Last night (before watching Finding Nemo again !), I watched an interesting programme on Channel 4 called 'What Muslims Want' .. which in itself is a pretty dumb title .. kind of like saying what English People want ... which can range from world peace to a luxury house !
It was good though in that John Snow was doing face to face interviews with a wide variety of people of the Muslim faith. It struck me that many of our views of Muslims are based largely on the ones that the media choose to pick to represent Muslims.
One of the best bits for me was when he was interviewing a guy who was a very strict and I guess you could say radical, Muslim who basically quoted the Koran to each question he was asked. When asked a theoretical question which would have needed free will, he really struggled, purely quoting, what often seemed of dubious relevance, from the Koran. It kind of reminded me of a friends mother who ended her arguements with 'it says so in the bible' and you just couldn't get past that !
While he was interviewing him though, another young Muslim who was passing by interrupted them and started pointing out the faults in the 'radical's' argument, pointing out, for example, that the Koran also states that when living in a non muslim country, Muslims should abide by the Laws of the land. It really highlighted the fact that there is no such things as a typical Muslim. Even the fact that they pointed out that young Muslims between 18 and 24 were the ones most likely to agree with actions such as the London Bombers, doesn't really stand up. Speak to English males of thtt age group and they will have the most aggressive views ... It's not about religion but about Testosterone !
The one thing the programme did highlight really for me though, was the way Muslim communities are, often by choice, becoming isolated and this can't be healthy. Unless we integrate more and more, and with other faiths, and respect different viewpoints even if we don't agree with them - we can always continue to talk talk talk .. Once again, it's all about dialogue I guess.
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3 comments:
It was a very interesting programme indeed!
I have often found, that when I go into Muslim Mosques and speak to the Imans they will say that they strive for peace and for respect... this programme really highlighted to me that this is not the view of many muslims (at least not the ones interviewed) Peace yes, but under an Islamic rule or state... How does this goal that all Muslims desire (Quoting Koran)show respect for other faiths?
I reckon you could say that with any religion - including our own - that people can get so wrapped up in what is written down and their own prejudice that they won't entertain any deviation.
I had a Muslim friend at college who was considered rebellious because she wore t-shirts (3 sizes too big so the sleeves still made it to her elbows).
Far too much is placed on ritual and dogma and far too little on spirituality and respect in many of the world religions
Completely agree with you Tanya .. and it can even happen with our Buddhism as you say. I think the point I was trying to make is that there is no such thing as a typical Muslim yet the media portrays one .. usually innacurately. Sure there are fundamentalists but looking around Nottingham, where the communities are fairly well integrated, I would say that most Muslims are 'moderate' and integrated .. Yet this doesn't seem to be as likely in places where communities are segregated eg Bradford ... so it seems to me logically, that if we really want other faiths to live in a Western society, it's important not to isolate them .. I feel that's where the fundamentalism grows.
One thing that came up time after time last night were the Muslims saying how the west's intervention in the Middle East had isolated them ... But to me, it still isn't an us and them thing .. Most Brits also oppose it too and I must admit I feel pretty pissed off to be British some times too .. so that's not a faith thing as far as I'm concerned .. it's a crime against humanity itself !
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