PhD: Islam in the West

Here are some notes on the Routledge Handbook of Islam in the West, a tome I am currently reviewing. It was published in 2015. The first set of notes are from the Introduction by Roberto Tottoli, the editor.

[01] So often do we hear about these entities "Islam" and "the West". The idea of "Islam" refers to a religious entity while "the West" is more of a geographical entity, a place. Islam is a faith and a community, an umma. I personally wonder whether this is (or at least was) the case. The umma represented a place where Muslims ruled, even if they were not in the majority. An example of this was the Mughal Empire which maintained a Hindu majority. Even Muslim Syria in its early days had a Christian majority.

[02] Tottoli writes of the ...

... supposed Islamic roots in the West. 

Islam has been in the West for only 3 centuries less than Christianity. In many parts of Europe, Christianity only spread after the conversion of the Roman Emperor Constantine. Indigenous European Islam existed in Spain as well as Bosnia and Albania, Macedonia, Greece and Kosovo, not to mention Russia. To suggest Islam has no roots in Europe is akin to suggesting Judaism has no roots in Europe. 

[03] Tottoli speaks of ...

... outer and Western umma.

Yet he denies the existence of a geographical umma. Furthermore some 6% of Muslims live in Europe. Indeed, the minority Muslim experience will soon become the norm as the country with the largest Muslim population is likely to be India in 2050. Then again, India will also have more Christians than any other nation. Exactly where is the outer or inner of Islam and/or Christendom?

[04] There is an enormous difference between looking at Islam in the West and Islam and the West. The former inquiry is far more nuanced.

More to follow.

COMMENT: Back to square 1 ...

When I first started this blog, I named it madhab al-irfy. That name offended a fair few people, and led to accusations that I was seeking to start my own school of sacred thought and/or law.

The purpose of the blog was in fact to put on cyberpaper my infantile spiritual reflections. I didn't want to cloud my views on religion and religiosity on the other blog, Planet Irf (though I'm not sure I succeeded in this regard).

So what on earth is madhab al-irfy? What is my view on how orthodoxy is defined? And why should anyone give a shite?

My views on orthodoxy haven't really changed since the early 1990's. At the time, these weren't terribly fashionable views. Here are some of them in a nutshell, each followed by a random image:

1. No need to reinvent the wheel. If you want to follow the sacred law of Islam in your life, you have four (4) schools of law to choose from. All are equally valid. Just pick one and off you go.

2. You can't just pick and choose between schools of law. Though at times, you can pick an easier option when the option within your chosen school is just too tough. But picking and choosing for the sake of it takes away your sense of discipline.

3. Islam has an outer and inner tradition. Some call the inner tradition tasawwuf, others call it ihsan, others zuhd and others (my favourite!) irfan. Then there is that word 'sufism' that makes me ill.

4. The inner science is best (or rather, necessarily) learned from a qualified teacher. No Byron Bay sufism for me, thanks.

5. All sacred sciences of Islam are transmitted from teacher to student. Teachers were once students of teachers who were once students of teachers who were ... and on and on, all the way back to the people of the salaf, the first three generations.



6. There are two legitimate ways among Sunnis to express one's beliefs. These are known as Ashari and Maturidi. Hardly any difference between the two.

7. I like the Tabligh Jamaat, but I wish they'd phone ahead.

8. I like the Barelwi chaps but I wish they weren't so fractious.

9. I love both of them, but I wish they'd keep their disputes geographically limited to the Indian sub-Continent.

10. I unconditionally love my Shia brethren, even if I find some of their views on history uncomfortable.

11. Anyone who claims all salafis/wahhabis are terrorists is a moron who should return to the Planet G%7eHFRFft. Believe me, things aren't nice on that planet. (As in, yes, I once promoted the same rubbish.)

12. People who claim to be religious scholars but refuse to show their qualifications when asked are more likely than not complete fraudsters. Any qualified scholars who continue to support them are parties to the fraud. May God help them.

13. Scholars and imams who defend violence against women and/or children are evil.

Gee, what else? Would anyone like to add some more?

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PROFILE: Brigitte Gabriel - American wacko

Brigitte Gabriel isn't her real name. Apparently she is too afraid to use her real name in case she is attacked.

Attacked? By who?

Gabriel is an all-American wacko, a master xenophobe who has made it her mission to convince Americans that any and every Muslim anywhere and everywhere is plotting and scheming to destroy America.

Gabriel has visited Australia in May 2007 when she was keynote speaker at a dinner hosted by the Jewish National Fund. Then Prime Minister John Howard was also present at the dinner.

The New York Times recently profiled Gabriel recently. She is described as

... one of the most visible personalities on a circuit of self-appointed terrorism detectors who warn that Muslims pose an enormous danger within United States borders.

Here's how the NYT quotes her.

“America has been infiltrated on all levels by radicals who wish to harm America,” she said. “They have infiltrated us at the C.I.A., at the F.B.I., at the Pentagon, at the State Department. They are being radicalized in radical mosques in our cities and communities within the United States.”

Any reasonably objective person would hear Gabriel's message and realise she is trying to push a barrel.

She presents a portrait of Islam so thoroughly bent on destruction and domination that it is unrecognizable to those who study or practice the religion.

Like so many xenophobic fruitloops, Gabriel insists that she has no truck with 'moderate' Muslims. She's only worried about Muslims as extreme as her.

She insists that she is singling out only “radical Islam” or Muslim “extremists” — not the vast majority of Muslims or their faith. And yet, in her speeches and her two books, she leaves the opposite impression. She puts it most simply in the 2008 introduction to her first book, “Because They Hate: A Survivor of Islamic Terror Warns America.”

“In the Muslim world, extreme is mainstream,” she wrote. She said that there is a “cancer” infecting the world, and said: “The cancer is called Islamofacism. This ideology is coming out of one source: The Koran.”

And in case you thought Gabriel's followers only had problems with Muslims, think again.

ACT! members are challenging high school textbooks and college courses that they deem too sympathetic to Islam. A group leader in Eugene, Ore., signed up to teach a community college course on Islam, but it was canceled when a Muslim group exposed his blog postings denouncing Islam and denying the scope of the Holocaust.

And while Gabriel and her ilk claim to target terrorism, the reality is that their conspiracy-mongering and hate-speech is actually helping extremists.

Brian Fishman, a research fellow at both the New America Foundation in Washington, and the Combating Terrorism Center at the United States Military Academy at West Point, said, “When you’ve got folks who are looking for the worst in Islam and are promoting that as the entire religion of 1.5 or 1.6 billion people, then you only empower the real extremists.”

Unfortunately I cannot embed this interview on CNN. Gabriel belongs to the Hilaly school of answering questions, forever claiming to be quoted out of context. She also claims that the Prime Minister of Australia is some person named Erbekan.

Still, here's Brigitte talking about Obama being a Muslim.




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COMMENT: TreasoNamaz in Tennessee

Five times a day Muslims are supposed to perform a special kind of worship. In Arabic, it's called salaat. But to millions of Muslims in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Turkey, Albania, Bosnia etc, it's known as namaz.

It is performed in accordance with certain regulations concerning washing and physical postures. All of these are governed by a sacred law known as sharia.

And if a number of lawmakers in the poor state of Tennessee have their way, it will become an act of treason.

The Tennessean website reports on 23/02:

A proposed Tennessee law would make following the Islamic code known as Shariah law a felony, punishable by 15 years in jail.

Wow. That's more than what you might get for bashing your Christian wife. So who is behind this unusual piece of legislation?

State Sen. Bill Ketron, R-Murfreesboro, and state Rep. Judd Matheny, R-Tullahoma, introduced the same bill in the Senate and House last week. It calls Shariah law a danger to homeland security and gives the attorney general authority to investigate complaints and decide who's practicing it.

It exempts peaceful practice of Islam but labels any adherence to Shariah law — which includes religious practices such as feet washing and prayers — as treasonous. It claims Shariah adherents want to replace the Constitution with their religious law.

Believe it or not, similar bills have been moved in other US State legislatures. But the Tennessee one goes much further. It provides for criminal sanctions against anyone found to be involved in the practice of sharia.

And who drafted this bill?

The Tennessee bill goes further by proposing criminal penalties for following Shariah ... the bill was model legislation, given to him by the Tennessee Eagle Forum, a conservative advocacy group.

Bobbie Patray, state president of the Eagle Forum, confirmed that the law had been drafted by David Yerushalmi, a Chandler, Ariz.-based attorney. Yerushalmi runs the Society of Americans for National Existence, a nonprofit that says following Shariah is treasonous.

And so we see a bunch of alleged Christians attacking the liturgy of another monotheistic faith. The language is largely the same. The only difference is that the targets aren't Jews this time round.

And sadly some Jews are involved.

Words © 2011 Irfan Yusuf

Throw this treacherous sandnigger in jail for 15 years!!

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COMMENT: Reading Quilliam ...

Over the next few weeks, I've set aside time to read the various papers produced by the Quilliam Foundation, a thinktank which was co-founded by Mohammed Mahbub ("Ed") Husain and Maajid Nawaaz. These two gentleman claim to have been senior members of Hizb ut-Tahrir in the UK.

Ed Husain authored a book called The Islamist. I use the word "authored" in its broadest possible sense. A reliable source close to his publishers has advised that in fact a ghost writer wrote most of the book. It isn't clear whether the ghost writer merely provided words or also contributed ideas. The ghost writer did seem to do a good job, and I gave the book a relatively positive review when it was first published in Australia.

The book was written before QF was founded and before it became the darling of cultural warriors and UK politicians hell-bent on marginalising certain minorities. QF has been criticised by many in the UK "islamic industry", and I am not so naive as to accept everything self-appointed leaders have to say on these matters. So I've decided to research the matter in detail for myself.

UPDATE: It also turns out Husain is a Senior Fellow at the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations. You can watch a video of him talking about Egypt here.


Words © 2011 Irfan Yusuf

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MEDIA: Islam 4 za Yoos?

Last month, the New York Times Magazine carried a lengthy profile of an Egyptian media entrepreneur who has started a Muslim version of MTV. Here's how the reporter describes Ahmed Abu Haiba:

At the age of 42 he is tubby and, as a sign of his deep faith, has a large zabiba — a dark smudge on his forehead born of rubbing his head repeatedly on a prayer mat. And yet he is not a conventional man and certainly not a conventional Muslim. Today he looks more like a hip-hop mogul, with a black knit golf cap on backward and a suit of all black. And a pink tie.

Plenty of hip hop. You won't find me watching it. Unless of course they feature some Islamic hard rock. Perhaps a band calling itself Aqida (Creed). When it comes to music, I'm rather fussy.

There's also plenty of folksy stuff from Yusuf, as well as Sami Yusuf (no relation). And entertainment of the "Dr Phil" variety. My mum should subscribe.

Abu Haiba is apparently part of a bigger culture war going on in the Arabic-speaking world. The wars take on a particularly political flavour given that so much of the Arab media is controlled by dictatorial governments imposed by governments of countries that would never tolerate such dictatorship. The result is the imposition of a kind of Islam that despises the development of an indigenous culture open to outside influences.

Under whatever guise, and in spite of long and storied musical traditions, there is a significant history of restrictions on music across the Islamic world. In the 1950s, according to the scholar Jonas Otterbeck, the Committee for the Advancement of Virtue and Elimination of Vice in Saudi Arabia banned music and singing, linking them to immorality and Sufism. In Afghanistan, the Taliban famously banned music and went as far as to kill musicians. In Lebanon, Nirvana was banned in the late 1990s after being linked to Satan worship. Between 2000 and 2005, 80 percent of the issues raised by Muslim Brotherhood parliamentarians concerned the need to take an Islamic stand on culture and media. And then, in November of this past year, the American pop singer Beyoncé was scheduled to play a concert at an elite resort on the Red Sea. The promotional ads for the concert — featuring Beyoncé in all manner of suggestive costumes, including a half-unitard covered in flames — inspired one Muslim Brotherhood parliamentarian named Hamdi Hassan to declare her concert an “insolent sex party” in a letter written to the Egyptian Parliament. The Beyoncé affair, in turn, prompted a great drama in the press, pitting Beyoncé’s defenders against outraged detractors. The concert went on anyway, but not before inspiring an “Against Beyoncé” Facebook campaign. The group attracted about 10,000 members.

Yet these same forces are condemned by their backers for being "extremists" and "Wahhabists". I mean, what the ...?

And so you have young entrepreneurs like Aby Haiba struggling to see outside the imposed cultural square, only to find himself even more inside of it. Still, at least he is trying.

“The voices speaking for Islam today are extremists,” he went on, with his own sort of evangelical zeal. “We see an angry man throwing a stone at an embassy more often than an Amr Khaled.” ...

“4Shbab is changing the way young people look at Islam. I know we can change people at the far end, the Salafists or jihadists. Some of the people who listen to us now used to not listen to music at all!” ...

... “Imagine ‘Big Love’ or ‘The Wire’ with Islamic themes,” he said. You could see the optimism and excitement in his eyes. “I think in a short time we will be at the top of the charts. You see, Islam is like a big bus. You can be standing at the door, or you can be at the steering wheel. My plan is to be at the steering wheel.”

Should we imagine?

Words © 2010 Irfan Yusuf

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AUDIO: Inside Islam radio episodes

Jeez, twitter is a superb thing. I picked up this podcast from the University of Wisconsin about a whole bunch of Muslim-related topics. They take a little while to download but are certainly worth it.

Click here to start exceeding your download limit.

COMMENT: Degrees of disappearance ...

It's amazing what can happen to one's education in a matter of years. My mother always warned me when I was young that I should never forget how to recite portions of the Qur'an previously memorised. "Forgetting Qur'an - it verry bad gunna," she would tell me.

["gunna" is an Urdu and Turkish word that means "sin]

But some people manage to lose entire university degrees. For instance, back in June 2005, the following appeared on the New Zealand Scoop news website:

Two eminent scholars on religion will be hosted in Auckland tomorrow (Friday) evening for public discussion on the topic of friendship between adherents of different faiths, specifically Islam and Christianity ...

... Mr. Afroz Ali of Sydney, also well versed in inter-religious matters, holding degrees in Islamic Studies and Shari'ah from Islamic University, Madina, Saudi Arabia, thereafter continuing through traditional Islamic learning styles under scholars such as Shaykh Hamza Yusuf of the United States, Shaykh Salik bin Siddina and Shaykh Murabtal Hajj of Mauritania.

And so this eminent scholar has not one but two degrees from the Islamic University in Madina.

But alas, after a mere 4 years, this eminent scholar seems to have lost his two university degrees. Hence the following profile appears on the website of an upcoming interfaith conference to be held in Perth ...

He is a qualified Imam in the Islamic Tradition, having studied under Traditional Islam and received licence to teach in various Islamic Sciences. His studies have taken him from university-based Islamic University- Madina, Saudi Arabia then moving towards Traditional Scholarship in Yemen, United States and Mauritania, where he has spent considerable time to learn from the most esteemed Rightly Guided Islamic Scholars of our time.

Er ... what happened to those university degrees? I thought he had degrees in both Islamic Studies and Shariah. Did these degrees go missing?

Anwar Ibrahim will also be speaking at this interfaith gathering in Perth. I wonder if any of his degrees have also mysteriously disappeared. Somehow I doubt it.

Words © 2009 Irfan Yusuf


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POLITICS: A liberal view of the Pan-Islamic Party of Malaysia ...

Keith Leong, an Associate at the Malaysia Think Tank, provides some interesting perspectives on PAS, a religious party that forms part of Malaysia's opposition.

As a young non-Muslim Malaysian with generally liberal leanings, I have always had mixed feelings about PAS. The party has been painted as the ultimate bogeyman by the establishment media and pundits to my demographic group, often with general success. Incidents like their periodic campaigns against alcohol consumption and teenybopper music only served to heighten my discontent towards the brand of politics that they practiced.

On the other hand, one cannot help but admire the dedication and perseverance that the PAS ranks have shown in their long, twilight struggle in Opposition. The high regard, even affection by which their leaders like Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat are accorded to, not only by Malaysian Muslims but their compatriots of other faiths as well suggest that there is more to PAS than what the powers-that-be would have us believe.

More importantly, however, is the small but growing number amongst them who realise, like their colleagues both in Pakatan Rakyat and Barisan Nasional that Malaysia can only be led effectively in a broad-based, inclusive manner. The politicians who realised this before and since the 8th of March 2008 have grown in stature, while those who have not or will not have only exacerbated the sectarian tensions that threaten to rend this country apart.

Malaysia may be a Muslim-majority country, but PAS cannot rely on Islam to gain anything even resembling an electoral majority. Religion and ethnicity are intertwined in Malaysian law and politics. If Malay nationalists worry non-Muslim minorities, imagine how they must feel about PAS.

... it seems many young leaders, regardless of their party, who want public life in Malaysia to be more than a zero-sum game dictated by archaic sectarian rivalries are being hounded into obscurity while the demagogues triumph.

The possibility of this happening in PAS is all the more sad because Malaysians have had, for the last couple of months the chance to see what the party could be like if it was led by moderates. The picture that that possibility presented was inspiring and promising.

MP for Shah Alam Khalid Samad visiting a Catholic Church (the construction of which had faced numerous bureaucratic obstacles) in his constituency and receiving rave reviews from the parishioners. Nik Abdul Aziz standing up for his fellow PKR and DAP leaders smeared by the reactionary press.

PAS has the ability to embrace a more pluralist approach that goes beyond pan-Islam and Malay chauvinism.

Words © 2009 Irfan Yusuf

ADDRESS: A Common Word ...

Before I start, I’d like to pay my respects to the indigenous owners, the Gadigal people of the Eora nation, of this land.

Thank you for inviting me to join with you to celebrate the document entitled “A Common Word” (ACW). The document was prepared by some 138 Muslim scholars and intellectuals across the world and from every denomination, and was addressed to Christians of every denomination. The document sought a basis for discussion and cooperation between Christians and Muslims, whose combined population made up well over half the world’s population.

“Without peace and justice between these two religious communities,” reads the Summary and Abridgement, “there can be no meaningful peace in the world”. The document further stated that the “basis for this peace and understanding already exists ... [in] … the very foundational principles of both faiths: love of the One God, and love of the neighbour”.

The document then provides in detail the textual evidence for both these foundational principles in the Old and New Testaments as well as in the Qur’an and Ahadith literature.


Educating Theology

It’s all wonderfully esoteric and theological, but as many of you know, I am no theologian. Religious texts matter to me to the extent that I see them acted out by those around me.

We are very close to the grounds of a school managed by the Melkite Catholic Church. Each of the children attending that school will learn about their Christian faith and heritage from their teachers and school elders. They will learn this from studying the Bible and other religious works. But more importantly, they will learn this from their exposure to their Christian teachers and elders and community leaders and (hopefully) from their own families acting out the teachings of the Bible. They will learn how to be what Jesus Christ (p.b.u.h.) described as “the salt of the earth”. They will not only learn the words of the Ten Commandments, the Lords Prayer, the Sermon of the Mount and of Paul’s wonderful description of love and charity in I Corinthians 13.

Up the road from here is a Muslim independent school. Each child attending that school will learn about their Islamic faith and heritage from their teachers and elders. They will study the Qur’an, the Ahadith and other religious works. But more importantly, they will learn from their exposure to their Muslim teachers and elders and community leaders and (hopefully) from their own families acting out the teachings of the Qur’an and the Sunna. They will learn how to be what Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) described as people of “ihsan” who “worship God as if they see Him, and if not then they are at least conscious that He is seeing them”. They will learn the words of the Ayat al-Kursi, Surat al-Fatiha and the Prophet’s extraordinary communion with God after being pushed out of the city of Taif.

But like most Muslim kids brought up in Australia, I never attended a Muslim independent school. Instead, mine was a rather confusing and confused upbringing, a mish-mash of Urdu linguistic fascism, ecumenical north Indian Bollywood culture and very spicy food. So what I wanted to share with you today is how I learned my lessons in loving God and loving my neighbour. I learned these lessons from my parents, my (largely Christian) teachers at my Christian school and the few decent imams I was exposed to during my youth.


Common Values

For my middle class North Indian parents, the idea of a “Common Word” seemed almost superfluous. They took it for granted that Christianity and Islam taught the same values. But then, so did Hinduism, Sikhism, Judaism, Buddhism and other major religions. Mum taught me that the best people were generally the most religious, and that all religions taught you to be good to people.

At primary school, Thursday afternoon was devoted to what was called “scripture”. Volunteers were sent by various churches to take children whose families belonged to their denominations. Mum left it to me to attend whichever denomination I wished, and I’d flirt between Catholic and Anglican. Much of our time was spent studying Bible stories, and my favourite was the dramatic story of Joseph. It was a full-scale Biblical blockbuster in which the good guy came out on top in the end and showed extraordinary magnanimity to his foes who ironically were his own brothers.

I also enjoyed the nativity plays we’d perform during Christmas time. For some reason, I was always assigned the role of one of the three wise men from a strange country called “The East”. The other two wise men were a boy from New Guinea and Chinese girl dressed up as a boy. The baby Jesus was played by a white skinned doll, while our teacher insisted that Mary and Joseph be played by blond-headed children. Perhaps she thought Bethlehem was somewhere north of Scandinavia and that Mary and Joseph lived next door to Santa.

Later my parents wanted to extend my religious and secular education. Like many migrant parents, they wanted their children to have the best education money could buy, even if they could barely afford this amount of money. They ended up sending me to St Andrews Cathedral School, a very Protestant low church Anglican.School located in Sydney’s CBD. It was here that Christianity was less about culture and skin colour and more about values. My first school captain was the son of a Pakistani Anglican priest. I repeatedly learned, almost memorised, the beautiful words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 13 about the primacy of love.

Christianity was less about culture and more about values. It was about God loving us so much that he was even prepared to sacrifice a part of Himself, and about how we must show love to those around us. But the Islam I learned was in a strictly Indo-Pakistani cultural zone which I never quite understood. We didn’t have many Islamic books in English, and mum would read to me from books in Urdu.


Culture and Tribalism

When we associate religion and religiosity with culture, we turn it into a closed chop, into a club. We tribalise religion. The kids at my primary school could perhaps never imagine the existence of a Pakistani Anglican priest, let alone elect his son as school captain. But then, many Pakistani Muslims I grew up with also probably couldn’t imagine a Pakistani Anglican priest.

When people use religion and religious identity to serve tribal causes, the results are not only deadly but also highly irrational and involve a complete misreading of theology, history and reality – not just that of the “other” but also of our own. For instance, Christianity (or the so-called “Judeo-Christian” tradition) is often cited in support of prejudice against persons from the Middle East, forgetting that Christ himself wasn’t exactly Caucasian.

Conclusion

ACW reminds both Christians and Muslims that they can only find commonality by becoming (in a sense) fundamentalists, by returning to the fundamental themes of their faith. Tribalised religion is about turning people away, while Islam and Christianity are missionary faiths that seek to attract people.

The basic principles of loving God and loving one’s neighbour negate religious tribalism. Or as my mother taught me as a child, the best people are those most true to their religion.

(Irfan Yusuf is a Sydney-based lawyer, author and columnist. His first book Once Were Radicals: My years as a teenage Islamo-fascist has just been published by Allen & Unwin. The above address was delivered to a conference on the Common Word document organised by the Australian Muslim-Christin Friendship Society and the Melkite Welfare Association on Friday 15 May 2009.)

Words © 2009 Irfan Yusuf


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VIDEO: On attacking Ayaan Hirsi Magaan/Ali ...

Hirsi/Magaan wants to change how Muslims relate to God. Yet she doesn't believe in God. And she wants Muslims to take her seriously. Makes sense?

You can watch the full video by clicking here.

But are her Muslim critics also beyond question? What do her experiences say about Muslims themselves, especially those living in Western democratic countries?



Words © 2009 Irfan Yusuf


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VIDEO: Jon Stewart talks to Reza Aslan about his first book ...

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	M - Th 11p / 10c
Reza Aslan
thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Economic Crisis Political Humor

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CRIKEY: Pell cannot see the log in his own eye ...

Sydney’s Cardinal Pell has accused "modern liberalism" as being intolerant to Christians wishing to speak and act freely and in accordance with their conscience and their religious values.

Space doesn't permit a detailed treatment of Pell's entire speech. I'd probably need at least 8 pages to do that. But for what it's worth, here are a few paragraphs.

His eight page speech focuses on "two tales of intolerance". The first involves the story of activists from various Christian (and no doubt a fair few non-Christian) denominations in the United States who campaigned in support for proposed state constitutional amendments that enshrine marriage as between a man and a woman only.

Pell claims these activists were subjected to intimidation and even death threats. Churches were ...

... the focus for demonstrations, often attended by violence, vandalism and intimidation.

Some blogs even called for certain churches to be burned down, while businesses supporting the amendments were boycotted.

I wouldn't be surprised if this actually happened. But I cannot help wondering who Pell’s main sources were. And so I checked the footnotes to his speech.

Pell's footnotes twice refer to blogger and news commentator Michelle Malkin whose record of tolerance included encouraging the boycott of Dunkin’ Donuts. Did she do so on health grounds and to highlight growing American obesity rates? No. Malkin objected to a Dunkin’ Donuts advertisement showing Rachel Ray wearing a fashion accessory that resembled the traditional Palestinian scarf, known as a keffiyeh. Malkin described the keffiyeh as ...

... the traditional scarf of Arab men that has come to symbolize murderous Palestinian jihad ...

... and ...

... a regular adornment of Muslim terrorists appearing in beheading and hostage-taking videos.

Palestinian Catholics, including the parish priest of Bethlehem, won't be impressed.

Pell’s second example of intolerance was a handful of unsuccessful attempts by certain Muslims to seek orders against Christians who engaged in "criticism" of Islam "religiously, sociologically [and] philosophically". Yet the strange thing is that the very individuals he tries to defend have themselves engaged in the kind of intolerance he accuses proponents of “modern liberalism” of engaging in against Christian groups.

Among those Pell defends is Danny Nalliah from Catch The Fire Ministries. Nalliah is on record as calling on his congregation to pray that mosques, Hindu and Buddhist temples and even Masonic temples be torn down.

Pell then claims that "many in the West have grown used to practising self-censorship when it comes to Islam". That may be the case with certain non-Muslim Westerners, but there have been plenty of Muslims quite happy to openly criticise and question and even lampoon their faith, leaders and communities.

In all these instances, Pell sees Christians’ liberty being compromised by an aggressive form of secular liberalism. Yet Pell was quite happy to see special regulations introduced to stop people from causing "annoyance or inconvenience" to World Youth Day participants.

There's much more I could say about Pell's speech. Indeed there's quite a bit about his speech that I agree with. But I might suggest to the good Cardinal that before his next polemical foray, he might ponder over words Christ once used:

Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?

An edited version of this piece was first published in the Crikey daily alert on Friday 13 March 2009.

Words © 2009 Irfan Yusuf


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BLOG: LGF wackos attack JihadWatch wacko for being a wacko ...

It's always fun to watch wackos fighting each other. Especially when they are from the far-Right.

After spending years citing Robert Spencer with approval, the Little Green Footballs website has decided to 'expose' Spencer as a slightly different kind of wacko.

When Spencer was merely a wacko who lumped 1.2 billion Muslims together, or when he wrote stuff alleging that the religious traditions of all these peope were represented by al-Qaeda (a bit like saying that all 1.6 billion Christians were represented by the KKK or the Lord's Resistance Army), he was okay.

But now Robert Spencer has joined what LGF describes as ...

... white nationalists who advocate conquering Turkey and expelling/slaughtering the entire Muslim population—150 million people.

... then Spencer has become evil.

Don't expect to read about this development on Australian far-Right websites, including those of certain News Limited bloggers from Sydney and Melbourne.

Words © 2009 Irfan Yusuf


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