Inter-Culturalism

Germany's Marwa el-Sherbini: The “hijab martyrs” among us

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Last August, Marwa el-Sherbini, an Egyptian pharmacist living in Germany since 2003, was with her toddler son at a playground in the Dresden suburb of Johannstadt. A dispute transpired between her and a man now referred to by public records as “Axel W.” about whether it was her son’s or his niece’s turn to go on the swings. In the course of the argument, W. called el-Sherbini, who wore a headscarf, an “Islamist”, a “terrorist” and “slut”. Angered by the incident, el-Sherbini filed a formal complaint against W.
A local court fined Axel W. €780 (USD$1,100) for calling el-Sherbini a “terrorist”.

Inter-Culturalism

Raise the Drawbridge: Here Comes the Troll Army!

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Two interesting pieces I gleaned in the past 24 hours: one from ynet on Israel’s establishment of an “internet warfare” squad, whose job it will be to post pro-Israel responses on websites worldwide. The other is a manual of how to debate the pro-Israel side. It’s fascinating- here’s an excerpt:
Here’s what you need to know:
The most effective way to build support for Israel is to talk about “working toward a lasting
peace” that “respects the rights of everyone in the region.” Notice there is no explicit mention
of either Israel or the Palestinians. To the Left, both sides are equally at fault, and because the
Israelis are more powerful, sophisticated and Western, it is they who should compromise first.

Inter-Culturalism

Beyond Single-Issue Organizing

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Affordable housing, increased funding for public transportation, healthcare for all, gay marriage — we all have our pet issues, but many of us work on our issues because we see them as part of a larger systemic transformation. We are hungry for an alternative way of doing life, a way characterized by mutuality, deep relationships, love for all forms of life, joy, honesty and wonder. In other words, we are hungry for a way of living outside the systems of empire characterized by domination, exploitation, oppression, hoarding, defensiveness, and extreme self-interest. By focusing on individual pieces of this larger transformation, we miss the interconnections among them. As Pastor Lynice Pinkard likes to say, we are pulling at the individual bootstraps of the boot of imperial domination.

Culture

"For Once, the Yes Men Say No"

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Protesting Israeli policies, The Yes Men have withdrawn their highly acclaimed new film from the Jerusalem Film Festival where it was scheduled to be shown. They — Andy Bichlbaum & Mike Bonanno — sent me their explanation, which has also appeared on Common Dreams:
Dear Friends at the Jerusalem Film Festival,
We regret to say that we have taken the hard decision to withdraw our film, “The Yes Men Fix the World,” from the Jerusalem Film Festival in solidarity with the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign. This decision does not come easily, as we realize that the festival opposes the policies of the State of Israel, and we have no wish to punish progressives who deplore the state-sponsored violence committed in their name. This decision does not come easily, as we feel a strong affinity with many people in Israel, sharing with them our Jewish roots, as well as the trauma of the Holocaust, in which both our grandfathers died. Andy lived in Jerusalem for a year long ago, can still get by in Hebrew, and counts several friends there.

Inter-Culturalism

Border Crossing Revisited

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Over the last several years–six to be exact–lots of groups and individuals have come our way in order to experience something of life here in Brazil. We’ve received everything from local church youth groups, to seminary interns, to pilgrims on a journey to “holy sites” on the margins. It’s interesting that almost all of these folks/groups share certain features, such as:
#1) They have a deep desire to connect with and serve others beyond the borders of the own country. #2) They are committed to #1 because of their commitment to and relationship with Jesus. #3) They understand #1 and #2 to be part and parcel of something called Christian mission.

Gender and Sexuality

The Radical Potential of Being Queer

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We are coming into Pride weekend here in the San Francisco Bay Area, and I know that many other celebrations of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer pride are happening at the same time around the country. Given that, Seminary of the Street board member Rev. Lynice Pinkard and I wanted to take a few minutes, as lesbians, to reflect on what there is to be proud of. In other words, what is the transgressive potential of being gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or otherwise queer? At its heart, we believe that the radical potential of being queer is the way that it demonstrates that anyone can love everyone. As lovers who challenge conventional notions of who may love whom, queer people have the potential to show forth in a particularly vivid way the Spirit-given capacity, given to all people, to love in spite of all obstacles – in spite of homophobia, in spite of state sanctions, in spite of family expectations, in spite of workplace discrimination, in spite of rejection from our religious communities, in spite of all of the accumulated wounds incurred by being people who do not conform to cultural norms. The radical notion embodied in this kind of queerness is the notion that we can get up out of the shame that the culture tells us is our due, that we can get up out of that swamp of shame and love anyway.

Inter-Culturalism

Simpson and Sullivan on Iran

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BBC veteran John Simpson’s report on Iran (hat tip: Andrew Sullivan) includes this point:
But while the idealistic young people rally behind the slogan: “Death to the Dictator,” I am not fully convinced that a Rafsanjani Iran necessarily offers the more open form of government they are risking their lives for. This after he has said that the current crisis could be as huge as the Islamic Revolution of 30 years ago. The enthusiasm, hope and anxiety many of us in America have felt witnessing the Mousavi protests, which Sullivan captures well, e.g. here, must be tempered with this understanding of how corrupt Rafsanjani is, as explained by Imam Zaid Shakir in our Phone Forum on Monday.

Inter-Culturalism

Imam Zaid Shakir on the Tikkun Phone Forum

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What do American Muslims think about the conflict over the election in Iran? Or about Obama’s approach to the Muslim world? Many different things, no doubt, but for a thoughtful analysis from an African American Imam with wide knowledge of American Islam, you could not do better than to consult Imam Zaid Shakir. Imam Zaid Shakir is one of the most thoughtful and dynamic teachers about the true nature of Islam in America today. He teaches at Zaytuna Institute, and lectures and writes about both the ideals and the history of Islam.

Inter-Culturalism

Interdependence Day

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A few years ago I was invited by an evangelical campus ministry to speak on the campus of a liberal arts college. My topic was Christian peacemaking, and the Christians advertised my talk on campus by sharing the story of how I learned what God’s love looks like when Muslims in Iraq offered me and my friends life-saving hospitality just three days after our country had bombed their hospital. This story caught the attention of a Muslim group on campus and they invited me to meet with them for a meal before my talk. After telling my story, I asked the Muslim students to share about their own experiences of practicing their faith in America. “We have a lot in common,” one of the students said to me.