Lila Abu-Lughod: Do Muslim Women Need Saving?

2013/11/01 1 Comment

A good reminder of the risks of stereotypes and the complexity of women’s lives, context and choices:

There is no doubt that Western notions of human rights can be credited for the hope for a better world for all women. But I suspect that the deep moral conviction people feel about the rightness of saving the women of that timeless homogeneous mythical place called Islamland is fed by something else that cannot be separated from our current geopolitical relations. Blinded to the diversity of Muslim women’s lives, we tend to see our own situation too comfortably. Representing Muslim women as abused makes us forget the violence and oppression in our own midst. Our stereotyping of Muslim women also distracts us from the thornier problem that our own policies and actions in the world help create the sometimes harsh conditions in which distant others live. Ultimately, saving Muslim women allows us to ignore the complex entanglements in which we are all implicated and creates a polarization that places feminism only on the side of the West.

Lila Abu-Lughod: Do Muslim Women Need Saving? | TIME.com.

Filed under Honour Killings, Religion Tagged with , ,

Crimes d’honneur: Québec s’engage à agir

2013/10/31 Leave a comment

A more productive and focussed approach than the proposed Charter of Quebec Values, focussing on  youth protection and police training. The official figures of only 17 cases since 1991 may be understated, and there may be more cases of intimidation and control that fall short of  “honour crimes”. Given how much of this happens within families, like other family disputes, improving awareness is likely one way to reduce the risk.

Crimes d’honneur: Québec s’engage à agir | Jocelyne Richer | Politique québécoise.

Filed under Honour Killings, Multiculturalism, Religion Tagged with ,

Jackson Doughart: Canada’s scary intolerance obsession

2013/10/30 Leave a comment

A good discussion on freedom of speech and intolerance by Jackson Doughart. While I would not go quite as far as he does in his arguments, excessive political correctness is  harmful to society. So enjoy your Halloween.

Doughart comes up with his own variation of Godwin’s Law:

Perhaps we need a construction of our own to fight back against the commonplace manifestation of the intolerance obsession. The industry of manufactured offense, after all, has produced a replete share of inanities, including the recent campaign to remove the imagery of Hallowe’en in schools because of its purported intolerance. This is a silly non-issue, but one which shows how the tolerance doctrine has become the universal solvent into which all public arguments are dipped. And as the case of Professor Somerville shows, the use of the bigotry label as a means of censoring disagreement is far from unimportant or ineffectual.

Enter what we might call Doughart’s Law, or the “reductio ad bigotrum”, which declares any person who accuses her political opponent of bigotry or intolerance as the loser of a debate. Once a person has been caught, the argument is over. Just imagine how much more congenial and effective public discourse would be if empty accusations of racism, sexism, homophobia, Islamophobia, and so on, were off limits.

Jackson Doughart: Canada’s scary intolerance obsession | National Post.

Filed under CAPAR, Hate crimes, Multiculturalism, Religion Tagged with , , , ,

Sikh student who won kirpan case now considers leaving Quebec

2013/10/23 Leave a comment

A good update on the person who prompted one of the more significant reasonable accommodation cases before the Supreme Court, Gurbaj Multani, who insisted on his right to wear the ceremonial kirpan to school. The Court ruled in his favour, but imposed conditions (i.e., it had to be  sewn into clothing). Needless to say, the proposed Quebec Charter sends a signal to citizens like Multani that they are not fully welcome or accepted.

Sikh student who won kirpan case now considers leaving Quebec

Filed under Charte des valeurs québécoise, Interculturalisme, Multiculturalism, Religion Tagged with , , , ,

Provincial human rights commission slams proposed Quebec values charter and other charter news

2013/10/18 Leave a comment

Not surprisingly, the Quebec provincial human rights commission comes out against the proposed Charter. As the provincial charter can be amended by a simple majority vote in Quebec’s Assembée nationale, not an insurmountable obstacle.

The federal Charter of Rights and Freedoms, on the other hand, is in our Constitution and is not subject to easy amendment (in practice, likely impossible).

Provincial human rights commission slams proposed Quebec values charter – Need to know – Macleans.ca.

Attaque en règle contre la Charte des valeurs

And more fall-out from the Janettes, this time from well-known Quebec actress and director Denise Filiatraut, who apologized for characterizing women who wear the hijab as “follies” (fools).

Propos sur les musulmanes: Denise Filiatrault s’excuse

And naive and paternalistic commentary by Fabienne Larouche in Le Devoir, who, while advocating a strong secular approach, nevertheless wants a gradual process of integration and emancipation.

Naive, as many who wear the hijab are second-generation immigrants, and thus to assume an automatic “emancipation” from the hijab across generations runs against  experience. Looking at any old photos from before the 90s in most Muslim countries, one sees much less wearing of the hijab (see any university graduation photo – the contrasts are striking:

Ces femmes ont hérité d’une culture. Elles sont venues ici pour comprendre ce que notre culture à nous pouvait leur offrir de mieux. Donnons-leur du temps pour changer, s’adapter et permettre à leurs filles de s’émanciper comme les nôtres, mais sans oublier que cette émancipation est inévitable et que nous resterons inflexibles sur cet objectif. C’est tout.

But more fundamentally, this assumes that the only form of emancipation is not wearing the hijab; participation in politics, the workforce, other engagement with broader society is ignored. And such participation is a more important indicator of integration than the head covering worn by men or women.

Une Charte, chez nous…

Filed under Charte des valeurs québécoise, Interculturalisme, Multiculturalism, Religion Tagged with , , , ,

‘Exceedingly political’ libel case pits free speech advocate Ezra Levant against ‘master of lawfare’

2013/10/15 Leave a comment

Yet another libel case against Ezra Levant for comments he made against a Muslim Canadian lawyer. While I am not a fan of much of Ezra’s commentary (he has a tendency towards “jihad” against anyone who he disagrees with), these kinds of debates and controversies are best handled in the court of public opinion rather than be the courts.

‘Exceedingly political’ libel case pits free speech advocate Ezra Levant against ‘master of lawfare’ | National Post.

Filed under Multiculturalism, Religion Tagged with ,

Canadian Muslims encounter increasing hostility

2013/10/14 Leave a comment

Haroon Siddiqui of The Star on polls showing different levels of distrust for different ethnic and religious communities, similar to the earlier poll posted on BC attitudes (British Columbians grow more wary of other religions, interfaith marriages).

While some of this is normal (negative attitudes tend to prevail regarding more recent communities), the gaps are still startling.

We didn’t have such polls 50 years ago when the minorities that were likely viewed with suspicion included Jewish Canadians, Italian Canadians and the like.

Canadian Muslims encounter increasing hostility: Siddiqui | Toronto Star.

Filed under Immigration, Multiculturalism, Religion Tagged with ,

The meaning of martyrdom: Ways to bear witness

2013/10/11 Leave a comment

On martyrdom in various religions.

The meaning of martyrdom: Ways to bear witness | The Economist.

Filed under Religion Tagged with ,

British Columbians grow more wary of other religions, interfaith marriages

2013/10/10 1 Comment

The respective rates of “comfort” with interfaith marriage are not surprising:

  • 66% comfortable with Christians
  • 53% comfortable with Buddhists
  • 40% comfortable with Jews
  • 36% comfortable with Hindus
  • 28% comfortable with Sikhs
  • 17% comfortable with Muslims

The article would have benefitted from actual intermarriage rates compared to attitudes, as overall intermarriage rates have generally increased, albeit from a small base.

Attitudes are not limited to the “mainstream;” as the article notes, many within communities also want their children to marry from within the community, either to preserve their faith, pass it on to children, or at least theoretically have fewer compatibility issues.

Douglas Todd: British Columbians grow more wary of other religions, interfaith marriages.

Filed under Multiculturalism, Religion Tagged with , , , , ,

France slides right on immigration

2013/10/10 Leave a comment

The continuing slide to the right in France’s immigration and integration policies, likely to be counterproductive in a country that has largely failed in integration.

What seems lost on the republicans, however, is that as coercion takes the place of persuasion, young Muslims are showing even greater fervour for their faith than their parents. But with a population of five million Muslims expected to near seven million in a decade or so, few politicians appear willing to defy public opinion by abandoning the stick for the carrot….

As Dominique Reynié, director of the Foundation for Political Innovation, observed in Le Monde: “Twenty years ago, Valls’s remarks on the Roma would have come from [Front National founder] Jean-Marie Le Pen. In 2010, president Sarkozy’s remarks were shocking. In 2013, worse language emanates from the Socialist Interior Minister. Almost 80 per cent of French voters agree with him. President Hollande shows his de facto support. It is a testimony to the rightward slide of the [political] landscape. All of France is hardening.”

France slides right on immigration – The Globe and Mail.

Filed under Immigration, Multiculturalism, Religion Tagged with , , , ,

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