The audience was expecting to hear about immigration from Africa.
By David A. Sargent
Special to the Sun Journal

LEWISTON – Two Egyptian scholars who were expected to lead a discussion at L-A College on immigration from Africa and its affect on culture and politics delivered instead a diatribe against American policies that seemed to catch many in Friday night’s audience off guard.

Dr. Nawal El Saadawi and Dr. Sherif Hetata, who have been teaching at the University of Southern Maine since January, voiced strong criticism of the Bush administration. Dr. Saadawi’s remarks dominated the discussion as she charged President Bush with “terrorizing the world.” She also claimed that America does not have a true democracy, and she blamed most of the world’s large business interests and governments for oppressing citizens and causing unrest and poverty.

Saadawi said fundamentalism is on the rise in both the Muslim world and in America, and she said each side feeds on its fear of terrorism. Since the fall of the Soviet Union, she said, the United States found it necessary to come up with another enemy, and that enemy is terrorism.

She called French President Jacques Chirac “a scoundrel” and said Russia now has “a Mafia government.”

Dr. Hetata followed up on a number of his wife’s comments, and though his observations were less strident, they echoed her views.

A couple of questions from the audience reflected opposition to the speakers’ ideas. A man who said he has traveled throughout the world took exception to the scholars’ characterization of all forms of authority for the world’s faults. He said people too often accept their lot without question and “get what they deserve.”

That observation brought objection from another man who said he represented academia’s point of view.

It wasn’t until the discussion had gone on for an hour and a half that the speakers were reminded by another audience member that advance publicity had said they would speak on “The New African Diaspora.”

Saadawi said she believes any diaspora – a dispersion of African people throughout the world with an accompanying difficulty in retaining cultural values – is difficult to identify. Hetata said he thinks immigrants should integrate in their new communities. This led Saadawi to express an objection to the Islamic tradition of veiling.

She spoke of veiling or covering traditions in all major religions.

A young Somali woman with her head covered in traditional dress came to the front of the room to defend the custom, emphasizing that it is done because of modesty.

Throughout the discussion, there were several barely suppressed undercurrents of disagreement with the visiting scholars from those in the audience.

A man who is of Franco-American heritage asked, “Given a flawed Democracy or a benevolent, if there is such a thing, dictatorship, which would you prefer.” Saadawi said they would choose neither, and suggested that change will be coming from the people.

Saadawi is a novelist and psychiatrist who has written about women in Egyptian and Arab society. Her novel, “Woman at Point Zero,” was recently named among the best novels to come out of Africa in the last century.

Saadawi’s husband is a novelist and medical doctor. He has written about many subjects including travel, politics and health.

The event was hosted by the University of Southern Maine’s College of Arts and Sciences

Libra Committee.

Copy the Story Link