tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89184105393126519282024-02-01T22:47:22.549-08:00musliminahMusliminahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15086763636766699739noreply@blogger.comBlogger332125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8918410539312651928.post-53843187343083391402024-01-24T21:48:00.000-08:002024-01-24T21:48:14.813-08:00Re-thinking Disability in Islam<p><i>This article was first published on Jan 10, 2020, in <a href="https://beyondhijab.sg/2020/01/10/re-thinking-disability-in-islam/" target="_blank">Beyond The Hijab</a>.</i></p><p>My sister, Syiqah, gets around on a wheelchair. As kids, we used to attend weekend madrasah classes in a mosque. Every Sunday, we gathered two or three young men to carry her wheelchair down three big steps to the classrooms, before rearranging the wall panels to let her into the classroom. This process was reversed after class. Many thanks to these young men, but sometimes I wished that we didn’t have to make such a grand entrance into class every week.</p><p>I often wonder though, how the people who worked at the mosque and madrasah viewed my sister. To start with, I will look at discourses and examples of how people with disabilities (PWDs) have been represented in Islamic theory and practice, both in history and in the contemporary period. I then turn to the Qur’an to come up with a nuanced interpretation of disability. Finally, I will build on some of Syiqah’s experiences to provide insights and suggestions on how to embrace PWDs in our communities.</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Islamic discourses on disability</h2><p>One of the dominant discourses in mainstream Islam is that PWDs are “special” or closer to God as they have no capacity to do wrong. This logic states that they will always remain innocent, child-like, and cannot be accountable for their actions. However, this discourse should differentiate physical from intellectual disabilities, since accountability requires mental capacity.</p><p>Another discourse is that they are “imperfect”, but this is also similar to being “special”. This logic states that there is a perfect model of a human body, created by Allah, and a disability is thus a deviation from the norm. It may also imply that when someone is deprived of a certain ability, they may have other, different abilities as compensation. For example, someone who is visually impaired may have more sensitive hearing. </p><p>In the Malay archipelago, there are several well-known dua related to children. This supplication found in Surah Ali-Imran [1] stands out: </p><div style="text-align: left;"><blockquote>At that, Zakariya called upon his Lord, saying, "My Lord, grant me from Yourself a good offspring. Indeed, You are the Hearer of supplication." (Qur’an, 3:38)</blockquote></div><p>This verse describes Prophet Zakaria’s supplication God for offspring that is tayyib (good, righteous, or pure). Tayyib is used in the Qur’an to describe land (34:15), Paradise dwellings (61:12), food (2:57), properties (4:2), upright men and upright women (24:26), as well as an abstract concept that is the opposite of evil (3:179, 5:100). </p><p>However, in Malay translations of this verse, tayyib is often translated and explained as sempurna (perfect or complete) or tidak cacat (not imperfect). Muslim parents-to-be may also be taught a dua asking God for protection from Shaitan harming one’s baby. This logic implies that foetuses or newborns with a defect or disability are the result of Shaitan’s influence. [2]</p><p>In many cultures, mental illnesses are likely to be viewed as supernatural possession by jinn. It remains a controversial topic among Muslims globally. PWDs with mental illness or intellectual disabilities may have grown up being exempted from fasting, prayer, or going to the mosque because in mainstream jurisprudence, ‘aql or a rational state of mind is required for acts of worship to be valid.</p><p>Although PWDs are not actively discouraged from taking part in communal Muslim life, physical barriers often stop them from doing so. In Singapore, mosques (as any other building) built after 1990 must be made fully accessible, while older mosques are being renovated to include lifts and ramps. Despite these improvements, some mosques in older or historic neighbourhoods remain inaccessible. Sometimes, having lifts may also reinforce segregation of prayer spaces, delegating entire levels to women and children, when it could have been more flexible before, due to the need to accommodate different circumstances.</p><p>Organisations that work on providing religious access have varying degrees of success, depending on their country’s levels of infrastructure and awareness. For example, Al Fitrah Foundation, a Malaysian non-profit organisation for visually impaired Muslims runs a Braille Quran Initiative, [3] but it relies on small-scale private donations. However, in countries with more developed infrastructure for the disabled, organisations like Kitaba (United Kingdom) and Dirasa (Norway, Denmark, Sweden) have been producing and teaching in Braille and audio, as well as even organising assisted umrah trips. [4]</p><p>Malay Islamic discourses blend different ideas from various Islamic cultures when it comes to the perception of PWDs, their characteristics and life purposes. A look at mainstream Islamic history helps us to enlarge our perspective on this topic.</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Stories of disabilities in Islamic history</h2><p>Julaybib was one of the Ansar, the first community of Muslims surrounding the Prophet Muhammad in Madinah. The name Julaybib means “small-grown”, suggesting that perhaps he had dwarfism. He was also described as being damim (“ugly” or “deformed”). His most serious limitation was that his parents or lineage was not known, since he could not expect any support or protection in a society that heavily stressed family and tribal connections. </p><p>Julaybib was ridiculed and shunned to the point of being prohibited by a certain Abu Barzah of the Aslam tribe, from entering his home. However, the Prophet being aware of Julaybib’s needs and sensibilities went to one of the Ansar and suggested that his daughter marry Julaybib. While her parents protested, the Ansari girl trusted the Prophet’s decision-making process and married Julaybib. She is lauded by scholars for having ‘readily agreed to be the wife of a physically unattractive man’. [6] However, the reverse – encouraging able-bodied men to marry Muslim women with disabilities – rarely happens as reproduction heavily stressed in marriage. </p><p>Historically, there was even a religious position which favoured those with visual impairment. In Egypt, before the advent of loudspeakers in the 1950s, such men were deliberately employed as mu’azzin to give the call to prayer from the minarets. Their disability was an advantage: they preserve the privacy of surrounding houses as they cannot look into these courtyards. Could it be possible that since no one reaches out to engage PWDs, today’s mosques may have overlooked accessibility in not just designing but organising their spaces?</p><p>As the acceptance of PWDs in practice is fluid and changes across time and space, it is always useful to go back to our basic source of divine knowledge.</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Disability in the Qur’an</h2><p>The Qur’an gives us a comprehensive and nuanced understanding of disability. The general reference is al-darari (4:95), translated as ‘disabled’. Coming from the root d-r-r (ض ر ر), it can connote ‘harm’ or ‘suffering’. Humans can suffer or be harmed, but this only occurs with God’s permission. [6] The actions of shaitan, hypocrites, disbelievers, or disobedient believers (e.g. use of black magic) cannot harm us (2:102). This already counters the common idea that mental illnesses and associated disabilities are the cause of jinn possession or black magic.</p><p>The form ud’turra means ‘force’ or ‘compulsion’. Doing something forbidden by force or by necessity has no sin. [7] Another form, darraa, which connotes ‘affliction’, ‘hardship’ or ‘adversity’, is also a kind of compulsion because it comes from God and it not under our direct control. </p><blockquote><p>And [mention] Ayyub, when he called to his Lord, "Indeed, adversity has touched me, and you are the Most Merciful of the merciful." (Qur’an, 21:83)</p></blockquote><p>Prophet Ayyub acknowledges that his adversity, which included a painful physical disability, comes from God and that only God can remove them. [8] The Qur’an reminds us that everyone will experience hardship and ease, it’s only whether we realise it or not (7:95). Times of hardship are meant for us to remember and call on God (10:12, 16:53, 30:33, 39:8) and be patient (2:177) because it is just a trial (2:214, 39:49) aimed to humble us (6:42, 7:94). God only gives us what we can handle, and even provides supplications for us (2:286).</p><p>Taking all these nuanced meanings into account, al-darari (4:95) can be considered a person who has been has either been hurt, harmed, or born with a disability. These may be considered adversity or hardship because society generally caters to the able-bodied and the neurotypical. However, they are certainly not forbidden or necessarily exempted from striving in the way of God, as shown by the historical example of Julaybib: in a battle he managed to kill several before dying, which so moved the Prophet that he prepared Julaybib’s grave himself.</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">My sister</h2><p>My sister has a genetic condition called spinal muscular atrophy. This is a group of inherited diseases that cause muscle damage and weakness, which worsen over time. This condition was also only recognised in medical texts in the last 20 years, so when she was younger, my family went to different people to try and find a cure. I remember a bomoh, or a traditional healer, performing rituals combined with Qur’anic recitations in my home. At the same time, she went for physiotherapy sessions.</p><p>My parents used to exempt her from fasting or praying, saying that she didn’t have to. However, as she got older, she became more interested in attending seminars, conferences and additional classes on Islam. We did start attending one class together in a mosque, but stopped going when we realised that the bus was not accessible.</p><p>My sister wears the hijab because she believes that is part of being a good Muslim. She once told me that she would like to get married and have a family someday, but she realises that her disability does stand in the way of how men perceive her.</p><p>Most importantly, she says she does not feel disabled because she was born with her disability. To her, asking if she would like to walk is like asking if we would like to fly. She has been able to excel in her studies, her work, her sport, and the various languages she learned along the way. She works and supports our family, travels independently, and has a thriving social life – pretty much what most of us want anyway.</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Rethinking disability</h2><p>PWDs are not a homogenous group: family support and financial ability to provide caregiving and transport matters. Physical and intellectual disabilities must be differentiated, and yet, many PWDs are eager for a sense of community, too.</p><p>The low visibility of Muslims with disabilities is probably because of the predominant ideas about them and their spiritual capabilities. Hence, there is still a dearth of critical conversations around disability. For example, would a Muslim using a guide dog be allowed in religious spaces?</p><p>Saying that all Muslims with disabilities are ‘special’ and do not need to fulfil religious obligations is counterproductive for inclusion. Even as it helps Muslims with disabilities connect, the widespread availability of Islamic knowledge, seminars, sermons, and even Friday prayers online should not prevent mosques and religious spaces from being fully accessible with ramps, lifts, railings, larger toilets and ablution areas, Braille Qur’an, or television screens to visualise the khutbah.</p><blockquote><p>… "[A]dversity has touched us and our family, and we have come with goods poor in quality, but give us full measure and be charitable to us. Indeed, Allah rewards the charitable." (Qur’an, 12:88)</p></blockquote><p>If a Muslim with a disability expresses their wish and interest to participate in a Muslim community, it becomes our duty to make things easier for them. A masjid should be a refuge, and not a place that causes divisions (9:107). </p><p>Ultimately, the empathy we cultivate for Muslims with disabilities should extend to empathy towards other marginalised Muslims. Let’s make sure we are not overlooking an integral part of our community.</p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Notes</h2><p></p><p class="MsoEndnoteText"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-SG; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"> This article
uses the Sahih International translation of the Qur’an, available at
www.quran.com.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-SG; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">
http://www.informasikini.com/petanda-gangguan-syaitan/</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-SG; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"> http://www.alfitrah.net/braille<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-SG; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"> http://www.kitaba.org/?s=umrah<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-SG; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">
http://theclearsunnah.wordpress.com/2008/07/30/the-story-of-julaybib/</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-SG; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"> Qur’an (5:76, </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">6:71, 10:18, 10:106, 13:16, 20:89, 21:66, 22:12, 25:3,
25:55, 26:73, 34:42, 48:11)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-SG; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"> Qur’an (</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">2:173, 5:3, 6:119, 6:145, 16:115)<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoEndnoteText"><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-SG; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-fareast-language: ZH-CN; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">[8]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;"> Qur’an (</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-bidi;">10:12, 10:107, 17:56, 21:84, 36:23, 39:38)<o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p>Musliminahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15086763636766699739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8918410539312651928.post-63234014330997643062024-01-02T04:46:00.000-08:002024-01-02T04:46:42.814-08:00Blackface and brownface in Indonesia and Singapore<p><i>This article was first published in <a href="https://raceandimagery.files.wordpress.com/2020/06/2020-erif-brand-and-product-report-2ed.pdf">ERIF Sinterklaas Brand & Product Study 2020: 5 Years of Monitoring Blackface in the Market</a>, 2020. </i></p><p>On a clear day a decade ago [2009] in East Java, where my grandparents were from, I found myself watching a carnivalesque procession of floats and performers of all ages, dressed up in marvellously colourful and shiny costumes. Behind a truck carrying a dozen heavily made up secondary school students were a group of men, painted shoe-polish black, with fabric leaves around their waists. I asked a relative beside me to explain this: “This group represents the transfer of mysteries from Irian Jaya,” he said, and I remained mystified.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjfAgMQ-Q_x5xyU4ibna74pYrQx7GZnru9bBWGnBZ0t0G4UxxvJJ_Jku5nwLENZ4NUc5m35Kyis1HCVYH-IKn-VP2fitsPIUsLGOY13hZUx68q-NAqBqVcHBL5yGHj_2FuDh2kB636YHnKK9x4IHqWYLABwxW8WlzSwaQOk8fyuOnfCn_sFNSPq198W70/s604/Irian%20jaya%20reog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="604" data-original-width="430" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjfAgMQ-Q_x5xyU4ibna74pYrQx7GZnru9bBWGnBZ0t0G4UxxvJJ_Jku5nwLENZ4NUc5m35Kyis1HCVYH-IKn-VP2fitsPIUsLGOY13hZUx68q-NAqBqVcHBL5yGHj_2FuDh2kB636YHnKK9x4IHqWYLABwxW8WlzSwaQOk8fyuOnfCn_sFNSPq198W70/s320/Irian%20jaya%20reog.jpg" width="228" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A <i>reog</i> procession in Ponorogo, East Java in 2009. <br />Photo by author.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Only a year later, I would arrive to study and live in the Netherlands, discover the ‘tradition’ of Zwarte Piet. I did not make the connection until one day, at the annual concert of my academic institution, a group of students from Indonesia performed a variety of ethnic dances from their archipelago. Decked in costumes borrowed from the embassy, they demonstrated dances representing Sumatra, Java and Bali.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid0wY6_ZuA15-mWbd1nT4ts4E5Il712AwSfxjMRqBMjGjmPlY5s2qDT7rnFEYF3rIV6_R6q2esX9_3JSzDAoHCtAfbhuDxtPQVP9H96BzmVl263K1DwciKl7qfu8ojAot5Dt7MAOANccMWibqFWCoF_LF4rDsVyP4e5Pwx1ObSfKjcSt8xyUrb7R1uyvo/s1920/tari%20sajojo2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid0wY6_ZuA15-mWbd1nT4ts4E5Il712AwSfxjMRqBMjGjmPlY5s2qDT7rnFEYF3rIV6_R6q2esX9_3JSzDAoHCtAfbhuDxtPQVP9H96BzmVl263K1DwciKl7qfu8ojAot5Dt7MAOANccMWibqFWCoF_LF4rDsVyP4e5Pwx1ObSfKjcSt8xyUrb7R1uyvo/s320/tari%20sajojo2.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From video <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMYAvQ5Vtwc&pp=ygUXaXNhdCB5YW1rbyByYW1iZSB5YW1rbyA%3D" target="_blank">'Yamko Rambe Yamko'<br /></a><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>For their final piece, four male students appeared in pitch black full body leotards and paint marks on their faces, accessorised with raffia skirts. Halfway through, I realised that the grunting dance was meant to represent Papuans. An Indonesian friend who witnessed this performance too later told me that every 5th of December, people in her hometown in Ambon – who speak a creole inflected with Dutch words – dress up as Sinterklas, Suarte Pit (also known as Om Pit (Uncle Pete) or Pit Hitam (Black Pete), fairies and clowns (see Goppel, 2016 for a video).<div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPOgUlJRcGdKFnA07XK2L9Kmz6a_7JcozQNCOqqTzo485ZhO3xkE7QKDgkyCUgjnKnwt_7VAx3iVetGTMLoqzVjqEiDdYpetWhUa3BNfo6sriWOnpX5mW7uqhZ2ZDLb1yJooYUHCKmVzVRA9qoPWMf5v_pnFOUrdSSQD-H6FnlyF78WkeeSAP0_7qznIs/s1920/SK%20ambon6%20ZP.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPOgUlJRcGdKFnA07XK2L9Kmz6a_7JcozQNCOqqTzo485ZhO3xkE7QKDgkyCUgjnKnwt_7VAx3iVetGTMLoqzVjqEiDdYpetWhUa3BNfo6sriWOnpX5mW7uqhZ2ZDLb1yJooYUHCKmVzVRA9qoPWMf5v_pnFOUrdSSQD-H6FnlyF78WkeeSAP0_7qznIs/s320/SK%20ambon6%20ZP.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From video '<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bKk7bCTh4o" target="_blank">Sie Gins Kom de Stoomboot - Sinterklaas Op De Molukken: Ambon</a>'</td></tr></tbody></table><div><p>In 2008, I was attending a conference on critical Islam when the conversation veered to the colonisation by Muslims of other peoples. I asked an Indonesian man in our group about colonisation of Papua and incidents of forced conversion happening there. His defence: “But they are a little primitive, backward, you know?”</p><h1 style="text-align: left;">Blackface and brownface in Asia</h1><p>In
American cultural history, blackface is used to portray racist stereotypes of
African Americans through performances. As a representation of a ‘subservient
black body’ lacking in intellect, coordination and other virtues, blackface is
an ‘imposed conceptualising representation’ that has travelled across the globe
(Reyes, 2014).</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh30RS07H2XiKMtcPp9ggWMI15Bd7FctZQ5UQOdV3r3lM9mKq_6si_-vl2sT3przdS1_3mbyTkwSdmps61MzfD-hs_NChIvdhfczyNiJW_PhKyIgOB4s97wRX7hiDenlSarK36QGdyEUdZdUT0lGVZIC7y9PpPzlC-M77xesKFZi3h5kKtmTn4jmNPo5EE/s1200/DD%20thai.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh30RS07H2XiKMtcPp9ggWMI15Bd7FctZQ5UQOdV3r3lM9mKq_6si_-vl2sT3przdS1_3mbyTkwSdmps61MzfD-hs_NChIvdhfczyNiJW_PhKyIgOB4s97wRX7hiDenlSarK36QGdyEUdZdUT0lGVZIC7y9PpPzlC-M77xesKFZi3h5kKtmTn4jmNPo5EE/s320/DD%20thai.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ad for Dunkin Donuts in Thailand</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /></div><div>In Asia, some recent incidents of blackface in print and television advertisements in Thailand (Dunkin Donuts in 2013), Japan (Astigu pantyhose in 2014) and Malaysia (Watsons in 2017) caused major backlash online. In Japan, African-American writer Baye McNeil led a campaign to remove blackface performances in 2015. In each incident, the initial defence was that the ‘local’ use of blackface does not having racist intentions, but a look into the country’s history reveals economic and political connections with colonial powers. <br /><br />The Euro-American discourse on Black people has shaped the discourse in Asia more than actual encounters with Black people (Fukushima, 2011). This is seen in the influence of European and Hollywood films and minstrel shows in different countries. As cuisines from the colonies transferred to the metropole (Kuipers, 2017), cultural influences like Zwarte Piet and minstrel shows travelled to the colonies. In 1887, the year of the 50th anniversary of the accession of Queen Victoria, one of the celebrations in the British crown colony of Singapore was a costume race that included racial caricatures of ‘native’ communities of Chinese, Malay and Tamils as well as blackface.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW7F5NW0O8tfaPcN79zRuG_Z4Z03zTwmtr6ZUG-SnactANoVZeyWCeBNQ9x6Ehm4tOKkDJaNnlkddFKSzJejmYJfcr6mGl6iT4JIeCLywbUgM3rzPibAvX_a4xiOaIyXpfAeMOknh7lUKolPbkdbvHAD_c3y4sesQ3N9Z8xvxu5wd0mUWRLoHqlmGFEW8/s650/A%201935%20photo%20of%20Singaporeans%20in%20blackface%20republished%20in%20a%201980%20Straits%20Times%20column.%20Source%20National%20Library%20archives.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="433" data-original-width="650" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW7F5NW0O8tfaPcN79zRuG_Z4Z03zTwmtr6ZUG-SnactANoVZeyWCeBNQ9x6Ehm4tOKkDJaNnlkddFKSzJejmYJfcr6mGl6iT4JIeCLywbUgM3rzPibAvX_a4xiOaIyXpfAeMOknh7lUKolPbkdbvHAD_c3y4sesQ3N9Z8xvxu5wd0mUWRLoHqlmGFEW8/s320/A%201935%20photo%20of%20Singaporeans%20in%20blackface%20republished%20in%20a%201980%20Straits%20Times%20column.%20Source%20National%20Library%20archives.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A 1935 photo of Singaporeans in blackface republished in a 1980 Straits Times column. <br />National Library archives.</td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /> Minstrel parties and groups were common in the 1930s. Each neighbourhood had their own minstrel group that performed at events, parties and weddings. Until the late 1980s, American and British minstrel performances were popular, available ‘live’ in theaters and on television, and described as “good family entertainment” (Kaur, 2019). <br /><br />Closely related to the practice of blackface is brownface: the portrayal of racist stereotypes of Indians and other ethnic minorities by artificially darkening the skin, using visible ethnic or religious markers such as the turban, and adopting an “Indian accent” which involves head-shaking and rolled ‘R’s. The diversity of Indian ethnic groups like Punjabis, Bengalis, and Tamils are all collapsed into a homogenising, offensive stereotype. <br /><br />Some Singaporeans had taken great offense at the use of brownface in the film Gunga Din (1939) and comedy Short Circuit (1986). However, in the last decade, there have been incidents of brownface that included corporate Bollywood parties, YouTube channels, and state media (Veerasamy, 2019). These have mostly gone unchallenged, and brownface was declared by government bodies to be “insensitive” but not illegal (Kaur, 2019). Tradition is not innocent either: in Malay folklore exists a blackface bogey man called Orang Minyak (‘oily man’), who commits voyeurism and abduction of young women under the cover of night.</div><div><br /><h1 style="text-align: left;">Performing racial supremacy and inferiority </h1>Showing minority populations with a history of racial oppression as varying combinations of primitive, backward, stupid, ignorant serves the discursive strategy of keeping them subordinated. The same processes occur globally, whether as a result of information flow and exchange with former or current colonising countries, or as a proven technique for keeping minority populations subordinated and establishing racial superiority both “on and off-stage” (Reyes, 2014). <br /><br />The racial dynamics of non-White societies such as those in Latin America, the Caribbean (see Bonilla-Silva, 2004). and most of Asia, has gone largely unstudied and unanalysed. Within a discourse of white supremacy, the “reality and politics of a middle-racial category” can show us new ways of identifying and analysing racial interests. <br /><br />Because the discourse of a ‘Black-White’ racial order is so pervasive, one of the common defences of societies without any majority White populations is that racism simply does not exist. However, the examples above have shown that while White racial supremacy exists globally, a similar, parallel process manifests in different forms as linked to local racial interests. Hence, the dominant group in a society will often enjoy economic, political, social and cultural privileges – all while also being linked to how near to Whiteness they can attain i.e. honorary White (Bonilla-Silva, 2004). <br /><br />Just as the historical legacies of Black peoples are marked by “slavery, gender-specific servitude, conquest, legal segregation, colonisation, and socioeconomic peonage” (Reyes, 2014), so are the bodies of Brown and other racialised groups today in different ways and to different extents according to their contexts.</div><div><br /><h1 style="text-align: left;">The colonised colonises: case of Indonesia </h1>The Indonesian case illustrates all the above processes. Under Dutch colonisation, the practice of blackface was documented in the 1890s when a Malay-language commercial theatre group Komedie Stamboel performed stories from A Thousand and One Nights, which included a ‘black-amoor’ character meant to represent an African slave. As this actor announced the next night’s play (as per theatrical tradition), he used “broken Dutch mimicking an African” mixed with malapropisms, Malay and low Javanese words (Tjerimai, 15 November 1893; in Cohen, 2004). <br /><br />In 1945, the new Indonesian republic declared independence from the Netherlands and claimed the entire territory of the former Dutch East Indies. What was Western New Guinea remained under the Dutch until the mid-1960s, when a controversial referendum resulted in the Indonesian annexation of the region. Thus in 1962 with the New York Agreement it became the province of Irian Jaya and was later renamed to Papua and West Papua in 1999 (the eastern half of the island being independent Papua New Guinea). Organisasi Papua Merdeka (Free Papua Movement, or OPM) was established by West Papuan nationalists, who rejected the compromised referendum. <br /><br />Blackface and racist stereotypes of Papuans justify economic exploitation through extraction of natural resources. Papua houses Grasberg, the world's largest gold mine and third largest copper mine. It is operated by Freeport Indonesia since 1973, a subsidiary of US-owned Freeport McMoran Copper and Gold. The mine dumps waste in the deltas and rivers, destroying food sources and degrading the environment. Military and police oppression, kidnapping, torture, and surveillance of religious and local leaders are all attempts to contain any protests or demands for self-rule. The profits of mining are not channelled back into the province, where Papuans live in poverty in addition to dealing with Indonesian settlers from other islands. <br /><br />In the national discourse, the province is seen as valuable to the country because of natural resources and biodiversity. However, Papuans who study and work in cities on the major island of Java face racial discrimination from both the general public and the police. In August this year, Papuan students in several cities protesting the 1962 agreement were accused of vandalising the Indonesian flag and were arrested, sparking protests in West Papua demanding justice for the students with banners saying ‘kami bukan monyet’ (we are not monkeys) and social media hashtags #papuabukanmonyet.</div><div><br /></div><div><h1 style="text-align: left;">Demasking blackface </h1><p style="text-align: left;"></p><blockquote>[…] all people are defined according to a set of terms that are constructed as mattering by those in positions of power or by those with investments in maintaining social hierarchies. To “see” “racial difference” is thus not to actually see differing bodies, but to see bodies as fundamentally marked by a particular way of viewing, with a particular emphasis on certain aspects of embodiment. (Riggs, 2008) </blockquote><p></p>What does it take to demask the harms of blackface and brownface, when they are often hidden under the guise of humour? The first step is to make the connections between what seems like ageless cultural traditions and transnational flows of conceptualised representations. What seems to have always been there needs to be situated in a historical context. Excavating the past may also reveal more a history of progressive action and refusal of blackface and brownface. <br /><br />Next is to understand that the performative use of blackface and brownface creates and reinforces racial hierarchies in a society. While in some contexts, brownface is used with reference to local dynamics while blackface to global dynamics, both build on each other and have a shared goal of dehumanisation, subordination and oppression in the service of larger economic ends. Finally, as culture is dynamic, it is always possible to create or bring back alternative performances that humanise historically marginalised peoples.</div><div><br /><h1 style="text-align: left;">References </h1>Bonilla-Silva, Eduardo. 2004. “From Bi-Racial to Tri-Racial: Towards a New System of Racial Stratification in the USA.” Ethnic and Racial Studies 27 (6): 931–50. <br /><br />Cohen, Matthew Isaac. 2004. “Thousand and One Nights at the Komedie Stamboel: Popular Theatre and Travelling Stories in Colonial Southeast Asia .” Middle Eastern Literatures 7 (2): 235–46. <br /><br />Fukushima, Yoshiko. 2011. “Ambivalent Mimicry in Enomoto Kenichi’s Wartime Comedy: His Revue and Blackface.” Comedy Studies 2 (1): 21–37. <br /><br />Goppel, Daan. 2016. “Sie Gins Kom de Stoomboot - Sinterklaas Op De Molukken: Ambon.” YouTube. 2016.<br /><br />Ho, Michelle H.S. 2017. “Consuming Women in Blackface: Racialized Affect and Transnational Femininity in Japanese Advertising.” Japanese Studies 37 (1): 49–69. <br /><br />Kaur, Sharan. 2019. “Everything Old Is New Again: Singapore’s Long History with Blackface.” Coconuts Singapore. 2019. https://coconuts.co/singapore/features/everything-old-is-new-again-singapores-long-history-with-blackface/. <br /><br />Kuipers, Matthijs. 2017. “‘Makanlah Nasi! (Eat Rice!)’: Colonial Cuisine and Popular Imperialism in The Netherlands During the Twentieth Century.” Global Food History 3 (1): 4–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/20549547.2017.1279515. <br /><br />Reyes, Angelita D. 2019. “Performativity and Representation in Transnational Blackface: Mammy (USA), Zwarte Piet (Netherlands), and Haji Firuz (Iran).” Atlantic Studies : Global Currents 16 (4): 521–50. <br /><br />Riggs, Damien. 2008. “How Do Bodies Matter? Understanding Embodied Racialised Subjectivities.” Darkmatter. 2008. http://www.darkmatter101.org/site/2008/02/23/how-do-bodies-matter-understanding-embodied-racialised-subjectivities/. <br /><br />Veerasamy, Visakan. 2019. “It’s Time for a History of Singaporean Chinese People in Brownface.” Twitter. 2019. https://twitter.com/visakanv/status/1156127173721251841.<br /> </div></div></div>Musliminahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15086763636766699739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8918410539312651928.post-3078496300005355342024-01-02T03:16:00.000-08:002024-01-02T03:16:46.433-08:00I'm back!<p>I'm back! After 7 years, some of which was spent in Singapore. I spent that time having children, completing a PhD and doing a bunch of social justice work.</p><p>Now that I've moved back to the Netherlands (this blog name still fits!), it will be fun to continue deconstructing the various ideologies in which I found myself immersed in the last few years. In 2021 I had an awakening to the nature of the world and I found myself on a whole new level of independent and critical thinking.</p><p>Read on for more of my social critiques and rambles, though I must warn you they have only gotten more (and not less) unacceptable over the years. Enjoy!</p>Musliminahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15086763636766699739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8918410539312651928.post-40161741082826167582017-07-30T07:31:00.000-07:002017-07-30T07:31:03.855-07:00Taking a stand against domestic violence? Good. Pretending religious justifications don't exist? Not so good.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Firstly, great that MUIS is actually taking a stand, detailing the different forms of abuse, and stating that divorce is a logical solution to a crappy situation.<br /><br />Because you know, there is no vendor of <a href="http://susu-pekat-manis.blogspot.sg/2012/11/deconstructing-pre-marriage-advice-for.html" target="_blank">Muslim pre-marriage counselling</a> that does. All of them dance around verse <a href="http://www.quran.com/4/34" target="_blank">4:34</a> in the Qur'an, never contesting the hegemonic interpretation and translation of 'daraba'.<br /><br />They tell you that husbands have the right to discipline their wives, but then embarrassingly temper this obviously vile right with concessions that it can only be done 'lightly', with a miswak twig or a hanky, and with only the intention to 'humiliate' (as if physical abuse > psychological abuse).<br /><br />And what about all the highly respected ustaz who beat their wives and say it is in the name of Islam? What about all the wives who kept silent because others told them they had to <i>sabr </i>as their husbands knew best? <div>
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It is not 'most disappointing' that abusers use religion to justify abuse, it actually makes sense. Because there is plenty of 'evidence' they can use to justify it.<br /><br />Emotional abuse in the form of policing of women's behaviour can be justified by appointing men as the head of households and being responsible for the sins of their wives and children. <div>
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Abuse in the form of directly or indirectly coercing women to carry the bulk of household chores (or hiring a Third World woman to do it, while she leaves her own children behind) can be justified by the teaching that she is the 'shepherd of the home' while the man is the 'shepherd of the family'. </div>
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Erasing marital rape can be justified by a hadith about angels cursing a woman till dawn if she doesn't have sex with her husband whenever he wants it.<br /><br />What about the counsellors at our Syariah Court who indirectly but consistently shame and stigmatise people who seek a divorce? Just because their partners or themselves don't 'womanise, drink, or gamble' it is merely a case of 'differing expectations' and that they can definitely get along?<br /><br />I'm pretty sure the Prophet was not 'bewildered', he was <i>ashamed </i>when he knew men were beating their wives.<br /><br />So you can't just erase the entire cultural archive of how Islamic teachings <i>can </i>be used to justify domestic violence by saying 'Islam has never condoned domestic violence'. Are all these merely 'small pockets' when they are taught by our religious leaders themselves? </div>
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Or am I actually talking about another religion?</div>
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Musliminahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15086763636766699739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8918410539312651928.post-11248339945202535372016-11-24T06:23:00.000-08:002017-07-30T07:12:04.824-07:00Racism: a collection of 'negative' views.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The topic of <a href="https://www.idfa.nl/nl.aspx">International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam</a> came up at lunch at work, so I raved about <a href="https://www.facebook.com/miguel.peresdossantos">Miguel Peres Dos Santos</a>'s film '<a href="https://www.idfa.nl/industry/tags/project.aspx?id=6f1b9287-b02f-45ac-9c09-5f06e42538c5&tab=idfa">Voices</a>' and how some of the things you see in the film in the 70s/80s are still uncannily being seen and heard in the media of contemporary Dutch society.<br />
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For example, the film has excerpts from news interviews of a White Dutch man in the streets, saying that he doesn't think it's fair that "Mr Foreigner [from Curacao]" should get a house before him. <br />
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A White Spanish colleague (married to White Dutch) at the lunch table starts getting agitated.<br />
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WSC: You cannot say 'Wow, things like that are being said in the 70s', this is how we are brought up in society and this is what we learn from our parents".<br />
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[<i>Right about here I'm hoping she meant that therefore it's an subconscious narrative that should be changed</i>]<br />
Me [<i>confused</i>]: "No, my point is that these things are still being said today. They still talk about immigrants like this."<br />
WSC [getting agitated and getting up to put her things away, ready to leave the room]: You keep saying "they", "they", who do you mean??<br />
Me: The White Dutch! And the media.<br />
WSC: Well you seem to have a very negative view of White Dutch people.<br />
[<i>Nope, I was wrong! Racism is something natural, socialised, and merely a faulty perception of a POC.</i>]</blockquote>
WSC refuses to believe that I have heard White people say these things to my face. Woman, you are White. It's impossible for you to see this 'negative' side and hear such 'negative' comments directed to you or people that share your religion, skin colour, hair colour or dress code.<br />
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Just a couple of days ago, I was also describing an incident that happened when I was at the film screening in Amsterdam. I had no choice but to bring Nootje along (and just hoping for the best). He ended up sitting through the 20-minute film just about okay, but he was getting restless and needed to sit on the floor with his toys during the Q&A. I wasn't too optimistic about being able to stay the whole way, so I was ready to leave -- having already picked a seat close to the exit and given weary smiles to the kind-faced host who wished me luck when I walked in with Nootje -- if he needed to.</div>
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Nootje started to talk ("Airplane is taking off!") during the Q&A, prompting a series of Very Dirty Looks from 3-4 White women just in front of him. One old woman made a big fuss, after turning around pointedly to stare at Nootje, of moving to a different seat. It wasn't loud (a 2-year-old talking, seriously) but I left the theatre after that.</div>
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When I described the incident on Facebook, an acquaintance commented that the same would have happened even if I were white, since the problem, according to her, is that Dutch people don't like playful kids.</div>
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That's the two main issues right there: she spoke of "Dutch people" when she really meant White Dutch, because Dutch POC are usually friendly to kids. And then there's the obvious thing, I'm NOT White, am I?</div>
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While I don't expect her to be able to empathise that I faced such a hostile situation, she expected that I would know what it feels like to be White/the norm. And with one sentence she had managed to turn the whole situation upside down: now I was supposed to feel sorry for her and her unappreciated playful child too.</div>
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Musliminahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15086763636766699739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8918410539312651928.post-4363703799163905972016-09-10T18:00:00.000-07:002016-09-10T18:00:00.162-07:00Openseam - "Teacher, are you Chinese or Malay?"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i>This article was first published on </i>Openseam.<br /><br /><div>
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Happy Teachers' Day!<br /><br />Today's post comes from Aliya Yeoh, an English teacher in Penang, Malaysia. She previously wrote about how she celebrated Chinese New Year. A Chinese Muslim, she reverted at the age of 35, after postponing her earlier plan to do so for 10 years. You can read more of her experiences and thoughts in her blog, <a href="http://pukullima.blogspot.nl/">Musings of a Mualaf</a>.<br /><br /><br />"Teacher, do you understand Tamil?" asked Revathi.<br /><br />I was with a small group of Indian students, on relief duty for an absent teacher.<br /><br />"No, I don't understand Tamil," I smiled. I knew they just wanted reassurance that I would not eavesdrop on their conversation.<br /><br />"Would you understand if I speak Chinese?" I asked. Revathi's turn to smile.<br /><br />"Teacher, you can speak Chinese?" </div>
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<br />"Teacher is Chinese la," Ramanan answered for me.<br /><br />"Really? I thought you're a Malay."<br /><br />"I am a Chinese," my smile grew wider. She looked puzzled.<br /><br />"But... you are wearing tudung?"<br /><br />"I am a Chinese Muslim... born in Malaysia. I grew up as a Chinese and later..."<br /><br />"You converted?" Shanti chipped in.<br /><br />"That's right. I wear the tudung because I am a Muslim woman. But I am still a Chinese and I can speak and understand Chinese." I explained slowly.<br /><br />"Ohhh..." Revathi nodded slowly.<br /><br />I've been in this school since 2010. I taught these same students two years ago and strangely, they have not realised that I am a Chinese lady. The reason? I am wearing a hijab, or tudung.<br /><br />Students, like most Malaysians, associate this garb with Islam and being Malay. In many minds, if you wear a tudung, then you must be a Malay.<br /><br />And in their minds, if you happen to wear a long tudung, then you must be an especially religious Malay. They associate our clothing with religion.<br /><br />It's bad enough that Muslim and non-Muslim students are always separated during religious activities. It would be havoc among other non-Muslim teachers if a non-Muslim student were to sit in the hall with other Muslim students, listening to a ceramah (sermon) by an ustaz.<br /><br />So I can't blame them for their lack of understanding of Islam. They don't know much because we, the Muslims, don't do much. Sometimes we, as adults, are not allowed to.<br /></div>
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Students learn best when they mix with their own friends. Which is why our teenagers need to be exposed to doing Islamic dakwah work, and not be scolded nor discouraged just because they 'lack knowledge'.<br /><br />I wouldn't be surprised if non-Muslim students think that China is made up of only Buddhist people. I used to think that way too, when in reality there are more Chinese Muslims in China than there are Malay Muslims in Malaysia.<br /><br />Once, I was told, in hushed tones, that there was a Chinese student who was interested in Islam. The ustazah didn't know what to do. Till today, I'm still waiting for her to approach me.<br /><br />It's always fun watching how Chinese students react when I speak Chinese dialects or Mandarin to them. One day when I scolded a sleepy Chinese lad in Hokkien, his mother tongue, and he was so surprised that he actually sat up straight.<br /></div>
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And the Malay students?<br /><br />They might suddenly realise that it's a fact that there are other Muslims in this country who are not Malay or Mamak.* That there are other once-kafir (non-Muslim) people who have embraced Islam and are now their brothers and sisters in Islam. Because I'm living and walking proof among them.<br /><br />"So teacher, are you a Malay or a Chinese now?"<br /><br />"I am a Chinese... and my religion is Islam. There are more than 60,000 Chinese Muslims in Malaysia today, did you know?"<br /><br />Ahhh, life is never boring as a Chinese Muslim. <i>Xie xie, wo ai ni</i>,** Allah.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">*Mamak: local slang to refer to people of Indian ethnicity.<br />** Mandarin for 'Thank you, I love you'.</span></div>
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Musliminahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15086763636766699739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8918410539312651928.post-49595836930515316662016-05-19T18:00:00.000-07:002016-05-19T18:00:06.240-07:00Mouthpainter shares story of love at first sight (Part 2)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i>This article was <a href="http://www.ablethrive.com/basics/mouth-painter-shares-story-love-first-sight-part-2/">first published on </a></i><a href="http://www.ablethrive.com/basics/mouth-painter-shares-story-love-first-sight-part-2/">AbleThrive</a>. <i>Read Part 1 <a href="http://susu-pekat-manis.blogspot.com/2016/05/mouthpainter-shares-story-of-love-at.html">here</a>!</i><div>
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One evening when they were working late in the office of their organisation, the <a href="http://bilic.idp-europe.org/en/index.html">Bandung Independent Living Centre</a>, Indonesian mouthpainter Faisal Rusdi finally confessed his feelings to his childhood crush, Cucu Saidah. He had been keeping his feelings for his colleague and soon-to-be-wife to himself for 24 years.<br /><br />When asked to describe what he loves most about his wife, he said candidly, “I liked her thick eyebrows. She is beautiful, very intelligent and she loves me.”<br /><br />A year after dating, they decided to marry. But first, they had to break the news to their parents. “My mother and my family were surprised, overwhelmed and happy,” said Faisal, who is based in Bandung, Indonesia.<br /><br />However, Cucu’s parents did not like the idea of them being together. “They tried to keep us apart, to the point of keeping her at home,” said Faisal. “I think they considered me severely disabled and unable to take care of myself.”<br /><br />Through one of her brothers, Faisal tried to communicate to her parents. “My uncle and my family approached her family to ask for her hand many times but we were refused.”<br /><br />Increasingly stressed and frustrated, Cucu grew distant from Faisal, who struggled to accept the reality of his situation. “But her love for me became stronger, and for me as well. We kept trying, and praying and consulting with many people,” he said.<br /><br />Eventually, they decided to solemnise the marriage through a legal procedure that overrides the bride’s need for a wali, or guardian – the closest male relative – since her father was against the marriage. Finally, the religious court granted them a wali hakim, or a judicial guardian.<br /><br />“We still invited her parents and family to the wedding, but not one of them attended. Only my extended family and our friends,” said Faisal.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://i2.wp.com/www.ablethrive.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/2016-05-16_9-18-05.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img height="400" src="http://i2.wp.com/www.ablethrive.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/2016-05-16_9-18-05.jpg?zoom=1.5&resize=262%2C300" width="349" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption">Faisal and Cucu in traditional wedding outfits from Padang, West Sumatra, enter the accessible reception hall on their power wheelchairs during their wedding in Bandung.</td></tr>
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After the wedding, the couple continued to reach out to Cucu’s family and their efforts eventually paid off. “Eight months later on Idul Fitri [a celebration after the fasting month of Ramadan], her parents started to accept us slowly,” he said.<br /><br />Faisal and Cucu were married on 30th November, 2008 in Bandung. As his parents were originally from Padang, the couple chose to follow West Sumatran customs and traditions for their wedding. Naturally, since both Faisal and Cucu are electric wheelchair users, the event hall and wedding dais were designed to be as accessible as possible.<br /><br />The wedding was just the start of a relationship with unique challenges, which widens the common but narrow conception that the daily work of marriage only involves two parties. For example, Faisal hires a regular caregiver. “The role of assistants/caregivers who help me in my activities is extremely important, and I do not deny it,” he said.<br /><br />“An assistant [knows] the technical and ethical aspects of accompanying a person with disabilities. He is a good friend who understands me well, and is part of my life. The presence of an assistant completes my independence.”<br /><br />While the couple strongly promote a definition of independence from their perspective – that includes the presence of an assistant and not solely the ability “to manage oneself” – they still have to deal with society’s misconceptions of their relationship.<br /><br />“[People think] that we are not able to manage a household, be physically and financially independent, or not able to have or raise children,” said Faisal.<br /><br />As for their marriage goals, Faisal and Cucu look towards helping their broader community as well. “Both of us want to own or start an art restaurant or cafe where people can come to not just eat but communicate, educate and advocate about an inclusive community.”</div>
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Musliminahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15086763636766699739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8918410539312651928.post-26063396879041660152016-05-18T00:00:00.000-07:002016-05-18T08:07:26.010-07:00Mouthpainter shares story of love at first sight (Part 1)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i>This article was <a href="http://www.ablethrive.com/basics/mouth-painter-shares-story-love-first-sight-part-1/">first published on </a></i><a href="http://www.ablethrive.com/basics/mouth-painter-shares-story-love-first-sight-part-1/">AbleThrive</a><br />
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For professional mouth painter Faisal Rusdi, 41, who was born with cerebral palsy, love at first sight isn’t simply a cliché.<br />
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Faisal first saw his wife, Cucu Saidah, on his first day at a special education school in Bandung, Indonesia. It was 1983, and back then there was a flag-raising ceremony every Monday. Cucu was standing just a few metres in front of him – she was leading the ceremony.<br />
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“In that moment, I knew I liked her immediately,” said Faisal. “Perhaps we could say it was love at first sight, at nine years old.” However, Faisal’s nine-year-old self was “shy, reserved and quiet.” Throughout the four years of elementary school, he never even greeted or spoke to her. Later, Cucu continued her secondary education at a mainstream school, while he remained at the same special school. They occasionally met each other at school reunions, where they had brief conversations. “I still felt the same as I did. I liked her, but I kept it to myself,” said Faisal.<br />
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To take his mind off her, Faisal threw himself into drawing and painting. In 2002 he was part of the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/associationofmouthandfootpaintingartists/">Association of Mouth and Foot Painting Artists (AMFPA)</a>. The next year, Cucu returned from 10 months in Japan, where she had been following a leadership training on independent living. She began to apply this philosophical knowledge through events and workshops. Faisal found himself at one of these events, at the insistence of a friend and fellow painter.</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;"><i>‘Why, Faisal jealous ya?’</i></span></div>
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“I met Cucu after such a long time. I greeted her with a smile and at long last, we became friends,” said Faisal. Together with her friends, Cucu invited him to work in her organisation, the <a href="http://bilic.idp-europe.org/en/index.html">Bandung Independent Living Centre (BILiC)</a>. Faisal soon replaced Cucu as the head of the organisation as she had accepted a job in the US, although she soon returned in 2004 to BILiC as a consultant. As they continued working together, Cucu had no idea that Faisal’s feelings for her were growing stronger by the day.<br />
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One day in 2007, they were working late in the office – long after their colleagues had left. “As we worked, Cucu chatted with me and I don’t know why, but I told her that I had once dreamed of her walking with some guys that I knew. She replied jokingly, ‘Why, Faisal jealous ya?’”<br />
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“I was a bit scared. Slowly, I turned off my computer and told her everything,” said Faisal. Cucu was surprised, because he had been keeping his feelings from her for the past 24 years. “I made her promise to not get angry, to not make fun of me, or to tell our friends because I felt embarrassed.”<br />
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Confessing his feelings to Cucu was the easy part of their courtship. Faisal soon had to overcome many other obstacles before he could marry the woman for whom he had fallen at first sight – at nine years old.<br />
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<a href="http://i1.wp.com/www.ablethrive.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/2016-05-07_15-11-16.jpg"><img src="http://i1.wp.com/www.ablethrive.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/2016-05-07_15-11-16.jpg?zoom=1.5&resize=241%2C300" height="320" width="256" /></a><br />
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<i>Read more about what Faisal had to overcome to marry the love of his life in <a href="http://www.ablethrive.com/basics/mouth-painter-shares-story-love-first-sight-part-2/">Part 2</a> next week!</i></div>
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Musliminahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15086763636766699739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8918410539312651928.post-12067000380644128982016-05-14T18:00:00.000-07:002016-05-14T18:00:10.913-07:00Leaping over language barriers<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i>This article was </i><a href="http://www.aquila-style.com/focus-points/muslimlifestyle/leaping-language-barriers/63156/"><i>first published on </i>Aquila Style</a>.<br /><br />Adventures in picking up a new language doesn’t have much to do with meeting new people.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEgoixBr_YZc7udBiwXtLbGMvb5TpBJ82t7gdXTpB0Aa8TO2wc4UXjSiiYwrS6aLQTW8yVczKKurPcIYfmUwkFwulHXlRhH_5pV41NKA4PWiI3_V130M9UnipDAfQXHRfRrySFU7DlJEmweVW4EGwsBvxIhyphenhyphenWN8tsq5Y-JkiBDsaaZ_R45V7gtGpHYLGCD7mFfMuO-6hFp7RBmFhQKWX=" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image: Pixabay</td></tr>
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At this moment, I live unwillingly in the Netherlands. I didn’t move here because I loved the language or the culture. After three and a half years, I can understand most of what people are saying, but since I haven’t had (read: couldn’t afford) any formal lessons and I’m not particularly fond of the language, the Dutch language requires the activation of a whole other part of my brain.<br /><br />I’ve nothing against learning new languages. Or European languages for that matter. I stuck through French lessons in middle school before I finally realised how I actually loved speaking it when I participated in an immersion programme in a sleepy French town (and later, studied there for a year). I still speak decent French and try to not lose my skills by watching French films. And because I already speak English by virtue of being born and bred in a former British colony, I think two imperialist languages are enough for me, thank you.<br /><br />The thing about speaking Dutch in the Netherlands is that… you don’t have to. Most people in the big cities speak decent English, which is enough to get by if all you want is to buy groceries at the supermarket, or find your way with public transport.<br /><br />But there’s a double standard when it comes to speaking the local lingo. If you’re a Caucasian or European, you’re not expected to speak Dutch. Laws that allow free movement in the European Union also mean that for Europeans, learning Dutch is merely voluntary. However, for me as a non-European permanent resident, I have to take a language exam in the next two years or risk a severe fine.<br /><br />Here, there are two types of people who are usually assumed to be unequivocally Dutch: White or Brown (thanks to colonial history). Because my appearance is typically Javanese or Indonesian, I’m often mistaken as being Dutch. Many Dutch people also have grandmothers or great-grandmothers who came over from the former colonies. These women often attempted to integrate totally by adopting the local language and ways of life.<br /><br />At one point in time, I figured I’d similarly integrate by forcing myself to speak and listen to Dutch. I decided to start in a prenatal yoga group that I had just joined. I figured that I would do okay since I could understand most words relating to movement and parts of the body. Plus, it was a good opportunity to learn the relevant vocabulary for labour and delivery.<br /><br />It turned out to be a very lonely 10 weeks. Even though I tried my best to speak a little bit of Dutch each lesson to the yoga instructor and to the other participants, I never got around to actually striking up a semblance of a friendship with the other mothers. Perhaps it was our age difference: Almost all the other women were well into their 30s, and some in their 40s. Perhaps we lived in different places: They live in the suburbs and I live in the city. Or perhaps I was just the only non-White person in the whole group.<br /><br />I had a very different experience in a postnatal Pilates class I’m currently attending. It’s a small and cosy studio not too far from where I live, run by an English woman and attended by many English-speaking people (even though most of the instructors are Dutch). I take two different classes, and both instructors willingly carry out their lessons in a mix of Dutch and English to make sure I can understand.<br /><br />I’ve also met some kindred souls in this class – a total change from awkward attempts at conversation in my previous yoga class. Whether it’s because women are more sympathetic when they can bond over how bad their hospital experience was, or whether it’s just a friendlier group of women, I haven’t needed to speak Dutch at all. (Besides, my go-to excuse is that my brain is too sleep-deprived caring for a baby to string together a sentence.)<br /><br />I realised then that it’s not about the language we speak, but about our willingness to know the other. Now when someone speaks to me in Dutch, I don’t feel obligated to reply in the same language to prove I’m a “good” migrant. I’m perfectly happy to speak what is most comfortable to me because what is more important is our effort to communicate, not the language we communicate in.</div>
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<i>This article was <a href="http://www.muslimahmediawatch.org/2016/01/11/fatal-sedition-noor-farida-ariffin-kept-in-line-with-rape-threats/">first published on </a></i><a href="http://www.muslimahmediawatch.org/2016/01/11/fatal-sedition-noor-farida-ariffin-kept-in-line-with-rape-threats/">Muslimah Media Watch.</a><br />
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I recently became aware of rape threats made on social media towards <a href="http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2015/12/09/man-threatens-noor-farida-rape/">Datuk Noor Farida Ariffin</a>, a well-respected former Malaysian ambassador to the Netherlands. Also a lawyer, she was the co-founder ofSisters in Islam, a local non-governmental organisation for women’s rights, and is the spokesperson of a local group of prominent Malays called G25.<br />
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In December 2014, G25 published an <a href="http://www.opnlttr.com/letter/open-letter-malaysia">open letter</a> to the Malaysian government calling for, among other things, “<a href="http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2014/12/07/group-prominent-malays-calls-for-moderation/">a rational dialogue on the position of Islam in a constitutional democracy</a>“. Signed by 25 former high-ranking civil servants, including directors-general, secretaries-general, ambassadors and prominent individuals, the letter demands a second look at the position and application of Islamic laws in the country, as well as the jurisdiction and limits of the powers that religious authorities can have.<br />
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<i style="color: #0b5394; font-size: x-large;">Why then, is her dissenting opinion not even tolerated, but considered an invitation to threats of murder and rape?</i></div>
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Among other points, the letter focused on a minister’s response to a recent court ruling that <a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/mmw/2012/12/mak-nyahs-transgendered-muslims-in-malaysia/">transgender women in Malaysia</a> have the right “to dress according to their identity”. Even though this state ruling is in favour of a marginalised group — and therefore should be seen as justice, the main objective of Islamic law — the fact that it is related to women, their sexuality and/or their appearance makes it a favourite target for being a threat to Islam and society at large.<br />
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“… [Minister Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom] viewed the right of the transgender community and Sisters in Islam (SIS) to seek legal redress as a ‘new wave of assault on Islam’ and as an attempt to lead Muslims astray from their faith, and put religious institutions on trial in a secular court.”</blockquote>
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The letter also highlighted the need for marginalised populations (like the poor) to feel safe from state intrusions of an individual’s privacy. One Shariah Criminal Offenses law in particular targets low-income unmarried couples who are found to be guilty of the <a href="http://www.islam.gov.my/en/e-hadith/prohibition-against-close-proximity">crime of khalwat, or ‘close proximity’</a>. Noor Farida says that “personal sin” should not be considered a crime that is punishable by the state.<br />
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The Department of Islamic Advancement of Malaysia (JAKIM) conducts regular ambushes to catch those engaged in khalwat, which have sometimes resulted in injuries or even death. Many of these ambushes are posted on YouTube to serve the sordid purpose of a public hanging. MMW writer <a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/mmw/2010/02/malaysias-newest-cane-campaign/">Alicia sums this up in her piece on sexual immorality in Malaysia</a>:<br />
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“Too often, sexual immorality is intertwined with class: cases of close proximity (khalwat) involve couples caught in budget hotels, in cars parked in quiet places, and in public parks, couples who cannot afford to marry or hire a room at an expensive hotel, a place very rarely ventured by the moral police.”</blockquote>
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The letter invited scornful responses from two Malay rights NGOs, Malaysian Muslim Solidarity (ISMA) and right-wing Perkasa. ISMA, a group <a href="http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/isma-labelled-preachers-of-genocide-who-deserve-to-be-caged-on-vandalised-w">known for its Malay-centric voice</a>, resorted to “<a href="http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/isma-takes-solace-in-personal-taunts-after-influential-malay-group-trumpets#sthash.rUJ08MSV.dpuf">personal taunts</a>” such as suggesting that the letter’s “<a href="http://www.muslimahmediawatch.org/2016/01/11/fatal-sedition-noor-farida-ariffin-kept-in-line-with-rape-threats/#sthash.rUJ08MSV.dpuf">expired</a>” authors should “<a href="http://www.muslimahmediawatch.org/2016/01/11/fatal-sedition-noor-farida-ariffin-kept-in-line-with-rape-threats/#sthash.rUJ08MSV.dpuf">go back to masjids and repent</a>“, while Perkasa’s secretary-general merely questioned if the authors had done anything at all for Malaysia.<br />
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During <a href="http://www.lse.ac.uk/SEAC/events/Events/150513-Malaysia-Fighting-Relgious-Extremism.aspx">a talk on “Fighting Religious Extremism in Malaysia” in London</a> recently, Noor Farida gave a review of recent incidents of rising religious extremism in Malaysia, <a href="https://dinmerican.wordpress.com/2015/05/25/noor-farida-ariffin-the-catalyst-for-change/">as recounted by Mariam Mokhtar of Free Malaysia Today</a>:<br />
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“But the current reality, she said, was a disturbing picture of Islamic NGOs and religious authorities wielding power over a cowed population, with the Malays being watched by a brutal and unapologetic moral police who act like thugs and the non-Malays and non-Muslims subject to intense provocation.”</blockquote>
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She gave a laundry list of vile acts which involved body snatching, the conversion of minors, the ‘Allah’ issue, the seizure of Bibles and the actions of born-again Muslims. She also spoke of Muslims being persecuted through mindless acts perpetrated by the religious authorities.<br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;"><i>The threat of rape serves to intimidate, and showing women their ‘proper’ place in society simply contributes to the preservation of patriarchy as the status quo</i></span></div>
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In early December this year, Noor Farida was at a G25 forum on Islam and democracy. The forum aimed at creating an inclusive Consultative Committee of Experts to advise the government on amending state shariah law, within the requirements of the Federal Constitution and National Principles (Rukun Negara).<br />
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Her call for a review on the crime of khalwat was met with threats of murder and rape on social media. Facebook user Al Mujahid Arman posted “[<a href="http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2015/12/21/cops-hunt-2-for-rape-murder-threats-on-g25s-noor-farida/">her blood is halal</a>]” while another Facebook user Sharul Nizam Ab Rahim <a href="http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2015/12/10/dap-lodges-report-on-rape-threat-against-noor-farida/">threatened to break into her house and rape her</a>.<br />
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Despite lodging police reports, the police were slow to investigate and to date, the two men have neither been caught nor convicted. Meanwhile, Noor Farida herself is <a href="http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/threatened-with-rape-g25s-noor-farida-now-under-sedition-probe-for-khalwat">under investigation for sedition</a>. The Sedition Act, an “outdated colonial vestige”, has been increasingly used to “<a href="https://www.article19.org/resources.php/resource/38131/en/malaysia:-sedition-act-upheld-in-further-blow-to-free-expression">suppress legitimate offline and online dissent in Malaysia</a>“. Put simply, as her opinion is contrary to ‘official Islam’, she must be silenced.<br />
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Looking through the lenses of age, gender, class and race is essential. Since Noor Farida is Malay and Muslim, being a high-ranking government official (and an elderly woman who does not wear hijab) means that she upsets notions of a proper Malay woman. (Although being <a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/mmw/2012/11/just-a-liberal-girl-the-framing-of-nurul-izzah-anwar-over-freedom-of-religion-remarks/">a young hijabi politician in Malaysia</a> brings with it another set of stereotypes.) As such, she must be ideologically disciplined by both the state (Sedition Act) and the public (Facebook).<br />
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Noor Farida has many important points on religious extremism and how religious laws can coexist with secular ones. Why then, is her dissenting opinion not even tolerated, but considered an invitation to threats of murder and rape? Because the threat of rape serves to intimidate, and showing women their ‘proper’ place in society simply contributes to the preservation of patriarchy as the status quo.</div>
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Musliminahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15086763636766699739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8918410539312651928.post-56691877785327108862016-05-12T18:00:00.000-07:002016-05-12T18:00:14.601-07:00When transphobia blocks justice for survivors of sexual violence<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i>Trigger Warning: This post contains discussion of underage rape and of transphobia</i><div>
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<i><br /></i>Four months ago, the Singaporean newspaper <a href="http://adimage.asia1.com.sg/transit/st/st.html?"><i>The Straits Times</i></a> ran a few articles on a case involving Malay Muslim transgender man Zunika Ahmad, 39. He had been charged with 20 counts of <a href="http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/transgender-man-with-2-wives-admits-sex-with-teenage-girl">sexually penetrating a girl</a>, a minor who was between the age of 13 and 14 at the time of the offenses between April 2012 and December 2013, with a dildo.<br /><br />Last week, the same newspaper ran several more articles to update on the decision of the High Court. High Court Senior Judge Kan Ting Chiu, <a href="http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/woman-acquitted-of-sexual-penetration-of-a-minor">acquitted Zunika of six charges</a> (although Zunika was convicted of one charge of sexual exploitation and sentenced to eight months’ jail). The judge said that Section 376A of the Penal Code i<a href="http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/woman-cleared-sexual-assault-charges-unprecedented-ruling">mplies that only a person with a penis (i.e a man) can be guilty of sexual penetration</a>: “The reference to a person who has a penis cannot be construed to include a woman without doing violence to common sense and anatomy.”<br /><br />What’s interesting about this case is that while the offender is a man and should be considered as one, the sex he was assigned at birth was used to erase his sexual offenses.<br /><br />Earlier coverage of the story in December 2015 spoke of Zunika as a person with “<a href="http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/woman-admits-to-sexually-abusing-girl-13">gender dysphoria</a>” and describes a transgendered man as someone “<a href="http://news.asiaone.com/news/crime/transgender-man-2-wives-admits-sex-teenage-girl">who was born a woman but identifies as male</a>“. The newspaper’s representation of Zunika as a trans person is mixed; it uses the wrong pronouns throughout, but in other ways it could even be considered sympathetic: Zunika felt “<a href="http://news.asiaone.com/news/crime/transgender-man-2-wives-admits-sex-teenage-girl">betrayed by her [sic] own body</a>” when he entered puberty.<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">
Not being able to express his gender identity is portrayed as a source of mental distress (“<a href="http://news.asiaone.com/news/crime/transgender-man-2-wives-admits-sex-teenage-girl">When her mother forbade her from going for a sex change operation, she cut her forearms</a> […]”). Zunika was expected to be able to go for sex reassignment surgery and “<a href="http://news.asiaone.com/news/crime/transgender-man-2-wives-admits-sex-teenage-girl">rebuild</a>” his life.</blockquote>
<br />While a medical diagnosis of ‘gender dysphoria’ suggests that this condition is something innate and fixed, words and phrases used in the newspaper’s language, such as “<a href="http://news.asiaone.com/news/crime/transgender-man-2-wives-admits-sex-teenage-girl">bogus persona</a>“, “<a href="http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/woman-disguised-as-man-betrayed-victims-trust">disguised as man</a>“, “<a href="http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/woman-cleared-sexual-assault-charges-unprecedented-ruling">fooled</a>” and “<a href="http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/woman-disguised-as-man-betrayed-victims-trust">her real gender</a>” imply that transgendered people are also deceptive and manipulative. Furthermore, the pronouns ‘she’ and ‘her’ are used consistently throughout all articles – <a href="http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/transgender-man-cheats-wives-girl-13-using-sex-toy">even if the term “transgender man” is used</a> – to further emphasise that transgendered men are actually still women.<div>
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<i style="color: #0b5394; font-size: x-large;">What is the purpose of law when it cannot bring about justice?</i></div>
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There is also a tone of incredulity at any type of marriage that is out of the heteropatriarchal norm. This is shown by the putting in apostrophes the words “married”, “husband” and “wives”. Such marriages cannot possibly be real or recognised because they do not involve the union of two people of opposite biological sexes.<br /><br />The most important issue at hand, however, is the sexual exploitation of a minor. The first article describes the sex as “<a href="http://news.asiaone.com/news/crime/transgender-man-2-wives-admits-sex-teenage-girl">consensual</a>” even though the victim was below 16 years old, the age of consent in Singapore. The purpose behind legal ages of consent is to protect minors, who are presumed to not be able to give informed consent due to unequal relations of power. Sex with a minor under 16 is an offence with or without the minor’s consent, let alone a 13- or 14-year-old having sex with someone more than 20 years older.<br /><br />More disturbing perhaps is the squabbling over legal definitions (i.e. sexual offender must be a man, must have penis, etc) over the actual application of the law to derive justice (protecting a victim who was a minor at the time of the crime).<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">
“If a court were to interpret A to include a woman, <a href="http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/woman-cleared-sexual-assault-charges-unprecedented-ruling#sthash.3ea3Fm5z.dpuf">it would be rewriting the law</a>, said [High Court Senior Judge Kan Ting Chiu]. [He] said the ‘better course’ was to leave it to the legislature to amend the provision to make it clear that A includes a woman, if that was indeed the intention.”</blockquote>
<br />While the subject of this analysis is a Muslim transgender man, the insistence of the media on framing him as a woman raises several interesting points.<br /><br />First, representing transgendered persons in the media only in relation to sexual offenses serves to strengthen the link between being a sexual minority and a moral deviant. In this case, Zunika not only committed the moral crime of deception, but also adultery (“<a href="http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/transgender-man-cheats-wives-girl-13-using-sex-toy">cheats on wives</a>“), paedophilia and deviant sex acts (“<a href="http://news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/transgender-man-cheats-wives-girl-13-using-sex-toy">using sex toy</a>“) in addition to a whole <a href="file:///C:/C:/Users/Sya/Dropbox/MMW/16.04.23%20Zunika%20Ahmad/Besides%20the%20sexual%20offences,%20Zunika%20is%20also%20accused%20of%20four%20counts%20of%20using%20a%20forged%20Indonesian%20passport%20at%20Singapore%20checkpoints,%20and%20one%20count%20each%20of%20voluntarily%20causing%20hurt%20and%20permitting%20a%20false%20entry%20to%20be%20made%20at%20the%20registry%20of%20births%20and%20deaths.%20She%20will%20be%20dealt%20with%20on%20these%20charges%20separately.%20-%20See%20more%20at:http:/news.asiaone.com/news/singapore/transgender-man-cheats-wives-girl-13-using-sex-toy">list of other charges</a>.<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Besides the sexual offences, Zunika is also accused of four counts of using a forged Indonesian passport at Singapore checkpoints, and one count each of voluntarily causing hurt and permitting a false entry to be made at the registry of births and deaths. <a href="http://www.tnp.sg/news/singapore-news/she-penetrated-girl-13-sex-toy">She will be dealt with on these charges separately</a>.”</blockquote>
<br />Second, we should be vigilant of the use of religion to provide a cover for sexual abuse. <a href="http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/courts-crime/woman-disguised-as-man-betrayed-victims-trust">The victim, known as R, said</a>: “My family trusted her because she has her own family and seemed very religious. She taught me and my siblings how to pray and made me wear a hijab.” Apparently Zunika also wore an “ankle-length robe and turban during religious occasions,” Arabised items of clothing that give the wearer more religious legitimacy.<br /><br />Third, we need to be aware of the history of laws. The Penal Code was enacted in the late 19th century in British colonies, based on British law and understandings of society at that time. While British law today may have evolved through amendments, many former colonies remain with fossilised versions of colonial-era law that limit sexual offenses to sexual penetration with a human penis, for example.<br /><br />As a mirror to Section 376A, the Penal Code also does not recognise men or boys as victims of rape, since Section 375 of the Penal Code states that a victim of rape must have a vagina. This eliminates many other types of sexual offenses that may not involve penetration, or that may involve the violent use of other objects.<br /><br />Ultimately, such laws fail to protect the underage victim, whether it is a boy or girl. And what is the purpose of law when it cannot bring about justice?</div>
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<i>This article was <a href="http://www.muslimahmediawatch.org/2016/05/09/when-transphobia-blocks-justice-for-survivors-of-sexual-violence/">first published on </a></i><a href="http://www.muslimahmediawatch.org/2016/05/09/when-transphobia-blocks-justice-for-survivors-of-sexual-violence/">Muslimah Media Watch</a></div>
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Musliminahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15086763636766699739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8918410539312651928.post-34795473186782689842016-05-11T05:31:00.000-07:002016-05-11T05:31:01.552-07:00"Do you work here?"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Institutional racism means that when you are Brown, you're taken to be a low-wage worker. Not that you might want or desire such a job, but that these are the opportunities open to you.<br />
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Institutional racism means that when you're in a clothing store, some White people will assume that you work there. You might be holding a few pieces of clothing over your arm, as you look through the shelves and racks. These are not things that you're browsing for and that you can afford to buy, but items that were already tried on or misplaced and it's your $5-per-hour job to fold and put them back.<br />
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Institutional racism means that when you are seeking something more beyond the 9-to-5 grind, some Rich people assume that you're unemployed and would be grateful for any job offered to you. You may have been privileged enough to get a degree, but educational qualifications are invisible. A rich person may look at your skin colour, and the skin colour of their loyal chauffeur and secretary, and offer you those jobs. These are not jobs you are necessarily interested in, but you are supposed to be grateful that you were offered them at all.<br />
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Institutional racism means that when you send out dozens of resumes with your Arabic-sounding Malay name, some White people will offer you a secretarial or administrative job, if it's not a cleaning job. Some White people will offer you unpaid internships. Some Rich people will, during your interview, tell you that they are glad you are not wearing hijab, because women that wear hijab "think differently". Institutional racism means that when you hyphenate your father's name to your husband's Dutch family name, you get an interview and you are assumed to be of mixed parentage.<br />
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Institutional racism means that when you find yourself too close to a person who has more privilege, other people might mistake you as the domestic worker of the person you are helping. You might be just offering a wet wipe to a Chinese woman who fell down, or helping a wheelchair-user buy something or get somewhere.<br />
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Institutional racism means that when you're doing anything resembling manual labour, some Chinese people will assume that you are the cleaner of the premises humbly doing your job. You might be moving boxes and equipment because you train with athletes in this hall everyday. It's your last day in this place and you have to pack everything to be picked up the next day. You know the Malay pakciks and Indian aunties that set up and put away sports equipment and furniture in this hall. Institutional racism means that a Chinese person may see you as just another Brown menial worker.<br />
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So the first thing he asks you is, "Do you work here?"</div>
Musliminahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15086763636766699739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8918410539312651928.post-752829398048005522016-04-25T20:00:00.000-07:002016-04-25T20:00:00.152-07:00Calling the shots in life with wheelchair basketball<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i>This article was <a href="http://www.ablethrive.com/sports/calling-shots-in-life-with-wheelchair-basketball/">first posted on </a></i><a href="http://www.ablethrive.com/sports/calling-shots-in-life-with-wheelchair-basketball/">AbleThrive</a>.</div>
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Singaporean paraathlete Emilio Choo, 34, came into contact with wheelchair basketball through something completely unrelated: learning how to drive a handcontrolled car.</div>
<br />During a driving lesson at Handicaps Welfare Association, the person incharge of wheelchair basketball noticed that Emilio was still “young and mobile”, and told him he was suitable for the sport. He had always been a fan of team sports, playing soccer and basketball long before a spinal injury 14 years ago left him paralysed from the waist down. “A team complements each other. You can be good at something but no one is perfect. A team can cover your shortfalls,” he said.<br /><br /><div>
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But he didn’t think that he would be able to continue playing sports – or achieve anything significant – after his injury. “To be independent is a big enough accomplishment. For a year I even thought, that’s the end of it and I would be bedridden for life. But to be out here and doing something [at] the ASEAN Para Games [in December 2015]… I never thought I would be able to represent the nation in any way at all.”<br /><br />Being active can mean different things for different people. For some, it can be a way to meet new people. For others, it’s a way to improve their health – both physically and mentally. For people with disabilities, sports can also serve as a way to empower themselves. Emilio thinks that trying a new sport encourages people with disabilities to get out of their physical and mental comfort zones.<br /><br />“I know it’s tough initially – I went through it – there’s no need to rush. But I really think sports and interaction can help you overcome all challenges. Even if you have a family that’s encouraging and providing you with help, there’s nothing better than being independent. By coming out and meeting people in similar situations, you can gain the confidence to improve your life.”<br /><br />Although Emilio went through a bout of depression after his injury, he feels his mental health improved greatly with the help of his teammates. “Hanging around with them helped me a lot because they went through the same things and had good advice for me. They also made me feel that there’s nothing wrong with being in a wheelchair. We joke about it, we say things like ‘why your hands so short’ and ‘jelly legs’. We laugh at each other. Those kind of things help you accept who you are.”<br /><br /><a href="http://i1.wp.com/www.ablethrive.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/basketball-team.jpg"><img src="http://i1.wp.com/www.ablethrive.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/basketball-team.jpg?zoom=1.5&resize=366%2C206" /></a></div>
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Since becoming a wheelchair athlete, Emilio has had his fair share of physical and psychological challenges. For example, he has had to shift his perceptions of fitness. While as an able-bodied athlete, he was more concerned with stamina, his priorities now are his upper body strength and balance.<br /><br />“In the past, I was tall. So it was easier for me to play basketball. I didn’t even need to jump, I just had to lift slightly and I was taller than everyone else. But now I have to learn to do things differently. For me, because of my disability I don’t have much balance on the chair. I have to learn to shoot from a wheelchair and to get my balance, [I have] to strap myself down.”<br /><br />His favourite part of being on a team is being able to build on the strength of others and to know that he can always count on their support. Each player has a specific role to play to the best of their abilities, which enables them to support one another on and off the court.“At the ASEAN Para Games, even though I took most of the shots, I would not have been able to do so without my teammates. They gave me good positions, and gave me the ball to shoot.”<br /><br />As for the value of sports in his life, Emilio counts “a fighting spirit” as the best dividend from investing himself in wheelchair basketball. “Even when the odds are down, don’t give up. Like life, you have to try and try. You cannot get things right from the start, so you have to practise to get the perfect shot.” Vulnerability in teamwork is another valuable lesson he has learned: “You need help in team sports, you cannot do it all on your own. You don’t have to.”<br /><br />Emilio is predictably wistful about the importance of his team in his life. “My teammates, I have been playing with them for 13 years. They are [not only] my teammates, but also my mentors. They taught me a lot in life.” For him, basketball isn’t just an opportunity to regain physical, but also emotional strength. It has been a way to regain his independence and self-confidence to call his own shots in life. “Someone told me this: you might miss a shot if you’re not good. But if you don’t even try to make a shot it will never even get in.”<br /><br />If you’re a newcomer or beginner to wheelchair basketball, but curious and game for an aggressive sport and working as a team, contact us and we’ll put you in touch. (Don’t worry, you won’t be pressured into joining the team!)<br /><br />“Be daring, don’t be afraid. If you keep trying, we’ll support each other.”<br /><br />Check out this YouTube video of Emilio explaining why he loves wheelchair basketball, and watch him take a shot!</div>
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Musliminahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15086763636766699739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8918410539312651928.post-41574721151581772252016-04-23T18:00:00.000-07:002016-04-23T18:00:00.160-07:00Does religion trump race? Yes, at least in Singapore.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i>This article was <a href="http://www.muslimahmediawatch.org/2016/03/31/does-religion-trump-race-yes-at-least-in-singapore/">first published on </a></i><a href="http://www.muslimahmediawatch.org/2016/03/31/does-religion-trump-race-yes-at-least-in-singapore/">Muslimah Media Watch</a>.</div>
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One of the biggest problems that Muslim women face today is the need to deconstruct and reconstruct narratives of ourselves in the media. (That’s why Muslimah Media Watch exists, amirite?) A recent interview <a href="http://video.toggle.sg/en/embed/376053">of Professor Jackie Ying, a Chinese Muslim scientist in Singapore, by a Singaporean Malay language news channel</a> shows that this need can exist just as painfully among Muslims themselves.<br /><br />50-year-old <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackie_Yi-Ru_Ying">Professor Ying</a> is presently the Executive Director of the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology in Singapore. Born in Taiwan, she came to Singapore at the age of seven to complete her primary and secondary school education. At the age of 15 her family moved to New York, and she attended high school and The Cooper Union to complete a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering. Afterwards, she obtained her MA and PhD from Princeton University. In 2001, she became one of the youngest full professors at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).<br /><br />The interview was brought to my attention through a <a href="http://zaihanisme.com/post/139968924023/kusut-sangat-the-tangle-of-culture-and-faith">blogpost</a> by Singaporean blogger Zaihan, in which he highlighted the problematic ‘entanglement’ of race and religion. (The blog was last accessed on 26 Feb 2016 and seems to be currently unavailable.)<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Due to her choice of converting to Islam about 15 years ago, Professor Ying is somehow now seen as a representative of the Malay/Muslim community. She was asked to comment on issues that this group faces; on how she would change or improve interest in the sciences amongst the youth of the demographic, for example. She was even prodded to share the “kemelayuan”—Malayness, in short—that she sees in herself. It’s so strange because she is Muslim, but not Malay. She was not quite able to answer so many of these queries levelled at her, because she had not lived as a Malay (…)”</blockquote>
In Singapore, just like in Malaysia, ethnicity and religion are deeply intertwined. To be a Malay often means to be Muslim, and Muslim converts are usually expected to adopt Malay practices. <a href="http://www.muslimahmediawatch.org/2013/08/27/miss-malaysia-not-for-muslims/">Elsewhere in MMW</a> I wrote that “these two terms [Malay and Muslim] are often used interchangeably.” One problem with this false equivalence of terms is that it erases the experiences of Muslims of other ethnicities, like Professor Ying herself. However, this is something that is sometimes reinforced by the ehnic group itself, in this particular case, the Malay community, <a href="http://zaihanisme.com/post/139968924023/kusut-sangat-the-tangle-of-culture-and-faith">as highlighted by blogger Zaihan</a>:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">
“The blatant manner that Berita Harian and local Malay news programmes claim her amazing achievements (she is truly prolific and well-decorated) as a Malay-Muslim point of pride—simply by virtue of her holding the same faith as their target readers—is not only very silly but also insulting to her journey.”</blockquote>
The other problem with equating Malays and Muslims is the discursive erasure of Malays of other religions, even though they make up a very small percentage of the population. One’s religious identity takes precedence over any other identities.<br /><br />In the half-hour clip, the interviewer asks several questions that assume that Professor Ying somehow would understand what it means to be Malay, just because she converted to Islam. The interviewer poses these questions:<br /><ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>What is the reason behind the low numbers of Malay Muslims participating in science and research?</li>
<li>What more can the Malay Muslim community do to encourage, ensure and produce a group of science practitioners?</li>
<li>Do you see any Malay Muslims [in your institute] who have the potential to be [a Nobel Prize winner]?</li>
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Professor Ying works with the local Malay/Muslim community through Yayasan Mendaki, a “self-help” semi-governmental organisation. She mentors young Muslims interested in science by giving them the opportunity of working on research projects in her laboratory. While she could not answer these questions from the perspective of a Malay, she did have insights from the perspective of an educator.<br /><br />She highlighted the shortcomings of science education, and she said,”I think it’s the same problem for everybody. Students learn science as a fairly dry subject.” Furthermore, she spoke about the emphasis on exams and early streaming, “Doing well academically is different from being able to do research well in the lab. We have too much of a civil service mindset.”<br /><br />Even though the interviewer’s questions framed her as having to speak for the Singaporean Malay community by virtue of being Muslim, I think she managed to steer the conversation away to – as much as she could – create her own representation. The struggle continues for Muslim women to create their own narratives and resisting those imposed on them.<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">
“I think from being young, we wanted to grow up to be individuals. It was important for me that my parents did not set me in certain pigeonholes. They are very accepting of who I am (…) Of course society is a different story. We have a lot of constraints. But because my parents never set those limitations, I never felt there was something I couldn’t do. I think it’s that: we set our own challenges that makes it possible for us to try different things.”</blockquote>
In Singapore, the conflation of ethnicity and religion erases individual narratives, as Professor Ying highlights here. However, with this interview she has given us an example of how to resist dominant media narratives – an example both media makers and participants can learn from.</div>
Musliminahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15086763636766699739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8918410539312651928.post-4493542908440631092016-03-26T18:00:00.000-07:002016-03-26T18:00:10.441-07:00A Chinese convert is "content wherever she finds herself"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i>This article was first published on </i>Openseam. <i>Iman Wong is a Chinese convert from Singapore. She enjoys reading, brisk walking and listening to oldies. She currently volunteers at Darul Arqam, where she counsels new converts and teaches them about Islam and prayers.</i><br /><div>
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By Iman Wong</div>
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It started way back in 1978. I had decided to embraced Islam. It was indeed a very trying and difficult period for me but I survived.<br /><br />I lived in a kampong area in Geylang and there was a mosque near my home. Every morning I could hear the sounds of adhan I disliked it because it was noisy and interrupted my sleep. I had many different neighbours: Malays, Indians and Chinese. We played and ran around together. All our homes were always open and we only locked our front doors after midnight. It was so safe and so sound...<br /><br />Then, I was studying in a Roman Catholic school, where all of us went to church, sang hymns and also studied catechism. The British nuns would read from the Bible and tell us stories even though we were non-Catholics. Incidentally, I remembered a handsome British priest who visited our class -- all of us were mesmerised by his big blue eyes. I was not keen or interested in being a Catholic as I did not feel anything when I looked at a statue of Jesus Christ.<br /><br />My parents were Taoists and they only worshipped ancestors. I was a free thinker and I simply followed what they wanted me to do, like holding joss sticks and cleaning the altar of my late grandfather. Sometimes, I followed my mother to the temple to pray to deities, but I really disliked it. The smoke from the joss sticks and the solemn looks on the deities made me feel very uneasy whenever I visited the temple. For me, worshipping deities are definitely out, because deities are all made by men.<br /><br />Then, I was aware that there was a God but I did not know how to get to Him. I was like a lost ship floating on the sea.<br /><br />My dearest father was hardworking but a man of very few words. He was the only breadwinner in my family and when he was stressed out, he drowned his sorrows by drinking! I did not understand him too well as there was no communication between us at all. He was like our ‘commander’ from whom we only took orders. Then, I was rather rebellious, always wanting to do something different from my siblings.<br /><br />One night, I did some soul searching and wondered if life should be so monotonous – eat, sleep, work, play? I started thinking about the meaning of life and concluded that there must be some superpower that created everything. My head kept pounding.<br /><br />Who is He and where is He?<br /><br />Finally, one day my question was answered. A Malay Muslim neighbour gave me a English translation of the Qur’an, written by Mohammed Pickthall. When I finally found some time to take a look, I read the first verse, Al Fatiha. The phrase, "Show us the straight path" (<a href="http://www.quran.com/1/5">1:5</a>) attracted me. I felt that this was the wake-up call for which I had been searching.<br /><br />I began to attend classes at <a href="http://www.darul-arqam.org.sg/">Darul Arqam</a> under the late Cikgu Zaini, at Pheng Geck Avenue. He gave me the impression of a father, a respected teacher, and a knowledgeable person. He had a good sense of humour and in other words, a jolly good fellow. And he looked so Chinese too! My first question to him was, “Are you a Chinese?” and he said "No, I look Chinese but I am born Malay."<br /><br />Of course, my parents didn’t know that I was attending Islamic courses. How would they have reacted! When I decided to convert in 1978, my father was so mad at me and did not speak to me for a year, but my mother was very supportive, alhamdulillah. My eldest sister was strongly against it because she is a Catholic. I embraced Islam without their blessings and I did feel very upset.</div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;"><i>My faith fluctuated when I lost my late husband</i></span></div>
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Fortunately, I met Brother Kamar Lim, whom I greatly respect, and also the late Sister Saibah – both of whom became my mentors. They understood the conflict with my family and gave me a lot of support and encouragement. They said, keep praying and Allah will lighten your burden. I felt so much better after talking to both of them. Brother Kamar Lim asked me to be a council member with Darul Arqam and in short, Darul Arqam became my second home.<br /><br />After a year, my father started speaking to me. But, he told me that he wanted his future son–in-law to be a Chinese. I was astounded but I had no choice but to take up his challenge! As it turned out, in the same year, I attended a youth camp in Taipei organised by the World Assembly Muslim Youth (WAMY) with another Muslim sister. I was really excited to meet so many Chinese Muslims in Taiwan and, guess what, there I also met my late husband. My late father was so happy that I was marrying a Chinese Muslim and we were blessed with a son, alhamdulillah.<br /><br />In 1998, my late husband met with a car accident. I realised that death is inevitable. That took me to further understand that life in this world is not forever and that one day, we have to return to God whether we are ready to or not. My faith fluctuated when I lost my late husband but it was a trial that I had to quickly get over for the sake of my only son. I renewed my faith and occupied myself with classes and activities at Darul Arqam. Just like the Chinese saying, <i>ji lai zhi ze an shi. </i>Be content wherever you find yourself.<br /><br />Time flies. I have embraced Islam for 38 years. Thank God that He blesses me till today. I am imperfect, I still have weakness and flaws in my journey to Islam but my faith keeps me going. New converts? Put your trust in Allah and everything will fall in its place, insha’allah.</div>
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Musliminahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15086763636766699739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8918410539312651928.post-28566915544412937632016-03-24T08:05:00.000-07:002016-03-24T08:05:06.175-07:00A quick guide to Islamic empires<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i>This article originally appeared in the <a href="http://www.aquila-style.com/issue/heritage-issue/">September 2014 Heritage issue</a> of </i>Aquila Style <i>magazine</i>. </div>
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History is dreary no more when the subject is the political theatre of Islam’s Golden Age.<div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption">The interior beauty of the Alhambra (Image: Fotolia)</td></tr>
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When I was a young Muslim kid growing up, I had to attend Islamic classes every Sunday. The history lessons were unclear, but from them I got the (correct) idea that there were four caliphs who ruled after Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). And since I had also vaguely heard about several Islamic empires, I got the (false) impression that each caliph had his own dynasty.<br /><br />I was an intellectually awkward teenager trying to empower my Muslim self with the achievements of the Golden Age of Islam, but I had no idea where this time period fit in with the rest of history. Later I realised that what could be called an “empire” happened after the reign of the four Rightly Guided Caliphs who strove to keep the message of Muhammad (pbuh) alive: Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali.<br /><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">The Umayyad elite </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">(661 – 737 CE / 40 – 120 AH)</span></b><br /></div>
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When Muhammad (pbuh) first began his prophetic career, the Umayyads were part of Mecca’s rich elite, who also harassed his followers when he still lived in Mecca. When Muhammad (pbuh) was spreading the Word of God, condemning those who were rich but did not care for society’s downtrodden and marginalised, the Umayyads were some of the people he was referring to.<br /><br />Before Islam the Umayyads were merely the city elite. But once Islam started to prove, in a way, how Muslims could also achieve success in this world, they converted to Islam and became the elite of a global empire.<br /><br />The main man in this empire was Mu’awiya; he was the cousin of Umar, the second caliph. Earlier during Umar’s reign, Mu’awiya was appointed the governor of Damascus and he kept this position throughout the reigns of the next two caliphs, Uthman and Ali. Towards the end of Ali’s reign, Mu’awiya formally refused to accept Ali as caliph, and led an army against him. When Ali was assassinated by one of his own followers, Mu’awiya declared himself caliph. Towards the end of his life, his son Yazid succeeded him.<br /><br />The empire of the Umayyads launched the evolution of Islam as a civilisation and political empire. During their reign the Umayyads nurtured Islam’s religious institutions, like mosques and waqf – philantrophic religious foundations. They also declared Arabic as the official language, replacing Greek in the western ends of their empire – an empire that stretched from Cordoba in the west to Persia in the east, covering parts of modern day Iran and Afghanistan.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption">Mecca as depicted in the Qatari TV series ‘Omar’ (2012) Photo: YouTube</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption">The second caliph of Islam, Umar, portrayed by Samer Ismail in the TV series ‘Omar’ (2012) Photo: YouTube</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption">A map of the city of Baghdad between 150 and 300 AH (767 and 912 CE). William Muir / Wikimedia Commons</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Al-Hakim Mosque in Cairo was named after the 6th Fatimid caliph. Photo: Fotolia</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">A manuscript written during the Abbasid era. Wikimedia Commons</span></td></tr>
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<br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">Abbasids take over, one Umayyad gets away </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">(737 – 961 CE / 120 – 350 AH)</span></b><br /></div>
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The Umayyads had created what seemed to be a stable empire, with Yazid’s descendants ruling for several generations. But the homogenisation of doctrine and bureaucracy within the empire had resulted in growing discontent among two marginalised groups: the Shi’a against the orthodox religious establishment, and the Persians against the Arab political establishment. Eventually, these two groups mapped onto each other.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cdn.aquila-style.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/041.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEg63bl-CdifJPypPGp72bkF6MM_g4Oy77qw5jRdWNZ7JhsXoIHgLiy7_I-ghbRHXl1Fm4I1rYptaT7a13tuYJdsl5Pzq9o1K1yzTXIi-eBKVnc50m0gGsmasl2f7fPJ5Nt-0jptL2GVAFa35RE-oxVZLsIow175lzM1oLobcOvLkr8xdUVQxQ=" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption">This 1940s picture shows the 9th-century Malwiya Minaret with a spiral ramp at the Great Mosque of Samarra, 125 km north of Baghdad. Photo: DSK/AFP</td></tr>
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Meanwhile in Iraq, a small anti-government band called the Hashimites dispatched to Merv (in today’s Turkmenistan) a professional revolutionary with the pseudonym Abu Muslim. His job was to protest against the growing materialism of the Umayyads and to promote the installation of Abu al-Abbas, a distant relative of the Prophet (pbuh), in order to return the Muslim world to the right track.<br /><br />Abu Muslim’s army clashed with the Umayyads in Iraq, but not before incorporating bands of discontented Persians along the way. They won, and the Hashimites proclaimed Abbas as the new caliph. To cement his power, Abbas had the leading members of any surviving Umayyads killed; his brother Mansur later had Abu Muslim executed as well. The Abbasid empire had officially begun.<br /><br />In embracing an orthodox approach to Islam, which had been developing under the Umayyads, Sunnism was born and was considered a clear sect, separate from Shi’ism. Perhaps the most important outcome of the Abbasid dynasty, which ruled for over 200 years, was the building of Baghdad.<br /><br />Civilisation, culture, philosophy and art blossomed and reached a peak during the first two centuries or so. When Abbas died, his brother Mansur decided to build a new capital to serve as the empire’s focal point. Called the Round City because of the circular palace complex at its centre, Baghdad became the biggest and busiest city of its time. Traders, merchants and vendors settled in concentric circles around the palace, creating a maze of streets and alleys, mosques and bathhouses.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cdn.aquila-style.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/051.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEh5UPdIDP2hpvGQdInPBoEMl5dmIMAZbVtL068mmNOm5K1-cfytSCjnzFDnPCJV1RipGRVSV8UtLzInf59b6ToO8tukI1scg3wKEc5NrmmJJMNgjhXsf4rmQsERKl1yNYCI18c2o4OVL7rGOOhyphenhyphenFd2YNC0f_KASKCJO1vPAL1MDuvPW6ww3xw=" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption">This 1940s picture shows the 9th-century Malwiya Minaret with a spiral ramp at the Great Mosque of Samarra, 125 km north of Baghdad. Photo: DSK/AFP</td></tr>
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The thing about history is that it’s never linear; there are many simultaneous events happening all the time. If you’re sad that the Umayyads were all executed by Abbas, don’t despair: there’s a glimmer of hope. The last Umayyad nobleman, Abdul Rahman, fled to Andalusia (today’s Spain) while the Abbasid dynasty was starting up. Andalusians accepted him as their leader because as far as they knew, the Umayyads were still their leaders. And besides, Baghdad was geographically too far away to make much of an immediate impact.<br /><br />Andalusia claimed to be independent from Baghdad, believing they were still the rightful caliphate. When Muslims (and non-Muslims) talk about the Golden Age, they are often referring to the Andalusian Umayyad empire. At its peak the capital of Cordoba boasted the largest libraries in Europe, hundreds of mosques, schools and bathhouses, as well as trade with North Africa and across the Mediterranean. Muslims, Jews and Christians lived under their own religious leaders and legal systems, practising their respective rituals and customs.<br /><br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">Co-existing caliphates: Andalusian Umayyads, Baghdadi Abbasids, and Cairene Fatimids </span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">(958 – 1095 CE / 347 – 487 AH)</span></b><br /></div>
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In the 10th century yet another city rose up to challenge the Abbasid caliphate, which was by now clearly Sunni. A group of Tunisian Shi’a warriors seized Egypt from the Abbasid empire, and declared themselves the true caliph of Islam because they were descendants of Fatima, the Prophet’s (pbuh) daughter. They built a new capital and named it “Victory”: Qahira, or Cairo.<br /><br />The Shi’ite Fatimid empire could be proud of building Al-Azhar, the world’s second university after Al-Karaouine in Fez. Drawing upon their natural resources of the Nile river and the Mediterranean sea, this caliphate dominated the maritime routes along the Red Sea and probably outshone both Baghdad and Cordoba.<br /><br />Later on, the Fatimid empire was conquered and absorbed into the Abbasid caliphate. Meanwhile, the remaining Umayyad empire in Al-Andalus lasted until 1031, when it was conquered by Catholic Spain. The Abbasid dynasty and the Golden Age effectively ended when Baghdad was conquered by the Mongols in 1258. They regrouped in a weaker form as the Mamluk empire in Egypt, which was eventually conquered by the Ottoman empire in the 16th century.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption">This green glass weight from the Umayyad Dynasty is dated 743. In addition to the name al-Walid, who was the financial director of the Damascus treasury, the weight’s inscription, stamped on top in an angular script known as kufic, evokes Yazid III, a caliph of the Umayyad Dynasty. Acquired by Henry Walters, 1914. Wikimedia Commons</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption">Map of the Umayyad Caliphate in 750 CE. From The Historical Atlas by William R Shepherd, 1926. Courtesy of the General Libraries at the University of Texas at Austin/Wikimedia Commons</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEhR4iI0oyOaBKnsYeqOP1lo0pCeW1Jgk5Lvgwl-QVp8yRjDMH56BDhXRIZCGdwRFF0UwNzmVMZkwXuNaadv3PmXJBA2YeiHFpDihbGFSwpH03Etrly5W7JHNnIRad1dR6eUro4lWAC1smq-hPHu3Qoypo3F4jkVPwQdvwzbK3n2MuPOR8Gv=" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
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An artist’s sketch of the main market in the Cordoba capital during the Andalusian Umayyad dynasty. Exhibited at Madinat al Zahra Museum. Photo: Sya Taha<br /></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEgRKLFiGjL1Tfdt8-vHQr0nF4go9WJGLElmG6X1BTPJdGFxdGosEWo3hS1xJ5Hz1OJcGu95RlpzrhVnZPHvr_7hV0zVTPahCsu_8odWmIxGDVizF6A9Ees4rxu9DwxInHKXu7S-A1sUpv5-jzvv-aEMtvh8uW9dWyn4K0iIZTvffIkUOzLH=" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">The interior of Cordoba’s Mosque-Cathedral, rebuilt from a Catholic cathedral in the 8th century by Caliph Abdul Rahman. The red and white arches were inspired by the blue and white arches of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. Some say that the many rows of arches were meant to resemble the palm trees of Arabia that Abdul Rahman so dearly missed. Photo: Fotolia</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEjk3k0fcc8bUfzSfDuVAhj6GmTpHVusd70kMgKp_gY0QaM38bQpxY8sjIGm6O6yJujppEuOXpzfvHD3n6owyJ4vK-2Vq3r5DYRLF5btiS95hsumb1UPVB7SQImgJPqRLh9vlY6t8Ze3Hia7u9jzPKZcgyG5bLHX_PloPWTtndy1Hx3WdVZy=" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="font-size: 12.8px;">
<span style="font-size: 12.8px;">A dome inside the Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba. Photo: Fotolia</span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEieYAs3-NCvvVJq0zbOQ3xJ-54hnt1JBz-0HqEuYUxu-FPyI0JBsNHvb3ecpLXqT1Jn2F6k1lmMXX2tx3Cb4BiIsHiSWvHg5g7PvaO4qeN1444JvlCBF5xnr4Aktdbqwv0Wt_faRo2J4IB41H_0pyhey-EcQgYw2gDOVgPTk2AwYt9Jj2Fz=" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">The mihrab of the Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba is richly decorated with gold and designs of flowers and plants. Unusually, it faces south instead of south-east towards Mecca. Photo: Yarehk Hernandez</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEhvhdiD2uImZC0JNTwrqdgMJLhGnkxeQ3Yu1qHG0a6V1XLttmX6gQhCFkkekOs5KC0FrV9RK38e9ibBwXymmNxdjBEakciM1H6dwmDNjwhBZCkVQnLftJD_iAqBxxEqBSiaLJEKoK4VFeSI7IDHd9kcS8lnJgNaEFfvI4NMPD2Oj9RT26mm=" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">The exterior of the Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba. Photo: Sya Taha</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEjD2aamc1om6Ld1CT0JIYPE27G9yQVDxxcuWqTp8nxVIxfUirQjEpHOBbm8NF_ChMkNZQ9oj3Cub1s2GnID53mMyU6xZS6FTZaAzViolMcbqM-Q6-dV-a4QhhD1l063qXu5dUFcsWQb0NT_bQxNgL4Qq_ISg1iNA-lMgCIPrAOLcYWz-ipI=" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">The ruins of Madinat az-Zahra (“City of the Flower”), a palace-city built in 936–940 by Caliph Abdul Rahman that contained mosques, offices, gardens, residences and baths. Representing the power and legitimacy of the caliph to continue the Umayyad empire in Andalusian Spain, Madinat az-Zahra served as the capital of al Andalus. Photo: Fotolia</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEi41Gnc2McyLTMGJap4awD8EA1D7-Ge0HZO4E3dIDS0m-EozEI13ZHaiVm4IAd42sRH5KYqDlzbn3n-A1zswMz5r4tCoafZFb-c9QNOo_Am6Ie50G2mGvqcPKLlwb9JatX0IpFBrhA0lSR9vmUzqyr2i8ou_cl1W2uLQZoyyEqT-DU_OYu_=" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">The chamber in Madinat az-Zahra. Photo: Fotolia</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEg48Axku7FvzRAV6ykMWjK3nktZJdlL9qxcRGxNM5B04E1WzXH21wSbuPM8drodZJHCFAthhNJ1qMUsBH86QIlJQs2VMNMp8qMWA8ePFW9xuUu7QbyhOXYDcD7Hj7fjfCHD2R1GQatD0OGRVKuMPgpdxN606Hm6HubLe_9AN6pf8GNueu_x=" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">The Court of Lions in the Alhambra. The Alhambra was first built under Caliph Abdul Rahman in the 8th century as a fortress, before being renovated in the 11th century as a palace. Photo: Fotolia</span></td></tr>
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<br /><b><span style="font-size: large;">Who rules the ummah?</span></b></div>
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Prosperous as these caliphates were, they symbolised a clear fragmentation of the Muslim world. Each of them claimed to be the true caliphate, even as it was painfully obvious that the ummah was no longer coherent and united, and that their leaders were appearing to be more and more like secular kings.<br /><br />From the 9th century onwards, other Islamic empires and sultanates also began to rise (and fall) in regions such as Persia, North Africa, Central Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia. What most of these had in common was a claim to be a descendant of the Prophet (pbuh) or some other legitimacy to rule as a Muslim ruler.<br /><br />I found it enthralling to know that Islamic empires co-existed, involved different degrees of bloodshed during takeovers, and included more than just the main three. When I think back to my scattered Islamic history education, an Islamic Empires 101 course sure would have kept my attention as a kid!<br /><br /><i>For historical sources and maps, see Destiny Disrupted: A History of the World Through Islamic Eyes(2009) by Tamim Ansary</i></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Khalifa / Caliph: Khalifa in the Qur’an (<a href="http://www.quran.com/2/30">2:30</a>,<a href="http://www.quran.com/38/26">38:26</a>) means a vicegerent on earth, referring to human beings. Historically, when the ummah (global Muslim community) could be considered one governable population (during the time of the Prophet (pbuh), for example), the leader was called a khalifa, or caliph. When Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) passed away in 632, the four rulers who succeeded him each became known by the title of Rightly Guided Caliph. The political rulers of the various Islamic empires that came afterwards also proclaimed themselves the rightful caliphs.</span></div>
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-->Musliminahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15086763636766699739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8918410539312651928.post-60096936534307320582016-03-22T18:00:00.000-07:002016-03-22T18:00:09.699-07:00A young Muslim's empathy in the mosque<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i>This article was first published on </i>Openseam.<div>
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Every day, I commute to work on my motorcycle. It allows me to avoid the traffic jams that Kuala Lumpur is notorious for. Last week though, it was raining in the morning, so I waited for the rain to stop before setting out on my journey to the office, which is about 25km away.<br /><br />After about a kilometre or so from my home, a car suddenly came out from a junction on my right and caught me by surprise. I reflexively applied the emergency brakes -- which caused me to lose control of the motorcycle, which slipped on the wet road.<br /><br />The next thing I knew, I was still sliding on the road while the motorcycle had stopped. After I managed to stand on my own, I tried to move my motorcycle and myself to the side of the road to avoid being hit by incoming vehicles. It was rush hour, so everyone was heading to work and traffic was heavy.<br /><br />Any pain had not yet set in, so I managed to get my motorcycle to a workshop while I dragged myself to a nearby clinic to have my wounds cleaned and bandaged. I had scraped the lower part of both my palms, right knee and toes. The pant leg that covered my right knee was totally torn away, leaving holes. </div>
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For the next few days, I had to pray in a sitting position. I was given a few days off by the doctor, but by Friday I was back to work. </div>
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During my lunch break, I usually pray my zohor (midday) prayer in the surau (prayer room) of a nearby shop. Surau Nurul Hidayah in Taman Putra Damai is also where I perform my Friday prayers. There are about 200 people who pray there, so it has been given special dispensation by the local religious office to host and conduct Friday prayers. (Normally only mosques can host Friday prayers).</div>
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There's no special place for people with special needs to pray as it is only a small surau. So as usual, I chose an empty spot and listened to the khutbah (sermon). After the sermon, a young Malay man joined my row. He glanced at my bandaged hand. He was praying on my right. </div>
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The prayer started and we didn't say anything to each other. Because of the injury to my knee, I could only bend it a little. Part of my leg slightly jutted out to the side. </div>
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Despite this, I noticed that with every ruku' (bow) or sujud (prostration), this young man moved only after I had positioned myself -- presumably to see where my knee would end up, so he could avoid jostling it. I noticed that he had been doing this from the beginning of the prayer.<br /><br />In my heart I was thinking, <i>here's someone whose Islam</i> berbuah <i>(is bearing fruit)...</i><br /><br />When we gave salam after the prayer, he apologised if he had accidentally jostled me during the course of the prayer. My heart warmed, thinking that people nowadays seem to put themselves first, putting aside basic societal values such as politeness and consideration. This young man had made the effort to make me comfortable, and still had enough humility to apologise in case he did hit me, despite everything he had done.<br /><br />In a time when I feel that there are a lot of selfish and inconsiderate people, this young man, barely 20 years old (since he has more hair than I do!), stood out by showing values that all Muslims should have: empathy, consideration, compassion.<br /><br />After we parted, my heart sent out a sincere prayer for him. </div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"O Allah, there goes one of your servant whose Islam is sprouting well. Please give him more knowledge and understanding of your religion and elevate him above his peers. Amin."</blockquote>
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<br />By MHSA. MHSA is 38 year old Chinese Malaysian who converted to Islam about 24 years ago. He currently works as a senior programmer at a small software house in Klang Valley.</div>
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Musliminahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15086763636766699739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8918410539312651928.post-67059325665182693672016-03-20T18:00:00.000-07:002016-03-20T18:00:00.228-07:00Book review: Destiny Disrupted by Tamim Ansary<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i>This article was </i><a href="http://www.aquila-style.com/focus-points/book-review-destiny-disrupted-tamim-ansary/66384/"><i>first published on </i>Aquila Style</a>.<br /><br />--<div>
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For a version of ancient and modern history from the eyes of Muslims, look to this easy-to-understand book as a beginner’s resource.<br /><br /><img height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEj9PVSAWteOPENDt8yGSHI9uohA0kWgCpcGSqYVbbC2otmn8yu4orU06jJxHnGr-TCC_LpA2AdVPZjwjbdVrslSCLPKgSljyqwo_7Y0HuaKp3mSGKgs-jCkNES0D9-hiJVDIhBZlFgCUxs-lIEpp-vDTA0xIQ4Fxk9PoQmgePkstXtSUs70HCcWNDCCI-PDAtN565KePe8=" width="400" /><br /><br />It’s important to <a href="http://www.aquila-style.com/focus-points/finding-familiar-foreign/">know where you come from</a>, so that you know where you are going. For many Muslims who live as minorities in their countries, learning about the history of the Muslims before them can be a powerfully empowering way to overcome many of their struggles today.<br /><br />I first learned about the Golden Age of Islam as an undergraduate, in an extra-curricular course at a mosque I was active in. I never quite got the order of the caliphates right, confusing the Umayyads with the Abbasids. Perhaps it was a trend to hark back to this Golden Age in that decade, but I began to notice that more and more of the Muslim social circles I found myself in began to talk about these (male) travellers, astronomers, mathematicians, herbalists and doctors (these scholars were the epitome of multidisciplinary) in glowing terms.<br /><br />I never heard a peep about the grand women of this history, like Fatima al-Fihri, the founder of the first university in the world in 859: Qarawiyyin University in Fez, Morocco. I had heard mostly of male scholars like Ibn Sina and Ibn Rushd (along with their Latinised names Avicenna and Averroes respectively, given to obscure their Muslim origins), but I had never heard some of the latter’s philosophical ideas that I could best describe as overwhelmingly feminist. It seemed that an incomplete version of Islamic history was being presented for a particular purpose.<br /><br />So I was a little sceptical to read Destiny Disrupted, which I had received as a birthday gift. But I cracked open its fresh pages anyway, since it was also the most appropriate attitude to take towards gifts.<br /><br />Barely five pages in, I was hooked. As an example, the author cites Ibn Khaldun’s dry codification of the process of empire creation – “conquest, consolidation, expansion, degeneration, conquest” – as a running theme of history. The author then goes on to give a lively description of the process in detail:<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">
“The pattern went like this: settled farmers would build irrigation systems supporting prosperous villages and towns. Eventually some tough guy (…) would bring a number of these urban centers under the rule of a single power, thereby forging a larger political unit (…) Then a tribe of hardy nomads would come along, conquer the monarch of the moment, seize all his holdings, and in the process expand their empire. Eventually, the hardy nomads would become soft, luxury-loving city dwellers, exactly the sort of people they had conquered, at which point another tribe of hardy nomads would come along, conquer them, and take over their empire.”</blockquote>
<br />The dominant version of world history taught in most educational systems around the world divides time into periods like the medieval Dark Ages, Renaissance, Enlightenment and the two world wars. When this version of history is taught, Muslim players are often left out. While many of us have read the classics of Shakespeare, how many of us know that in his time there were three Islamic empires that held most of the world’s power? “If you didn’t know Moors were Muslims, you wouldn’t learn it from Othello.”<br /><br />Instead, this book tells the story of world history as seen “through Islamic eyes”. There are a series of simple but informative maps throughout, and an extensive list of footnotes for those who hanker for further reading. The crucial time periods for this narrative are the birth of Islam, the four caliphates, attacks by Crusaders and Mongols, and European colonisation, for example. There is also a brief tracing of the rise of “Islamism”, which can help both Muslim and non-Muslim readers understand the crisis of terrorism and violence in recent decades.<br /><br />The author does a tremendous job of bringing important characters of these historical dramas to life, in each page. I would feel like I had learned so much just from reading a page or two; it is a challenge to squeeze thousands of years into 350-odd pages.<br /><br />The author is remarkable in covering the scope of academic research, making these stories come to life, and then whittling it down to what he considered as essential. What I missed and would have loved to read was an inclusion of a history of the Islamic world that includes the sultanates in Southeast Asia, as well as the empires of Africa, as these had Muslim rulers too.<br /><br />There was also very little mention of women in history besides the timeless examples of Aisha and Khadijah, which also reflects a problem of history in general. In the last chapter, the author makes the awkward essentialisation of Muslims as people who believe that men and women should live in separate realms. This is in comparison to people from “the West”, who believe that genders can mix. This completely erases the experiences of Muslims who are born and bred in countries where the majority are not Muslims, or who don’t have Muslim rulers.<br /><br />Overall, the book is a great place to get acquainted with the alternative, Islamic narrative of world history, and the points at which they intersect with the Western one. It helps the reader to understand the motivations of the Islamic world, the violence that occurred, and where we are heading now.<br /><br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">
“But what if we look at world history through Islamic eyes? Are we apt to regard ourselves as stunted versions of the West, developing toward the same endpoint, but less effectually? I think not.”</blockquote>
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<i>This article originally appeared in the <a href="http://www.aquila-style.com/issue/family-issue-2014/">August 2014 Family issue</a> of </i>Aquila Style <i>magazine</i>.<br /><br />--<div>
<br />Why taking care of yourself is the first step to providing good care for your children.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image: Fotolia</td></tr>
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As children, my friends and I would compare our parents to one another. At five years old, I pleaded with my mother to wear skirts like the other mothers of my kindergarten classmates. When I was 14, I car-pooled to school with a neighbour and remember being amazed to learn that her mother – who worked full-time – went for massages regularly.<br /><br />In comparison, my own mother was a full-time stay-at-home-mum, and we always employed a domestic worker as well. I never remembered her going to a spa or anything similar, even though I’m sure she was pretty stressed out running the logistics of a household, raising three children (one with special needs), and managing a live-in employee virtually by herself (my dad is the hands-off kind of father typical of his generation). I thought she was selfless, always putting others before herself, as mothers should ideally be.<br /><br />Looking back, I’m not sure why I thought that way about motherhood, other than it was probably because society had normalised it. As a new mother myself, I understand that this model of selfless motherhood was not only unsustainable and unhealthy for me; it was also apt to drive me nuts. So, with the birth of our son six months ago as a turning point for our own household, my husband and I reconfigured our duties and came up with strategies to keep ourselves physically and mentally recharged.<br /><br /><b>Delegate and take turns</b><br /><br />My husband and I consider ourselves co-parents, with our duties pretty evenly divided. While we both work, I have the fortune of working from home. Being able to care for your child while also pursuing your own interests is priceless to me.<br /><br />There are certain chores that are exclusively mine: breastfeeding is one of them. My husband takes out the garbage and recycling. For all other chores, we take turns.<br /><br />On Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays I am the “primary parent”, taking responsibility for diaper changes and entertaining the baby when he needs attention. My husband takes this role on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. On Fridays – what I consider my “day off” – I get to work undisturbed when my mother-in-law comes to babysit.<br /><br /><b>Pay someone</b><br /><br />Exclusive breastfeeding takes energy. I often joke to my husband that I’ve already prepared 6–8 meals every day. In return, he’s in charge of preparing breakfasts and dinners every day. Both of us work full-time, so we find it affordable to get a cleaner to come every two weeks to do the heavier household work like vacuuming, wiping down surfaces, folding clothes and mopping the floor. It depends on what you consider the more difficult chores – laundry and cooking are easy for us.<br /><br />My son is also reaching an age when he’s starting to recognise who his primary carers are, so he won’t be okay with an unfamiliar face. I’m lucky that our babysitter is an elderly Indonesian woman – my son probably finds our faces rather similar!<br /><br /><b>Reconceptualise “we” time</b><br /><br />While I love spending time with my son, I think it’s also important to spend time with only my husband. Admittedly, “date nights” don’t happen much because, so far, going everywhere as a family unit is just easier for all of us.<br /><br />I lucked out with my son being such a good sleeper and having a calm disposition. My husband and I still manage to do many things we used to do as a couple, like watching movies and going to the park. But it’s important to have some time to myself, too.<br /><br /><b>Find “me” time</b><br /><br />While I get several opportunities a week to be by myself for a few hours, I don’t always take all the time off because of the hassle of pumping and storing breast milk for when I’m away. At this point in time, I feel that two hours of exercise a week is the right amount of time for me to recharge physically. I go to Pilates twice a week and a chiropractic adjustment once every few weeks. On some Fridays, I indulge in my biggest treat: spending an hour or two at a neighbourhood cafe with a book and a cup of tea.<br /><br />Surprisingly, what I relish most about being by myself is that I can cycle to my destination. Even while I was pregnant it was my main mode of transport. (My son can’t join me yet; I still have to wait a few months before he can sit up properly in a bicycle child seat.)<br /><br />Since becoming a mother I’ve had to let go of my adolescent notions of what it means to be a good parent. Not eating properly, not exercising and feeling stressed can negatively affect my ability to feed, play with and pay attention to my son, all of which ultimately affect our relationship.<br /><br />I’ve also learned that it’s important to listen to yourself and your child, in order to figure out what works for you both. The individual needs of families vary tremendously, and it won’t be long before it is my son who is comparing me with his friends’ mums.</div>
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<i>This article was first published in Dutch in "Vrouwelijke Leiders" (Female Leaders) </i>Al-Nisa, <i>Islamitisch maandblad voor vrouwen (Islamic monthly for women), 32nd year, No. 3, Mar 2013.</i><br />
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Professor Dr. Ingrid Mattson presently serves as Chair of the Islamic Studies Program at the Huron University College of The University of Western Ontario. She was previously the Director of the Macdonald Centre for Islamic Studies and Christian-Muslim Relations at Hartford Seminary in Hartford, Connecticut, where she was the founder of the Islamic Chaplaincy Program – the only accredited program to train Muslim chaplains in the United States. From 2006 to 2010 she served as the President of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), after serving two terms as Vice President – being the first woman elected to either position. Dr. Mattson was born in Canada and earned her PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Chicago in 1999.<br />
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Dr. Mattson spoke to Al Nisa during our Symposium “Kent U Mij?” in Theater de Meervaart in Amsterdam on 22 September 2012, in between her keynote speech on conformity and diversity among Muslim women, and a open question-and-answer session with the audience.<br />
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<b>What makes a good Muslim leader?</b><br />
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</b> There’s leadership in so many different sectors. The first thing is that leaders have this inability to just let problems remain; they see a need and they need to respond to it, and so they do something. A good leader has the ability to analyse a situation, understand it, assess what resources are available, and then come up with a practical solution.<br />
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A good leader is also looking to make themselves replaceable, firstly by working on strengthening the institution in which he or she works (to extent that it’s appropriate and possible) and second, mentoring other people into leadership. Making sure that you have a strong organization that could continue on without you, or that at least has the mechanisms for replacing you, and then personally mentoring or nurturing leaders.<br />
Do you think there’s a gender difference when it comes to leadership?<br />
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There are generalisations, and they are not true in all situations. But I do think that women tend to be more consultative. They tend to try to convince people before going ahead, rather than simply making a decision and expecting everyone to go along. And that’s usually good. Although sometimes you do have to be decisive and you need to go ahead even if there isn’t buy-in. <br />
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Part of leadership is knowing when to go ahead with a decision that’s within your authority because you’re really convinced it’s the right thing, even if other people don’t understand it at that point. Between that and taking the time to really get buy-in from others, there’s a balance and. I think men tend to be more of one style and women the other, and you don’t want an imbalance between those two. <br />
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<b>While you were in ISNA, in which situations did you find yourself having more legitimacy or authority to speak on certain issues?</b><br />
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I think a lot of people felt that the fact that I was in a position to speak for at least my organization ISNA, if not little more broadly for the American Muslim community. I think a lot of people found that beneficial after September 11th, because there was a great need to be able to explain Islam to Americans in terms that they understood. The fact that that’s my environment – I am Western and I’m Muslim – helped me to understand the concerns that were being raised. This helped with communication, which is natural, but it’s simply accidental that I was born in that environment. <br />
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However, there is one disturbing aspect to it, because sometimes there is an implied racism. A friend of mine who’s a rabbi and a really a good friend of the Muslim community once said, “Ingrid, it was very good that you were the leader of ISNA when you were, because you’re this small white woman so you’re not frightening in a way that maybe your predecessors were.” My predecessor and my successor were both dark-skinned Sudanese men. <br />
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Is a man scarier than a woman? Is a dark-skinned person scarier than a white-skinned person? If you ask any of my students, they will tell you I’m much scarier than either of those two people. I thought that was really terrible; just seeing my face made people comfortable. I think Muslim men of colour are the most despised people now, as their faces are associated with intimidation or violence. That is really, really sad.<br />
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<b>How can female scholars achieve the legitimacy that male scholars do, even though they may have studied in the same places?</b><br />
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That’s unfortunate. I think that kind of ignorance about women scholars in our still needs to be corrected. People tend to want to make sure that what they’re getting is authentic. I think the more we learn about our tradition, the more this kind of reaction will be avoided. There’s a lot of information certainly available now about women in the isnad, like Dr. Akram Nadwi’s book <i>Muhaddithat: The Women Scholars in Islam</i>.<br />
But there’s knowledge, and then there’s authority or influence. We have many women who have knowledge but if they’re not recognized by the community or given a position, then people may think that maybe they’re not really that qualified. <br />
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I once spoke with Shaykh Faraz Rabbani of Seeker’s Guidance from Canada. In his organization there are many women who have studied in Jordan and have ijazah in different fields of Islamic studies. He was frustrated because not much was being done with the knowledge that these women have. I told him the reality is that until the masjid establishes official positions (whether paid or not) recognizing her as a shaykha or as a religious teacher in the community, people won’t be going to her. Why would they recognize them as authoritative if the leadership of the community doesn’t? <br />
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I think these two things are important: knowing our history to break up our inherited assumptions about religious authority, and establishing positions for these women.<br />
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<b>So it’s important for knowledgeable women to be affiliated to an organization. But if the current leadership is dominantly male, how does a woman negotiate that?</b><br />
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You have to find advocates. Allah s.w.t. says in the Qur’an that the believing men and women are awliya’ or partners of one another (9:71). Nothing can really happen in the community without partnership. Women need to call on their teachers, or those in positions of leadership who can advocate with them. It can’t always seem like only women are asking about this; this is about building the community together. <br />
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There’s always going to be some people who resist it though. Either because they sincerely believe that men should be in authority, or, like all human beings, they don't like to concede or share power with others. Or they’re just ignorant. But I’m sure there are some men who think this is wrong. You need to work in partnership with some men to change this.<br />
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Some people can be worked on and others will remain intransigent. Sometimes you can work within the system and sometimes you need to build your own thing while your community lends legitimacy and support. <br />
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<b>Speaking of your own thing, I read that you have a dog. There are diverse opinions about it, so how do you deal with holding a minority opinion on an issue?</b><br />
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Well, my opinion comes from one of the fiqh (legal jurisprudence) positions. The majority of fiqh positions consider the saliva of all dogs to be impure, but the Maliki school considers only the saliva of wild dogs to be impure. The Maliki position does not consider domestic dogs to be najis (impurity). There’s strong justification for it in the Maliki school from the argument that the Qur'an allows us to use hunting dogs, and even eating animals caught in their mouths, for example. <br />
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So if you’re a Shafi’i or a Hanafi then you’re not going to be able to have a dog, and I’m not going to force anyone else to have one. But certainly, I very deliberately wrote about the Maliki position to raise the issue of the problem of making a religious issue of purity into a taboo, and then even a phobia.<br />
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We have a big problem in North America, where we have many Muslim taxi drivers and are also blind and disabled people who use service dogs. These dogs help disabled people to move around in public spaces, but we Muslim cab drivers say things like “Dogs are haraam” and they will refuse to accept them disabled people with service dogs in their cab. <br />
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This is just pure ignorance, because it’s not that dogs are haraam, there’s nothing about putting a dog in a car. You’re not required to hate dogs. Your children leave najasa all over, you’re not supposed to hate them right? I think it’s particular to Muslims in the West, although the widespread abuse of animals in Muslim countries is also haraam. We really have to break this overreaction and confusion among Muslims.<br />
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<b>Like the issue of dogs, do you think there are other issues that Muslims tend to fixate upon and leaving more urgent issues undebated?</b><br />
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Yes, very clearly. A former student of mine once told me how frustrating it was for her when she was homeless with three children. She was going to the mosque and even though people knew she was homeless, they were not coming to her – she had to come and ask for support. People would say “well we don't have money for that”, yet money was being spent on all sorts of other things – fundraising for Muslims in other countries, or for certain improvements to the new building – when you have a homeless woman in the mosque.<br />
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I’m sure there will be people who will come after us and say that we were blind to certain needs. It’s not that any of us are beyond that. We’re all human and we all have limited perspectives, but this is why you need to have wide consultation and a mechanism to include as many voices as possible. The more people you include in the decision-making process, the better chance you have of avoiding at least a gross error in neglecting a true need in the community.<br />
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<b>Are you working on any projects right now?</b><br />
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I’m working on a book that’s going to be called, tentatively, The Ethical Muslim. It gives tools for ethical thinking in Islam and provides case studies. I also have a new position in Canada as the new London and Windsor Community Chair in Islamic Studies at Huron University College at the University of Western Ontario in London, Canada. Like how I built that chaplaincy program at Hartford Seminary, I’m going to be looking to see what kind of religious leadership program would be suitable for Canadian Muslims in that environment, inshallah.<br />
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<b>That sounds exciting. Finally, any advice for Muslim women who work in the public sphere but who are not visibly Muslim?</b><br />
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Wearing the hijab is just one part of being Muslim. More important is, are you bringing the character, behaviour, values and ethics of a Muslim to your workplace? Every Muslim should know the ethics of their field. If you are doing things correctly according to Islam and the civil law to the best that you can, you could even have an impact on your field, depending on how much authority you have. If you go to work and you’re doing things that contradict Islamic ethics or you don’t even know what the ethics of your field are – that’s problematic. <br />
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It can be a touchy subject – you don’t want to make it seem like you’re bringing religion into the workplace, but you should have an attitude of responsiveness. That if people sincerely want information, that you are available to them. It may seem burdensome – why do you have to explain your religion when others don’t – but that’s the world we live in.<br />
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Other minority groups have similar problems, so look at it as an opportunity. How many Muslims in the world have no chance to say anything? We are the elite in the Muslim world when it comes to educational opportunity and political freedom, so what kind of responsibilities do we have towards others? I don’t think you can just say you want to be a normal person. There are a lot of normal people (laughs).<br />
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<b>That’s all, thank you for your time Dr. Mattson.</b><br />
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Thank you for having me, it was a pleasure.</div>
Musliminahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15086763636766699739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8918410539312651928.post-28603203210107896322016-03-14T18:00:00.000-07:002016-03-14T18:00:37.454-07:00Watch: Muslimah spoken word artist sees “saints in the city”<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i>This article was first published on </i><a href="http://www.aquila-style.com/aquila-videos/videos-art/muslimah-spoken-word-artist-sees-saints-city/79181/">Aquila Style</a>.</div>
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In this outdoor performance, one half of the British Muslim hip-hop and spoken word duo waxes lyrical about London’s homeless. </div>
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<br />Standing in front of a fence with trains rushing behind her, Sukina Abdul Noor of <a href="https://twitter.com/PoeticPilgrim">Poetic Pilgrimage</a> performs a spoken word “Saints in the City” for the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/RamadanTVnet">RamadanTV</a> 2013 YouTube channel. Through their art and community work, Afro-Carribean converts of Jamaican descent Sukina and her poetic partner Muneera Rashida work to change stereotypes of Muslim women, youth, and Afro-Carribeans. In this performance, Sukina reframes the city’s homeless as being more than what they seem.</div>
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Musliminahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15086763636766699739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8918410539312651928.post-12653192113189071342016-03-13T18:00:00.000-07:002016-03-13T18:00:08.661-07:00"Go and pray again!"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i>This article was first published on </i>Openseam.<br /><br /><div>
--<br /><br />I was raised as a Muslim. For a long time, my understanding of Islam was more of accepting what people said, and not to ask too many questions about religious issues. I grew up in an environment where my mom brought me to different mosques to attend Islamic lectures by ustaz or ustazah (religious teachers). We would also attend maulud, the celebration of the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday, every year.<br /><br />I was educated in a full-time madrasah (Islamic school) where the first language was either Arabic or English, depending on the subjects. For a decade, I was taught that Islam was a religion that is full of haram (forbidden) and halal (permissible), and we were highly discouraged from asking ‘too many’ questions -- whether about jurisprudence or theological matters.<br /><br />As Muslims, we were told to believe in the Oneness of God, there is no doubt about it. We were taught not to discuss about God's zat (characteristics) in details as it is beyond human understanding.<br /><br />Agreed.<br /><br />But, deep in my heart, I did ask questions. It is my religion. If I simply follow it blindly, then what is the difference between me and others who embrace the faith of their forefathers without even understanding it? (<a href="http://www.quran.com/2/170">2:170</a>, <a href="http://www.quran.com/5/104">5:104</a>)<br /><br />In Singapore, the majority of Muslims are Sunnis who only follow the Shafie madzhab (school of thought). I face the huge problem of being viewed differently because I practise my religion differently from a conventional Sunni, Shafie follower.<br /><br />One example is prayer. According to the Shafi’e school of thought, Muslim women are supposed to cover their whole body except the face and the palm during prayer. If you are found to be performing your prayer without your feet covered by socks, there will be ‘concerned’ individuals approaching you to say:<br /><br /><i>Ni salah ye adik, kita mazhab Shafi’e. Kena ikut betul-betul. Pergi solat balik!</i><br />(This is wrong, child. We are from the Shafie school of thought. We have to follow it properly. Go and pray again!)<br /><br />Believe me, I’ve heard it too many times in my own country.<br /><br />Doing my university education in an international Islamic university in Malaysia was such an eye-opener to me. It was a place where I strongly felt the world coming to me – Muslims from all over the world studied there, and I had the opportunity to observe the way they practiced their obligations as Muslims.<br /><br /><div>
There, I never received any remarks from ‘deeply concerned’ Muslims about the way I or other Muslims from other parts of the world prayed. Perhaps because the environment was filled with people from all corners of the world, following different madzhab. They performed their acts of worship according to how their scholars have taught them for centuries. The differences in their details shows that Islam is flexible and is open to different circumstances.<br /></div>
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Another common example is the <a href="http://susu-pekat-manis.blogspot.nl/2014/10/muslims-touch-dogs-and-religious.html">touching of dogs</a>. In Singapore, if you touch a dog, according to Shafie opinion, you have to wash your hands six times with water and once with earth. On the other hand, according to Maliki opinion, all you need to do is simply wash your hands.</div>
<br />After living and studying in such an international setting in Malaysia for about three and a half years, in an environment that celebrated the diversity of cultures and mazhab followers, I returned to Singapore embracing diversity. Instead, I find it harder to be Muslim in the way I am comfortable with – to say it simply, it seems that the broader Muslim society in Singapore is not accepting of non-Shafi’e followers.<br /><br />I would not say that I am labelling myself as a Shafie, Maliki, Hanafi or Hanbali follower. I am a Muslim, and I have deep respect for all the learned scholars who took pains to help Muslims practice Islam in a flexible way. However, I feel that it is up to me to decide which school of jurisprudence to follow, as long it does not threaten my level of faith. In fact, God said in the Qur'an, giving the example of fasting, that God intends for us ease, not hardship (<a href="http://www.quran.com/2/185">2:185</a>).<br /><br />The last couple of years, I have been working in Singapore to promote interfaith engagement among Muslims and non-Muslims, and to celebrate diversity across cultures and religions. This work made me more curious to out more about what Islam was exactly all about, and to shatter the myth of Islam consisting of only Sunni and Shafie.<br /><br />At this job, I started to pick up invaluable knowledge, which my madrasah educational background did not teach me. I am slowly learning that Islam is in fact, a highly flexible religion because it allows Muslims to perform their obligations keeping in mind practicality, not rigidity.<br /><br />It is wonderful that I am able to slowly understand why God makes it easy for us to fast or pray, in order to be grateful (<a href="http://www.quran.com/2/185">2:185</a>). Living as Muslims in Singapore, we may have neighbours who keep dogs as pets. Adhering strictly to one madzhab may result in difficulties when cleansing one’s self from the ritual impurity of touching a dog -- whether deliberately or purposefully.<br /><br />In the course of my work, I also learnt that Shias are not a group that ‘deviated’ from sharia (as I had been previously taught to think). I grew to understand that the Shias alone are divided into a further 12 sects and that they too, have intra-faith issues amongst themselves, in ways in which only a Shia follower would understand.<br /><br />In short, my undergraduate studies was an opening door to a better understanding of my own religion. My recent job working at the interfaith centre increased my knowledge, bit by bit, and drove me to realise that Islam is indeed a religion that emphasises practicality -- after the theological framework.<br /><br />This certainly helps me to practice Islam the way the profound scholars of the past have laid it out for us – according to the ones that I am comfortable with, and regardless of time and space. At the end of the day, Islam is about acquiring knowledge and increasing one’s faith to the Creator.<br /><br />With this aim, I am free to learn, ask questions and understand why Islam is known as a way of life.<br /><br />By Ilham Fansuri</div>
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Musliminahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15086763636766699739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8918410539312651928.post-50848190232093751502016-03-12T18:00:00.000-08:002016-03-12T18:00:15.473-08:00Power and prejudice<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<i>This article was <a href="http://www.aquila-style.com/focus-points/power-prejudice/60945/">first published on</a></i><a href="http://www.aquila-style.com/focus-points/power-prejudice/60945/"> Aquila Style</a> <i>on 20 Mar 2014</i>.<br /><br />--<div>
When influential Muslims deride others, they shouldn’t be immune to criticism, says Sya Taha.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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Recently, two incidents unfolded on social media in startlingly similar ways.<br /><br />Late last month, a Muslim male professor from a prestigious university in Singapore described, on his personal Facebook page, homosexuals as “cancers” and “diseases” who should be stopped “in their tracks”.<br /><br />Earlier this month, a shaykh-titled instructor from a well-known American-based Islamic institute made a series of Facebook jokes that derided women and black people.<br /><br />Both these men are respected for their academic and religious authority. Yet both were speaking in a derogatory manner about groups that have been historically marginalised in different ways. Sadly, they also stand by what they said as being in the name of Islam.<br /><br />One of the ways in which scholars like these continually get away with thinking, saying and promoting such beliefs is by seeking immunity behind their religious credentials. Another is by continually bringing up the importance of “making 70 excuses”<a href="http://www.aquila-style.com/focus-points/power-prejudice/60945/#note1">[i]</a> when someone calls them out on their offensive speech.<br /><br />But to what extent should we give such figures the benefit of the doubt? Certainly not when they are promoting harm or abuse of other people. I believe that with leadership comes responsibility – being in position of power means needing to be accountable for one’s actions as well.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="color: #134f5c; font-size: large;">When we say sexist and racist things, we fail to accord dignity to people</span></i></b></div>
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In the aftermath of these two incidents, it became clear what strategy was usually used to silence their critics: Questioning the latter’s knowledge or <i>adab </i>(manners). In other words, you shouldn’t say negative things about other people if you yourself have flaws. If we were to follow this reasoning to its logical conclusion, no one would ever say anything in situations of injustice. In fact, it doesn’t even really matter how credible or knowledgeable the critic should be, because pointing to someone’s adab is just a way to erase dissent.<br /><br />These two scholars insist on defending (their version of) “Islam” and how Muslims should be. As a general rule, when someone starts a sentence with “In Islam…”, I run far, far away. More often than not, that someone is talking about mainstream Sunni Islam. I was raised with Sunni teachings and believe they’re perfectly valid, as many people choose to find spiritual peace through it. I just don’t believe that there is one monolith called Islam; instead, I see it as a multiplicity of doctrines and practices.<br /><br />As an example of what “Islam” should be, the professor believes that Muslims cannot be a homosexual because it is forbidden in the Qur’an. But one cannot deny that <a href="http://www.aquila-style.com/focus-points/freedom-to-love/">homosexual Muslims exist</a>. The shaykh, on the other hand, believes that men and women are not equal and could probably quote a series of interpretations of Qur’anic verses to back this argument. Equally, one cannot deny that there are many egalitarian-minded <a href="http://www.aquila-style.com/focus-points/on-islamic-feminism-and-womens-rights-lecture-by-dr-amina-wadud/">Muslims who are against gender-based discrimination and violence</a> (with their own Qur’anic interpretations).<br /><br />Issues like hijab, alcohol and pork consumption, and sexual orientation often become defining markers of “Muslim-ness” more so than other issues like corruption, injustice, or pollution. It’s easy to get caught up in definitions and token discussion points of Islam and lose sight of the bigger picture.<br /><br />The bigger picture is that people who identify as Muslims should be regarded as such. That every human being should be accorded respect and dignity because we don’t have the right to label one person as being higher than another. That when we say sexist and racist things, we fail to accord dignity to people. That when people in power say sexist and racist things, not only do they not model respect, but they also pave the way for others to perpetuate and justify micro-aggressions and outright violence towards certain groups.<br /><br />We need to work together towards social justice because <a href="http://www.aquila-style.com/focus-points/do-muslim-women-need-muslim-men/">we all need each other, women and men</a>, rich and poor, black and white. Let’s not be afraid to call out unjust speech and behaviour, especially when it comes from those who need to remain accountable, remembering that Allah (swt) is the ultimate Judge.<br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.aquila-style.com/focus-points/power-prejudice/60945/#xnote1">[i]</a> A quote from Hamdun al-Qassar, who lived in the 9th century. Imam Bayhaqi reported that he said, “If a friend among your friends errs, make seventy excuses for him. If your hearts are unable to do this, then know that the shortcoming is in your own selves.”</span></div>
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<i>This article was </i><a href="http://beta.ablethrive.com/?p=16441"><i>first published on </i>AbleThrive</a>.</div>
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Emilio Choo, Singaporean wheelchair basketball player and travel addict hopes to convince you to start planning for that place you’ve always wanted to go to.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">1. Research.</span></b><br />
Google search ‘disabled travel’ for tips in the city or country. “There’s a lot of advice out there. Many people have been there and done the travelling. No matter how gung ho you are, you need to do some research. Because there are places that you really cannot go at all. There’s no point in going there and you cannot do anything.”<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">2. Plan the basics.</span></b><br />
It’s also worth picking a place to stay and deciding how you plan to move around at your destination. “Things I plan in advance are hotels and transport. If you sort these out before your trip, I think you can have an enjoyable time.”<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">3. Reconsider flying on a budget.</span></b><br />
Though budget airlines often advertise tempting promotions, Emilio no longer travels with these because of the costs of wheelchair assistance. “If you need help, you need to pay for it. When they travel to places without an aerobridge, you’re expected to pay for the wheelchair lift, which is another S$200 [US$140]. If you add up all the costs, it’s more than a normal air ticket. It’s no longer cheap for me.”<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">4. Pack everything you need.</span></b><br />
Emilio’s basic essentials include: maps, itineraries, spare inner tubes for his tires, tools and a Swiss army knife, in addition to daily essentials like medication and a catheter.<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">5. Try something new.</span></b><br />
Emilio discovered the joys of planning his own itinerary when he started driving on his trips. “I didn’t know that there are wheelchair-accessible vans and hand-controlled cars for rental. If I had known earlier, I could have travelled to even more places.”<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">6. Ask for help.</span></b><br />
“Once you’re out there, don’t be afraid to ask for help. People overseas are friendly and will help you. You’ll be fine.”</div>
Musliminahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15086763636766699739noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8918410539312651928.post-19949016541214066092016-03-10T18:00:00.000-08:002016-03-10T18:00:05.627-08:00Indonesian fashion brand gets halal status, ruffles hijabs of many<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i>This article was <a href="http://www.muslimahmediawatch.org/2016/03/03/indonesian-fashion-brand-gets-halal-status-ruffles-hijabs-of-many/" target="_blank">first published on </a></i><a href="http://www.muslimahmediawatch.org/2016/03/03/indonesian-fashion-brand-gets-halal-status-ruffles-hijabs-of-many/" target="_blank">Muslimah Media Watch</a><i>.</i></div>
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Earlier this month, the appearance of Indonesia’s first halal-certified hijab, sold and promoted by Indonesian fashion company <a href="http://media.zoya.co.id/">Zoya</a>, provoked equal parts protest and support. According to the certification given by the Indonesian Ulama Council (MUI), Zoya’s hijabs are ‘halal’ because the fabrics are produced with the use of only plant-based emulsifiers, and not those made from pig gelatin. Zoya has also erected a billboard in a few major towns with the tagline “Are you sure that your hijab is halal?“<br />
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Online, some responded with incredulous sarcasm. Some said that if the fabric for hijabs had to be halal, then every article of clothing (<a href="http://mojok.co/2016/02/setelah-kerudung-bersertifikat-mui-hijab-hipster-dan-sempak-halal/">including underwear</a>) had to be halal as well. Others pointed out that if there were ‘halal hijabs’, then, <a href="http://www.solopos.com/2016/02/04/kerudung-halal-zoya-harus-buktikan-ada-jilbab-haram-687881">there must necessarily be ‘haram hijabs’</a> existing from the beginning of time until Zoya. Some questioned if the halal certification would not be completely unnecessary after washing the hijab, especially before wearing it for the first time? And some contended that many women, after their umrah and haj, still buy abaayas made in China, which are more likely to be washed with pig gelatin-based emulsifiers.<br />
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A hijab that is clearly ‘halal’, while its competitors are not, is <a href="https://www.inspirasi.co/post/detail/4662/zoya-dan-jilbab-halalnya-campaign-pintar-yang-salah-langkah-">an example of strong product differentiation</a>. Instagram celebrity and hijabi blogger <a href="http://wolipop.detik.com/read/2016/02/03/193658/3134209/1632/heboh-kerudung-halal-ini-kata-para-selebgram-hijab">Fifi Alvianto sees this ‘halal hijab’ as a marketing tactic</a>. She explains, “In the religion [Islam] there hasn’t been discussions on halal fabrics, at least not as clearly as halal food.” However, Zoya’s creative director <a href="http://www.dream.co.id/lifestyle/imbas-sertifikat-kerudung-halal-terhadap-penjualan-produk-zoya-160210o.html">Sigit Endroyono said that their intention was only to help consumers feel confident</a> and at peace with their hijabs. “As sellers, we are responsible for our customers’ tranquility. We try to fulfil the right of our customers by ensuring the permissibility of our clothes and headscarves.”<br />
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Despite these non-pecuniary motivations, the company’s sales manager <a href="http://www.dream.co.id/lifestyle/imbas-sertifikat-kerudung-halal-terhadap-penjualan-produk-zoya-160210o.html">Chandra Rahmad, admitted that the controversy surrounding their ‘halal hijab’</a> has resulted in an “unintentional” but “extraordinary increase” in the sales of Zoya’s products. <a href="http://wolipop.detik.com/read/2016/02/09/183102/3137948/1632/zoya-minta-maaf-soal-heboh-kerudung-halal">Zoya has since retracted their advertisements</a> on Instagram, as well as all but one billboard, and apologised in a press meeting.<br />
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It is perhaps not a surprise that Zoya chose to embark on such an aggressive marketing campaign, especially in the light of the recent introduction of a <a href="http://www.vogue.com/13384616/dolce-gabbana-hijab-abaya-collection/">hijab and abaya collection from Dolce and Gabbana</a>. This comes after several years of one-off and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intimate_parts_in_Islam">aurah</a>-friendly Ramadan collections from <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/dknys-ramadan-collection-shows-that-muslim-dress-means-more-than-the-burqa-9579469.html">DKNY</a>, <a href="http://emirateswoman.com/tommy-hilfiger-launches-exclusive-ramadan-collection/">Tommy Hilfiger</a>, and <a href="http://www.buro247.me/fashion/news/oscar-de-la-renta-caftan-collection.html">Oscar de la Renta caftans</a>. Even more affordable brands like <a href="http://www.uniqlo.com/sg/hana-tajima/">Uniqlo </a>and <a href="http://mvslim.com/mango-launches-ramadan-collection-for-muslim-women/">Mango</a> have kept up.<br />
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I appreciate the critical response from certain segments of Indonesian society. While there were certainly people who bought Zoya’s hijabs after they were certified halal, there were also others that spoke out against the absurdity of ensuring that hijabs — a non-consumable — were also halal.<br />
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<a href="http://wolipop.detik.com/read/2016/02/03/193658/3134209/1632/heboh-kerudung-halal-ini-kata-para-selebgram-hijab">Hijab designer Rani Hatta admits to being confused</a> by the halal certification for hijab fabrics, “I thought all along that clothes that cover <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intimate_parts_in_Islam">the aurah</a>, are loose-fitting and don’t show the shape of the body could be worn.” Famous Indonesian designer <a href="http://wolipop.detik.com/read/2016/02/03/193658/3134209/1632/heboh-kerudung-halal-ini-kata-para-selebgram-hijab">Dian Pelangi also echoes Rani’s opinion</a>, “Cosmetics and beauty products are absorbed into the skin, so we need to make sure that the products we use are halal.”<br />
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However, I do feel disappointed that none of the critics mentioned fair trade or ethical working practices play a role in determining whether a fabric is ‘halal’ or not. The director of MUI’s department of Food, Medicines and Cosmetics Research (LPPOM) <a href="http://m.infospesial.net/62646/mui-hanya-sertifikasi-bahan-kain-zoya-bukan-hijab/">Lukmanul Hakim clarified that the Zoya brand is not halal as a whole — just its fabric</a>. He mentions other processes but unfortunately, his discourse remains at the superficial material level and does not go deeper to address social practices, “Zoya claims its [hijabs] to be halal […] They say that it’s because they use halal materials. But doesn’t fabric need to be sewn? Is their thread halal too? We don’t know that yet.”<br />
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MUI’s head of Halal Information <a href="http://wolipop.detik.com/read/2016/02/03/144513/3133895/1632/penjelasan-mui-soal-kerudung-bersertifikat-halal">Farid Mahmud said that there are now many companies that submit applications for halal certification</a>. Companies that produce shoes, belts, paper and even social organisations have applied:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Some laundromats provide soap and water that are guaranteed to not contain ‘najis’ [ritual impurities]. The biggest paper factory in Indonesia also submitted an application because their paper is used for printing Qur’ans […] Consumers just want to make sure that although not for eating, these materials are not contaminated with najis. Producers consider it as an obligation in accordance with Islamic law.”</blockquote>
In the production of cotton for example, there are several political issues related to ‘halal’ we could choose to educate ourselves on, such as Genetically Modified (GM) cotton reduces biodiversity; intensive farming uses pesticides, insecticides and fertilisers; <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2014/nov/14/uzbekistan-ban-child-labour-forces-adults-cotton-work" target="_blank">cotton-picking in some countries like Uzbekistan is still done by hand and allegedly by children</a>; textile processing uses high amounts of water and energy. Meanwhile, many synthetic fabrics are non-biodegradable and use harmful chemicals during processing.<br />
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Elsewhere <a href="http://www.aquila-style.com/lifestyle/food-health/why-mcdonalds-is-not-halal/36889/">I have written that the Qur’an encourages us to do ‘good works’ instead of committing abuse and oppression</a> when eating or drinking — which we could reasonably extend to whatever else we consume.”[…] the source of our food and drink is important – it must not cause pollution or destruction of natural habitats, and it must not be produced by underpaid or exploited workers.”<br />
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The controversy of a ‘halal hijab’ has opened a discussion into what makes a thing halal or not. Unfortunately it seems that for Indonesia at least, Muslim discursive circles on ‘halal’ have yet to intersect with social justice discourses on fair trade, organic farming or sustainability.<br />
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<i>All quotes have been translated from Bahasa Indonesia.</i></div>
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Musliminahhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15086763636766699739noreply@blogger.com0