Towards a different vision concerning universities: Protecting the natural ability of regeneration and Respecting the integrity of creation (A Palestinian perspective) [Veracruz Symposium (October and 10, 2009) – Mexico] [“I have conversed both here and at home with men distinguished by their proficiency in the Eastern tongues I am quite ready to take the Oriental learning at the valuation of the Orientalists themselves I have never found one among them who could deny that a single shelf of a good European library was worth the whole native literature of India and Arabia The intrinsic superiority of the Western literature is, indeed, fully admitted by those members of the Committee who support the Oriental plan of education [in India]… … We must at present our best to form a class who may be interpreters between us and the millions whom we govern; a class of persons, Indian in blood and colour, but English in taste, in opinions, in morals, and in intellect… We have to educate a people who cannot at present be educated by means of their mother-tongue" From Thomas Babington Macaulay, "Minute of February 1835 on Indian Education," Macaulay, Prose and Poetry, selected by G M Young (Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press, 1957), pp-721-24.] Introduction In 1896, Khalil Sakakini, a Palestinian educator, wrote a book with the title Wearing Somebody Else’s Shoes in response to what he saw happening in Palestine as a result of schools established by western missions – even before the British occupation of Palestine in 1917 He saw clearly how children were becoming lifeless copies of models that were alien to Palestinian life; how their ideas, behaviors, relations, expressions, and perceptions sprang neither from within nor from community and culture but from textbooks and teachers who did not know the language nor the culture in Palestine, and who evaluated students according to exams that came from outside The natural ability of regeneration of both people and communities was slowly being lost – at several levels: at the level of acquiring Arabic language, local knowledge, local culture (including religions), and living with and from the land In 1908, he established his first school in Jerusalem, where he stressed – in words and actions – dignity of children: there was no grading and degrading of children and students; no tests, no official textbooks, no punishment In it, he respected children’s innate abilities to learn Arabic as a beautiful, precious, and logical subject; he stressed learning it through patterns rather than being taught via grammar He encouraged his students to know Palestine through walking His educational philosophy was slowly wiped out by the British who imposed their system of textbooks, exams, and grading Committees based in London, who oversaw general exams, became the reference and measure of students’ worth Shifting the worth of students from what they could well, in harmony with inner convictions, and from respect of local culture, to arbitrary measures controlled by people far away, was the single most destructive act It was called progress! Learning ceased to be perceived as a biological natural ability which every child is born with, and became an ability that is acquired through a process governed by the values of control and winning, through official institutions, licensed professionals, imposed curricula, and general exams – all of which were English-based Instruction and certification became the privileged forms of learning Macaulay’s strategy and policy in India seem to have been followed in Palestine: first, making people feel that they and their cultures are inferior; second, instilling in them the conviction that English ways, styles, and ideas form the path to progress; and, third, showing readiness by Britain to help in civilizing them! The ability and spirit of regeneration were the victim, at many levels: learning, healing, soil (by introducing the flush toilet), religions, local culture such as storytelling (by introducing curricula and textbooks), seeds, food, raising children, and managing life affairs All of these aspects in life were robbed from people through gradual institutionalization My parents’ generation was the last to live a life that was able to regenerate itself Their world was made invisible to me by my education It was in the mid 1970s that I became aware of the richness of my illiterate mother’s world, with her understanding of math, religion, raising children, managing daily affairs, and creating an environment at home full of love and happiness Since the mid 1970s, she was for me a main source of healing from a lot of what I acquired in schools and universities; I never stopped talking and writing about her world, which has been the biggest source of inspiration and wisdom for me.1 I always say I have been lucky in my life in three respects: lived most of my life without a “national” government; mostly before development; and my best teacher was an illiterate person (who taught me without words) These aspects made it possible for me to see and understand the world through my experiences, interactions, and reflections rather than through institutions Universities today Contrary to the perception articulated by Macaulay about the superiority of British universities, one fact that is very obvious and revealing today is that most decisions that were taken in the UK and the US – in politics, economy, finance, agriculture, food, education, military, raising children, health – were taken by graduates of so-called elite universities Thus, the role of such universities in creating current crises, in the US and UK as well as around the world, cannot be dismissed as insignificant The values that govern perceptions, actions, and relations within these universities, which were filtered into our universities, cannot continue to be ignored Thus, the question, “what are the values that currently govern universities around the world and, on the other hand, what are the values which embody wisdom?” is a most important and urgent question It is related to vision The perception that there are problems in our universities but not in elite universities in the US and Western Europe is, thus, a false perception In fact, our situation is more hopeful It is much harder to shake Harvard (than our universities) and expect those in it to go through radical change; the “drug” is not as deep in ours We are more equipped to articulate a vision that can help unplug us from dominant destructive ways in living It is important, however, that we avoid prescribing a model ready for people to implement because, then, we would fall in the same trap westerners fell into A vision is neither a model nor a paradigm but a set of values and principles that we not violate in action In light of what is currently happening in Palestine, and in universities everywhere, the problem I see as most crucial is the lack of a vision Where a vision is expressed, it usually See, for example, my article, “Community Education is to Reclaim and Transform What Has Been Made Invisible,” in the Harvard Educational Review Feb 1990 See also, my article, “How to Eradicate Illiteracy without Eradicating Illiterates?” (presented at the International Literacy Day at UNESCO, Sep 2002) See, Commercialization of higher education by Derek Bok See also Public intellectuals by Richard Posner, in which he mentions the case where 240 intellectuals and scholars signed (for a “fee”) an add in favor of Bill Gates in the case of Gates vs US The undeclared ethical code that seems to control actions in universities (whether one uses his muscles or his brains) is to accumulate as much money as possible, which will guarantee the continuation of elite universities takes the form of goals and mission Thus, I agree with the organizers of the symposium that a most important and urgent challenge we face in universities is articulating a vision This is what I intend and hope this paper will contribute to One aspect rarely mentioned about current universities is the fact that they not care about what happens to land, human communities, and local cultures; nor about what enters bodies, minds, and hearts of children or goes out of them They ignore the pattern of living as most important factor in creating threats or solutions Universities form an important tool in deepening the dominant consumption pattern in living and its values of competition, control, and winning rather than living responsibly with respect of nature and creation In short, the dominant form of universities has contributed significantly to current crises and threats to life on Earth Polluting nature, tearing apart human communities, and destroying local cultures and economies – all in the name of progress and development – cannot continue to be ignored Universities around the world focus on issues and matters that are shallow and technical, such as evaluation, competition, and analysis and ignore serious issues such as: values that govern actions; existence of multiple incommensurable knowledges; fact that sciences have created many more problems than those they solved; and the inhuman practice of equating the worth of a person to a number A person’s career is what really counts in universities and what determines one’s actions and relations What characterizes students most is their readiness to follow instructions What they learn fast is what leads to success and failure, and that confronting those who control their careers is to be avoided Our universities copy “area studies” (such as Middle Eastern studies) and ignore studying societies that have torn us apart – ignore studying the roots and tools that Europe used to rob us of abilities, capabilities, and resources We need, for example, to find alternatives to instruction and certification as the privileged forms of learning This is not a call to abolish universities in their current form but to end the monopoly of the dominant form over learning No doubt, dominant sciences, technologies, and knowledge have solved thousands of problems during the past 400 years, but now it is becoming increasingly obvious that they have created many more and much more serious problems The path they followed was more a path of disasters than blessings Putting the mind on the throne and imprisoning wisdom form the basis of much of the destruction, corruption, and pollution of people, communities, and nature that we increasingly see around the world Today, we all contribute to this process Putting the mind above existence (I think, therefore I am – Descartes); harming nature by design (science is the subduing of nature – Francis Bacon, the father of modern science); excusing wiping out cultures and peoples (survival of the fittest – Darwin); believing that if we can’t measure something, we don’t know what we are talking about (a myth spread by mathematicians); living by the values of control, winning, and profit, regardless of cost (goal of economic development); tearing apart social fabrics in communities (through the concept of progress); believing in a single path for progress (which justifies measuring people along a vertical line that claims to be objective); dividing communities into winners and losers (probably, worst form of class structure); perceiving the world through the dichotomy of right and wrong; believing in development that harms nature (such as farming the Amazon); ignoring local land, local cultures, and local economies; and killing diversity (except in what serves consumption)… all characterize universities and all are contrary to wisdom, well being, and the spirit of regeneration Every person gets nurtured from land and communities which are not only absent from but also destroyed by universities What we thought to be the cure turned out to be the disease itself What we should and can in Veracruz is offer a vision that is wide but concise: ‘wide’ in the sense it encompasses life in its wholeness, and ‘concise’ in the sense that we don’t get drowned in a new “verbal empire” that requires an army of professionals and experts… The vision I propose for discussion at the symposium When I went back to Palestine in October 2007, after spending 10 years at Harvard, during which I visited 29 countries and worked with people and groups at the grassroots, and as a result of observing what has been taking place in Palestine since 1993, I became much more convinced that the most serious threat to life – in Palestine as elsewhere – is robbing people and communities the ability and spirit of regeneration Thus, the core value in the vision which I propose, concerning universities is: protecting and regaining the natural ability of regeneration, and respecting the integrity of creation… protecting and regaining the ability of life to regenerate itself It is connected to responsibility, one aspect of which is how to conceive science in a way that is respectful and supportive of life and creation This is part of wisdom and well-being of people, communities, and nature It is crucial that we not confuse tools with values Science, education, creativity, rights, excellence, democracy… are tools, not values They can serve very diverse values: power, control, destruction, and corruption or they can inform and deepen wisdom The general concern of this paper is how to regain wisdom in our lives and universities.3 * * * Vision, dignity, responsibility, well-being, spirit of regeneration, respect for creation, and considering nature as the measure of our actions – are some elements currently missing in universities, and they are crucial in wisdom I propose we discuss them at the symposium and use them instead of ones dominant today; for example, ‘protecting the spirit and ability of regeneration’ instead of ‘sustainability and development’; ‘principles and values’ instead of ‘outcomes’; ‘vision’ instead of ‘goals’; ‘dignity’ instead of ‘rights’; ‘wisdom’ instead of ‘knowledge’; ‘community’ instead of ‘institutions’; ‘abilities’ instead of ‘needs’; ‘hope’ instead of ‘expectations’; ‘wholeness and harmony’ instead of ‘specialization’; and ‘politics’ instead of ‘services’ Clarifications of some words: I mean by wisdom protecting nature and respecting the integrity of creation Since every person is nurtured by two soils – soil of land and soil of culture and community – then taking care of both soils is an integral part of wisdom This means that we take care of what goes inside us (food, ideas, feelings…), and what goes out Western civilization is known for science, technology… – but not for wisdom Westerners who seek wisdom, usually look for it among first nations in the Americas or in Chinese, Indian, African or Islamic (especially Sufi) writings Rumi's work, for example, has been popular in the West for centuries There have been references to him in the work of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Hegel… His popularity has increased to a surprising extent in recent years According to the Christian Science Monitor, Rumi ranked as America's best-selling poet in 1997! Rumi is a 13th century Persian Muslim Sufi poet (excrement, expressions…) I use vision to refer to values and convictions that we not violate in our actions They form the basic elements of the logic we live in harmony with By dignity I mean that one’s sense of worth and one’s actions spring from within and from one’s respect for nature Perceiving every person as a source of meaning and understanding is an integral part of dignity By politics I mean people taking responsibility for managing their affairs and resisting what robs them and their communities of abilities, capabilities, and resources There is a difference between responsibility towards an institution and responsibility towards creation (land and communities) The belief in a single undifferentiated path for progress (which justifies competition and measuring people and nations along a vertical line that claims to be objective) is contrary to wisdom The phenomenon that intrigued me since the early 1970s has been the ease with which the mind can be deceived This deception dulls senses, deforms perceptions, corrupts souls, distracts attentions, drugs awareness, and pollutes body and nature How is it so easy to deceive the mind?4 The deception started when institutions were given full power to control meanings and which words to use In addition to fabricating terms and meanings, another aspect that explains the ease of deceiving minds is measuring traits that cannot be measured (i.e using math where it shouldn’t be used) Using numbers to measure height or weight is meaningful, but to measure one’s knowledge or worth is the beginning of decadence What can we do? The first step in my opinion is to heal from many sacreds of modern times such as progress, competition, monopoly of institutions, and listening to experts The wider the vision, the fewer the words … The vision I mentioned above is a wide vision expressed concisely It does not need experts, professionals, evaluations… to explain it This is true about most big visions The wide vision of Jesus was understood by shepherds, fishermen, and the like Today, a person has to study for long years to qualify as a small priest in a remote village! A wise and perceptive statement concerning visions was said by An-Naffari, an Arab Islamic Sufi who lived more than a thousand years ago: “As a vision becomes wider, words contract and become narrower” (the statement is much nicer in Arabic) What he is saying, in part, is that life is much richer and wider than what words can express and what thoughts and concepts can comprehend We should be humble and respect the richness in nature and living, and keep this richness alive within us The statement embodies respect for people; it is against drowning people in piles of words, detailed formulas, instructions, and ready meanings and measures – which characterizes modern institutions We should not flood people with verbiage such as in academia Most modern universities and organizations in general flood people with words which are virtual verbal empires One is usually lost in jungles of words The challenge for universities (and for organizations and institutions) is to have a vision with a capacity to include life in its fullness but expressed in few words It was at the beginning of the 1970s when I first tried to clarify a vision to live by and work in harmony with My first articulation was ‘building on natural abilities, and on what The meaning of mind in Arabic is interesting and revealing While in the west it is a means to go ahead regardless of consequences, the root of ‘Aql (the word for mind in Arabic) has one of its meanings considering consequences before you anything people, communities, and culture have’ That was appropriate for us under Israeli occupation In 1997, I read a statement concerning the worth of a person, articulated by Imam Ali “the worth of a person is what s/he yuhsen” [I will elaborate on this later] Today, where corruption and destruction of life is at a level unprecedented before, the way I express the vision is: protecting and regaining the ability of life to regenerate itself This means living, thinking, relating, interacting, and acting – as much as possible – in a responsible way: in harmony with nature, wisdom, and well being, and outside the dictates of institutions and professionals A person can stay in institutions but think and act outside their hegemony By healing from their hegemony, one can create diverse living spaces In what follows, I will elaborate on (1) the idea of pluralism of knowledges and worlds, taking my illiterate mother’s world as example; (2) the idea of replacing the current source of worthiness (a point on a vertical line that claims to be objective) by what I perceive to be a most human way of valuing a person: the concept of yuhsen in Imam Ali's statement; (3) a concept in Arabic concerning perception of and relation to the other, which embodies a logic that is radically different from Aristotle’s and Hegel’s logics: the concept of almuthanna; and (4) the oldest and most effective way of learning – al-mujaawara (close to apprenticeship, but much more) Introducing these aspects brings the beauty in Arab culture and invites others to bring the beauty in theirs This approach is in harmony with having no measurements, starting with what is beautiful and inspiring, letting cultures flourish and change from within, and supporting diverse ways of learning I Pluralism of knowledges Science without wisdom ends up being destructive We bring wisdom into science and living by protecting and regaining the ability of regeneration In Palestine today, for example, there is hardly a cucumber seed that can regenerate itself; every year peasants have to buy new seeds; it is the same with many plants and animals What happened to plants and animals happened in relation to cultures Knowledges that people and communities had, and were transmitted through generations, are disappearing My mother never read or wrote a word, but she knew math in a way I could never or understand (in spite of the fact that I taught it at universities in Palestine and the US) She sewed clothes for women Whereas the geometry I studied and taught was made of straight lines, circles, triangles, rectangles, parabolas… her geometry consisted of as many shapes as the number of women she made dresses for! Every woman had her own geometry Where did she get her knowledge and how? This is exactly what I mean by the spirit of regeneration in relation to knowledge: transmitting knowledge from one generation to another, without teaching At another level, she and my father brought us up without reading any book about raising children or psychology of children The environment they created for us, I could not – with my doctorate degree in education – create for my children! They learned how to bring up children through wisdom that was regenerating from generation to another Their learning did not happen as a result of teaching, curricula, tests, and grades Learning is a biological ability; we ruin it through teaching! Storytelling is such ability One can be taught how to tell stories but the spirit of storytelling can only be transmitted from generation to generation through ages, with no teaching, no workshops, and no professionals The same is true about religions My mother was not able to repeat a word said by Jesus (other than ‘love one another’), but I not know of anyone who embodied his spirit as much as she did – a spirit that was regenerated for 2000 years! I know that it is very hard (even impossible) for my mother’s knowledge, her way of learning, and her world to be transmitted through academia in its current form – her world embodies richness that is outside universities’ capability to comprehend and transmit I am mentioning it here to point – in trying to articulate a vision – to the importance of stopping the idea of a full-time faculty and requiring that a teacher (at any level) should be involved in doing what s/he teaches Teaching something without living it daily is ridiculous No one will accept being taught how to play a musical instrument by someone who cannot play it, but all of us seem to accept to be taught math, languages, sciences, etc by people who not use them in their daily living! Also, I am mentioning my mother’s world as an example of pluralism of knowledges and ways of learning, and of the fact that the best learning does not happen through teaching in artificial settings It is an example of living with humility – for us as graduates from universities It is important that we not lose knowledges that cannot be detected by universities This is not a call to abandon what was created as knowledge during the past 400 years, but a call to regain wisdom “How to gain something without losing precious things?” should be one of the questions that guide the new vision Before ending this section, it is worth mentioning Hugh of St Victor who conceived science as remedying the harm we to creation by mere living5 – in addition to the harm we consciously by design Hugh’s concept of science is in harmony with wisdom His conception of science is not subduing nature (as Francis Bacon asserted) but is biased towards maintaining nature, communities, and the well-being of all creatures II The worth of a person: the concept of yuhsen In 1998, when I first established the Arab Education Forum within the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard University, I came across a statement in Arabic that had a profound impact on me It is in relation to the source and meaning of the worth of a person The statement was articulated by Imam Ali 1,400 years ago It says in Arabic: qeematu kullimri’en ma yuhsenoh قيمة كل امرئ ما يحسنهAccording to it, the worth of a person is what s/he yuhsen Yuhsen, in Arabic, has several meanings, which together constitute the worth of the person: the first meaning refers to how well the person does what s/he does, which may require technical knowledge and skills; the second refers to how beautiful and pleasing what s/he does (the importance of the senses, the aesthetic dimension); the third refers to how good it is for the community, from the perspective of the community (i.e not doing harm to the community); the fourth refers to how much one gives of self; and the fifth refers to how respectful (of people and ideas) the person is in discussions Thus, according to the statement, evaluating a person or a person’s worth is not judged by professional committees or official bodies, or by measures that claim to be objective and universal, but by the five meanings embedded in the word yuhsen It is only in relation to the first meaning – technical knowledge and skills – that professionals and institutions may be needed The five dimensions of the word yuhsen naturally embody pluralism, humility, contextual meanings (personal, cultural, and community), and interaction However, they not constitute another “super system” It compels us to take a stance in the effective See Ivan Illich, Shadow Work… presence of others, without dehumanizing comparison along a vertical measure I strongly believe that the world cannot survive if we continue to measure people and cultures along a vertical line that claims to be objective, neutral, and universal As long as one’s worth comes from outside the person and outside the community, one’s inner world would be fragmented and shattered, and the social fabric in the community torn Universalism and fragmentation go hand in hand: every universal claim shatters the possibility of building a universe within each person and tears apart the social fabric in communities Within this perspective, the term ‘underdevelopment’ is not only inappropriate but it also blinds us to the richness and uniqueness which are true of every culture and every person This brings up the question whether ‘underdevelopment’ reflects reality or was invented (G Esteva) Looking at the worth of a person through Imam Ali’s statement is a good example of a wide vision with compact words Shifting the locus of the worth of a person from institutions and symbols back to the person and one's relation to community and surroundings is relevant and inspiring in today’s world The British conquered Palestinians (as well as others) from within, by shifting the locus of the worth of a person from the person and one’s relation to community and to nature to abstract symbols The source of one’s worth became a monopoly in the hands of licensed professionals supported by licensed institutions This triumphant march of arbitrary symbols was accompanied by two of the most ‘cherished’ pillars of Western civilization: the belief that praxis can be reduced to theory (i.e the intellect can completely understand life), and the belief in universals (universal meanings and theories and that there is a single undifferentiated path for “progress,” along which people are measured) It is the shift in the worth of a person (rather than military power) that underlies the falling apart of most societies in the 20th century which we witness its full consequences today In other words, what we embrace as progress is what shatters us from within and from outside! III Perceiving the other: the concept of al-muthanna Many western philosophers point out to what they consider a very old debate: the relationship between the One and the Many When I hear that, I think, “I don’t remember I ever experienced I was one or many but, I always felt I am made up of muthannas.” Arabs experience the muthanna daily It forms a significant part of the grammatical structure of the language; it has no equivalent in any European language (except ancient Greek) In contrast to Descartes’ logic “I think, therefore I am”, the logic of al-muthanna is “YOU are, therefore I am” – my existence depends on yours Al-muthanna refers to a relation between two people that becomes very important in the lives of both, and yet has a life of its own – almost like a baby It is neither a legal relation nor intellectual nor economic nor social… it is not binding in any way other than the free and mutual desire by both people It is neither a couple nor dual – although the latter is usually used to refer to it Al-muthanna does not perceive the other as non-‘I’ or as a person that is a copy of ‘I’, and it is not a higher synthesis of the two Each person remains who s/he is but a relation starts developing between them, which becomes very important for both In this sense, it embodies a logic that is different from both Aristotle’s and Hegel’s logics The other person is a ‘you’ rather than a non-‘I’ or a copy of ‘I’ or forms a higher synthesis with ‘I’ That’s why I believe that without al-muthanna, it is very difficult to develop a pluralistic attitude in living and perceiving Without having experiences that embody al-muthanna, one would consider a place like Boston to be pluralistic No doubt, there is cultural diversity in Boston but it is more like the diversity in a zoo, where each group lives in its own cage Living in cages or in a “melting pot” of cultures is contrary to the spirit of al-muthanna This also explains why a person like Samuel Huntington6 oscillates between conflict and integration; he can’t think of the other in any way other than enemy or copy of Huntington’s way of living In European cultures, one has to work hard to unplug self from the dichotomy of the ‘one’ and the ‘many’ I first learned the meaning of pluralism and humility through a very special muthanna in my life which I mentioned above: my relation with my mother My encounter with the world that was embedded in her life – starting with when I first (in 1976) ‘discovered’ her math and knowledge that were radically different from mine – clarified for me the meaning of pluralism, humility, culture, universal, intercultural dialogue, and cultural diversity The fact that my first experience with pluralism was related to math and knowledge (which are usually considered neutral, objective, and universal) had a profound effect on me; it helped to quickly unplug me from the belief in a single path in learning, knowing, and progressing – the essence of what is referred to as universal thinking Realizing that I could neither understand nor what she was able of understanding and doing, taught me both humility and pluralism of knowledges The ‘dialogue’ (which was not verbal) that I had with my mother’s world (and which continued after her death in 1984) has been the longest and most inspiring ‘dialogue’ in my life She embodied a whole world within her; a world that is harmonious and not fragmented like the one I acquired in schools and universities She saw the world in a way similar to looking at her face in an unbroken mirror, while I saw the world fragmented like looking at my face in a mirror with 20 cracks There is a difference between a person believing in universals and that same person striving to have one’s life embody a universe; between believing that what one thinks is universal and one’s life constitutes a universe What my mother was trying to constantly fulfill was to live a harmonious life In contrast, the knowledge I had acquired at universities tried to make me believe that what I was acquiring was universal There is a world of difference between claiming one’s beliefs are universal AND striving to make one’s beliefs embody a universe Stressing that I am “made” of muthannas brings up into question another word, widely used in relation to cultures: identity In cultures where people experience muthanna, the word identity is meaningless and alien – even contrary to the spirit of al-muthanna IV Al-Mujaawarah as an ancient and effective way of learning One method we have been trying to revive is learning through mujaawara, which literally means ‘neighboring’ a person who has an experience that can be described as mature It is similar to, but much more than, apprenticeship I will mention one example to illustrate A gathering was organized with Mohye ed-Din Ellabbad in Cairo Ellabbad has a long and diverse experience (extending over several decades) as an illustrator, artist, writer, graphic designer, and producer of books and magazines for children and adults He never perceived He is the author of Conflict of Civilizations in which he considered Islam as the enemy, and of Who Are We? in which he considered Hispanics as the enemy himself only as a skilled professional or a master in his art but as a person who tried to be as attentive as possible to the world around him and express that honestly through his illustrations and his words – honest to his experience and the values he lives by The gathering was arranged for 10 practicing artists in the field, from Arab countries, who joined Ellabbad for two to four weeks in January 2004 Despite the fact that they all have jobs and are busy, yet all showed readiness and enthusiasm to go to Cairo By being together, they felt they could gain a broader understanding of what they do, acquire new skills and perspectives as well as may learn how to what they already better The group is still in touch with one another, and a book was produced that reflects their experiences during and after the mujaawara One idea behind the mujaawara is to start a process where each of the 10 people starts a mujaawara with younger artists It is worth mentioning that what took place in Cairo embodies a set of values and convictions: every person is a teacher and a learner (nurturing is always mutual); each person is uniquely complete (no one can be a copy of another); learning involves building both the inner world of each person and the social-spiritual-intellectual-cultural fabric among the group; and experiential maturity precedes or accompanies understanding and knowing through words and concepts – but always richer than them During their being together, they exchanged work and publications they produced, and books, articles, and works they found useful in their work and life The workplace of Ellabbad, and people and places they visited, all formed part of the learning space The gathering in Cairo was a “learning community”, where friendships were developed and arrangements for future cooperation on common projects started It is a way of learning that should be revived * * * I will discuss at the symposium a specific example of a university that I was part of in Palestine during the 1970s: Birzeit University It is a concrete example that I believe will be inspiring and relevant to our discussions in Veracruz… * * * One last comment: during the 10 years I worked at Harvard, I visited (several times) Oaxaca in Mexico, Baluchistan in Pakistan, and Udaipur in India (among other places) These laces made me aware of the diversity that still exists in a lively way in communities and cultures We need to protect them from the onslaught of ‘progress’, from monopolies of big corporations, and from the seduction of competing along a path that is presented as the only path In spite of appearances to the contrary, the age that is unfolding is one of hope, revitalization, and regeneration The main source of hope which I see in Palestine lies in rural communities; it lies in people, communities, and cultures Caring for the soil of the land and of culture is crucial Continuing interactions and building friendships across our worlds and cultures is our real strength Friendship, hospitality, generosity and faith (which exist in our cultures) are basic elements in building “a world that can embrace many worlds”; they are universals within a different and more human globalization These form an integral part of the vision 10 ... one another, and a book was produced that reflects their experiences during and after the mujaawara One idea behind the mujaawara is to start a process where each of the 10 people starts a mujaawara... and communities the ability and spirit of regeneration Thus, the core value in the vision which I propose, concerning universities is: protecting and regaining the natural ability of regeneration, ... years to qualify as a small priest in a remote village! A wise and perceptive statement concerning visions was said by An-Naffari, an Arab Islamic Sufi who lived more than a thousand years ago: