Egyptian scholar bridging Mideast, American cultures

BY KATE BLAIN
ASSISTANT EDITOR

It's hard to be a man with a mission. Dr. Abd El Aziz Shady should know: As the first visiting Fulbright Scholar at Siena College in Loudonville, he wants to both promote better relations between the U.S. and the Middle East, and convince people that war with Iraq is not the best choice for America -- without getting deported for his views.

"I am with seeing Saddam [Hussein] as a danger, but against war as a means to change that danger," he told The Evangelist. "If you trust the people of Iraq, they will do that themselves. The American Constitution says, `We the people;' the Iraqi people are the ones who will change their regime."

In some ways, Dr. Shady agrees with President George W. Bush and his administration, who speak of the "war on terrorism," and believe Middle Eastern leaders like Hussein and Osama bin Laden must be removed from power. The professor called Hussein a "Machiavelli" who has killed even his own relatives in his thirst for power.

Constitution

However, Dr. Shady said, democracy is not something that can be imposed on a people through military might. In fact, he developed that idea through a previous visit to America in 2001, when he took part in a month-long program at LaFayette College, examining the U.S. Constitution.

"I was fascinated by the natural development of democracy in the U.S.," Dr. Shady recalled. "There was no imposition of models on the U.S.; they believed the Lord would help those that helped themselves. This is what I like."

He pointed out that the United Nations has found no reason to "rush to war" with Iraq, and said there's a difference between America trying to disarm Iraq and changing its regime.

Caution

In putting forth such opinions, Dr. Shady is wary. He well knows that as a visitor to this country, he is also a de facto representative of his own -- and he wants to keep his friendships with Americans intact.

"I have to balance every word I'm saying here, because I don't want to be deported," he remarked, but added that in the wake of Sept. 11, 2001, he can understand Americans' caution about trusting Middle Easterners.

The professor clarified that Islam is not Osama bin Laden and Judaism is not Yigal Amir (who assassinated Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995) -- that all members of a culture or religion can't be evaluated by one bad example.

Besides, he said, "the Middle East is not one block; it is a mosaic. Although there are anti-American feelings in the Middle East, there are also friends, people looking at the U.S. as a model of development that should be imitated and admired."

View of U.S.

Dr. Shady himself admires what he called the "soft power" of America -- its cultural and economic dimensions -- as opposed to its military.

He noted that while he likes the Americans he's met and admires many characteristics of American culture, he does miss his home.

"I want to be a friend to Americans, but still be an Egyptian," he said. "I will maintain my friendship to the American people in spite of the policies of the current administration concerning the Arab-Israeli conflict."

Americans, he said, "have a good smile, from their hearts. I like to see Americans smiling naturally. Americans do not let anything prevent them from enjoying life -- even the snow! They turn any risk into an adventure."

Still, "I miss the Egyptian sense of humor," he noted. "In Egypt, when we are happy, we cry; and when we are sad, we laugh. I miss that. I miss the 7,000-year civilization. You are 400 years old, and we are 7,000 years old!"

On the brink

As the U.S. teeters on the brink of war, Dr. Shady was at a loss for words to explain his feelings.

"If your friend killed your relative, what would you feel?" he said. "Iraq is my relatives. They are Arabs; they are Muslims. They are unfortunate and unlucky, because they have Saddam Hussein as their leader. We shouldn't punish people because of their leaders. We shouldn't kill their children. We should empower them. It's very important to create democrats before having a democracy."

ASKED FOR INSIGHTS

Scholar summoned to UN

Dr. Shady had to postpone his initial appointment with The Evangelist for an unexpected trip: He was called to the U.N.'s Egyptian mission in New York City to speak on his understanding of America's attitude toward Iraq. While there, he was also interviewed by Kuwaiti television for the sixth time about the possible war with Iraq.

"I told them the current situation in the international arena is divided between using the U.N. as a tool to disarm Iraq, and using the military in a unilateral way to disarm Iraq and change the regime -- and that there is an increasing resistance inside the U.S. toward using military power against Saddam Hussein," he stated.

Dr. Shady believes that "this resistance is not because of empathy with Hussein but lack of evidence that Hussein will strike the American people and bad consequences of the war on the American people."

The professor tends to analyze the U.S. political system in contrast to that of Europe. He said that America has a "covenant that unites the people," a basic consensus that capitalism governs American life; while Europe has a "social contract" that permits ideologies like communism and socialism.

One thing Dr. Shady believes Middle Eastern countries need to learn from America is its system of checks and balances on politics. For example, he said, in Arab countries, no one would dare critique their president or king with the kind of political cartoons that regularly appear in newspapers criticizing President Bush.

COURSES

Siena experience delights Shady

Siena College's first foray into the Fulbright Scholar program brought Dr. Abd El Aziz Shady from Cairo University in Egypt to teach one course each semester on the Loudonville campus.

He called the Fulbright program a "cultural tool used by the U.S. to disseminate values to other parts of the world."

Last fall, Dr. Shady taught a political science class that covered the "history of nation-state building in the Middle East," from Egypt to Turkey, Iran, Israel and other countries. While 18 students enrolled in the course, several others audited it, bringing the class total to 25.

This semester, Dr. Shady is leading an honors seminar on women and politics in the Middle East, examining the role of women in what he termed "a very neutral way, without stereotypes." Eight students are taking that course.

The native of El-Minya, near the Nile River in Egypt, said he's impressed with Siena's faculty and students. College president Rev. Kevin Mackin, OFM, even took Dr. Shady's children to their first basketball game at the Pepsi Arena in Albany.

"It was wonderful -- Siena won!" the professor enthused. "They were playing against Iona. It was a good sign."

He was surprised at the friendliness of the American faculty and staff. "The president of Cairo University is not an easy person to meet, and I don't think he'd take my children to a soccer game," he explained. "Here in Siena, they are treating me as a king."

That was something Dr. Shady didn't expect. While he felt he had a "mission" to disprove negative U.S. stereotypes of Middle Easterners after 9/11, "in Egypt, you are respected because you are a professor," he said. "Here, it is a competitive environment. To be respected, you should gain it." (KB)

Choosing snow over sand

The Shady family came along for this visit to the U.S. Dr. Shady's wife and four children, ages 14, 13, 7 and 1, are learning English and attending American schools.

"It will help them in the future to better understand American society," he said.

In accepting the Fulbright position at Siena, Dr. Shady turned down two other teaching opportunities in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. He liked the idea of coming to the U.S. because this culture is radically different from the others.

With the help of the Fulbright program, the professor said getting visas for his family was simpler than he expected. Now, his children are experiencing snow for the first time -- and loving it. "They are playing with it, skating, sliding," he said. (KB)

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