"Miss, I go Ireland with you?"
I love my little Mohammad.
Mohammad eile and Shahir in the background...
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Last one, promise!
"Miss, I go Ireland with you?"
I love my little Mohammad.
Mohammad eile and Shahir in the background...
Blatant self-indulgence
My little favourite (yeah, I know teachers shouldn't have favourites, but we do) Ghaith drew a picture of my house and his house for 'my news' so I can come and visit him!
Sunday, January 17, 2010
France to ban the burka?
http://www.economist.com/world/europe/displayStory.cfm?story_id=15270861&source=most_commented
This is interesting. France and Islam have never really gone together that well, but to ban the burka is a bit extreme. I didn't agree with banning headscarves in schools, but I saw the point of it in a secular society - I wouldn't have raised huge objections.
But to ban a certain type of clothing of a large religious minority in a given country surely flies in the face of what secularism is all about. Maybe I have it wrong, but my interpretation of a secular society is not one where no religion is tolerated but one where all religions are tolerated to an equal level. Bearing this in mind, the burka should no more be banned in public then the crucifix.
My other problem is the moral and cultural superiority complex France is displaying, in assuming that the wearing of the burka is a symbol of debasement. Consider the following from the economist's article
"as Dounia Bouzar, a French Muslim anthropologist, pointed out to the commission, most of the women she sees wearing the niqab are young. Intelligence sources suggest that 90% of them are under 40. Two-thirds are French nationals, half of them second- or third-generation immigrants, and nearly a quarter are converts. In other words, this is not an influx of women from the Gulf, but a statement by young French Muslim women, whose own mothers did not cover their faces."
No one should be forced to wear a burka, but that is clearly not what is happening here. Surely no one should be forced not to either? The West has this whole thing about civil liberties, but when put to the test they seem to come with an "as long as it suits our agenda" tag.
This is interesting. France and Islam have never really gone together that well, but to ban the burka is a bit extreme. I didn't agree with banning headscarves in schools, but I saw the point of it in a secular society - I wouldn't have raised huge objections.
But to ban a certain type of clothing of a large religious minority in a given country surely flies in the face of what secularism is all about. Maybe I have it wrong, but my interpretation of a secular society is not one where no religion is tolerated but one where all religions are tolerated to an equal level. Bearing this in mind, the burka should no more be banned in public then the crucifix.
My other problem is the moral and cultural superiority complex France is displaying, in assuming that the wearing of the burka is a symbol of debasement. Consider the following from the economist's article
"as Dounia Bouzar, a French Muslim anthropologist, pointed out to the commission, most of the women she sees wearing the niqab are young. Intelligence sources suggest that 90% of them are under 40. Two-thirds are French nationals, half of them second- or third-generation immigrants, and nearly a quarter are converts. In other words, this is not an influx of women from the Gulf, but a statement by young French Muslim women, whose own mothers did not cover their faces."
No one should be forced to wear a burka, but that is clearly not what is happening here. Surely no one should be forced not to either? The West has this whole thing about civil liberties, but when put to the test they seem to come with an "as long as it suits our agenda" tag.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Caroline has dubbed my most recent posts....
'my little suicide blog'....
I guess they haven't been the happiest. Suffice to say I'm feeling a lot better this week and not missing home as much! The weather is getting really nice, the kids are being good and hey - it's nearly the weekend again already!
Off to Abu Dhabi again presumably. Last weekend was really nice, we went out and got hammered in the British Club and PJs on Thursday night. Friday was spent loafing around Gerry's watching dvds, then instead of going out that night we cycled along the Corniche and went for coffee - twas just lovely!
More to follow this evening, best get back to school for now!
I guess they haven't been the happiest. Suffice to say I'm feeling a lot better this week and not missing home as much! The weather is getting really nice, the kids are being good and hey - it's nearly the weekend again already!
Off to Abu Dhabi again presumably. Last weekend was really nice, we went out and got hammered in the British Club and PJs on Thursday night. Friday was spent loafing around Gerry's watching dvds, then instead of going out that night we cycled along the Corniche and went for coffee - twas just lovely!
More to follow this evening, best get back to school for now!
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
"I have no respect or tolerance for Sharia law"
http://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/ian-odoherty/i-have-no-respect-or-tolerance-for-sharia-1235057.html
A friend of mine posted this link on facebook today. I felt compelled to respond, and had a bit of a rant about it which I've copied here:
Anyone seen the magdalene sisters, or song for a raggy boy? Anyone read the mccarthy report? We like to think we're so far removed from all of this, but in reality 50 years ago we may not have been as messed up as the examples O'Doherty states, but we weren't far behind them either. The Catholic Church, despite never officially having ruling power, has as much if not more to answer for in many parts of the world (condoms in Africa, being an obvious example).
And while I've only been here a few months, I'd tentatively disagree with O'Doherty's assertion that there are no countries where Sharia law works, UAE and the other GCC states as well as Jordan, which I visited in September seem to have it down. The problem is we see everything as outsiders looking in; to us wearing a headscarf (most women here don't wear the burka) as a symbol of oppression where as far as I can see here, the girls see it as a coming of age ritual that they look forward to. They do it because they believe that a woman's hair is the most beautiful part of her, and as such should only be seen by her husband or other males in her family. Perhaps I've been indoctrinated out here but that doesn't seem that messed up to me. ...
We see Ramadan as 'those crazy Muslims starving themselves for a month' and when we got here many of us Irish were asking our newfound Muslim peers how and why they do it. We assume they look at it as something like Lent, a burden that we are duty bound to carry out by our religion, but that isn't how they see it. Most Muslims I know really enjoy it, they see it as a time for family and prayer, and in particular for thinking of those who have less than them, forced to fast every day of their lives...
I'm not trying to justify any of the stuff O'Doherty mentioned, it's horrendous. It has no place in civilised society and I agree that in order to speed the process of enlightenment up, Western countries could and should remove aid. What I'm trying to say is, you will never see the headline 'today, two Muslim families fell out and resolved their differences peacefully'. We only hear about the bad stuff, the really, really horrific bad stuff. Living here, I find Muslim people to be incredibly gentle and kind. Many of them aren't particularly open to new ideas, but neither are 90% of rural Ireland, so it's going to take time.
A friend of mine posted this link on facebook today. I felt compelled to respond, and had a bit of a rant about it which I've copied here:
Anyone seen the magdalene sisters, or song for a raggy boy? Anyone read the mccarthy report? We like to think we're so far removed from all of this, but in reality 50 years ago we may not have been as messed up as the examples O'Doherty states, but we weren't far behind them either. The Catholic Church, despite never officially having ruling power, has as much if not more to answer for in many parts of the world (condoms in Africa, being an obvious example).
And while I've only been here a few months, I'd tentatively disagree with O'Doherty's assertion that there are no countries where Sharia law works, UAE and the other GCC states as well as Jordan, which I visited in September seem to have it down. The problem is we see everything as outsiders looking in; to us wearing a headscarf (most women here don't wear the burka) as a symbol of oppression where as far as I can see here, the girls see it as a coming of age ritual that they look forward to. They do it because they believe that a woman's hair is the most beautiful part of her, and as such should only be seen by her husband or other males in her family. Perhaps I've been indoctrinated out here but that doesn't seem that messed up to me. ...
We see Ramadan as 'those crazy Muslims starving themselves for a month' and when we got here many of us Irish were asking our newfound Muslim peers how and why they do it. We assume they look at it as something like Lent, a burden that we are duty bound to carry out by our religion, but that isn't how they see it. Most Muslims I know really enjoy it, they see it as a time for family and prayer, and in particular for thinking of those who have less than them, forced to fast every day of their lives...
I'm not trying to justify any of the stuff O'Doherty mentioned, it's horrendous. It has no place in civilised society and I agree that in order to speed the process of enlightenment up, Western countries could and should remove aid. What I'm trying to say is, you will never see the headline 'today, two Muslim families fell out and resolved their differences peacefully'. We only hear about the bad stuff, the really, really horrific bad stuff. Living here, I find Muslim people to be incredibly gentle and kind. Many of them aren't particularly open to new ideas, but neither are 90% of rural Ireland, so it's going to take time.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Home sweet home!
So I got home for nine days over Christmas. It had it's ups and downs but I am glad I was there. Christmas was spent with the family while the rest of the time was taken up visiting numerous friends in Galway and Limerick.
There was a definite paradoxical element to being at home. Nothing is quite the same as it was, but nothing has changed either. My family still fight about turkey on Christmas Day, it's very cold and most people my age have either gone back to college or are on the dole. There are, as far as I can see, no opportunities for recent graduates. Ireland was nice to visit, but it is a depressing place to be at the minute. We seem to have lost our optimism, our sense that even though everything is a bit crap now it will all get better soon... or at least some day. My motivated, pro-active friends are mostly considering immigration. My less motivated, less pro-active friends are mostly smoking weed.
Given that situation, I guess I should be glad to be here in the UAE. But I'm not enjoying being back in Ruwais; almost five months behind me and six months ahead I'm fighting to stay positive. I have a good lifestyle here; I like my job; the weather is nice and I can afford to buy nice things for myself and go on fairly regular holidays. None of these things are to be underestimated, but I do feel quite cut off from 'real life' here. Things are moving on without me (-how dare they?!) but I feel like even though Australia and New Zealand are much further from home, I'd feel more connected there. More alive!
My evenings here are spent with a selection of less than ten people, and lovely though they truly are, I can't help but want a wider social circle. College is really the only place where you meet a massive amount of people from varied backgrounds in one environment, and I miss that, but Ruwais is the other extreme.
Most people came out here with someone, a friend or a boyfriend, and I can't help but feel that I should have too. One of the beautiful things about being at home was being around people I can truly be myself with. You know who you are.
I don't want to go home, but I don't want to be here either.
There was a definite paradoxical element to being at home. Nothing is quite the same as it was, but nothing has changed either. My family still fight about turkey on Christmas Day, it's very cold and most people my age have either gone back to college or are on the dole. There are, as far as I can see, no opportunities for recent graduates. Ireland was nice to visit, but it is a depressing place to be at the minute. We seem to have lost our optimism, our sense that even though everything is a bit crap now it will all get better soon... or at least some day. My motivated, pro-active friends are mostly considering immigration. My less motivated, less pro-active friends are mostly smoking weed.
Given that situation, I guess I should be glad to be here in the UAE. But I'm not enjoying being back in Ruwais; almost five months behind me and six months ahead I'm fighting to stay positive. I have a good lifestyle here; I like my job; the weather is nice and I can afford to buy nice things for myself and go on fairly regular holidays. None of these things are to be underestimated, but I do feel quite cut off from 'real life' here. Things are moving on without me (-how dare they?!) but I feel like even though Australia and New Zealand are much further from home, I'd feel more connected there. More alive!
My evenings here are spent with a selection of less than ten people, and lovely though they truly are, I can't help but want a wider social circle. College is really the only place where you meet a massive amount of people from varied backgrounds in one environment, and I miss that, but Ruwais is the other extreme.
Most people came out here with someone, a friend or a boyfriend, and I can't help but feel that I should have too. One of the beautiful things about being at home was being around people I can truly be myself with. You know who you are.
I don't want to go home, but I don't want to be here either.
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