Hi all,
I have another place for muses, which are not really scattered :D
It is mostly about my thesis and research project.
Well, initially I found the idea to document thesis in form of a blog, is not really professional. And somewhat lame. (p.s.: the right place to publish thesis remains and always remains an academic journal! and p.p.s.: thats why I insisted to use wordpress as its engine, and not blogger! :P)
However... I kinda need it to promote my thesis for "common" audience. Since I need respondents for one of my research method, and I think blog is a smart way to briefly introduce what my research is about.
So here it is: http://newsphotothesis.wordpress.com
:)
Sorry! The blogger is no longer here. I now blog at hellonez[dot]wordpress[dot]com. See you there!
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Progress
- Established contact with a problem owner/ contact person (organization supervisor)... FINALLY! Will be meeting her on wed 2nd.
- Setting audience-test interview for Semantic Differential Study. Conducted pilot interview accordingly with one of the respondents. Went well.
- Found 4 persons for audience test (a couple of elderly, one person in working age and one youth/college student). Still need 2 more persons: one (more) college student, and one (more) person in working age.
- Wrote 27 pages already. Still scattered, though...
- Still need to refine research methods and create new research map, since some things had been shifted off the initial plan.
Two months to go.
I really, seriously need to make an organized time plan. Everything just went spontaneously without time-planning. But somehow this way worked for the best...
- Setting audience-test interview for Semantic Differential Study. Conducted pilot interview accordingly with one of the respondents. Went well.
- Found 4 persons for audience test (a couple of elderly, one person in working age and one youth/college student). Still need 2 more persons: one (more) college student, and one (more) person in working age.
- Wrote 27 pages already. Still scattered, though...
- Still need to refine research methods and create new research map, since some things had been shifted off the initial plan.
Two months to go.
I really, seriously need to make an organized time plan. Everything just went spontaneously without time-planning. But somehow this way worked for the best...
Monday, June 16, 2008
In everything I do, I acknowledge You...
I know that piece was taken from a gospel-dance-r&b track.....
But it....... enlivens me.
But it....... enlivens me.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Book Review: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Islam
Last week a book title caught my eye.... during my usual stroll in the google world, hoping to fetch articles related to my FD research.
The book was entitled "Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Islam", offering an easy-to-comprehend explanation about Islam. Much alike the concept offered by "Learning for Dummies" series.
I was about to buy the book from online shopping service, when it struck my mind that I might just as well whip my luck and find the free e-book somewhere. So I did and I found the torrent file, and successfully got the pdf version. I am now still reading the book and far from finished, since I just recently reached chapter 2 (The Spiritual World of Islam). However after I got passed the first chapter (Introducing Islam), already I had some remarks and reflections.
The Introduction of Introduction
The foreword and introduction chapter really caught me. Apparently this book was written by an American Islam convert, Yahya Emerick, whom his friend Qasim Najar (who wrote the foreword for this book) dubbed as "a man juggling his American identity and his Islamic soul and gracefully striking a balance."
Within the introduction chapter, Emerick really did convince me that he was about to offer a breath of fresh air. A writing that would accommodate true Islamic teaching with soft, friendly "liberal" approach. He presented the idea that true Islam shares similar characteristics as Judaism and Christian, thus brought the proof that those three world's largest, foremost monotheistic religions were brought by messengers who shared the same mission. Hence, they were inspired by the same source - God almighty itself. I personally thought that it was a very effective opening statement, leading the readers to open their mind that "all religions are true.... if they were all embraced truthfully." Much the same concept as Liberal Islam, only that it was of course more politically correct. Emerick also argued that the teaching of Islam, true as it is, offered the answers to many problems we face in this contemporary world such as how to release stress from our daily hectic career-oriented life, how to make peace in today's violence-saturated world, all in all the ultimate philosophical teaching to live our life in this world. Just as what the other philosophical teaching offered us, such as the teaching of Buddha and Taoisme. A very, very universal opening that put readers at ease.
In this introduction Emerick also told the history of relation between Islam and Christian world, as well as to the Judaism world. Although there were evidences of many years of war and disputes, the history between the three also saw some era of fruitful relationship, mutual respect and toleration.
I personally loved how he concluded the introduction chapter with a very sound statement inviting everyone to welcome Muslims in the modern world : "...as Muslims take their place in the melting pot, I hope we all can see that the flavors they will add will enrich our lives for the better."
However, when I got into the next part, which is where Emerick explains the importance of knowing Islam in nowaday's world, I could see that he became more "hardliner". He presented the impartiality of today's media in portraying Islam, and tried to convince readers that Western world especially has become far from civil when presenting Islam.
This, I think, could put the readers back in their hard feet, presuming that Emerick tried to raise hate towards the Western world. He explained, however, that since there are so many stereotypes that Islam might face in present days, it is important for everyone to learn first about what Islam truly is to prevent themselves from seeing just one side of the story. It is wiser to listen to both Western and Muslim tells and explains, so that in the end it would be the readers themselves who has the liberty to conclude everything. It was a good, logical idea, of course. But again, since within the next paragraphs there was an urge to be "ganging up" against Western side, it could promote a rather negative tone for the readers who might has already been put in ease after a very inviting and friendly introductory argument.
On the other side, sometimes being hard towards Western's unfair treatment to Islam might be just as wise. If we look around us we could see many examples that being too liberal is nothing but big mistake, for example the case of liberal Islam. We could learn that the approach of Liberal Islam, liberal and accommodative as it is, is nothing but clear inconsistency. Dubbed themselves as Muslim, but what they roared around is an obvious opposite to Islam teachings. Thus, I believe that there are still many ways to be friendly and adaptive but at the same time consistently standing within true Islamic core values. A balanced approach, so to say.
I just hoped that the next chapters which I am now about to read would embrace that balance approach, to clear the juxtapositions Emerick might have brought up in the Introduction chapter.
The book was entitled "Complete Idiot's Guide to Understanding Islam", offering an easy-to-comprehend explanation about Islam. Much alike the concept offered by "Learning for Dummies" series.
I was about to buy the book from online shopping service, when it struck my mind that I might just as well whip my luck and find the free e-book somewhere. So I did and I found the torrent file, and successfully got the pdf version. I am now still reading the book and far from finished, since I just recently reached chapter 2 (The Spiritual World of Islam). However after I got passed the first chapter (Introducing Islam), already I had some remarks and reflections.
The Introduction of Introduction
The foreword and introduction chapter really caught me. Apparently this book was written by an American Islam convert, Yahya Emerick, whom his friend Qasim Najar (who wrote the foreword for this book) dubbed as "a man juggling his American identity and his Islamic soul and gracefully striking a balance."
Within the introduction chapter, Emerick really did convince me that he was about to offer a breath of fresh air. A writing that would accommodate true Islamic teaching with soft, friendly "liberal" approach. He presented the idea that true Islam shares similar characteristics as Judaism and Christian, thus brought the proof that those three world's largest, foremost monotheistic religions were brought by messengers who shared the same mission. Hence, they were inspired by the same source - God almighty itself. I personally thought that it was a very effective opening statement, leading the readers to open their mind that "all religions are true.... if they were all embraced truthfully." Much the same concept as Liberal Islam, only that it was of course more politically correct. Emerick also argued that the teaching of Islam, true as it is, offered the answers to many problems we face in this contemporary world such as how to release stress from our daily hectic career-oriented life, how to make peace in today's violence-saturated world, all in all the ultimate philosophical teaching to live our life in this world. Just as what the other philosophical teaching offered us, such as the teaching of Buddha and Taoisme. A very, very universal opening that put readers at ease.
In this introduction Emerick also told the history of relation between Islam and Christian world, as well as to the Judaism world. Although there were evidences of many years of war and disputes, the history between the three also saw some era of fruitful relationship, mutual respect and toleration.
I personally loved how he concluded the introduction chapter with a very sound statement inviting everyone to welcome Muslims in the modern world : "...as Muslims take their place in the melting pot, I hope we all can see that the flavors they will add will enrich our lives for the better."
However, when I got into the next part, which is where Emerick explains the importance of knowing Islam in nowaday's world, I could see that he became more "hardliner". He presented the impartiality of today's media in portraying Islam, and tried to convince readers that Western world especially has become far from civil when presenting Islam.
This, I think, could put the readers back in their hard feet, presuming that Emerick tried to raise hate towards the Western world. He explained, however, that since there are so many stereotypes that Islam might face in present days, it is important for everyone to learn first about what Islam truly is to prevent themselves from seeing just one side of the story. It is wiser to listen to both Western and Muslim tells and explains, so that in the end it would be the readers themselves who has the liberty to conclude everything. It was a good, logical idea, of course. But again, since within the next paragraphs there was an urge to be "ganging up" against Western side, it could promote a rather negative tone for the readers who might has already been put in ease after a very inviting and friendly introductory argument.
On the other side, sometimes being hard towards Western's unfair treatment to Islam might be just as wise. If we look around us we could see many examples that being too liberal is nothing but big mistake, for example the case of liberal Islam. We could learn that the approach of Liberal Islam, liberal and accommodative as it is, is nothing but clear inconsistency. Dubbed themselves as Muslim, but what they roared around is an obvious opposite to Islam teachings. Thus, I believe that there are still many ways to be friendly and adaptive but at the same time consistently standing within true Islamic core values. A balanced approach, so to say.
I just hoped that the next chapters which I am now about to read would embrace that balance approach, to clear the juxtapositions Emerick might have brought up in the Introduction chapter.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Towards the Urge of "Islamic Feminism"
In my previous post I have been intrigued with the question about the trend of feminism in Islam. How is the trend of feminism in modern day Islam? Has it been going through the same evolution as that of modern feminism nowadays (I discussed about this so-called "evolution" of feminism before)? And is the concept of feminism applicable and feasible to Islam? If so, how should Muslim women pursue the spirit of feminism?
The history of feminism in Islam could be dated as far back as the 14th century when intelligent Muslima figures lived and played important role in helping the teaching of Islam. Back then, few Muslima figures including Prophet Muhammad's wife Aisyah, had strived to show their existence by lending their intelligent mind and attitudes to help configuring strategies in da'wah.
But, is the form of feminism in Muslim women still the same as many decades before? Do we, as Muslim women, still struggling with the same old question of motivation?
With the media continuously expose the image of Muslim women being mistreated (especially in the third world), there is no doubt that it would affect our motivations to just "get our b*tt out there and compete". Perhaps, just perhaps, the trend of feminism in Muslim women has not been going through the same evolution as I discussed in the beginning of this post. We still persists with the same old question of "can I?" and "if I go out there, will I survive?" It is time for the sisters in Islam to counsel each other, especially their fellow who are still persisting with their fear of being not accepted.
But perhaps, just perhaps, the space and opportunities given out there for us maybe are not as much as what given to other women in the world. We must not forget that Muslim women might not be as well accepted as other women. With the false paradigm towards Muslim women and Islam in general currently spreading all over the world as the cause of impartial media coverage, it is possible that the world out there is unfriendly towards Muslim women. Especially, if we are talking about career, we ought to keep in mind that to build a career means to get in touch with secular world that may or may not accept conservative, religious Islamic outlook such as praying five times a day, wearing hijab, etc. All of those would eventually result in lower acceptance of Islamic values in the secular, career-oriented world. It is an urging problem, to transform the image of conservative Islam to a more modern, friendly, and adaptive image.
Talking about feminism and its relation to the task to shift the image of Islam, I myself believe it is indeed important to raise the spirit of feminism among Muslim women. If we wanted to open people's eyes that Islam is a modern, and all-around not a traditional religion, we ought to do it by showcasing positive images in the media. Media nowadays are highly saturated with images of Muslims in conflicting countries, crying for helping hands. It is now the best moment for Muslim -if we embrace it - to show our success story, since we are currently under the spotlight. And arguably, Muslim women are under the forefront limelight if compared to men. Muslim women, to the media, are easy prey since their image could easily and instantly portray the symbol of being under control, mistreated, and burdened. Especially, Muslim women carries more religious symbols than men. First they have hijab, that might carry connotation meanings i.e. restrictions. Then burqa and abaya, that might symbolize alienation from modern world and outside world. Moreover, there are many issues concerning men dominations in Islam countries: forced marriage, career and socialization restrictions, obligations to stay at home.... and many more. Everything above justify that Muslim women are the ultimate tool for shifting the traditional, conservative image of Islam. If there are more images in the media about Muslim women in modern world who are able to break the ground, showcasing symbols of success in their career and their existence (in politics, educations, economic sector, or elsewhere) especially if they are portrayed wearing hijab or anything else that symbolizes their practice and embrace of Islam; it would be a powerful shifting gear in Islam movement against negative images saturating the media. Hence the urge to embrace spirit of feminism among Muslim women!
All in all, feminism in its new trend could be a powerful tool to motivate Muslim women all over the world. And when combined with the teaching of Islam - which not only teach us to respect women but also tell us the importance to do the best we could since God has entrusted the world in our hands - the spirit of feminism could transform itself into a magnificent spirit for all women in Islam. The spirit that would help shifting the paradigm towards Islam into a whole new respected image. The motivation to join the fight in Allah's path not just because they are Muslim, but also because... they are women. And no jihad will ever be perfectly powerful without their presence in the league.
The history of feminism in Islam could be dated as far back as the 14th century when intelligent Muslima figures lived and played important role in helping the teaching of Islam. Back then, few Muslima figures including Prophet Muhammad's wife Aisyah, had strived to show their existence by lending their intelligent mind and attitudes to help configuring strategies in da'wah.
But, is the form of feminism in Muslim women still the same as many decades before? Do we, as Muslim women, still struggling with the same old question of motivation?
With the media continuously expose the image of Muslim women being mistreated (especially in the third world), there is no doubt that it would affect our motivations to just "get our b*tt out there and compete". Perhaps, just perhaps, the trend of feminism in Muslim women has not been going through the same evolution as I discussed in the beginning of this post. We still persists with the same old question of "can I?" and "if I go out there, will I survive?" It is time for the sisters in Islam to counsel each other, especially their fellow who are still persisting with their fear of being not accepted.
But perhaps, just perhaps, the space and opportunities given out there for us maybe are not as much as what given to other women in the world. We must not forget that Muslim women might not be as well accepted as other women. With the false paradigm towards Muslim women and Islam in general currently spreading all over the world as the cause of impartial media coverage, it is possible that the world out there is unfriendly towards Muslim women. Especially, if we are talking about career, we ought to keep in mind that to build a career means to get in touch with secular world that may or may not accept conservative, religious Islamic outlook such as praying five times a day, wearing hijab, etc. All of those would eventually result in lower acceptance of Islamic values in the secular, career-oriented world. It is an urging problem, to transform the image of conservative Islam to a more modern, friendly, and adaptive image.
Talking about feminism and its relation to the task to shift the image of Islam, I myself believe it is indeed important to raise the spirit of feminism among Muslim women. If we wanted to open people's eyes that Islam is a modern, and all-around not a traditional religion, we ought to do it by showcasing positive images in the media. Media nowadays are highly saturated with images of Muslims in conflicting countries, crying for helping hands. It is now the best moment for Muslim -if we embrace it - to show our success story, since we are currently under the spotlight. And arguably, Muslim women are under the forefront limelight if compared to men. Muslim women, to the media, are easy prey since their image could easily and instantly portray the symbol of being under control, mistreated, and burdened. Especially, Muslim women carries more religious symbols than men. First they have hijab, that might carry connotation meanings i.e. restrictions. Then burqa and abaya, that might symbolize alienation from modern world and outside world. Moreover, there are many issues concerning men dominations in Islam countries: forced marriage, career and socialization restrictions, obligations to stay at home.... and many more. Everything above justify that Muslim women are the ultimate tool for shifting the traditional, conservative image of Islam. If there are more images in the media about Muslim women in modern world who are able to break the ground, showcasing symbols of success in their career and their existence (in politics, educations, economic sector, or elsewhere) especially if they are portrayed wearing hijab or anything else that symbolizes their practice and embrace of Islam; it would be a powerful shifting gear in Islam movement against negative images saturating the media. Hence the urge to embrace spirit of feminism among Muslim women!
All in all, feminism in its new trend could be a powerful tool to motivate Muslim women all over the world. And when combined with the teaching of Islam - which not only teach us to respect women but also tell us the importance to do the best we could since God has entrusted the world in our hands - the spirit of feminism could transform itself into a magnificent spirit for all women in Islam. The spirit that would help shifting the paradigm towards Islam into a whole new respected image. The motivation to join the fight in Allah's path not just because they are Muslim, but also because... they are women. And no jihad will ever be perfectly powerful without their presence in the league.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
A New Trend of Feminism
So, Hillary finally had to quit the race. Even I myself have not been really following this whole big issue of US election since the very beginning, yet I have been curious on how Mrs. Hilldog would do. And eventually my curiosity is now answered.
I had projected though, that eventhough she did well as a female candidate eventually Barack will be the one who rises to shine. He had won over major number of voters by showcasing the projections of which direction he will lead the country in near future. And which direction would most people desire? Obviously, anywhere that would lead them to a new era and offer the thrilling excitement of change.
These days, people are very into anything "modern" and out of the box. Anything that are beyond traditional form and ground-breaking are believed as better than old, same stuff. It is also reflected in business and commercial world, where any kind of industries are expected by their customers to continuously develop newer, more innovated products. The same expectation could also be applied in the political world. A politician's ability to transcend traditional politics speaks more than their promises in their election speech. This is what Obama has that Hilldog does not - a political mission that is far beyond traditional form. A far vision for the future.
Anyways, moving closer towards the theme of my post. I just read an interesting article in Times online, which takes the insight on Hillary's result on the ground of feminism. We could cleary see that the issue of sexism had played major role for Hillary's image. All around there had been much talk about the rise of feminine figure. Having Hillary elected as a president means that skepticism towards female role in any sectors is no longer existed. Therefore, Hillary had won over fairly high number of women votes. Yet, why did she fail to conquer the rest of her "kind"?
All the Clinton team had overlooked was the fact that feminism has been going through an evolution. It is not the time anymore to question whether female could exceed their own expectations, in other word being pessimistic towards women is no longer a valid argument. Of course many women support feminism value, but that does not mean that they still keep the persistent belief that female still face many obstacles in their attempt to showcase their existences in the world.
From what I could outline in the article, is the fact that Clinton's run has shown that merely "feminists" do not exist anymore, but instead it had been transformed into a bipolar concept called "optimist feminists" and "pessimist feminists".
Pessimist feminists are those who still live the 70's world where restrictions for women in workplace was still high, and where it was clear to see a huge difference between women and men in workplace. They are those who urges for Clinton's presidency in the ground of questioning "if not her, then who?" or "if not now, then when?" and believe that the opportunity of having a female president only happens once in an era.
Eventhough pessimist feminists still do exist, the rise of optimist feminists is becoming bigger trend than ever. Optimist feminists are those who lives in nowadays world, where women and men have equally the same opportunities in career. Those who no longer feel the need to prove that they belong in the work competition, because they surely know that women all around the world have proved that they DO belong in any competitions in any sectors. And moreover, those who don't want to rally behind a female candidate simply because she is a woman. Those who no longer question women's optimism and motivation to compete, because it was long proved that the optimism and motivation are already there. Rather, they focus more on building power ability and capability as the next important factor after motivation, since of course, motivation itself is never enough.
The next intriguing question tangling in my head is how far the concept of this "new trend of feminism" exists in the world of Muslim women, especially those who wears hijab and thus carrying clear symbols that they practice Islam.
I'll get more to this in my next post :)
I had projected though, that eventhough she did well as a female candidate eventually Barack will be the one who rises to shine. He had won over major number of voters by showcasing the projections of which direction he will lead the country in near future. And which direction would most people desire? Obviously, anywhere that would lead them to a new era and offer the thrilling excitement of change.
These days, people are very into anything "modern" and out of the box. Anything that are beyond traditional form and ground-breaking are believed as better than old, same stuff. It is also reflected in business and commercial world, where any kind of industries are expected by their customers to continuously develop newer, more innovated products. The same expectation could also be applied in the political world. A politician's ability to transcend traditional politics speaks more than their promises in their election speech. This is what Obama has that Hilldog does not - a political mission that is far beyond traditional form. A far vision for the future.
Anyways, moving closer towards the theme of my post. I just read an interesting article in Times online, which takes the insight on Hillary's result on the ground of feminism. We could cleary see that the issue of sexism had played major role for Hillary's image. All around there had been much talk about the rise of feminine figure. Having Hillary elected as a president means that skepticism towards female role in any sectors is no longer existed. Therefore, Hillary had won over fairly high number of women votes. Yet, why did she fail to conquer the rest of her "kind"?
All the Clinton team had overlooked was the fact that feminism has been going through an evolution. It is not the time anymore to question whether female could exceed their own expectations, in other word being pessimistic towards women is no longer a valid argument. Of course many women support feminism value, but that does not mean that they still keep the persistent belief that female still face many obstacles in their attempt to showcase their existences in the world.
From what I could outline in the article, is the fact that Clinton's run has shown that merely "feminists" do not exist anymore, but instead it had been transformed into a bipolar concept called "optimist feminists" and "pessimist feminists".
Pessimist feminists are those who still live the 70's world where restrictions for women in workplace was still high, and where it was clear to see a huge difference between women and men in workplace. They are those who urges for Clinton's presidency in the ground of questioning "if not her, then who?" or "if not now, then when?" and believe that the opportunity of having a female president only happens once in an era.
Eventhough pessimist feminists still do exist, the rise of optimist feminists is becoming bigger trend than ever. Optimist feminists are those who lives in nowadays world, where women and men have equally the same opportunities in career. Those who no longer feel the need to prove that they belong in the work competition, because they surely know that women all around the world have proved that they DO belong in any competitions in any sectors. And moreover, those who don't want to rally behind a female candidate simply because she is a woman. Those who no longer question women's optimism and motivation to compete, because it was long proved that the optimism and motivation are already there. Rather, they focus more on building power ability and capability as the next important factor after motivation, since of course, motivation itself is never enough.
The next intriguing question tangling in my head is how far the concept of this "new trend of feminism" exists in the world of Muslim women, especially those who wears hijab and thus carrying clear symbols that they practice Islam.
I'll get more to this in my next post :)
Monday, June 2, 2008
Even Auschwitz Can't Help
I just read an interesting piece in de Volkskrant today. Actually, the article was from 2 weeks ago (May 17th), but I think it is a recent issue and still interesting enough.
The article evolves around the story of a mother, who had to painfully witness her son changed from a "playful, outgoing young man" to an extreme salafi Islam follower. And of course, for the sake of privacy, real names of the characters are disguised. What intrigues me, is that the way the mother "described" her son now, resembles the picture of a typical (or stereotypical) fundamentalist Muslim portrayed in the media, which are:
1. Baard laten groeien (growing beard)
2. Vijf keer per dag bidden (pray 5 times a day)
3. Arabisch studeren (studying Arabic)
4. Ongelovigen aanspreken op hun gedrag (preaching the unbelievers for their manners)
What even more interesting, is that this mother said it all started when his son was addicted to the game "American Army", which mission is to assasinate "Mr Jihad". Because of his addiction to the game, he became a lousy student and hardly could concentrate in his study anymore. Then she decided, to give her son a breath of fresh air (and eventually to separate him with internet connection), she sent her son for a holiday to Israel, where her daughter lives since she got married with a Palestinian man, with the assumption that in Israel there are no internet connection therefore his son could reduce his addiction to the game(doh!). Isn't it a perfect resemblance?? Far too perfect, I reckon.
In Israel, her daughter took her son for a visit to the Al Aqsa masjid. and it was also during that visit, when her son declares her faith in Islam and converted to the religion. A perfect, perfect picture...
When her son eventually returned to the Netherlands, she noticed an extreme difference in his behavior. It was like he changed into a totally different person. She believed that he got "brainwashed". It was even more terrible since, upon his return, he started to learn about Islam in As Sunnah Mosquee in The Hague and became Imam Fawaz's pupil. Imam Fawaz is a renowned salafist Imam here in the Netherlands, whom the media regularly report from time to time with his "fundamentalist" and "extreme" movement.
Eventually, her son stopped his study and became an extreme muslim, and kept distance with the family. She said "my son doesn't want to keep in touch with the kafir (unbelievers) and avoid living the haram (bad) life. He also didn't want to eat the chicken that his mother cooked because it is not "halal". He didn't pay attention anymore to his well being, he brushed his teeth with siwak like what Prophet Muhammad did and he once lived by only eating bread and milk.
Finally she decided to pay a visit to Imam Fawaz and asked him to "bring his son back".
All real names are disguised, but they were given fake names. The mother character were named "Mieke Janssen" and the son "Joost". Thus, I assume this was the story of a Dutch family. Moreover readers were told that "Mieke Janssen" and her family are atheist.
So much for a perfect picture of an extreme Muslim. Declared his faith in Al Aqsa Mosque when visiting a sister who lives with her Palestinian husband in Israel. (Couldn't the juxtaposition become any clearer?) Became Imam Fawaz's pupil. Wow.
Anyway, the most interesting point is the title and how this story connect to Holocaust. The title was "EVEN AUSCHWITZ CAN'T HELP". Mieke Janssen told the readers that, to bring back her old son's self, she assigned him to a "trip" to concentration camp Auschwitz where 40.000 Dutch Jews were killed without mercy. Why? Why must she choose the Holocaust location? Is it to awake the nationalism inside his son's mind - a feel of belonging to the Dutch? (Since, supposedly, the Holocaust was an important tragedy in the Dutch's history). How would nationalism in any way become the ultimate solution to overcome juvenile extremism? The article did not tell us anything about the reason behind Mieke's decision to assign Joost to the Holocaust trip. And even if nationalism could help de-brainwash Joost's mind, it would still not make any sense since Holocaust was rather a commemorated tragedy for the Jews in particular, not ALL Dutch. (I thought the article made clear that Mieke and her family are atheist, not Jews). Above all, isn't modern Holland proud of its multiculturalism and religion diversity, and its high tolerance?
Mieke said that the reason why she took Joost to the holocast place was because "Joost had learned about Holocaust in the past, and we visited the execution place once - it made a lasting impression for us." Maybe, it would touch Joost's respect in humanity, but certainly it would not serve as an anti-counter towards his support for Muslim. Wasn't holocaust committed by Nazi, not Muslim?
There are so many things that confuses me in this article.
I will write and analyze more when I got back from work. Now I gotta be off to work.
The article evolves around the story of a mother, who had to painfully witness her son changed from a "playful, outgoing young man" to an extreme salafi Islam follower. And of course, for the sake of privacy, real names of the characters are disguised. What intrigues me, is that the way the mother "described" her son now, resembles the picture of a typical (or stereotypical) fundamentalist Muslim portrayed in the media, which are:
1. Baard laten groeien (growing beard)
2. Vijf keer per dag bidden (pray 5 times a day)
3. Arabisch studeren (studying Arabic)
4. Ongelovigen aanspreken op hun gedrag (preaching the unbelievers for their manners)
What even more interesting, is that this mother said it all started when his son was addicted to the game "American Army", which mission is to assasinate "Mr Jihad". Because of his addiction to the game, he became a lousy student and hardly could concentrate in his study anymore. Then she decided, to give her son a breath of fresh air (and eventually to separate him with internet connection), she sent her son for a holiday to Israel, where her daughter lives since she got married with a Palestinian man, with the assumption that in Israel there are no internet connection therefore his son could reduce his addiction to the game(doh!). Isn't it a perfect resemblance?? Far too perfect, I reckon.
In Israel, her daughter took her son for a visit to the Al Aqsa masjid. and it was also during that visit, when her son declares her faith in Islam and converted to the religion. A perfect, perfect picture...
When her son eventually returned to the Netherlands, she noticed an extreme difference in his behavior. It was like he changed into a totally different person. She believed that he got "brainwashed". It was even more terrible since, upon his return, he started to learn about Islam in As Sunnah Mosquee in The Hague and became Imam Fawaz's pupil. Imam Fawaz is a renowned salafist Imam here in the Netherlands, whom the media regularly report from time to time with his "fundamentalist" and "extreme" movement.
Eventually, her son stopped his study and became an extreme muslim, and kept distance with the family. She said "my son doesn't want to keep in touch with the kafir (unbelievers) and avoid living the haram (bad) life. He also didn't want to eat the chicken that his mother cooked because it is not "halal". He didn't pay attention anymore to his well being, he brushed his teeth with siwak like what Prophet Muhammad did and he once lived by only eating bread and milk.
Finally she decided to pay a visit to Imam Fawaz and asked him to "bring his son back".
All real names are disguised, but they were given fake names. The mother character were named "Mieke Janssen" and the son "Joost". Thus, I assume this was the story of a Dutch family. Moreover readers were told that "Mieke Janssen" and her family are atheist.
So much for a perfect picture of an extreme Muslim. Declared his faith in Al Aqsa Mosque when visiting a sister who lives with her Palestinian husband in Israel. (Couldn't the juxtaposition become any clearer?) Became Imam Fawaz's pupil. Wow.
Anyway, the most interesting point is the title and how this story connect to Holocaust. The title was "EVEN AUSCHWITZ CAN'T HELP". Mieke Janssen told the readers that, to bring back her old son's self, she assigned him to a "trip" to concentration camp Auschwitz where 40.000 Dutch Jews were killed without mercy. Why? Why must she choose the Holocaust location? Is it to awake the nationalism inside his son's mind - a feel of belonging to the Dutch? (Since, supposedly, the Holocaust was an important tragedy in the Dutch's history). How would nationalism in any way become the ultimate solution to overcome juvenile extremism? The article did not tell us anything about the reason behind Mieke's decision to assign Joost to the Holocaust trip. And even if nationalism could help de-brainwash Joost's mind, it would still not make any sense since Holocaust was rather a commemorated tragedy for the Jews in particular, not ALL Dutch. (I thought the article made clear that Mieke and her family are atheist, not Jews). Above all, isn't modern Holland proud of its multiculturalism and religion diversity, and its high tolerance?
Mieke said that the reason why she took Joost to the holocast place was because "Joost had learned about Holocaust in the past, and we visited the execution place once - it made a lasting impression for us." Maybe, it would touch Joost's respect in humanity, but certainly it would not serve as an anti-counter towards his support for Muslim. Wasn't holocaust committed by Nazi, not Muslim?
There are so many things that confuses me in this article.
I will write and analyze more when I got back from work. Now I gotta be off to work.
The Idea to Write
It strucks me today that the idea to write could come up so difficultly. Sometimes we got our idea by reading, by seeing something on TV, or by discussing and musing with friends over coffee. But there are also times when we just couldn't pop anything out of our head. We might see something interesting in the internet, reading an inspiring piece in the newspaper, but strangely enough we still couldn't draw the red line inside our head. Suddenly everything that seemed inspiring enough in the beginning just end up like stack of dusty books in our cupboard, filled with fruitful words and screaming their inviting titles out loud but never be read until God knows when.
That's what has been happening to me, and God, I hope this time it will stop cause now is really the time for me to write something. Okay, let's make some effort since otherwise Allah would not lend his hand if we just sit without doing anything.
I will try to write here in my blog thus I would not feel the tension to write as what I feel anytime I face my FD in the Word document. This way, I guess, words would come out deliberately just like when I write regular blogposts. I could muse around freely without feeling the tension to write anything academic and "heavy". Just like writing blogpost, just like writing blogpost....
That's what has been happening to me, and God, I hope this time it will stop cause now is really the time for me to write something. Okay, let's make some effort since otherwise Allah would not lend his hand if we just sit without doing anything.
I will try to write here in my blog thus I would not feel the tension to write as what I feel anytime I face my FD in the Word document. This way, I guess, words would come out deliberately just like when I write regular blogposts. I could muse around freely without feeling the tension to write anything academic and "heavy". Just like writing blogpost, just like writing blogpost....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)