Burning the Qur'an, Recognition and a Spot on Global TV

This is a Blog that has taken much longer to write....

I started with Terry Jones last week but then could not complete it. So I will leave my early (and still relevant) reflections here, but then complete them with related ideas on religious discourse in the public sphere.

Terry Jones, pastors to 50 in Gainesville, is a famous man. He is known to almost everybody on the planet who has access to TV, news and the Internet. It does not take much these days to get on Global TV. In spite of the latter's increasingly contracting attention span, a threat to burn the Qur'an, draw the Prophet Muhammad, or insult Muslims is a sure way to get you a spot.

Of course, one cannot credit the Terry Jones of this world for single-handedly turning free speech into media attention. Mass media provides a spectacle that is both fascinating and tempting. It appeals to a human emotion for recognition, so central to human interaction. Recognition takes place when we talk to each other, when we also argued with each other.  In all aspects, recognition is a kind of self-affirmation even when the other is attacked.

What kind of affirmation comes from public mass media, though? What does it say about Terry Jones?

I am not inclined to go a psycho-analytical route. I will leave that to the experts, but perhaps to Jones himself.

With my research project on Islam and public life, I have become more aware of taking into consideration early pre-modern conceptions of the public life in general. And this includes readings in the Qur'an.

In the last couple of weeks, reading thru the Quran has alerted me to many ways in which the believer is asked to respond to Other. I mean here the other who refuses to believe.

The responses are varied. One of those is to be ready to take up arms. But this is not the only one, not even the dominant response.

There are equally many others. Two of these are very interesting. The first is to recognize that the unbeliever is under the impression that what he or she does is good. The phrase used is "tazyin a'malikum" which can be roughly and literally translated as "beautification of your deeds." The perception created is that the bad deed (in the eyes of the believer) appears beautiful and good to the doer.  A second one is related but with the same effect. The heart of the unbeliever has been sealed (tubi'a). God has caused this.

There may be  others. However, these two at least put the onus on the believer to take a stand in the situation.  Condemnation is clear, but it is prefaced by a certain orientation. The other's misguidance is regarded as self-inflicted. Misguidance is given an aesthetic dimension, a beautification. The second option, of course, is that God has closed the path to good for the man. This perspective is again condemnatory from a believer's perspective. However, it lifts the blame even further from the Other. He or she is now firmly blocked from the Truth.

These values may be imporrtant for thinking about public spheres of competing perceptions and perceptions of Truth.

For now, I wonder if these perceptions of reprehensible behaviour have resonance in how Muslims respond to public insults (or perceived insults)? I have heard that US Muslims have the sense that they are under constant attack, under deep scrutiny.

More importantly, what do such responses offer for such a public? And how can this be contrasted by what Muslims actually feel today under the conditions of a modern public? If recognition is denied them by a public that is increasingly hostile, are they taking recourse to these kinds of perceptions?

Admissions Policy: Does not Race have a history?

An informative debate was held at UCT on its Admission Policy on 3 Sept 2010. The spotlight fell on how and why UCT has chosen race to address the imbalance in the student profile at the University.
UCT might be an eiite university, but the issues raised at the meeting reflected much wider concerns:

From the revolution that never happened, to the skewed manner in which race was being applied, to the failure of the schooling system, to the desperate desire for schooling, and to the racial profile of class. 

The meeting was supposed to be a debate, but it turned out to have been an opportunity to present yet another list of unsolvable quandaries. All of them were important, but the speakers seemed to be throwing juggling balls or pins around at each other and towards the audience.

As I was listening and trying to keep as many of these missile in flow, I thought that there was more than one had to add. It is not something to replace the others, but crucial for the set.

It is very clear that race, imported from the past, plays a big role  in our country. Looking back at the last 16 years though, race has acquired a new history. A new layer consisting of several strands has been added to the Racial Classification Act of apartheid. One of these strands is government legislation as well as practices. And this often receives the lion's share of attention.But there are others, as the history of race is not over in South Africa. I am thinking about racial perceptions and practices that have been changed or consolidated: that blacks have proven themselves to be incompetent, or that whites  have really benefited from BEE.There are a myriad other ways in which race is thought and practiced. The post-apartheid record does not merely consist of living in the shadow. Race is sprouting new directions that wait for our attention.

Race was taking on new meaning, adding to the apartheid legacy but quite distinct.

What does this mean for UCT's policy of admissions?

Not so sure, but we should keep juggling perhaps.

Halal and Public Identities

The University of Cape Town showcased its latest Research Report (2009) at a special event on August 16, 2009. As itstarted at 5pm, Prof. Visser and later the Vice-Chancellor, Dr. MaxPrice, were keeping an eye on the time to sunset. This was no mystery, as theytold the audience that the proceedings had to be concluded by the time the Muslims could break their fasts for Ramadan. Both special Halal food and prayerfacilities were arranged for the event.

This was not unusual for South Africa, butI want to use this event to reflect on the kind public religious identities inscribed by food. I also want to use this opportunity to reflect on theparticular direction that a Halal industry and an accommodating public seem to be moving Muslim identities.

These remarks by Prof. Visser and Dr. Price drew attention to the presence of Muslims. In particular, all who knew me expected that I had been fasting, and also expected that I would turn to the special food prepared for me. I felt trapped in these expectations. I suspect that they also thought that those Muslims present would make use of the prayer facilities.

As I left the room at the end of the meeting, the Halal food was left untouched and unopened at the entrance of the hall. Apologies to the organizers of the event, particularly Ms. Pather.

It is amazing how consumption patterns and provision make an impact on a meeting. The intention to provide the right choice of meals is clearly noble, but the effects that flow from these are not often considered. For one, they tend to pigeon-hole South Africans in all sorts ofways.

More importantly, with respect to Islam at least, these provisions are driven by a growing Halal industry that leaves little room for individual choice. One is bombarded by pamphlets, e-mails, SMSs and Friday preachers to be on the lookout for Halal certificates, preferably those issued by the authors of these missives and not those of the competition.The Halal industry also directs well-meaning public servants to provide special food. This is the least they can do for cultural diversity.

The halal industry is driven by two powerful forces. The commercial one is probably the stronger of the two. The second, identity, should not be ignored though. The Halal sign has become a powerful symbol of Muslim identity. It announces the presence of Muslims in a neighborhood or city. Moreover, it helps Muslims to express their identity in a clear and unequivocal way.

But what is the substance of the identity? How is this identity constructed? I submit that Halal identities are constructed in a highly restrictive way. They are driven by an overwhelming asceticism; a visceral repulsion towards all kinds of foods. And that list continues to grow as Halal authorities scan food production. Food technology becomes very important, as trace elements of insects, pork and other abominable foods are marked and identified. These days, sweets, milk, water and even toothpicks appear on these lists.

And it appears that this is how public bodies like UCT are presented with halal requirements. The presence of suppliers, of course, makes this all easy.

This particular outlook is a far cry from another approach to Halal, one that in my view is presented in the Quran. In comparison with the one I have described, this one may be called liberalizing.

It struck me as I was reciting the Qur’an one morning. I suppose that I was drawn to this view  because I had always wondered why food regulations in the Qur’an were mostly presented as an  exception to the rule: “He has only forbidden you…” (2:173 and 16:115); “Why should ye not eat…” (6:119); “"In what has been revealed to me, I find no food prohibitions except …” (6:145). The restrictions are mentioned, but they are presented in a general framework of permissibility. To say “all is permissible except this” is very different from“only this is permissible.” Contemporary halal identities live by the latter, but the former dominate the Qur’anic syntax.

In my reading, Verse (6:145) declared some exceptions of food that should be avoided. Before this, however, there are two pages that review food taboos among the Arabs. These include human sacrifice (perhaps cannibalism?), food specially reserved for men and women, and parts of certain animals should not be consumed at all. This verse is followed by a reference to Jewish dietary law, the main point here too being that the latter is too demanding.

In this inter-textual reference, the verse(6:145) does not restrict Muslims to certain foods. It makes everything permissible except “dead meat, or blood poured forth, or the fleshof swine … or, what is impious, (meat) on which a name has been invoked.”

Permissible (halal) food is presented as a relaxation of dietary rules among Arabs and the Jews. Identity was still being constructed through food, but in a completely different way from what we have become accustomed to. Identity was produced in a process dominated by a relaxation of dietary rules, not their increasing restriction.

Identity cannot be avoided in our complex society. However, we can look closer at how and to what effect they are constructed. One could have an identity defined by exclusion, or one defined by inclusion.