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Sunday, January 28, 2007

Little Mosque on the Prairie

I just found out about the show Little Mosque on the Prairie on CBC. The idea behind the show is that it is made by Muslims to appeal to Muslims. It is supposed to be funny to the rest of Canada also.

I wonder if the show is any good or not. I wonder if a show like this could ever make it in the US. You can find the show on YouTube and Google Video, but I am not sure I can watch a whole episode on my computer. I would expect that some of the jokes on this show would not be funny in the US. Canada and the US are just different enough that somethings on Canadian television do not make me laugh.

Labels: Canada, CBC, Muslim, television

- Rich, 8:10 AM

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

First Muslim U.S. Congressman?

I have been thinking about Keith Ellison's campaign for the U.S. Congress. If he wins he would be the first Muslim to win a seat in Congress. He is running in Minnesota as a Democrat. Minnesota has a long history of being progressive. I was looking at where he stands on issues. He is both pro-choice and pro gay rights.

On Religion and Ethics News Weekly he said:

Look, you know, as a Muslim, you're getting visits from law enforcement officials, and you haven't done anything. You've heard about relatives being stopped in the airport. You feel vulnerable at this time. Do you want to be the one to say who should not have rights, if you understand what I mean?

This is a clear pluralist, sepration of church and state message. I wonder how most Muslims feel about these stances. From the little I know about Islam it does not look favorable at homosexuality or abortion. I wonder if this will keep Muslims from voting for him.

For the most part Muslims have a choice of a political party that shares it's social values, but has objectionable civil rights and foreign policy or a political party that has liberal social policy, but has a chance to improve civil rights and foreign policy.

I wonder how individual Muslim Americans make these political choices.

more coverage

Labels: congress, Muslim, news, politics

- Rich, 3:20 PM

Monday, October 09, 2006

Separation and Unity

I have been thinking about Jack Straw comments on the veil. I know that a lot of Muslims have been taking this as an attack. Jack Straw is an MP and how else can they see his statements. The last few years have been full of statements that some Muslims have seen as offensive.

I read the article and seen the interview. I think that people have to read all the comments and see the interview before talking about the debate.

This quote really stuck in my head.

Would she, however, think hard about what I said - in particular about my concern that wearing the full veil was bound to make better, positive relations between the two communities more difficult.

It was such a visible statement of separation and of difference.

I thought the whole point of a women living in the west wearing a niqab is to be separate and different. I thought it was a statement making it clear they are a Muslim, and how they feel about men and women mixing. I would think that wearing a Niqab is a clear rejection of some of the values of our cultures.

If that is true, it leads us to the really important debate. It is not if a woman should be able to wear a nijab or not. The real debate is about how much duties do these women have to participate in society. In the BBC interview Jack Straw talks about parallel society and the cohesion of community. I am going to give Jack Straw the benefit of the doubt and not look for hidden motivations. I think there is a debate here.

From where I stand, one of the great freedoms of western liberal democracy is the right not to participate. We have the right to withdraw from society. We have the right to make clear visible statement of separation and of difference. Everyone in the West has the right to say "I am not like you" and choose to be apart.

Doing this comes at some peril. Groups of people who disengage from societies are easy to paint as "The Other." It is easy to scapegoat them and they often have few allies in the society. I can see that it is worth it to do what is right for your religion and let the societal things work themselves out.

I do not think Jack Straw was smart to make these comments. I think that his comments get lost in ideas of power and power-plays. People are going to talk about his motivations. Other people are going to use the comments for their own motivations. The substance and the debate will get lost in people being insulted and feeling under attack.

If I am making a mistake here please tell me. For this entry I am willing to republish any relevant comments in another post. Now I just wish I had a way to get Muslim women to read this blog and comment on it.



Jack Straw You Tube Search

Labels: BBC, Islam, Jack Straw, Muslim, Niqab, UK, Veil

- Rich, 6:50 PM

Friday, October 06, 2006

Weary

I saw an interesting quote in an article about the new head of the Islamic Society of North America Putting a Different Face on Islam in America:

Like other mainstream Muslims, she struggles with how best to convince people that the faith does not condone terrorist violence. She detects what she calls 'Muslim fatigue' among North Americans weary both of the extremists who use the religion to justify their attacks and of the moderates who seem powerless to influence them.

Labels: America, Islam, Muslim

- Rich, 5:08 PM

Sunday, June 25, 2006

As Barrier Comes Down, a Muslim Split Remains

Here is an interesting article about a mosque getting rid a barrier that divided men and women.

I have no rooting interest in this debate, but here is an interesting quote.

"There is a sense that there is a crusade out there against Islam, that Islam is under siege and we have to hold steadfast to our righteous ways more than ever,' said Khaled Abou El Fadl, a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, and a prominent Islamic jurist known for his moderate interpretations.

Dr. Abou El Fadl said the practice began in 18th-century Saudi Arabia, where the austere Wahhabi sect of Islam started walling off or banning women from mosques. (He added that the modern spread of Wahhabism is one facet of the pervasiveness of Saudi financial support for Muslim institutions worldwide.)"

Labels: gender, Islam, Muslim, religion, women

- Rich, 4:27 PM

Sunday, December 04, 2005

Converts to extremists

I was listening to NPR's Talk of the Nation last week and they were talking about a Belgian Woman who was a suspected suicide bomber. The woman was born in Belgium and converted to Islam. There are lots of stories about the shock and surprise of the people from her town. People are shocked that someone they know could do this.

I like this quote from the Yahoo story.

Experts said converts to Islam like Degauque are often easy prey for extremists because their search for a new identity can make them impressionable.

I was thinking about this woman and Jose Padilla, a.k.a. the Dirty Bomber. It is easy for me to see how someone from the West could be sucked into something like this. You look at life in the West and it is easy to see why someone might reject it. No matter where you stand, you have to compromise often just to live day to day life. Depending on what you are looking for in a new religion. I could see people I know rejecting the West. If someone rejects the West it is easy to see how someone could decide to fight the West.

Tonight is the premiere of Sleeper Cell on Showtime. I wonder if they are going to do justice to this topic or not. I want to see this show. I think this is something we will see more of and not less of.

Labels: convert, Islam, Jose Padilla, Muslim, revert, Sleeper Cell, suicide boomer

- Rich, 3:59 PM

Friday, June 27, 2003

Converts

I saw a story about religions in Mexico. I wonder if Mexican cultural can bend Islam around it the same way it bent Roman Catholicism. What would be the Islam equivalent of Our Lady Of Guadalupe?

Labels: conversation, Islam, Mexico, Muslim, religion

- Rich, 7:12 PM

Thursday, June 26, 2003

Comments

I love having comment boxes on weblog. The feedback is great. I think it improves my writing and Sad Salvation. I like knowing that people are out there reading my writing. It helps me know it is more then just yelling at the wind.

So far this entry with the picture below and this entry about the picture have received the most comments. Because the way the comment boxes work, it is hard to find the comments. I thought the comments below deserved.




Date/Time: July 10 2002, 05:46 pm

Poster: Bonni

I feel that I am violating her just by looking at her picture. Just her eyes are so expressive.

Date/Time: Jan 12 2003, 06:14 pm


Poster: Jannah

there are two wrongs here.

1. This muslim woman( who fully covers herself) puts her picture up for everyone's eyes to see. It is attracting men to her eyes. As a Muslim she cannot do this....

2. Because of her picture Rich she's got you thinking about her, making you think about whats underneath..etc. This is almost as worse as her taking her hijab and niqaab off. But I cannot judge this woman. Maybe she posted her pic wth different intentions.

When a woman covers herself she is respected, and the eyes of men are lowered out of respect.

-Jannah


Date/Time: Jan 19 2003, 05:23 am

Poster: Rich
Homepage:

Jannah:

Thank you for you comment on my web page. I think you added something to the ideas there. I would like to ask you a question.

You Wrote:

2. Because of her picture Rich she's got you thinking about her, making you think about whats underneath..etc. This is almost as worse as her taking her hijab and niqaab off. But I cannot judge this woman. Maybe she posted her pic with different intentions.

It did not get to think of her in a sexual way. I was think thinking about her body. I was thinking about how she views the world and what kind of person she is. Is that also wrong? I have heard that one of the reason Muslim women cover themselves is so they can be thought of as a person and not as a sexual object. Am I misunderstanding this?


I wanted to send this as an e-mail, but it got bounced back to me.




Date/Time: Apr 02 2003, 11:00 am
Poster: Umm Fathimah
Homepage

I Rich,

Like you I have a web site, but mine is on the reason why We [Muslim women] dress the way we do. I have pics of fully veiled women, ONLY for the sole purpose to show people the different styles of dress, and what is in acordance with the Islamic Law [Sahri'ah]. But just to have a pic of a veiled woman on a site for no reason doesn't sit right with me. But this is my own opinion.

Umm Fayhimah



Date/Time: Apr 20 2003, 06:38 am

Poster: Um-Hussayn
Homepage

I want to start by thanking you for stopping and thinking about the fact that you were USING her. I know most people don't think of the image of a person as USING them, but in a way, that is what is going on.

I have two point of view, which counter each other, in some ways.

1- any image, male or female, covered or uncovered is NOT public property. It is that persons. We steal something from them when we use them without permission, for it is their "copyright" of their face/body.

2- Images of individual styles of dress help explain and educate others. As the saying goes, Picture is worth a thousand words.

So how do we use, but not abuse? That is the real question. So, I give you permission to use my images of my veiled face (with eyes exposed) or covered from my webpage, ok Rich?

Date/Time: May 10 2003, 08:49 pm

Poster: Jannah

It did not get to think of her in a sexual way. I was think thinking about her body. I was thinking about how she views the world and what kind of person she is. Is that also wrong? I have heard that one of the reason Muslim women cover themselves is so they can be thought of as a person and not as a sexual object. Am I misunderstanding this?

Amongst the soul reasons a woman wears the covering, is to be respected and honoured of her right as a person who has the potential of any other woman. But that beautiful gem is hidden to the eyes of the world and with that comes great respect. I have to agree with your comment there abt that yes. But I also strongly agree with my fellow Muslim sisters above. By protraying that Muslim woman's picture, you ARE using her as an ad (maybe not intentially) to your website...(for that is how I got here in the first place). I'm curoius to see your viewpoint on that.

When I feel that one of my sisters in Islam, no matter what nationality she is, or even if she has done any wrong to me, is being treated with direspect, I am obligated to stand up for her when she cannot. The rest of what I have to say has been said by my sisters above.

Labels: comments, hijab, Muslim, Niqab, photo, sadsalvation, tag overload, weblog

- Rich, 11:01 AM

Tuesday, December 04, 2001

American Taliban

Today a friend of mine asked me what I thought about the American Man they found fighting for the Taliban. My answer is that I am surprised that they have found so few. I would expect that there are more Americans who have taken up their cause.

When I look at America, I can see why it is easy for some people to get lost. It is easy for me to see why some people might be disenchanted with the life that Americans live. There is search for values and meaning that American Culture seems to laugh at. Just look at the ways that the people from his old neighborhood view him. It is easy for me to see why someone will look for answers in other places.

For the last couple of years I have seen how people can be radicalized and moved away from American society. I say that they can be radicalized because it is easy to make the case that the only change is going to come from revolution. I think that radicalized is a better term then brainwashed. I think that when people think about brainwashed, they see someone is a zombie or not thinking. I think these people have clear value systems. They are just not the value system that most Americans have.

There are lots of places where people can make arguments against American Society. Unless we do something to see these places and fix them who knows what might happen. I think the first place where American is foreign policy. We say that we are the defenders of democracy, but we will let dictates stand if they are friendly to our policy. How many crimes have CIA carried out in our name? How did we let Afghanistan fall into turmoil after they fought a proxy war for us? I can rationalize these things, but it is easy to understand why people in many parts of the world think they are wrong.

The second weakness it our government. There is an old saying that the appearance of a conflict of interest is as bad as a conflict of interest itself. If our government is not a series conflicts of interests, it at least appears that way. People are feeling more and more disconnected from the government all the time. I think it would be easy to exploit that in the mind of many. American Government should stand on the values of great men. Many times it seems it stands on the values of the business world.

The third and maybe greatest weakness is American Consumer Society. The symbols of American Consumer Society are SUVs and Cell Phones. There is not one image that a business will not use to try to sell a product. There is not one product that Americans are not clamoring to buy. I do not want to just blame business for this. I feel that almost every American has fallen into this trap. We buy things to make our lives more fashionable. We are sold lifestyles, beauty, and a sense that we are good people. We tell our daughters that they are not beautiful unless we are perfect, our sons that they have to own everything and ourselves that if you are not having lots of sex you are a loser. We dress our kids in Nikes, hour homes in Ikea, and our lives in consumer debt. We do all these things while schools are falling apart and homeless people sleep in the streets.

I see American life as a series of trade offs. I know that our government is not perfect, but neither is anyone else's. I know that America had to do things in its own interest. I know that things all over the world are not perfect, but they could be worse. I know that people have to solve their own problems. Handouts from the government will only make things worse. I can also see how these facts can be used to turn people away from America.

This might not be the most coherent rant in the world, but it is late and I was tired of these things before I even sat down to write it.

Labels: America, consumerism, convert, government, Islam, John Walker Lindh, Muslim, Taliban

- Rich, 11:22 PM

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