed people. Jesus was talking and talking, telling people to look beyond the material, and then he suddenly turned round and asked his listeners if they were hungry. That is typically Palestinian."
Bread and conscience: Profile by Gamal Nkrumah
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2003/631/profile.htm
Ahwak, 'I am passionate about you', by Abdel- Halim Hafez, is Annie Higgin's favourite Arabic song. The lyrics of the song might well refer to her love affair with Palestine. Higgins, an American- born peace activist and an independent international who has been living among Palestinians in the Jenin Refugee Camp for the past six months first went to Palestine with the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) to stay with Palestinians in the Balata Refugee Camp near Nablus.
She fell in love with Palestine and knew she would return.
"My main goals were twofold: one, to use my presence to help people in ways they felt would be beneficial and to acquaint people outside Palestine with Palestinians at home, in more normal settings... to get to know them as friends rather than as victims," Higgins explained.
Many of her friends in the ISM were subsequently detained by the Israeli authorities and summarily deported says Higgins, whose acquaintance with Egypt long predated her encounter with Palestine.
She first came to Egypt in 1986 to study Arabic at the American University in Cairo (AUC). She returned again in 1992 to study at Al-Azhar on a Fulbright-Hays fellowship.
"I originally took up the study of Arabic because I felt that I was hearing only one side of the story. I decided to learn the language and hear Arabs speaking for themselves in their own language."
Higgins says that her commitment to Palestine was sparked by Edward Said during a lecture he gave at the University of Chicago during the Gulf War: "Both the spirit and the words of his talk made me see that the injustices done to the Palestinians are injustices to all and redressing these wrongs pertains to all who cherish some degree of autonomy in their lives."
In spite of her slender frame everything about the strawberry blonde with sparkling blue eyes and a ready smile is robust. She is a bundle of energy, hopping from one anti-war demonstration to another, from one refugee camp to another.
"Palestine's liberation is America's liberation," Higgins told a crowd of anti-war protestors in Cairo, speaking in impeccable Arabic.
"Are you Tahani?" one boy asked. Word was out. She had become a minor celebrity among anti-war protestors in Cairo after the widespread circulation of a photograph in which she holds her "American (female) Against the War" banner written in black, green and red letters against a white background -- the colours of the Palestinian -- and many other Arab countries' -- flags.
"You cannot impose democracy on Iraq by dropping bombs," Tahani -- as the crowds prefer to call her -- tells her listeners. She said that US policies are harming other people, innocent victims, lamenting her compatriots' seeming complacency. "It is almost as if my fellow Americans don't want to find out the truth."
But it would be a mistake to assume that there is any sentimentality in her work.
"At one of the moments of exuberance over an American woman opposing the aggression against Iraq a man offered to carry me on his shoulders," Higgins scowls, beating her chest in mock outrage. "I balked, so a woman carried me on her shoulders while the crowd cheered," she tells me, describing her experiences at the downtown Cairo demonstration that took place on 20 March.
Visiting Egypt has allowed Higgins an opportunity to familiarise Cairene anti-war protestors about the latest developments in Jenin.
"They need no reminders over here," her face lights up. Still, the crowds are fascinated by her thought-provoking, upbeat and promising tales of the lives of the Palestinians of Jenin Refugee Camp. It was they who christened her Tahani, which means "felicity" in Arabic. But "Tahani is just a longer version of Annie, really," she tells me in jest.
Higgins believes that Palestine has provided her with a priceless educational experience. "Palestinians are a generous people. They share what little they have. I am always awed by their generosity to each other and to foreigners."
Her mission entails correcting the "false picture" of Palestine in Western eyes. She says the truth must be told, and told loud and clear.
"Silence contributes to the oppression of the Palestinians," Higgins warns. "Before I went to Palestine I knew something of the Palestinians' predicament. But now I know that silence, keeping quiet about the Palestinian problem, is the crux of the Middle East crisis."
Higgins was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. She favourably compares the Jenin Refugee Camp to her native city: "Can you imagine if a Palestinian went to my home city, Chicago, and asked to spend the night at the house of a total stranger?"
More to the point: "There are thousands of homeless people in Chicago. There are no homeless people in Jenin Camp -- even after the April 2002 massacres and the systematic demolition of houses."
Hawiya -- identity -- is the one Arabic word all Israeli soldiers know. Higgins, perceptively, touches a raw nerve. "But the Israeli soldiers don't know what their identity is. They realise that the Palestinians have traditions and they envy the Palestinians their strong sense of identity."
She decries the veneration of foreigners and so- called foreign experts. "Many Palestinians living in the camps hope that someone will come from the outside and bring magic solutions."
Tragedy generates narrative. The hope that springs out of the ashes of despair can't help offering a story.
"Once you mention the word Palestine it immediately becomes a political subject," says Higgins. She doesn't consider herself a "political type". She feels that her mission is to honour the human voice. "Honouring the right to speak," is how she puts it. But she realises that her mission has political implications.
"Seeing my interest in exposing the oppression of the Palestinian people, the inhabitants of the Jenin Camp warmed to me. Any foreigner qualifies as a voice to the outside world. To the Palestinians every foreigner is a journalist who can potentially broadcast their plight to the outside world."
And for Annie Higgins the plight of the Palestinians catalyses human relationships and solidifies lines of communication. Her public persona is reinforced by distinctive Palestinian paraphernalia, a politically correct kufiyya, a tiny silver olive tree, the dangling photographs of two young martyrs of whom she was especially fond.
And Palestine and the Palestinian cause emerge as a consuming passion which infects most people who care to listen to the stories she tells about her life in Jenin Refugee Camp.
Ironically it was Egypt, and not Palestine, that was her first introduction to the Arab world. And, she loves Egypt with a passion, too, loves "the vibrancy, the colour and the generosity of spirit".
Different groups of demonstrators were pouring into Tahrir Square, the hub of Cairo. While I left early and made my way back to the office to work on this profile, Higgins, I was told later, stayed on inspiring and being inspired by the crowds. Higgins feels a special affinity with children and at the Cairo anti-war demonstrations she says that she had several interesting encounters with children.
"One, about eight years old, asked me why America wants to hurt Iraqi and Palestinian children. I said I didn't know, but told him I was glad that he cares about children in Iraq and Palestine. And I told [the children] that they reminded me of my young friends in Jenin." Indeed, her encounters with the children of Cairo who took part in the anti-war demonstrations that rocked the city were reminiscent of her experiences with the children she left behind in Palestine. "I felt as if I were back in Jenin Refugee Camp with cadres of children providing a friendly following."
"Many people gave me a thumbs-up or said 'thank you' as I passed them. Would a crowd of Americans treat an Arab with such respect these days?" she asks, flinging her hands wide open as if in despair.
After a two-hour chat over coffee and a photo session with Al-Ahram Weekly's photographer Randa Shaath, Higgins and I walked from the Nile Hilton, passing the Arab League headquarters, as we headed to the demonstration at 1.30pm. Police had cordoned off the American and British embassies.
"When I left about 9pm Tahrir Square was still full of demonstrators against America's aggression on Iraq. The [Egyptian] security forces returned my greetings as I headed for the Internet café," Higgins told me later. "Candles illuminated the proceedings and there was a festive air. I thought of the skies of Baghdad illuminated by rockets," she added.
Higgins moves on to the prickly topic of Palestinian collaborators. She notes that the Palestinians never use the term jasuss, or spy, but rather prefer to use ameel, or collaborator. She witnessed an incident in which one such alleged collaborator was hospitalised after a revenge attack.
"Not one of his family wanted to stay with him in hospital. But, an elder complained, 'what good will it do to kill him? These young people are being used.' That was a wise observation," Higgins said.
The Israelis often wonder how the Palestinians possess the stamina and patience to endure their brutal occupation.
"I love rooftops," Higgins said, explaining that like all Palestinians in Jenin she felt constantly watched by the Israelis.
She recalls a brush with the Israeli army. She saw Apache fighter helicopters coming straight at her as she was reading on the rooftop.
"I never ran so fast in my life. I was sure they were coming for me."
Higgins speaks of the predicament of those hunted by the Israelis: "Nobody wants to have a wanted man in their house. These wanted men are on the run. They are constantly moving from house to house."
Her yearning for peace and justice in Palestine is movingly real. Her single-minded dedication to Palestine is all the more endearing because her mannerisms are underpinned by an engaging lovability, a vulnerability and fragility.
In Palestine, she lives in much the same manner as her hosts and in humility she learns a little about their ways. A touching bedtime scene poignantly captures the mutual love and affection that binds visitor to host: "As we are settling onto our floor-level mattresses for the night, Raghda kisses me on the four diamond-points of my face, 'That's how you kiss a shahid [martyr] on the bier'. She has expeience with a number of family members," Tahani muses.
The American media is hopelessly biased against the Palestinians, even to the extent of plastering over the death of a young American woman who was run over by an Israeli armoured .00bulldozer. If there were any doubts about that, Rachel Corrie's tragic death removed them. "I feel freedom of speech in Palestine," she assures me. "More so than in the United States. And Rachel Corrie offered her own life as a price for her convictions defending Palestinian children."
Higgins says that she has been silenced in the US. "Once you mention Jenin in the US you are considered no patriot because you are critical of Israel. I've been silenced just for mentioning the word Jenin," she says, though she insists that she does not want to "advertise" the tragedy of the Jenin massacre.
"I want to show the human side. I want to tell the world why it is we do not want Jenin destroyed. The beautiful culture of the Palestinian people is worth saving. I want the world, and especially America, to get to know the Palestinian people a little better."
Higgins wrote a scathing letter of criticism to the Christian Science Monitor recently because of what she felt was the paper's biased coverage in Israel's favour.
"Israel has nuclear weapons and has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and uses its conventional weapons for massive bloodletting and bulldozing, even of humans," Higgins wrote in protest against an editorial in the Christian Science Monitor.
At a lecture she gave at AUC Higgins was challenged to say something about democracy, or the lack of it, in the occupied territories under the Palestinian Authority. "There is no American democracy," she responded, and spoke instead about the brutal reality of America's blind backing of Israel. For Higgins this double standard remains confusing.
When, Higgins wonders will the crimes against humanity committed by Israel in the occupied territories become too glaring to be overlooked?
An accomplished academic, Higgins obtained a PhD in 2001 from the University of Chicago's Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilisations. The subject of her doctoral thesis was The Qur'anic Exchange of the Self in the Poetry of Shurat (Khariji) Political Identity.
Higgins lectured at the University of Illinois before giving up teaching to serve as an international in Palestine. She describes herself as an "independent scholar" but she doesn't rule out a return to academia.
She has presented papers on topics as diverse as the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon; Qur'anic Borrowings in Ummayyad Poetry; Tuareg Poetry and a paper entitled The Qur'an: God Speaks to the Seminar of Islam, Meadville- Lombard Theological Seminary, Chicago.
Higgins' father was a lawyer, and apolitical. Her mother, who went on anti-Vietnam War protest marches and scrupulously read Congressional Reports, was more of a political animal. The youngest of four sisters, Higgins says that she was brought up in an environment in which visitors were always welcome. "We've always had visitors in our house," she explained, saying that she was socialised early to accept cultures and traditions other than her own.
As an adult Higgins never made much money and was never particularly interested in making a fast buck. Her university job paid the bills and helped her save a little money.
"I saved half my salary, but I didn't have specific plans," she explains. "I never do. I just quit my job at the university and left for Palestine. Most of the Palestinians I got to know in Jenin couldn't understand why I gave up my job as a lecturer in America to come and live among them in a refugee camp."
She returns to the subject of Palestinian generosity: "I was accustomed to being poor but I never felt deprived. I don't spend much money. And it doesn't really cost much to live in Jenin Camp. I'm so privileged. The doors are open before I actually get to the doorstep. I don't have to ask people to let me in."
There was another impulse behind Higgins' decision to move to Palestine, and it had much to do with family values. Her upbringing was one dynamic, religion another.
"I think I understand the Bible more now. Jesus walked in this very place called Jenin."
She smiles broadly and shrugs her shoulders: "I feel like I am bringing one loaf of bread to Palestine."
"The Palestinians, like Jesus, are always trying to feed people. Jesus was talking and talking, telling people to look beyond the material, and then he suddenly turned round and asked his listeners if they were hungry. That is typically Palestinian."
Article: William&Mary, 4 mar 2005
Always a faceHiggins describes multi-dimensional identities in Palestinian memorial posters
News · W&M News · 2005 archive · Higgins on Palestinian posters
Author: Meghan Williams ('05), Source: W&M News
http://web.wm.edu/news/archive/index.php?id=4344
Date: Mar 04, 2005
Higgins talked about the "faces" of Palestinian memorial posters. Photo by Meghan Williams.
Usually there are easily recognized symbols and icons, often there is a flag border, sometimes a religious saying—but there is always a face. Whether centered and dominating, or looking out from a corner, there is always a face.
The faces adorn memorial posters spread throughout the Palestinian diaspora, ephemeral reminders of deceased friends and relatives, local heroes and national leaders. Professor Annie Higgins, who teaches Arabic in the Modern Languages department, researched the memorial poster phenomenon primarily in refugee camps in Syria and Lebanon with a 2003-2004 Fulbright grant. She began studying the posters the year before when she went to Jenin as a volunteer. She shared her conclusions recently with a group of students and faculty members. Higgins used a series of photographs to present the memorials, but the discussion seemed to have a deeper theme: identity.
Higgins described the subjects of the posters as martyrs, and explained that they are often identified as such. The label is applied post-mortem, and for the most part without many restrictions. A Palestinian soldier who is killed by a soldier from the other side is considered a martyr; so is an old man who has actively worked for statehood his entire life but dies of natural causes. Even the desire to be a martyr—many consider it “the best way to die,” according to Higgins—is enough to qualify as one.
Almost as common as the names on posters of deceased adults are small logos of political groups, who are usually responsible for creating and distributing posters when one of their members dies. For the most part the logos are minimized, tucked into a corner or incorporated in the border. The individual's identity supercedes the group's identity. But Higgins pointed out one poster, which memorialized eight fallen members of Hamas, one of the more infamous Palestinian groups. The Hamas logo is at the center of the poster, larger than the photographs of the eight men—some holding a copy of the Koran, a weapon, or both—which encircle it. The design sends a clear message: the group is larger than any of its members. It effectively usurps their identity.
On the other hand, there are posters without logos. They feature people no group has a right to claim, whose identity is not defined by their association. National heroes are perhaps the most obvious inclusions in this category. Higgins returned to the area briefly, shortly after the death of Yasser Arafat. Even though he was affiliated with a specific political party, there were few posters featuring him with its logo; he is everyone's to honor. The same goes for foreigners. The death of a person who came from abroad to devote his or her life to working with and for Palestinians is a powerful uniting factor. Iain Hook, who worked with the United Nations in the area, was killed by Israeli soldiers in Jenin. The poster marking his death called it “murder” and the perpetrators “criminals.” Higgins said such strong language usually doesn't make its way onto posters made to relieve grief more than assign blame. Similar emotion is seen in posters for children. “Why was Riham killed?!” screams one poster, using English to reach a larger audience. Riham's poster shows a picture of her lying dead, establishing her identity as a victim. The large picture is framed by smaller ones presented as a filmstrip, showing the story of her life.
Many of those remembered in the posters have a strong religious identity. Many posters juxtapose the photos of the dead in front of a photo of the Dome of the Rock or Al-Aksa Mosque, holy sites. Christians are often identified with a photo of the Church of the Nativity—as was Iain Hook. Sometimes verses from the Koran replace political logos; they are rarely seen on the same poster, in a variation on the principle of separation between church and state. Higgins showed one version of a poster memorializing two brothers who died within a week of each other. The large photographs are side-by-side, under the red star logo which indicates alliance with the Democratic Front. After their deaths their family made the hajj, the Muslim holy pilgrimage to Mecca, in their names; a later poster replaces the red star with a verse from the Koran and adds the Dome of the Rock behind the brothers, who are now identified as pilgrims.
Remaking posters shifts the individual identities of the dead, much as the transitory nature of the posters shifts their collective identities. The group becomes more than its individual members. Old posters fade and are covered by new posters—fresh faces on the walls every day. Occasionally they are torn down by someone looking for a photograph of a friend or relative, but that is the closest to archival treatment they get. It is only very rarely, Higgins said, that a parent or sibling will reclaim the identity of a lost loved one, taking a poster home and tucking it away. But plenty of posters are left all over the walls of the Palestinian diaspora, each face contributing its individual identity, merging with the others to create a national identity.
comment
http://flathat.wm.edu/2005-03-18/story.php?type=2&aid=16
The Flat Hat, College of William and Mary
Professor's lecture one-sided, hate-filled
To the Editor:Feb. 26 I went to see Dr. Anne Higgins talk about Middle Eastern art, especially as it relates to the Palestinians. America is mostly pro-Israel, and I was genuinely interested in hearing a new perspective. But what I heard was a manipulation of facts, attributing righteousness to suicide bombers. Higgins spoke for the better part of an hour and a half about Palestinian 'martyrs' and the artistic posters put up in the streets by their families. Almost all of the people she talked about were people who "did a martyrdom operation ... killing a number of Israeli solders." That's when I realized that this professor was talking about and extolling the virtues of the Palestinian suicide bombers, one of which struck a Tel Aviv nightclub, killing four, the very day of her speech. She went on to talk about the various elements of symbolism on the posters, including one man whose poster contained the "golden sunlight of truth." That sunlight was a tribute to his murderous aiding of what Dr. Higgins called "the resistance." By resistance she meant the Palestinians, the people who were a "community in the grip of military occupation."I did some research and that "military occupation" was a legal transference of power. Britain previously had control over the land we now call Israel. In February 1947, after multiple failed attempts at reaching a compromise between the Jews and the Arabs, Britain turned the issue over to the United Nations. U.N. General Assembly Resolution 181, approved Nov. 29, 1947, advocated the partition of British Palestine into two states, one Jewish and one Arab. The resolution was accepted by the Jews but rejected by the Palestinians, leading to Israel's establishment in May 1948 and President Truman's official recognition of the State of Israel. Why was I not surprised when Professor Higgins called the land Palestine, refusing to acknowledge rightful sovereignty and the country's rightful name? Professor Higgins spent about 90 minutes talking about how noble the suicide bombers are, and demonizing Israeli troops, falsely accusing them of maliciously slaughtering children. I'm not politically correct, by any means, but I am appalled and disappointed at such spreading of falsities and hate.-- David Klimple, '08
News · W&M News · 2005 archive · Higgins on Palestinian posters
Author: Meghan Williams ('05), Source: W&M News
http://web.wm.edu/news/archive/index.php?id=4344
Date: Mar 04, 2005
Higgins talked about the "faces" of Palestinian memorial posters. Photo by Meghan Williams.
Usually there are easily recognized symbols and icons, often there is a flag border, sometimes a religious saying—but there is always a face. Whether centered and dominating, or looking out from a corner, there is always a face.
The faces adorn memorial posters spread throughout the Palestinian diaspora, ephemeral reminders of deceased friends and relatives, local heroes and national leaders. Professor Annie Higgins, who teaches Arabic in the Modern Languages department, researched the memorial poster phenomenon primarily in refugee camps in Syria and Lebanon with a 2003-2004 Fulbright grant. She began studying the posters the year before when she went to Jenin as a volunteer. She shared her conclusions recently with a group of students and faculty members. Higgins used a series of photographs to present the memorials, but the discussion seemed to have a deeper theme: identity.
Higgins described the subjects of the posters as martyrs, and explained that they are often identified as such. The label is applied post-mortem, and for the most part without many restrictions. A Palestinian soldier who is killed by a soldier from the other side is considered a martyr; so is an old man who has actively worked for statehood his entire life but dies of natural causes. Even the desire to be a martyr—many consider it “the best way to die,” according to Higgins—is enough to qualify as one.
Almost as common as the names on posters of deceased adults are small logos of political groups, who are usually responsible for creating and distributing posters when one of their members dies. For the most part the logos are minimized, tucked into a corner or incorporated in the border. The individual's identity supercedes the group's identity. But Higgins pointed out one poster, which memorialized eight fallen members of Hamas, one of the more infamous Palestinian groups. The Hamas logo is at the center of the poster, larger than the photographs of the eight men—some holding a copy of the Koran, a weapon, or both—which encircle it. The design sends a clear message: the group is larger than any of its members. It effectively usurps their identity.
On the other hand, there are posters without logos. They feature people no group has a right to claim, whose identity is not defined by their association. National heroes are perhaps the most obvious inclusions in this category. Higgins returned to the area briefly, shortly after the death of Yasser Arafat. Even though he was affiliated with a specific political party, there were few posters featuring him with its logo; he is everyone's to honor. The same goes for foreigners. The death of a person who came from abroad to devote his or her life to working with and for Palestinians is a powerful uniting factor. Iain Hook, who worked with the United Nations in the area, was killed by Israeli soldiers in Jenin. The poster marking his death called it “murder” and the perpetrators “criminals.” Higgins said such strong language usually doesn't make its way onto posters made to relieve grief more than assign blame. Similar emotion is seen in posters for children. “Why was Riham killed?!” screams one poster, using English to reach a larger audience. Riham's poster shows a picture of her lying dead, establishing her identity as a victim. The large picture is framed by smaller ones presented as a filmstrip, showing the story of her life.
Many of those remembered in the posters have a strong religious identity. Many posters juxtapose the photos of the dead in front of a photo of the Dome of the Rock or Al-Aksa Mosque, holy sites. Christians are often identified with a photo of the Church of the Nativity—as was Iain Hook. Sometimes verses from the Koran replace political logos; they are rarely seen on the same poster, in a variation on the principle of separation between church and state. Higgins showed one version of a poster memorializing two brothers who died within a week of each other. The large photographs are side-by-side, under the red star logo which indicates alliance with the Democratic Front. After their deaths their family made the hajj, the Muslim holy pilgrimage to Mecca, in their names; a later poster replaces the red star with a verse from the Koran and adds the Dome of the Rock behind the brothers, who are now identified as pilgrims.
Remaking posters shifts the individual identities of the dead, much as the transitory nature of the posters shifts their collective identities. The group becomes more than its individual members. Old posters fade and are covered by new posters—fresh faces on the walls every day. Occasionally they are torn down by someone looking for a photograph of a friend or relative, but that is the closest to archival treatment they get. It is only very rarely, Higgins said, that a parent or sibling will reclaim the identity of a lost loved one, taking a poster home and tucking it away. But plenty of posters are left all over the walls of the Palestinian diaspora, each face contributing its individual identity, merging with the others to create a national identity.
comment
http://flathat.wm.edu/2005-03-18/story.php?type=2&aid=16
The Flat Hat, College of William and Mary
Professor's lecture one-sided, hate-filled
To the Editor:Feb. 26 I went to see Dr. Anne Higgins talk about Middle Eastern art, especially as it relates to the Palestinians. America is mostly pro-Israel, and I was genuinely interested in hearing a new perspective. But what I heard was a manipulation of facts, attributing righteousness to suicide bombers. Higgins spoke for the better part of an hour and a half about Palestinian 'martyrs' and the artistic posters put up in the streets by their families. Almost all of the people she talked about were people who "did a martyrdom operation ... killing a number of Israeli solders." That's when I realized that this professor was talking about and extolling the virtues of the Palestinian suicide bombers, one of which struck a Tel Aviv nightclub, killing four, the very day of her speech. She went on to talk about the various elements of symbolism on the posters, including one man whose poster contained the "golden sunlight of truth." That sunlight was a tribute to his murderous aiding of what Dr. Higgins called "the resistance." By resistance she meant the Palestinians, the people who were a "community in the grip of military occupation."I did some research and that "military occupation" was a legal transference of power. Britain previously had control over the land we now call Israel. In February 1947, after multiple failed attempts at reaching a compromise between the Jews and the Arabs, Britain turned the issue over to the United Nations. U.N. General Assembly Resolution 181, approved Nov. 29, 1947, advocated the partition of British Palestine into two states, one Jewish and one Arab. The resolution was accepted by the Jews but rejected by the Palestinians, leading to Israel's establishment in May 1948 and President Truman's official recognition of the State of Israel. Why was I not surprised when Professor Higgins called the land Palestine, refusing to acknowledge rightful sovereignty and the country's rightful name? Professor Higgins spent about 90 minutes talking about how noble the suicide bombers are, and demonizing Israeli troops, falsely accusing them of maliciously slaughtering children. I'm not politically correct, by any means, but I am appalled and disappointed at such spreading of falsities and hate.-- David Klimple, '08
letter to FT: Egypt, pub'd 6 nov 2003
A thoroughly modern meeting
By Annie Higgins, Financial TimesPublished: Nov 06, 2003
http://search.ft.com/ftArticle?queryText=annie+higgins&y=13&x=25&id=031106001333&ct=0
From Dr Annie C. Higgins.
Sir, Salamander Davoudi ("Rooms for Cairo's restless renegades", October 22) invites us to new art gallery viewings in Cairo: "A wealth of modernism lies at your fingertips: just look in the phone book." The greatest indicator of modernism to me is the existence of a viable phone book! When I was serving a summer study-tour in Egypt some years ago, one participant had the first name of his father's cousin's friend's former colleague in Cairo from decades before, whom he wanted to look up. Phone books were non-existent, and I was told that if I did chance upon one, it would not have correct or current information. So I used the old-fashioned method, and asked strangers about a Jewish doctor with this particular first name. Result: someone knew of him and his whereabouts, so my American visitor met him in person. It was quicker than finding a phone book, and as modern as any meeting can be.
Annie C. Higgins, Chicago, IL, US
By Annie Higgins, Financial TimesPublished: Nov 06, 2003
http://search.ft.com/ftArticle?queryText=annie+higgins&y=13&x=25&id=031106001333&ct=0
From Dr Annie C. Higgins.
Sir, Salamander Davoudi ("Rooms for Cairo's restless renegades", October 22) invites us to new art gallery viewings in Cairo: "A wealth of modernism lies at your fingertips: just look in the phone book." The greatest indicator of modernism to me is the existence of a viable phone book! When I was serving a summer study-tour in Egypt some years ago, one participant had the first name of his father's cousin's friend's former colleague in Cairo from decades before, whom he wanted to look up. Phone books were non-existent, and I was told that if I did chance upon one, it would not have correct or current information. So I used the old-fashioned method, and asked strangers about a Jewish doctor with this particular first name. Result: someone knew of him and his whereabouts, so my American visitor met him in person. It was quicker than finding a phone book, and as modern as any meeting can be.
Annie C. Higgins, Chicago, IL, US
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