The Muslim Identity Crisis Pt 1

So my last post was on Muslim women expressing their identity, and that's all well and good.. but it got me thinking; 

What exactly is Muslim identity in the 21st century?

There are so many views and opinions around on what Islam and the 'Moslems' are all about, so I figured i'd look behind some of the labels attached to Islam in contemporary times.

*History lesson time*...more or less since the times of the crusades, the "western world" has failed to grasp Islam properly. Folk stories and myths returning from the Holy Lands with the crusaders depicted Muslims as barbaric, backwards and violent. It was these views in history which some academics argue were the basis of Orientalism... which did nothing but widen the rift between the Eastern and Western worlds.

So, this issue is clearly not a new one. Why though, I find myself asking, so many years later (oo, only about a thousand), have these labels about Muslims and Islam appear to have lingered? (See some of them here).

It's pretty clear that the terrorist activity associated to Islam catalysed the re-emergence of 'Islamophobia' but despite this, did you know Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world today?

...even more surprisingly, 

Did you know 1.5 million Americans have converted to Islam post 9/11, at a rate of around 30, 000 a year?
(.. and those are just US stats, conversions have more or less taken the US and Europe by storm).

Why on earth, you ask, would people want to adopt the faith of the "terrorists"? 

Surely, seeing as pretty much every terrorist seems to yell "Allah-hu-akbar" before they blow themselves up or killing a bunch of people, the Quran must be a terrorist handbook of some sort and the crusaders must have had it right all along, right?

Wrong. The reality of what Islam is all about is far less exciting and dramatic.

..Islam does not have a murky history and neither does the Quran promote violence, murder and destruction (read more on this here). Funnily enough (and ironically), the main reason behind most of the conversions post 9/11 was that hearing Islam crop up on the news so much made people want to go and research it for themselves, and some decided "hey, this doesn't sound too bad". (Check out this convert story).

I'm pretty sure loads of you guys have heard that statement, "Islam is peace" (...and probably walked away laughing no doubt), but how about finding out for yourselves? After all, first hand research always beats second-hand hearsay.

So, something has gone horribly wrong. Why aren't the peaceful teachings of Islam matching the not-so-harmonious actions of those crazed bearded Muslim guys holding rifles and yelling stuff on the TV? (...it's because of guys like that where the whole identity crisis comes in).

Why don't normal Muslims going shopping and playing with their kids ever make an appearance in the mainstream? Is normal too boring? Do the media have to keep viewers on the edges of their seats with the latest extremist Islamic happenings in the world at the cost of painting all Muslims with the same brush?

Stay tuned for more on this!... In my next post, i'm going to look at the differences between the views of radical Islam and "normal" Islam and the impact these labels have had on the lives of 'normal' Muslims.

Tbc.

Hijab; Oppression or Expression?

I came across this awful news footage and figured despite the fact that this topic has been exhausted, it clearly still remains an issue (and I wanted to put my own take on it) 
...therefore, making a smooth(ish) transition from my last post, we've touched on freedom of speech, so how about freedom of expression? I'm talking religious dress and in particular the hijab. 

So, hijab from a Muslim understanding, is more than just a headscarf, it is using modesty as an expression of faith; through both clothing and character (See more here).

I was reading an article and it got me thinking of the ways religious dress has been portrayed in wider society. Looking back to the religious dress ban in France, doesn't it make you wonder why some people are so threatened or opposed to religious expression? And whats more expressive than religious dress, which literally stares you in the face..?

Now, if you’re a “hijabi” Muslim female (particularly living in the West), you’re more or less going stick out like a sore thumb (watch this *slightly extreme* example) and to top that, there's that ever-prevalent view that hijab is oppressive and restricting. Ironically, it’s these views which are oppressive and restrictive for Muslim women, more than the hijab itself is. (Read more on this here). 

So, what are the usual sorts of words thrown around when it comes to Muslim women covering up? Of course, there's the old favorite  oppressed... also passive, victim, controlled, indistinguishable  silent, invisible and not forgetting "does you husband/dad/brother make you?"
... but...
how about Hijab as empowering? Promoting individuality and independence? and a result of freewill? No?

That's the difference between looking at hijab from an insider and outsider perspective. If you look past the sympathetic (bordering on patronizing) assumption that Hijab-wearing Muslim women need liberation, you'll begin to see that it is the hijab itself which is seen as the ultimate form of liberation for Muslim women. The Muslim female equivalent of the bra burnings of the 60's. Symbolic. Women are not just ornaments but should be valued for their individuality, character and thinking. Sure, Hijab is not the be all and end all of being a Muslim female, but its a stance and a show of pride and spiritual identity. And Hijab as a profession of modesty is by no means limited to Islam alone. Check out this video (it's really cool, a Christian woman who wears hijab, indicating religious values can be shared across beliefs).


What is boils down to is that the next time you're thinking "gee that poor lady in a hijab" (assuming you think that), look beyond the covering and think, maybe Muslim women don’t want a western conception of liberation? ...How about the Islamic brand of liberation which comes packaged modestly and enables the world to look beyond the physical and be forced to see and appreciate a woman for her mind rather than her appearance. Liberation from the image-obsessed time we live in. 

It's not as easy as just removing a head-covering because hijab is an entire way of thinking and acting, and you might be able remove a headscarf or change the way someone dresses, but can you remove a mentality? I don't think so.

Ok, readers, what do you think? Is hijab redemption that's got some real bad press? Can someone express their religious identity and duty without being dictated by it?  With all this freedom to do stuff lying around, why is freedom to wear hijab questioned? ...Isn't that ironic? ...Also, (random thought) why are nuns respected for dressing modestly for their beliefs whilst it's suddenly an issue when Muslim women do the same?

I think I may have linked slightly too many pages to this post X_X ....Enjoy the links ^_^



Peace.

(btw here's a pic I found which for me, sums up the opposing views about "covering up")

What do you think of this?

Free Speech or Free Hate?

Kinda continuing on from my last post, I want to look at anti-Islamic “freedom of speech” demonstrations. I’m sure everyone’s heard of “The Innocence of Muslims.” I don’t want to bang on about the video itself too much because it defo does not need any more attention, but it would be interesting to consider the ripple effect and wider implications of it.

Now, you’d think that from the aftermath of the whole Danish cartoon hoo-haa in 2005, the “haters” would have realised that if you poke someone with a stick long enough, patience wears thin. Only, the poking-of-the-stick-thing went from cartoons to a full blown feature film. Cripes. So much for learning a lesson from the last time, huh? 

…the film led to an even more explosive response than last (check it out) and again it fell under the category of that old favourite; freedom of speech. Google refused to remove the Youtube video because it was within their guidelines. The whole expression and free speech spiel. I mean all that’s well and good but since when did free speech become hate speech? Surely there ought to be some sort of criteria for what it encompasses? Where is the line between free expression and blatant hate-mongering drawn? 

One thing this film did show however, in a very crass and un-congratulatory (is that even a word?) way, was the power of film; it was a dark and sinister demonstration of just how powerful this form of media can be. Inflammatory as it may be, this may just be this years most talked about film, although I doubt it will be winning any Oscars.




So, what exactly is freedom of speech these days? Is it as free as it seems? Why is it that only anti-Islamic things seem to be protected by it? Is there some sort of conspiracy going on? Am I getting increasingly paranoid? Have I asked too many questions..?


Interesting things to ponder. Also, if you want to explore the relationship between religion and freedom of speech a little more, check this out. 

Let me know what you think.

Over & out.

Remember those Danish Cartoons?

Jyllands-Posten September 2005;
The face of Muhammed

Keeping with the theme of animation, I don’t think I could do a blog about Islam, media and current affairs without doing a post on the whole Danish cartoon scandal (check it out here), so brace yourself for a pretty controversial one.

Ok, so some may be torn between thinking ‘they were just cartoons’ and ‘those were really out of line’ but the reality remains that the aftermath of the cartoons depicting the prophet Mohammed caused a global fever and resulted in a tidal-wave of a response.

So you may argue that hang on, in the 21^st century, what with all the freedom of speech and rights an individual has, why can’t anyone draw who/what they want to without a global scandal being created? …Yeah some may find it blasphemous and it’s going to annoy people, but I’m exercising my freedom of speech right?

For me, the cartoons themselves, I mean sure they were immature, scandalous, shockingly disrespectful and ignorant …but with all the media attention they got (and there was a lot if it!) I think it was the opportunity for the Muslims to show the world what Islam is really about; peace, love, compassion, mercy. All attributes of God and virtues Muslims try to emulate.
 
BUT… what happened instead? 

Chaos, violence, fighting, death threats and boycotting,  rows, demonstrations, fights, and of course, the ever symbolic flag-burnings. I mean sure, I understand, you have to stand up for what you believe in and those cartoons were mocking everything you believe in, but reacting in such a rash way kinda just reinforced every single negative Islamic stereotype there is out there. In the end the main cause i.e. anti-Islamic cartoons was forgotten and all that remained was a tirade of violent and extreme Muslim responses.
 

Yeah, the Danish cartoonists had freedom of speech on their side (a type of freedom of speech incidentally which appears to be biased). But in the bigger picture, surely re-education, being the better people and Islamically responding to similar displays of blatant Islamophobia would have been more advantageous? What would the prophet himself have done? (WWMD?) He came across abuse and trials in his lifetime and always responded in the most peace-generating way possible. There were no violent strikes back then, right? 

Did violent strikes change anything? No. Is this the end of them? Probably not.

What do you think? I dont think theres a right or wrong answer on this one. Do you reckon im being too liberal here? Does anyone agree that this whole situation could have turned out a lot better had the responses been different? Surely, violent protesting just casts Islam further into darkness? 
Looking forward to any comments, suggestions &/or observations.


P.S. If you want to read more on cartoons and religion, check out this blog.

Epic e-pics

#Ears to Hear & Eyes to See...

Pretty much everyone on social networking sites has caught the meme virus, or is atleast aware of it. Animation is hot right now, so to keep with the times, in this post we're going to look at the power of *pictures* 

...i'm talking cartoons, comics and sketches (politically/religiously motivated ones).

Now, if at any point you turn on the news, chances are something morbid is going to pop up on either Palestine/Israel, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, Iraq, Iran, Syria etc. It’s safe to say that currently, the Muslim world has got conflict coming out of it’s ears.. wars, oil, politics, corruption, poverty..

Despite us regularly hearing all this stuff on the news, there is an overwhelming notion from within the Muslim community that the material given by the news is not enough to go by or it's biased and sheds Islam in the worst possible light. These views result in the rocky relationship between Muslims and the mainstream media (read more here). So, how have some Muslims tried to express their take on things and show events from another angle? By going back to the drawing board. Literally.

If you browse through the internet and look through websites, social networks and forums, there is a wealth of some really very powerful and witty graphics coming out of the Muslim world showing a side to the conflicts not seen in the mainstream. 

Political/religious cartoons are by no means an unheard of phenomena, in fact, they date all the way back to Leonardo Di Vinci and perhaps even before (i'm not kidding, check it out). Animation is a good way of spreading a message as it is not as restricted or limited by factors such language barriers in the same way posters are. Also, it's pretty amazing how much of a message one little cartoon can carry, but then again, they do say a picture is worth a thousand words.

So, visual propaganda? Animated expression? Decide for yourself.

Here are some examples.

 

Too preoccupied with wealth to care about other parts of the Arab world?

Holocaust used to justify violence by Israel?

Syrian government targeting civilians?

Palestinians, victims of the new Holocaust?

All Muslims labelled as terrorists?

Saudi Arabs aiding Western corruption?

Powerful stuff (maybe I got a bit carried away with the amount of images though)

So, readers, what do you think..? 

• Are graphics such as these promoting propaganda and conspiracy, or are they just a new way of giving a voice to the voiceless by shedding some light on the realities in the Muslim world?
  
• Just as Music is being used as a tool of re-education, are pictures not re-educating but showing re-ality? 
• Are cartoons and graphics showing the bigger picture more so than actual pictures (shown on news)?
• Finally, what effects can such images have on the Muslim community?

All feedback welcome.