The Haj

I haven't written in a long time and have so much to write about. This is one thing I really wanted to write about lately so I do.

I know the Haj is when every Moslem must visit Mecca once in their life, but I didn’t know after they visited Mecca they were called Haj. Does that mean everyone that lives in Mecca is called Haj from birth? I just finished listening to a book called The Haj by Leon Uris. It is about the plight of the Palestinians. I have never understood the conflict in the Middle East and never understood what some people don’t like about Jews. I remember in junior high school questioning whether Jewish was a religion or a race. The question was whether Christians believe if Jews can go to heaven. If they are Jewish religion that means they don’t believe Jesus is the Son of God and then they can’t. If they are Jewish race then they can be Jewish Christians and they can. I don’t know why I remember that discussion over the thousands of others I must have had while I was growing up.

My youngest daughter graduated from high school this month.

Was Palestine ever a country? Was there a ruler of Palestine? Did they have a governing body and laws?  I don’t know if I will ever understand that. It seems to me that Palestinians are a “people” like the Kurds or Hmong. I think in the Middle East are also the Armenians which also fight for a homeland. Listening to this book (I listen to audio books. This book took 20 hours where most books take 8 hours) was interesting and I would love to have someone to talk to about it. I had a man in my class a couple of months ago who was an Imam. I was amazed at how he had memorized the Koran. I would really like to talk to him about the things this book talked about and see if he agreed. I always wonder if the Koran really talks about so much hate and disrespect of people that are not Moslems or if it is just the way some people interpret it like people that use the Bible to justify their terrible behavior. I really don’t like the way some people use their religion to defend whatever they want to do.

Sarah went to Prom with Erik.

This book starts off with a small town in Palestine and the head of the town, his name is Ibraham, goes to Mecca and when he comes back everyone calls him Haj Ibraham. A Jewish kibbutz is established next to the town and the next day they Palestinians decide to attack it. They show how inept they are and are chased away without anyone being killed. And from then on they brag about how brave they were and how they allowed the Jews to stay there. That brings my next question, is it that important for Moslems to falsely brag about things even though everyone knows it isn’t true? In the book people were telling the other people that were with them how brave they were when the people they were telling the stories to were with them. What is that all about!!

Anne and I agree that she is like my 4th daughter.

The book continues through the years at how Haj Ibraham becomes secret best friends with the head of the kibbutz, Isaiah. This had to be kept a secret because the Koran says they have to kill every Jew (is that true?) During the Second World War they Moslems sided with the Germans because they wanted Britain out of the Middle East. These two stayed best friend through the years and Isaiah saved Haj Ibraham and his family often. The books goes on about after the concentration camps are discovered and how this makes the Moslems feel close to the Christian Nazis because they were doing Allah’s work. The Jews go to Palestine and eventually the United Nations declares they are a country. When the British pull out of the Middle East the Arab countries attack and lose. The book says they Arab countries tell the Palestinians to leave their towns and cities so the armies can maneuver easier and there won’t be so many casualties. This made me understand how there could be all these refugee camps around the Middle East with Palestinians in them. Why did they leave their towns and cities? I was always told that the Jews kicked them out and this book puts a different perspective on it. The book says that the Jews invited the Palestinians back to their homes but the other Arab countries didn’t want them to go because it would legitimize Israel and there would be peace. 

Half Moon Bay with MeetUp.

I never understood why they stay in refugee camps and don’t resettle in other Arab countries and this book explains that if they did this then the Palestinians might be content and not keep pressure on Israel. If the Palestinians have no homeland they will continue to fight Israel and there will never be peace. It is an ongoing war that will never have any peace.  I had a student from Israel in my class once. She was a famous singer in her country and comes from an affluent family. She said she would give it all up for peace in her life. She hated living in a country that had constant fear and I think it is that way in the whole area.

Hiking in Cupertino.

Why does a whole religion want to turn its back on progress? Why do they not want their children to have a good education? Why do they want their women to be ignorant and uneducated? At the end of the book Haj Ibraham finds out his daughter is no longer a virgin so he kills her. The favorite son finds the father and he tells the father that the daughter was no longer a virgin because she was attacked by the father’s enemies and raped. Haj Ibraham realizes how stupid he had been and he ends up dying of a heart attack.

I don’t usually write book reviews and I’m sorry if I spoiled the ending of this book. It was written over 10 years ago and I figure if you hadn’t read it yet you never will. This book really got me thinking about many things and I have so many questions from what was written. I guess that is why I like reading so much (or listening to audio books) and am glad I continue learning about things as I get older.

The Purple Carpet in Pacific Grove.