Will there ever be peace?

Its one of those questions that we've grown up asking. One of those questions that envelops the human intellect day and night; one of those questions similar to "Does God exist?" or "Why do we exist?" Now the question I pose shouldn't have the same gravity or existentialist connotation to it, but it seems to be one of those questions that deserves its place in the panthenon of questions about humanity and the divine.

All this pondering began as I was stranded in the traffic rush hour of Istanbul. Enveloped by automobiles of all sort, I flipped through radio channel after radio channel hoping to find something decent. It was one of those days when every song on the radio sucks. I then landed a channel that was playing a pretty groovy Mediterranean beat. I was satisfied and left the channel on for a while. After my ear began picking up the deviance of the lyrics from Turkish, I realized that it was Greek song. What a second...I'm in Turkey listening to a Greek song. Weren't these two nations arch enemies less than a century ago? Don't I always get a look of disappointment whenever I tell a Greek friend that I'll be traveling to Turkey?

As the channel returned to the Turkish commercials, I thought to myself... Will I live to the day when an Israeli song will be aired in Egypt? History seems to blow the sands of time no matter how stagnant they are...Change overtakes all. But will this ever be the case in our region? Its seems that this is one of the questions that the world's greatest intellectuals have failed to answer over the millenia... So do we really have to passively submit to the test of time to answer this question?

Where Does God Live?

I once read somewhere something along the lines of:

I looked for God in a church; I could not find Him.
I looked for God in a mosque; I could not find Him.
I looked for God in my heart, and I found Him.

These sage words have remained with me since. Belief in God, I believe, is an internal as the deepest corner of the heart, where His sacred temple resides. I have always thought to myself, does the location and techniques we use to worship Him really matter? Imagine if we could convert a consumerist hub like a mall, with all its luscious space, into a mosque. Or rather, what if it were a universal mosque, where Jews, Christians, and Muslims can worship God in their own approach; because isn't it the same God after all?

Yet, I do have to admit that I was stunned by what I witnessed yesterday. I never thought about it, but to this day, we continue to build our houses of worship in old-age architecture. Why is that? Is religion not compatable with modernity? Hence, for the first time in my life, I had witnessed a modern-style architecturally built mosque; it was simply revolutionary. Not only that, but the mosque's designer was a female, quite a feat in and of itself in the Islamic world.

I was flabbergasted when first reading an article about the construction of this mosque sometime ago on a bbc article, but visiting this mosque yesterday was a completely different experience. The simplicity and modernity of the mosque's interior and courtyard emitted such a tranquility I had not experienced at a mosque before. Even the design of the mosque itself took theological philosophy into consideration, which I thought was remarkable. Although the designer had placed the prayer section for women behind that of the men, it had elevated them to allow them a better glimpse of the mosque's internal view. I thought this to be very much in line with the notion that heaven is underneath mothers' feel in Islam, i.e. the mosque symbolizing heaven.

Overall, I feel like Islam has always encouraged architecture as a means of positively influencing believers. This is not an Islamic concept on its own, but one of all faiths. Yet, since our childhood, we are told that a mosque is God's home. No wonder why the architects of Istanbul's graceful mosques have meticulously strived to manifest God in their work. I recall reading in Alain de Botton's Architecture of Happiness that Islamic theologians strived to write beauty into matter in the construction of mosques, because ultimately beauty beauty translanted into purity and goodness of faith. This was the believe that by absorbing the beauty of architecture, one could become a better person. This is very much in line with the teachings of Avicenna's teachings that "God is the source of every beautiful thing."

I believe that the moral of this story is that with modernity in Islam can still come beauty...

Globalizing the Arab World

I couldn't get any sleep, so I thought I'd write for a change. Recently, I've been thinking a lot about the future and I'm optimistic. I'm actually looking forward to going back to Egypt sometime after graduation, at least if not immediately because I realize that it is once more becoming the land of opportunity, at least if its a blessing in disguise. What's interesting is that I see the complaints of every Egyptian to be an opportunity. I feel like the war, corruption, and inequality in the Arab World to be an opportunity. If you think about it mathematically, its as if there's a problem waiting for a solution and the one who finds the solution wins the prize, be it money, the Noble Peace Prize, or what have you....

I feel like there's a void of goods and services in the Middle East just waiting to be filled. The only problem is that our people are just so disconnected from the rest of the world. I can honestly attest that I feel absolutely no cultural shock when traveling from America to Turkey to China, economically speaking. This is a globalized worlds and the markets in each country should be identical. Unfortunately, I don't feel the same in Egypt. Egypt, when it comes to media, industry, markets, etc... is behind. For example, I was watching MTV Turkey today and couldn't distinguish between the Turkish and American music videos... at times the Turkish ones blew my mind by how well they were choreographed. In comparison, Egypt's media is simply lacking, except for Orascom's channel, which I love! The point is, there is such a dichotomy that's needs some mending.

This is when we step in. When I say we, I refer to the youth of the Arab World. The lucky few opportunists that have made it big in the Arab World were the ones that saw this void and filled it in by connecting the world to their countries. In Egypt, the Smart Village is just an example of kids who did a really good job of connecting Egypt with the rest of the IT world. I believe that the fastest way to bring about this connection with the rest of the world will be through technology!

I might be biased when saying this because of my engineering background, but I believe that technology, throughout history, has been what made empires ascend or collapse. But more than ever, with the advent of the Internet, people can connect to the world and shape their lives. The internet is not only the best means of expression, it allows interactivity between people at the furthest corners of the world in a matter of seconds. This has made competition so intense, but this is where the opportunity comes in. There is barely any opportunity in the Arab World. When Western markets are almost completely saturated, it is the emerging markets of the Arab World that are still in needs of goods and services. It is for this reason that through Internet and technology that we can bring the globe to those who might not otherwise have anyway of engaging with the world.

Its almost as if I've just had an epiphany, but I believe the Internet is the most powerful tool out there. It is for this reason that I shall strive to upgrade my skill set to accommodate the future demands of this new market I call home...