Discussion of A Border Passage by Leila Ahmed

[Melanie, Marhaba Language Expertise]

I'm delighted to open this discussion thread for your thoughts on A Border Passage: From Cairo to America – A Woman's Journey by Leila Ahmed. This memoir (from 1999) narrates the experiences of Leila Ahmed, a feminist scholar from Egypt who relocated to the Harvard Divinity School in Boston in 1999, where she continues her writing to this day on women, gender, and Islam. For anyone who would like to hear her speak, I'd like to suggest her 2005 interview with On Being:
https://onbeing.org/programs/leila-ah...

In both the book and interview, Leila Ahmed talks about "ethical Islam." She cherishes the tradition of living together in an ethos of tolerance, tinted by an “ethical Islam.” I have to admit I sympathize with her fondness for women’s gatherings, similar to kitchen table talks, koffee klatches, and tea time. For me, this memoir presents a pioneering voice from an earlier time, from half a century ago. I enjoy listening to Leila Ahmed's views, even when they seem out of touch with the ideas that are driving many Muslims today. Our societies and communities change over the decades, but we can still appreciate earlier ideas and perspectives. Moreover, they can inform our own ideas and perspectives today. Let us know what you think!

[Marcia, Arabic Literature (in English)]

Melanie wrote: "I'm delighted to open this discussion thread for your thoughts on A Border Passage: From Cairo to America – A Woman's Journey by Leila Ahmed. This memoir (from 1999) nar..."

It's been so long since I've read this, I wonder how it's aged...or maybe how I've aged??

[Melanie, Marhaba Language Expertise]

Ch. 1 - The memoir begins by describing the place where she grew up, with a focus on several sounds: the call of the karawan bird; the sound of someone wheeling a cart around the neighborhood, repeating "rubaaaabakiya!" (for furniture and other cast-offs); and the tune of a reed pipe. All of these are distant sounds, more or less plaintive and haunting. The first two are familiar to me from my own time living in Cairo. I can imagine Leila Ahmed the writer remembering these sounds. I can also imagine the young Leila Ahmed treasuring quiet moments and making careful observations of her surroundings.

I loved this quote (p. 25-26 in my paperback): "For the truth is, I think that we are always plural. Not either this OR that, but this AND that. And we always embody in our multiple shifting consciousnesses a convergence of traditions, cultures, histories coming together in this time and this place and moving like rivers through us. And I know now that the point is to look back with insight and without judgment, and I know now that it is of the nature of being in this place, this place of convergence of histories, cultures, ways of thought, that there will always be new ways to understand what we are living through, and that I will never come to a point of rest or of finality in my understanding."

I love this dynamic perspective. She never arrives at a final understanding of identity. Instead, her understanding is constantly developing and evolving.

[Melanie, Marhaba Language Expertise]

I just finished re-reading this book. I had tea with Leila Ahmed in Boston in 2013. Revisiting this book is like picking up the conversation with her right where we left off. It's always a pleasure to "hear" her reflections on her perspective.

This time around, one thing stuck out to me that is a little odd to share with this group because I know some of you are pretty committed fans of Naguib Mahfouz. Nonetheless, maybe you'll enjoy revisiting him, even from a critical perspective. Leila Ahmed writes:

"My view of [my mother's family home], and of the nature and meaning of life, I learned from the women, not the men. The men figured as dominant beings, naturally, but they were more like meteors, cutting a trail across our sky, causing havoc possibly, but present only briefly. It is for this reason, no doubt, that the novelist and Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz's Palace Walk, depicting a family similar to that of [her mother's family], is to me both familiar and profoundly alien. For it is a portrait of that same world--but through the eyes and ethos of its men."

I completely agree with this assessment! For me, most of Mahfouz's writing is made less interesting because of its focus on men and men's perspectives. I don't know if this will resonate with any of you...

Related to this, I was struck by how for a long time in life, Leila Ahmed was not impressed with her mother, who "was not a professional anything!" and never DID anything (it seemed to her at that time). She revises her views later in life, realizing that she has undervalued women, their important work in the household and in society, and oral cultures generally. She realizes how much she has been socialized to value doing over being. I can relate to all these ideas. It's nice to have a reminder about the value of being, the important work that occurs outside of "work" contexts, and the beauty and contributions of oral cultures.

[Tamara]

Melanie wrote: "I just finished re-reading this book. I had tea with Leila Ahmed in Boston in 2013. Revisiting this book is like picking up the conversation with her right where we left off. It's always a pleasure..."

I haven't read A Border Passage: From Cairo to America – A Woman's Journey, but I enjoyed your comments and share your perspective.

I have read Leila Ahmed's Women and Gender in Islam: Historical Roots of a Modern Debate and thought it was great. And I just checked out A Quiet Revolution: The Veil's Resurgence, from the Middle East to America. I plan to read it after I finish the current book I'm reading.

[Niledaughter]

Melanie, I enjoyed reading your comments. I haven't read the book, or even any book written by the author.
Regarding Naguib Mahfouz, his worlds focus on men except for some. but that did not make less interesting for me. I guess it depends on the book itself. Now, I am wondering how male readers feel about books which focus on the world of women...:)

[Melanie, Marhaba Language Expertise]

I wonder about that too!