outsidein »

• My Kristof conundrum

  January 14, 2010 @ 11:43 pm | by Bryan

  Nicholas Kristof wrote a fascinating column titled Religion and Women about a week ago. Were I smarter, I would probably avoid this topic. It’s a potential minefield and I can see myself getting into trouble. Evidently, I’m not that smart.

  Here’s the thing: before I moved to this part of the world, I didn’t realise that ‘patriarchy’ was a dirty word. ‘Chauvinism’, ‘oppression’, ‘exclusion’… these all registered on my bad words radar, but not ‘patriarchy’. And to be honest, it still doesn’t, not without further clarification anyway.

  One of Kristof’s parting shots, for example, was:

  Today, when religious institutions exclude women from their hierarchies and rituals, the inevitable implication is that females are inferior.

  Since I’m not one, let’s take Catholicism for example. I don’t see the Pope ordaining female priests any time soon. But can you blame him? If he genuinely interprets the Bible as saying that women cannot be priests – granted it’s an interpretation that is not beyond dispute – but if he really believes that, and if he really believes that all living matter was created by an all powerful God, and that people should live according to God’s will, isn’t there a problem?

  If in the beginning there really was God, and if God is constant and unchanging, then don’t we have to conclude that God’s views and those of modern liberal society could be different? And if you both believe in God and interpret scripture a certain way, if God really is God, then, isn’t there a very real possibility of ending up with values that are very different from those held by mainstream liberal society? I am completely aware of the fact that some of the worst atrocities that have ever been perpetrated, not to mention plenty of ordinary horrible things, are done in the name of God, or culture or something. Religion and culture are fertile breeding grounds for all sorts of monsters. But that doesn’t take away from the issue at hand, does it?

  Basically, when it’s all said and done, I suppose I’m asking whether or not the mainstream values of liberal democracies are in some ways incommensurable with those of people from other cultural/religious backgrounds. And if they are, how do we sort out a ‘simple’ thing like Kristof’s beef with religious institutions excluding women from heirarchies? And if we can’t sort that out in Catholicism’s case, which has called Europe home for a good while now, what hope is there for beliefs and practices from further afield?

  One last question. Does liberal secularism count as a religion in its own right? Is the case Kristof is making a ‘neutral’/ethical or socio-political one, or is he ‘evangelising’ for secular liberalism?

• Hijab Fashion Show

  February 9, 2009 @ 12:58 pm | by Bryan

  

  Ready to wear: from left, Hilwati Yamin, Somaia Elsayed, Intan Syafiqah and Samah Mohamed Ali in UCD. Photograph: Matt Kavanagh.

  I have a friend who is a committed feminist. Come to think of it, quite a few of my friends are feminists. What marks this one out is what seems to me to be her very strong belief in universal norms. We often disagree between the role of culture in interpreting what freedom, equality, and justice mean. I like to think of myself a weak cultural relativist – someone who believes that there are many things that are true across the board, but even for most of these, culture shapes how they are articulated and expressed.

  For example, I believe that what equal rights and dignity between men and women looks like could, and probably should differ between different cultural groups. That’s not to say I condone violations of those rights made in the name of culture, rather, I think it is possible and best to assert those rights from within that cultural context. My friend, on the other hand, tends to be much more of a universalist – for her, generally, right is right and wrong is wrong, regardless of cultural differences.

  As I read Roisin Ingle’s article over the weekend, Hijab chic on the catwalk, I thought of my friend. I don’t know what her thoughts are on the hijab, but I have come across a lot of people who have problems with it because they feel that the headscarf is symbolic of the oppression of women in some cultures. It is very interesting that something like the hijab has come to be so symbolic. It has come to represent ‘otherness’ and all that implies on the one hand, as well as becoming a symbol of identity on the other.

  About six months ago, Ruadhán Mac Cormaic wrote about the manner in which non-issues related to immigration were being debated in place of substantive matters. In that article, he quoted the Hungarian historian István Bibó, who, speaking on society said,

  It will substitute a fictional problem, which can be mediated purely through words and symbols, for the real one that it finds insurmountable. In grappling with the former, the community can convince itself that it has successfully confronted the latter.

  Putting on an hijab fashion show was an incredibly clever, creative, non-abrasive and I’m sure a fun way for the ladies involved to assert and affirm a part of their religious and cultural identity. So much so, I really hope more groups come up with such imaginative ways of revealing more of themselves to everyone else.

  If that happens, hopefully the appetite for confronting the challenges of globilisation and those of living in a multicultural society at a level deeper than the symbolic will increase.

• Europe and religion

  August 27, 2008 @ 12:00 pm | by Bryan

  On Sunday, Cardinal Seán Brady gave an address at the Humbert Summer School in Co Mayo, during which he touched on the EU’s attitude towards Christianity. The point he made, if my understanding is correct, is that Europe has been so committed to secularism that it has at times turned its back on its Christian history, values and commitments. He also said:

  Without respect for its Christian memory and soul, I believe it is possible to anticipate continuing difficulties for the European project. These will emerge not only in economic terms but in terms of social cohesion and the continued growth of a dangerous individualism that does not care about God or about what the future might have in store.

  It is interesting to note that some Muslim religious leaders in Turkey have been saying the same thing for some time. Turkey’s institutions, especially the judiciary and army, are strongly committed to maintaining a secular country. In attempting to steer clear of the example of Islamic states like Iran, the Turks have at times encroached on people’s religious rights.

  Europe’s relationship with religion, as opposed to that in America, Africa or Asia for that matter, is very interesting. It sometimes feels as though the memory of the abuse of power by religious leaders has led to a suspicion of religion itself. Or, could it be that religious freedom and diversity have been so thoroughly welcomed that there are many religions to choose from and an overwhelmed Europe has chosen to choose none? Maybe secularism suits today’s Europe far better than either Christianity, Islam, or anything else that can’t be verified by science.

  It will be interesting to see if in time, Europe becomes more like Turkey where religion is concerned, or if Turkey goes the way of Europe.
   

• The hijab in schools

  August 15, 2008 @ 12:12 pm | by Bryan

  

  A decision has been made concerning the wearing of the hijab in schools. Minister of State for Integration, Conor Lenihan, has decided that the government will not issue a directive on the subject. Having sought the advice of thousands of school principals, the minister found that “The overwhelming evidence is that it [the hijab] is not an issue in schools.” Schools will get to decide for themselves.

  My first reaction is that common sense has prevailed. But I still have two reservations. The first one has to do with the fall-out of this decision. What happens if a school decides that it will not permit students to wear the headscarf? Won’t that school be open to charges of discrimination? At some point, the government or courts may be forced to make a firmer decision.

  On the other hand, I agree that a headscarf is a non-issue. Which leads me to my second reservation. Are the underlying concerns surrounding this debate being investigated and addressed? Both Fine Gael and the Labour Party wanted to have the hijab banned from schools in order to promote ‘integration’ over ‘multiculturalism’. It would be a shame if this opportunity, to thrash out what those terms actually mean and how best to go about achieve the desired end, was lost.

• Pope Benedict

  July 17, 2008 @ 12:23 pm | by Bryan

  Pope Benedict and Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd. Photograph: Mark Baker/AP

  There was a lot of uncertainty when Cardinal Ratzinger became Pope Benedict XVI. But so far, he seems to be doing a pretty good job.

  He was surprisingly well received in the United States, and it looks like the same is happening in Australia. He has been wooing young people, which is impressive coming from an 81 year old. He apologised for the abuses that were perpetrated by members of the Catholic clergy. And he has even been speaking about the environment! If there is a winning issue at the moment, it is being green.

  I wonder how a visit by him would go down in Ireland. I‘m also curious about how a country that was once synonymous with Catholicism not so long ago has moved away from that faith so rapidly.

• The Hijab

  July 3, 2008 @ 1:41 pm | by Bryan

   

   

  Is it just me of is the issue of the hijab (headscarf) getting out of hand? The Minister for Education, Batt O’Keeffe has asked Conor Lenihan, Integration Minister, for help. He wants to know if there should be a national policy on the wearing of the hijab in schools. Minister Lenihan then passed the issue on to school principals. Talk about a high profile game of hot potato.

   

  Honestly, what is the big deal? It’s just a piece of cloth isn’t it? If young Muslim ladies, or their parents for that matter, want them to wear it, what’s the problem? Should this really be taking up two ministers’ time as well as that of thousands of school principals? Aren’t there more serious issues to deal with, like renovating old schools and building new ones? Is this just a silly diversion to get us all thinking about something inconsequential, or do people really care about it?

   

  Let’s say that it is a genuine concern. What is the real underlying issue here? It cannot be about clothing. Or at least I really hope we aren’t that petty as a society. Is it about Islam, or religion itself? Either way, if there is going to be a debate, let it be about Islam or religion as a whole and their place in contemporary Irish society.