Muslim Identity on SABC2

Major Props to the speakers on the show ‘Muslim Identity’ on SABC 2 for having the courage to say what they think (which is shared by a lot of people I think). It’s never easy to go on a public space and be who you are, people are much too judgemental. So standing ovation for you all!!!

The show started off about being ‘muslim’ and then in went on to the highly contest space of “race” or more appropriately culture, maybe subtly but it was there. I do think they should have had an anthropologist on the show...not because I’m bias, but because they study society and culture. If you’re going to talk about buildings you gonna have to talk to an engineer no?

So as a Muslim anthropologist...this is what I’ve got to say:

Identity is probably some the most difficult theory to deal with (besides religion) in anthropology. Why? Because you cannot calculate it, you can’t box, you can’t label it and therefore it makes it very difficult to understand it. So the short version is:

Identity is something that is created through negotiation. Negotiation between the society you are born into, the practices that you are taught to do, the practices that you want to do, your religion, your social standing or ‘class’ and your experiences. (and any other experience that affects your thinking)

Because Islam has no restrictions on cultural expressions (as long as it does not contravene Islamic law), the Muslim person needs to now negotiate between what they believe and what they were taught to practice (their culture).

The identity is created through a relationship BETWEEN culture and religion and not through the giving up the one for the other. That is why you will find many different groups with different practices but the same belief system.

And that is the problem. Some times when religion should be given preference, culture is...and thus leading to a transgression of the religious law i.e. gham issues. I’m going to say this AGAIN!!!Culture and religion is NOT the same thing. They are intertwined, sometimes confused, but they are NOT...I repeat NOT...the same thing. Because there is this space in Islam to practice your culture, MANY Muslims often blur the lines. Which is not necessarily wrong, but it is not Islamic either.

Now the big problem comes in when we look at our leaders and scholars in the Muslim community. Their culture becomes a part of their public image and by in large the message that they have. Because a Muslim scholar will ascribe to a certain school of thought. And this school of thought is often ascribed to by many people of the same culture; the school of thought is then given a culture by default. People then label each other, because as humans we can only really understand something if it’s labelled. So Muslim Indians are Hanafi, Muslim Malays are Shafi, and the ‘progressive Muslims’ are all Sufi. This of cause is wrong but it does not stop it from happening.

The way black and white Muslims negotiate their culture is very tricky. And really that was the best part of the show. It’s like they are left in the wind. The only reason is because the Indians and Malays had a much longer time to learn how to deal with issues between their culture and religion and were able to organise themselves and align themselves with a specific school of thought.

If you look closely the tensions between culture and religion still exist. So what the black and white Muslims should do (and are probably doing) is negotiate with their culture as a group. Jessica Aisha said something about being Afrikaner Israeli Muslim...and that it not always is able to co-exist. And I just want to tell her, that being Muslim and Indian does not always co-exist either. Culture is static, always changing and growing. You will find away to keep some stuff get rid of others, and poof a new Identity is born. And your children and their children will carry on the traditions. And there is nothing wrong with that.

Now as a normal watcher of the show:

The fact that Muslim Indians are seen as “racist” not only to ‘other people’ but to people of their own kind (the whole gham thing again) is not exactly a secrete. So I don’t understand the big issue with Zuhayra actually asking the question out right. I am so proud of Jessica Aisha saying that Men actually go to these centres looking for white revert females to marry. *STANDING OVATION*. It’s not a nice thing hear on such a public sphere but sometimes you need to. Instead of Muslim Indians coming out guns blazing about all the things that was wrong with the show, first have the guts to admit “Yes, we can be racist at times...even to our own people”. Only when we...yes I said we...start acknowledging what is wrong in our society and the part we play in it, then can we change it.

Someone has to tell these people that what they are doing is wrong. Because they sit in the enclaves, protected by people who are a part of the same enclave who are leaders and scholars, who make excuses for them and you know what? Nothing changes. (Just so that you know I’ve been using the word enclave long before the show)

It’s not easy to say what you think. The show was just a representation of a few peoples opinions and ideas and research. It’s not a blanket idea...but it spoke about many things that I have said myself, thought about and questions that I’ve asked. It was just a poker in the flames.

I smell a follow up.

Answer me

I don't really do this. But these questions are different. So...consider yourself tagged if you read this.

Do you like feet?

Only clean ones.

Have you ever bitten anybody?

When I was younger yes

Have you ever had a crush on your teacher?

Not really, I thought Mr Schoeman was cute that’s all.

Do you ever go to parties?

Sometimes

Do you have more than 20 friends?

I think so...wait lemme count....one...two...yeah maybe

Do you like mustard?

Only the one and Jimmy’s Killer Fish and chips, other than that not really.

Do you eat dog treats?

No *vomit*

Have you ever eaten an insect?

By mistake yes, once a fly flew into my mouth. It was just bad timing.

Do you like to jump rope?

When I was younger yes. We use to play England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales.

Do you ever shoot fireworks into the water?

No.

Do you ever swim in lakes?

No. Lakes freak me out. Ever since I went to the vaal dam and had the feeling of mud between my toes *yuck*

Do you like to eat raw meat?

Does tuna count. I like tuna.

Have you ever hugged your cat or dog?

When I was younger yes. Now...I don’t have either.

Do you have a fish?

Nope.

Can you do a hand stand?

Nope. Not even in the pool #yeahiknow

What’s with the....

New changes on fb...yuck....actually making me think again about having a facebook page. And I never ever thought of deleting it until now.

Speaking of facebook....with all the changes I wonder if those long name groups like “he doesn’t know what he has until its gone, which is you, cause you a princess and he will never ever get anyone like you ever again” will finally go away

Speaking of which...seriously? You joined a group like that just after you went “from a relationship” to “single”? Why not just put it on your status, that your boyfriend is a royal ass! Leading you on for four years (there is that 4 again!!!) and then changing his mind about marrying you.

Speaking of which...do you think we are stupid? Opening your profile so that said ex, which is now no longer your facebook friend, can see all the men that are drooling over you? He did the same, which is making me wonder, why the hell you two don’t just get back together...it’s probably because of all the younger prettier ass that is scattered all over his wall...I get why you guys broke up now.

Speaking of which....if people cared as much about their neighbours, friends, family, ozone layer, world peace and such as they do about the breaking up of Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore, the world would be a much better place.

Speaking of which...I am the only one in the world that thinks the world is just a shit place to live in right now?? Anyone with happy stories please email me...I need a lift.

Speaking of which...I don’t get how grown ass men can stand on the side of the road hiking and when I drive by they get disappointed at me not giving them a lift...I’m like what world do you live in, where you even think it’s okay to ask a single woman to give a lift?? Effen psycho’s

Speaking of which, I’m not a psycho for stalking...if you don’t want anyone looking at your page...then don’t open it!!!

Speaking of which....what’s with all these applications of “found out who is looking at your profile” if you have friends on your facebook that you don’t want looking at your page, then here’s an idea...DELETE them!! Why do you have them on your page anyway...just so that everyone knows, I look at all my friends pages...if you don’t want me looking at your stuff then DELETE me!

Speaking of which...I’m too nice sometimes. I keep assholes on my page, because I can’t handle them knowing I deleted them. But I know I should...nothing good comes from having assholes on your page.

Speaking of which...if one more stranger starts a conversation with me, joking about going on holiday or wanting to give me a massage, I’m going to copy the conversation and post it here. What the hell is wrong with you? You can’t go out and try and pick up girls like a normal asshole? Why you gotta start a conversation with all the sex you not having? I don’t care!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Speaking of which...I’m absolutely shocked at the fact, that if you not having sex, your made to be some kind of weirdo, and if you are then your normal (Out of wedlock or not). What is with this crazy world that we live in? It is anybody’s business? People need to get a hobby like trying to cure diseases instead of spreading them.

Speaking of which.... I said this before, I will say it again. Sex and the City is FICTION, movie, tv show, not real life. *rolling eyes*

Speaking of which....why do people say *bbm hands over eyes* or something like that. If you say *hands over eyes*, people will understand no? Why say bbm? I think that’s really really stupid.

Speaking of which...I take great comfort in people ability to be stupid. If they weren’t they would have figured out stuff, which I wouldn’t want them to know. Lol.

Speaking of which...I use lol too much. Really I’m trying to point out the fact that I’m joking and not that I’m laughing. OMG is a close second. I actually said it out loud oh emm gee...once...or twice...or five times.

*phew* finally the no 4 has stopped taunting me.

*grrrrr*

I took my love out of the vault. And now its floating around and teasing me. It’s not like before though. I see the vault has changed it. It hasn’t been fed by hope or delusional thoughts. So it’s not so strong. That makes me sad. Its like I’m watching the most beautiful part of me die.

But I have to be real about this. What did I think was going to happen? He was going to fall into my arms and say “I have come for you” with wind blowing through his hair. Seriously, there comes a moment in life, when you have to realise that living in a dream kills the life your living.

I just wish it would stop floating around. Cause I’m feeding it again with my stupid delusional thoughts. Gotta catch it and put back in the vault. Oh but how I want to just dive into it...recently the thought of sending an anonymous email crossed my mind. But I wouldn’t want someone to do that to me, so I won’t do that. Maybe a fake facebook profile? No *shaking may head* gotta think about this rationally.

But I will forever be haunted by that number.

4.

Seems like such a big number sometimes and other times so small. I know thats not the only reason...he doesn’t like me. Because if he did, he would have said so. Its as simple as that. Or is it? Either way it’s time to catch that little sucker and put him back in the vault.

Its time to love me enough to do the best thing for me.

Women & Praying

I can’t believe that its already the last few days of Ramadaan. I just want to freeze these moments. Never mind I’m exhausted and thirsty and hungry all the time. I still wish that these moments could last forever.

As we start getting nearer to Eid, a familiar argument is making its way the surface again. The question of whether women are allowed to attend the Eid Prayer or not. Many women fight for the right to go. I’m like, just become shafi and it won’t be a problem. *chuckle*

What I find strange is that women, throughout the year, don’t say anything about attending mosque on a Friday, which is a very holy day for muslim, according to some even more than Eid. Why do we not fight to attend the Friday lecture?

But really this argument is much larger than attending the Eid Prayer. What this lends itself to is arguments about whether women should be allowed to go to mosque at all and to a greater degree, a women’s role in society.

All of it is connected because Islam is a religion that is deeply rooted in the community. That is why “the men” pray as one, standing shoulder to shoulder. No man greater or lesser than the other. Because as we stand to pray in front of Allah we are all equal.

I watched a very interesting documentary by Canadian Zarqa Nawaz, called ‘Me and the Mosque’. She goes to different mosques looking at the female section and its issues. In some mosques in Canada they didn’t have a partition dividing men and women (women would pray at the back of the men) and then they put up a partition. The women became outraged.

Here were these women, now suddenly being shunned from the community and banned from “praying as one”. Because if something was a whole and you put a line through it, you get two parts. What did this mean? That just because they were female, they were not worthy to ask question or take part in Islamic discussions? Or because they were female they were not worthy to be seen? (This needs a whole post on its own)

But they are lucky, because at least for a while they were able to experience the mosque as a place where people could ask questions, share and learn. And not only worship. The Mosque was the heart of the community.

In South Africa, it’s very different. The Hanafi’s are not allowed to go to mosque. And the Shafi’s have very small sections for women that are often completely separate for the women. So it’s a room within the mosque. Again divided by walls.

This got me really thinking. Women and roles they play is society as we all know is a highly contested subject. But you know why I think that is? Because as muslim women we can’t agree between ourselves what it is and what it means. So how can we expect Muslim men, or the rest of the non-muslim world to understand?

So the problem here is not the men, who constantly want to own us. It’s us women who fail to define “us”.

One day, I went to the Sandton Prayer room, and was very shocked at what I found. There were women waiting outside in a line to pray. And when I glanced inside, you found women standing with gaps in-between them, some sitting down, others having missed a few spots in front. The places that could have been filled with women can’t be reached because there are too many people to bypass. And for a moment I thought, “Yip! It’s a good thing we don’t have to go to mosque.” I wanted to carry on like a real Apa and tell them, “shift up, shoulder to shoulder, if you not praying leave”.

The university Jamaat Khana is no different, maybe even worse. While some girls are praying, others are talking to each other, laughing and lying around. Apa T wanted to come out again and ask them, “Is this a picnic spot? That you sitting having long long conversations?” But I didn’t, after all, I’m not their Apa.

I was having a conversation once, with a few Apa’s when the one said to the other “Women shouldn’t go to Mosque” the other replied “It’s true, Women don’t know the Adaab of the Mosque”.

Well my question is “Did anyone teach them?” If you were taught that you can’t go to mosque, why would you bother finding out, what you should and shouldn’t do? But I have a lot of respect for these Apa’s, so I didn’t say anything because let’s face it, who am I to comment on such stuff?

But this nagging feeling in my gut tells me something different. Looking at the Sadton prayer room I realised that it so indicative of the state female relationships are today. We are not unified. “We scattered, leaderless” everyone doing their own thing, taking up too much space not worried about their sisters/mothers/aunts in Islam.

The problem with being taught to read salaah at home is that you are not standing next to anyone or in front or behind. So when you are forced to read in a crowed you would stand very far away from each other. The touching of shoulders (if you forced to stand next to each other) is a strange feeling and can also disturb your concentration.

For me it’s not whether or not women are allowed to go to Eid Prayer/Mosque or not. It’s what are we doing with the spaces that we have?

When it comes to prayer, the rules that apply to the men should apply to the women as well. I’ve heard plenty of times the Imaams telling the boys, don’t where this type of t-shirt or that jeans to mosque. The boys in my madressa use to get scolded if they didn’t wear a kurta to salaah. Men still have their issues with each other; this uncle stole that uncles topie when he was in high school. Men are known to sit outside the mosque and skinner (gossip) even though the Imaams tell them not to.

So how different would it have been, if they told the women not to do the same?
Before we get all upset about attending the Eid Prayer, let us first organise ourselves! This is a really good site that states what you can and can’t do in the mosque. This should be practised in all prayer rooms as well.

Shafi women lead the salaah when it is a room full of women only. In my heart I believe this is the right thing. Because again, Islam is routed in the community and when we pray in a group we should pray as one. I believe that by praying together, women will foster a deeper bond with each other. Maybe it is a road to our salvation. That we as muslim women can become kinder to each other, more forgiving to each other, defend each other’s honour. If you have love and respect for your muslim sister, you will not “steal” her husband, slander her behind her back and allow her to go down a path of self destruction.

It’s not about how badly the men treat us or how they ignore us. What really matters is how we treat each other. The whole point of Jumma Salaah and Eid Salaah, is that it is done in a group. So this Friday, do your cooking early. Put on radio Islam and listen to the lecture with your fellow muslim sisters. You can pray on your own, or together in a group, but the key here is that you are together.

P.S...sorry for the working women, this is not an option. Oh how I dream of days, when I’m a house wife *smiling face* Please note that I'm not an Aalima, Imaaan etc...but these are my thoughts

Two Words

Writers Block.

Speaking of Fairy Tales....

How do you take a Fairy Tale and turn it into a movie that contemporary, real and still sticks to the story line and the moral it teaches?

One word. Beastly.



This movie was absolutely sweet. I had my doubts, but I still paid to watch it, because Beauty and the Beast is one of my all time favourite fairy tales.
Granted the acting here and there veered on the fake side. But the costumes’ and characters were really cool. And my favourite part is the rose and the way they worked it into the story.

Something I never realised is that in Beauty and the Beast, the Witch is good. In all the other fairy tales the witch is bad.

Every other modern-day fairy tale movie I’ve watched looks fake and stupid compared to this. You see every fairy tale has a lesson that is learned. And the lesson was not about how your prince will come and save you. In all of them, the lesson is the triumph of good over evil.

In Cinderella, the lesson was that people should look beyond a person’s status to find love. It was not a display of teenage fantasy which ends is a catchy pop song.
Ever After, is one of my all time favourite movies, but its set in “Once upon a time” like 17 or 18th century?? It exchanged magic for science, but still very well done.

In this regard, as corny as Beastly got, it was also very real. Because no matter how enlightened we become, today people still don’t look beyond a perception of Beauty to who we really are. This lesson is more apt today than it has ever been.

To everyone who worked on Beastly...well done people, I will be buying the original DVD copy of this.