Berkley Center

In the West, the media depicts Islam as a religion that is fundamental—its followers fanatically dedicate themselves to Allah, at times to the point of death, and suppress women by making them veil themselves. Although I am certain that many do realize that the Islam illustrated by the media is only a small portion of the greater picture, the fact that the pictures shown by the media about Islam affect how people in the West perceive Islam and its followers—mostly with fear and angst—cannot be denied. And the fact that the West is concerned about the Islamists is confirmed by the fact that much reading in our beloved al-Kitaab series (the Arabic textbook most American students use) and classes that we take in America address the issue of Islamic fundamentalism.

Although Islamic extremism does have an effect on and a presence in the Middle East, what I have observed thus far in Amman, Jordan is that the average person is not too concerned with Islamists as we are in the West. Rather, they are more concerned with and affected by the rapid changes that are coming with economic growth and development, as modernization is challenging and dynamically changing the face of Islam.

The modernization that has been changing Amman daily has affected the outward appearance of the city, especially through the young. When an individual walks down the streets of Amman or the University of Jordan for that matter, he or she will observe that Amman is caught in between the traditional and the modern, the religious and the secular. On one street, there will be girls fully covered and veiled, girls wearing a hijab with skinny jeans and a tight shirt, girls without the hijab, and girls wearing shorts or skirts with a t-shirt. This phenomenon, according to my host sisters, is new. The variety of dress among Muslim women, both young and old, was uncommon five to six years ago, as people did not dare to wear skinny jeans, shorts, skirts, or any revealing clothes as a Muslim. Nonetheless, it presently is accepted as a norm in Amman. Yes, more conservative women would comment that some girls should “put some clothes on” and the girls dressed more liberally would draw attention, but this would be the case anywhere–—even in America. What is interesting, however, is that many of the more conservative girls, my host sister included, started to wear the hijab at an earlier age than when it was in the past. So I asked, “"Is this a backlash against the girls wearing revealing, somewhat haraam clothing?"” expecting the answer to be “yes.” However, my 16 year old host sister told me that she began to wear the hijab not as a response to the changes in dress brought by modernization; rather, she began at a earlier age because she knew that it would be much more difficult to start wearing the hijab as she got older even if she wanted to wear it.

Modernization has peeked its way beyond the way girls dress in public. Five times a day, the call to prayer will begin in numerous mosques around Amman. Although one would expect people (i.e. the men) in the streets to pause, take out their prayer mats, and pray in a predominantly Muslim country, one would find that except for the religiously devout who do close their shops for a couple of minutes for prayer, most walk along the streets and continue on with whatever they were doing. Now, what does prayer or the lack thereof have to do with modernization? Is this not a matter of religion and personal belief? Yes and no. Whether or not to do the daily salaat (prayer) is up to the individual, and frankly, there are many “nominal Muslims” in Jordan—Muslims who are Muslim because his or her family has been Muslim for generations, and is his or her culture and identity. However, for a religion that places emphasis on rituals and its pillars, I find it a little strange that I have not come across anyone pausing to do their prayers despite the numerous calls to prayers I have heard walking down the streets of downtown Amman. So I began to think to myself, “"Why doesn't anyone stop to pray when I know that many of these people in the streets most likely inundate the mosques on Fridays?"” I am sure that there are many answers to this question, but one that I have been convinced of is that the bustling environment of the city does not allow room for the salaat. How could anyone possibly pray on the ground in the middle of a noisy, construction-filled city with cars zooming past you in a place without traffic laws? And where did this city environment come from? Economic growth and transformation.

Is it bad that economic transformation and modernization are taking away some of religious practices? Does this mean that modernization requires sacrificing traditions and customs? I am not sure. What I know, however, is that the people of Jordan do desire economic growth and development. They do want to “modernize” and improve their quality of living, as the word on the street is about the rising unemployment (especially for the youth), the quality of the education system, the current Arab-Israeli peace process, and how things are transforming so quickly in the country, for the better or the worse. And I almost get the sense that the rising young elites of Jordan are willing to risk its beloved traditions and religion for the sake of economic growth.

So there definitely is a tension–—a tension between modernization and Islam, a tension between those who want change and those who want to preserve the old ways. And currently, Jordan is transforming quickly, modernizing daily, changing the outer appearance of Islam in the streets.

Hence, the fact that Amman, like many other rapidly transforming and developing cities, is caught in the middle of modernization and tradition/religion begs the questions of why is it that “modernization” and “progress” affect traditional and religious customs and practices? And how does a developing country reconcile modernization with preservation of its culture?