Have any other countries, besides the U.S. and Egypt, been a big part of your life at any point? In what kinds of ways?
Israel of course—I began to engage issues of faith and politics in a more serious way after arriving there in 1987 as a student. I am privileged to continue this journey as I travel throughout the region. The more exposure I get to the region and its theological-political culture, the more I appreciate both the commonalities and differences between our respective faiths, and how little I know about my own faith tradition. All this is an ongoing process of struggling to find one’s place as a stranger in a strange land. As it hopefully does for my students, cross-cultural experience simply offers me a mirror with which to examine the depth and substance of my own faith.
In a CCCU news story we posted in August of 2002, you are quoted as saying, "I ask myself and my students to involve themselves personally as well as professionally in their cross-cultural experience, whether service learning or simply friendship." Why is it important to you that both you and your students "get personal" during MESP?
As a scribe who seeks books more than people, I have to remind myself that at the end of my life, should I be able to reflect at all then, I will not lament the books I haven’t read, the money I failed to earn, or the stuff I don’t have [though in truth I want more of all these things]. Instead, I will remember the people who made my life a banquet table of blessings, even in the midst of occasional trouble and strife.
How do the locals seem to be responding to MESP students in this post 9-11 world? Does America’s "war on terror" seem to be affecting the students’ experience in your program?
Of course 9/11 impacts our relationships in significant ways—especially our national response to it. Religion and politics, two of the most sensitive subjects on the planet, are both at the core of this event and its aftermath. But I always remember that during this whole Iraq War until today [my five years in Egypt], no MESP student or property has ever been threatened, harmed, or damaged. To the contrary, our students find a warm welcome in the neighborhood and wider region. By any account, this is an achievement I credit our Muslim friends with, and pray that our relations with them continue to flourish.
What is it that fuels your passion for teaching American students about the Middle East and its many peoples?
I love to learn more stuff, and teaching gives me the excuse to learn along with my students—simple. But I also know that while learning can produce bad fruit, it usually empowers people. It is a privilege to be part of that process.
Can you think of any moments during the semester that you always look forward to?
I look forward to student "ah ha" moments—these come at different times in the semester.
Why is the home stay an important aspect of the program, in your eyes?
Because it shows us a more real face of the conservative Muslims we seek to engage, and they also see ours. They may never again encounter real Americans so closely again. The rest is commentary.
What kind of student would you consider to be a perfect candidate for this program?
I haven’t found one yet, so I don’t really know. What I do know is that God has plans for each young person who comes to MESP, and I try to make sure that I don’t get in the way. If I am fortunate, our MESP agenda will facilitate rather than impede His purposes.
How do you hope students will be changed by their MESP experience?
Hopefully, they will be changed by seeing their faith more clearly, living it more dearly, and if possible, using it to forge a vocational path. One or all of these would be nice, however painful the experience.