Dreams of Trespass by Fatima Memissi

Celebrating provocative literacy and open discussion, A.K. Smiley Library and the University of Redlands completed a book reading and discussion series Feb. 22 entitled, Muslim Journeys. On the fourth Saturday afternoon of each month since September 2013, Smiley Library hosts the 5-month event, excluding December, exploring various aspects of the Muslim experience. Opening each session, Dr. Patrick Wing, assistant professor of history from U of R, engaged participants with a lecture, and after, group discourse considering one of the following texts each month: Fiction: * In the Country of Men by Hisham Matar * Broken Verses by Kamila Shasie Autobiographical graphic novel: * Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi Memoir: * House of Stone by Anthony Shadid Fictional Memoir: * Dreams of Trespass by Fatima Memissi Concluding the series was Dreams of Trespass: Tales of a Harem Girlhood by Fatima Memissi. Memissi’s memoir speaks of her childhood in Fez, Morocco during the 1940s, as she delves into topics relative to her time and situation and the clash between the traditional and the modern. During the introduction of the lecture, Dr. Wing introduced a comic that depicts two women passing each other on a sidewalk, one, a blond-haired, western woman in a bikini and sunglasses and the other, a Muslim woman in a burqa with only her eyes revealed, as they each conclude that they are both wearing what is the result of living in a "cruel, male-dominated culture." "That gets to the heart of questions and misunderstandings. Perhaps, at the root of the issue of women and the question of oppression in the west and in Islam is that of a patriarchal, male-dominated society,” Dr. Wing said. At issue throughout the discussion, according to Dr. Wing, is that some of the practices of Islam perceived as being based in the Koran are really the result of the differences of Islam dependent on where in the world it is, something not uncommon to the west and its relation to the Bible, which those present for the event all appeared to agree upon. "Islam sanctions polygamous marriage. And the Koran says that a man can marry up to four wives provided he can treat them all fairly and with justice. Another verse of the Koran says a man will never be able to treat all of his wives fairly and justly,” shared Dr. Wing. "And so, modernist Muslims have read that to say that the Koran actually does not condone polygamous marriage.” "But it is true that, historically, Muslim men have legally been able to marry up to four wives. So, one of the things we should keep in mind with this is that, at the time the Koran was revealed in 7th century Arabia, men were marrying many more than four wives and not treating them very justly at all. Women had a much more difficult time, and so, Islam was seen as having come along to improve the lives of women,” Dr. Wing said. “When we think about polygamous marriage and the ideal that, maybe, Islam is degenerate in that way, I like to tell an anecdote about the 19th century Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire was ruling most of the Middle East since the 16th century, and in the 19th century, it began to have contact with western powers, particularly, Britain, Russia, France and so on. A British ambassador and his wife were visiting the capital in Istanbul, and they met one of the prime ministers of the empire. So, the wife of the ambassador had read about how Islam was different and that they married multiple wives, and so, she asked the vizier, 'Sir, how many wives do you have?’ And he said, ‘Madam, the same as your husband. I have two. The only difference is, my wives know about each other.’” Of course, the anecdote provided all in attendance with a laugh. Those who wish to hear the lecture and discussion in their entirety can access them at the links provided below. Dreams of Trespass Lecture: https://app.box.com/s/7nbw5atmjplnm4cd7nvr Dreams of Trespass Discussion: https://app.box.com/s/yexwv4tnfx1tjgcu7xrv