Ibn Rushd in Beirut/ابن رشد…

Last night, while walking home from tai chi practice in Beirut with a friend, we were stopped by an older man sitting at an outdoor cafe.

“How are you? I haven’t seen you in such a long time,” he said to my friend, “and by the way, you know we need to talk about Ibn Rushd.”

I had no idea my tai chi friend knew anything about Ibn Rushd–the 12th century philosopher who’s on my syllabus this semester. She looked just as confused as I was.

“I think you’re confusing me with someone else,” she said. As she turned to continue our stroll through downtown Beirut, I felt compelled to stay put.

“It’s strange you mentioned Ibn Rushd,” I said, “because I’m teaching a class on him next week.”

“Listen, every year we have a conference named after Ibn Rushd in Marseille, and we’re hoping to do one next year in Beirut,” he replied. After inviting me to participate, he leaned back in his seat, and took a long drag from his cigarette.

“Then again, who knows if any of us will be here next year,” he said, suggesting that there was no point in planning that far ahead. After all, just yesterday in Lebanon–an officer was assassinated, thirteen kidnapped nuns were released, targeted gas stations were closed, and an MP called for all kidnappings to stop. A lot can happen in Lebanon in a day–not to mention a year…