Who speaks for America? Who speaks for African Americans? Who speaks for Catholics?
It seems to me you would all say these are ridiculous questions. Isn't it, "We, the People?"
Then why do extremists and terrorism too often monopolize the media's coverage and thus the message coming out of the Muslim world? Why is it that a robust anti-Americanism seems to pervade the Muslim world? Is it the sign of a clash of cultures – do they hate who we are? Or is it what we do?
Rather than listening to extremists or simply relying on the opinions of individual pundits, why not give voice to the silenced majority?
The purpose of this post is to try to get through (MSM promoted?) the cultural stereotypes we may be looking through when we analayze the political systems of states like Iran ruled by Sharia (Muslim) Law -- or more importantly -- the poltical culture what ("We the People") are saying...in the Muslim world....if there is such a thing?
First, Al Arabia reports on a massive project in which Gallup pollsters interviewed 50,000 people in 35 Muslim countries. The results have been published in a book called Who Speaks for Islam? What a billion Muslims really think.
"A recent survey gathered on what Muslims truly think of the West revealed that Muslims feel disrespected by the West and although they admire Western values they feel that democracy when applied in Muslim countries was hypocritical...
"'Despite widespread anti-American and anti-British sentiment, Muslims around the world said they in fact admired much of what the West holds dear', including freedom of speech and citizens, democracy, technological progress and access to knowledge, co-author Dalia Mogahed said.
[She continued] "'When we asked Muslims around the world what the West can do to improve relations with the Muslim world, the most frequent responses were for the West to demonstrate more respect for Islam and to regard Muslims as equals, not as inferior.'..."
http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2008/04/07/47995.html
Second, from Salek:
"I just wanted to tell you about a Canadian sitcom called "Little Mosque on the Prairie."
It's about a Muslim community in a small town of ruralCanada and the challenges they face from within and outside their community.
The show is currently airing its second season on CBC and is HUGELYpopular in Canada, and has received rave reviews from critics.
I wanted to bring this to your attention because so much in the newsand media these days is negative coverage of Muslims (i.e. Danishcartoons). This show challenges those stereotypes and misconceptionsand does it effectively through humor.
I appreciate the show not just for the laughs, but also for it'srealistic portrayal of issues facing Muslims such as the gap betweenconservative and progressive Muslims and post 9/11 fears (propelled bya hillarious Rush Limbaugh-esque radio host). The issues may be seriousbut the show maintains a light-hearted tone."
Here's what the NY Times had to say:
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE7D81030F935A25752C0A9619C8B63&scp=1&sq=little+mosque+prairie&st=nyt
http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=4689644836814333621
5 comments:
I think that this show is fantastic. Although the humor is a little dry, it helps the break the divide between Jihad v. McWorld, and open up the eyes of Westerners to the culture, beliefs, and customs of Muslims. So often, extremists speak for the Islamic faith, and this show helps to allow Muslims to show that the islamic religion is one of peace, and respect, much like the religion of most Westeners.
Although I haven't seen this show, I think it sounds like a great way to get rid of anti-Muslim feeling in this and all countries. Everyone needs to realize that Osama and his cronies are a small, psycho minority.
That book has it right - Muslims need more respect. We (the western world) try to boss them around diplomatically, because they don't have "democracy". We don't respect thier sovreignty, thier culuture or anything else for that matter. We invaded Iraq, without knowing that the traditional, western signal for stop, is offensive to muslims, and is equivilent to giving them the finger. There is too much of a divide, and it will take the people to really call for something to change there (both in the western and middle eastern world). Just look at the nasty rumor about Barack Obama - that he is a muslim - and how that has affected people's views of him.
I agree. Respect and understanding is necessary for any two groups to successfully cooperate.
...and I want to see that show - we should watch an episode in class.
I completely agree with everyone here. The show (while I have never seen it either) does seem like a low-tension way to break down cultural barriers between the democratizied countries and the Muslim world. The Western world does (very frequently) misjudge the majority of the Muslim world, and the show seems like a great stride in struggle for peace, respect, and understanding.
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