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Politics : Idea Of The Day -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: IQBAL LATIF who wrote (45899)	4/13/2004 10:03:50 AM
From: IQBAL LATIF	Respond to of 50167

<Mel Gibson didn't do self-flaggelate himself to commemorate the last day of Christ but rather he directed a film, which graphically communicated to the widest number of people the suffering of his Lord. He demonstrated his belief, made a wad of cash and inspired one of the most heated and publicly debated controversies of the year, what more can you ask for frankly?> When I was touring the grand lakes of Loch Lomond, Scotland, I notice a rather conservative Muslim family. They were obviously tight-knit, even though they were many in number, and they had a number of young daughters of eligible marrying age. Now the parents (well their mother) had not trained their daughters whatsoever in the feminine esthetics of style, elegance and beauty which meant that in the end girls who could have very well been quite pretty ended up as dowdy, frumpy and unattractive. Now I understand that religious ethics make modesty a virtue but frankly that doesn't mean a complete incompatibility with style. If a girl is going to cover her hair she might as well do it with a louis vuitton veil, or for a partial coverage a fashionable gucci scarf with matching sunglasses would do the trick. However what the parents are culpable of is that they have imposed a set of retrograde values on their children and through that their daughters are unaware of the rudiments of style just as they are about to hit their marriageable age. Frumpy girls, who don't even try, don't get the best offers of marriage and after a while desperate girls will marry anyone, even their first cousins. Unfortunately it seems as though that the parents have ensured the arranged match for their girls not so much by pressure but the fact that their girls won't have any other suitors. Now perhaps I'm harsh on the parents but what I detest is the theo-culture of the British Asian community in which some maintain standards of prudence long abandoned in their original homelands. It's often true that immigrants either assimilate or given a certain threshold will preserve their natal culture with a ferocious tenacity, as evidenced in yesterday's film My Big Fat Greek Wedding, but there are times when it gets excessive. British Asians are at the forefront of their culture, melding their Sub-continental traditions with the modern way of life and could provide a cultural framework for their co-nationalists back home. Rather than retreating into small ethnic enclaves it's their duty to do assimilate as best as they can without sacrificing the core values that make them who they are. "Don't let your past make you who you are but let it become a part of who you will be" is the best way I can express it(a line lifted from My Big Fat Greek Wedding who in turn snatched it from a Dear Abby column). It doesn't mean that South Asians in the UK have to Anglicise immediately, by sending their elder parents to nursing homes and kicking their kids out at 18, but it does mean learning from the culture around them. The British way of life, such as individual responsbility, liberality and tolerance are values that lend themselves very well for all of humanity. Whilst I think that the post-Christian attitude of the British isn't all that healthy I believe very much in the secular mindset and its criticality for sustainable development. I think Muslims have to start to forget the religion and start thinking about their civilisation when they want to engage on intellectual dialogues on Islam. For at the end of the day discussing a personal belief is the same as revealing all about one's sex life since both run the deepest gamut of intimate and private emotions, except that one is with Creator whilst the latter is with other\s. You can't intellectualise and standardise these spheres of life, since they in a large part comprise the essence of individuality. I can read a particular passage of the Bible and differ in intepretation from an evangelical, hence to reconcile our beliefs that one of us will have to forfeit our perspective. Best it to understand that they are different paths to enlightenment and that each human being, if trying to be virtuous, will somehow or the other reach their individual destinations. However the accumulated culture heritage and how best to bulid on it for modernity is the way Muslims should be tackling the matter. Muslim should follow th Western example and depoliticise belief, allowing the believer to divine the deeper spiritual meaning instead of fretting over compliance with theo-cultural norms. For instance I'm always bemused when the Shi'ites cut and flay themselves for their hero's death so many years ago. I don't want to triviliase the event, since it is one of the pivotal moment of Islam and that hero, my direct ancestor, was right in his agitation. However instead of spilling blood why not adopt the mannerism of Christians and medieval Muslims and direct Passion Plays, which can rouse the heart to that ancient injustice and foster cultural literacy. The Urdu Marsiya, funeral elegies, find its direct roots in the passion play and inspired some of the most brilliant poetry of the Urdu language. Mel Gibson didn't do self-flaggelate himself to commemorate the last day of Christ but rather he directed a film, which graphically communicated to the widest number of people the suffering of his Lord. He demonstrated his belief, made a wad of cash and inspired one of the most heated and publicly debated controversies of the year, what more can you ask for frankly? Zachary Latif 07:20

To: IQBAL LATIF who wrote (45899)	4/13/2004 1:52:12 PM
From: JEB	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 50167

IMO, ...it is the opportunity and pursuit of wealth that leads to happiness. Not the wealth itself but the journey to it. It's what motivates new wealth to start new ventures constantly. It's the intellectual growth developed by the journey. I know many who are "old wealth" and will never know the journey or feel that drive to make it. Those are the lost ones. It's actually quite depressing to see it but they have no drive to evolve since they have the means to satisfy all they or their family will ever need or want. This is not to say there are exceptions but merely to point out the average "old wealth" person seems to be void of the human drive for self-betterment or entrepreneurialism. Perhaps some of it is paranoia derived from fighting to keep their wealth. That's a losers game. I plan to will my wealth to my siblings but until my death and / or appropriate age, ...they are on their own!