But because it’s also painfully funny, it’s tolerable. Wait…actually, that any group or single individual could be so narrow in their thinking is not really funny. I’d like to believe that the clip is edited in such a way that this appears more troublesome that it really is. But as I’ve been watching the fear-mongering associated with Muslims here in the United States, this is just another misadventure in reactionary politics that shapes how many people approach others who worship their same god (make that God…or G-d).
We’re leaving in a few hours for Doha, Qatar and the United Nations Alliance of Civilization 4th Annual Forum. The World in Conversation Project is making the trip with twelve staff/facilitators to help with the Youth Day Events on the 10th and Laurie and I will be doing two presentations about dialogue and facilitation.
When we changed our name from the Race Relations Project to the World in Conversation Project, I had the vision that we would soon be expanding our international reach simply because there are so many conversations waiting to happen. People are largely the same all over the world when it comes to dialogue and conversation in that the process of opening one’s heart and mind to engage with others occurs in largely the same way regardless of one’s culture and background. Nonetheless, this event is a nice opportunity to test the effectiveness of our methodology and the skills of our facilitators–and what we’ve been doing for the past ten years at Penn State.
Here is a video from a protest in California — a protest against Muslims or, in the minds of some of those who were protesting, “terrorists” (since the two words appear to be interchangeable). It’s quite a disturbing video, to be sure, but recognize that many of these protesters represent a small, splinter group of extremely radical people. The group they’re protesting against, the Islamic Circle of North America, traces it’s roots back to 1968 and is very involved in a wide range of activities aimed at building bridges between Islam & Muslims & mainstream American culture. They’ve never been tied to any “radical” activity. That said, two of the speakers that were brought to this event appear to have been implicated in some radical ideas.
After watching the video, click on THIS LINK and read a letter written by one of the organizers of the protests (although not the people you see in the video). Life is extremely complex, to be sure.
So you think you think you got this Jew – Arab conflict in Israel/ Palestine all figured out. Think again. If you’ve never been there and spoken with at least 20-30 people from a wide (and I do mean wide) range of backgrounds and perspectives, then you probably ought to just start over. And if you’ve not done that and still find yourself rather firmly entrenched in one side or the other, if you think you know who your enemies and allies are in that region, then pardon my uppity arrogance but I don’t think there is any room for you in the field of conflict mediation and empathic psychology.
This photo should be enough to open that window that is blocking the “I have no idea what’s going on” vision. It might even change the way you see the world. Here’s what you have:
A member of Neturei Karta, a fringe of ultra-Orthodox movement within the anti-Zionist bloc in Israel, talks with a masked Palestinian youth as he shows his support during clashes with Israeli police in the Arab east Jerusalem neighborhood of Silwan on April 25, 2010. Palestinian protesters clashed with Israeli police as dozens of ultra-nationalist Jews carried Israeli flags through Silwan to assert Jewish sovereignty of all of Jerusalem, according to the organizers of the march.
You see, there are plenty of Orthodox Jews who see Israel as an illegitimate nation-state because it came into the world as a result of backroom dealings by politicians and not the direct actions of G-d. And after waiting 2,500+ years for the Messiah to come, each day that Israel claims a space on the map makes it (nearly) impossible for G-d to do what she promised, or so claim many Orthodox Jews.
And please, let me be clear — the world is NOT crazy; those people are NOT nuts. You and I and everyone around us are crazy when we think that we can understand what is going on.
Most of us have a general pull toward the dark side, to focus on the few bad or negative examples of some relationship or event and overlook the positive, even in those cases where the positive far outnumber the negative. And with this in mind, think about the many, many examples of conflict between Christians and Muslims and how easy it is to imagine all of the ways in which members of the two groups dislike one another. So what if we shift the conversation a little bit?
In the past several weeks we’ve seen some notable examples of how members of these two groups risked their lives in Egypt to protect members of the other group. First read about Muslims putting their lives on the line during Coptic Christmas eve ceremonies and then watch the video about Christians returning the favor during the Cairo protests last week. Pretty damn cool.
Welcome to our web site. the blog is in pause until mid January. We will be back then with posts and commentary. In the meantime, click in the About link above and get a sense of what we are doing. And, of course, enjoy the journey into the new year.
This is the original opening scene of the Disney film, Aladdin. There were complaints from Arab groups about the references to a naturally violent and brutal culture and so they changed the one line about cutting off ears to a reference to the weather. It’s cool that they changed it but it’s so clearly stereotyping Arabs as barbarous that one has to wonder how someone thought of it in the first place. Imagine millions of children drinking in the idea that Arab people are ruthless. Kind of makes one want to wonder how kids grow up to have prejudice and bigotry.
The Salman Al Farisi Islamic Center in Corvallis, Oregon after arson
A thoughtless action, the wrongdoing of one single person leaves the whole community in fear of retribution. After Mohamed Osman Mohamud’s failed bomb plot at Portland’s Christmas tree lighting ceremony, many Somali-Americans are left feeling exposed and are afraid of potential retaliation. “Knuckle-headed retribution” is the concern of many Muslim leaders and residents of Oregon; they fear for their lives and worry that due to ignorance some may attribute the act to all Muslims and hold them accountable.
The message from Muslims, Somali Muslims in particular, is that “we’re Americans” and that “the actions of Mohamed Osman Mohamud are tragic and unsettling.” Their plea to the American public asking not to be judged based on the actions of one young man is pretty straightforward and understandable. The problem for many Americans is that some people proffer a different sentiment by stating that Somali youth are “caught between two worlds” and that these youth “need help because they’re struggling to find themselves.” Moreover, when Muslims and their supporters argue that this young man was entrapped, it’s not easy for Americans to stomach.
Consider the response to the first concern, that Somali youth need help. Look, people will argue, I don’t care how much help you need…you still don’t have the right to blow up civilians. THAT is not a cry for help; that is a vicious, violent crime. This has to be stated clearly and unequivocally. Secondly, the entrapment argument is a slippery slope. Unless the Feds are lying, this young man was approached only after he sought assistance for his plot. Actions are clearly entrapment when someone would not otherwise have committed a crime but was lured into doing so by someone else. That is not the case with Mohamed Osman Mohamud and so calling this entrapment makes it sound like the Feds are in the wrong. This is no way to make friends and allies of non Muslim (and most Muslim) Americans. Don’t argue entrapment and ask for fairness at the same time. Trust me…it only takes us backward. You can read about the case HERE.
Do you think physicians in the U.S. should accommodate their Muslim patients’ religious practices, or any other religious values in general? Should a Muslim woman have the right to refuse a male doctor and request a female one? Or maybe doctors don’t need to be distracted from their main responsibilities and should only be concerned with treating patients’ medical problems, regardless of gender or religion?
I’ve always been one to think that voluntary organizations are positive for people and the communities into which they’re embedded. We all need to commune with like-minded and like-spirited people. At the same time, many people think that organizations for specific groups often “exclude” others by building barriers between members of those groups and other people who decide not to join. So on college campuses we often hear people ask, “Why do we have to have Asian sororities?” or “Why is there a Mr. Black Penn State?” Just a thought as you watch this video.
This is a great article describing an experiment by a young non-Muslim White woman who is a student at the University of Kentucky and is a columnist for the university’s newspaper. Cassidy Herrington decided to temporarily wear the hijab every day to see what reactions she would get from the community.
She says, “I thought this temporary modification of my appearance would bring me closer to an understanding of the Muslim community, but in retrospect, I learned more about my place in the world. Simplified, one piece of fabric is all it takes to turn perspectives upside-down.”
Want to know more about what happened? How do you feel about Herrington’s use of the hijab for her experiment, and the experiment itself? Check out her article…Here’s the link.
Most of us have a general pull toward the dark side, to focus on the few bad or negative examples of some relationship or event and overlook the positive, even in those cases where the positive far outnumber the negative. And with this in mind, think about the many, many examples of conflict between Christians and Muslims and how easy it is to imagine all of the ways in which members of the two groups dislike one another. So what if we shift the conversation a little bit?
