Tag Archives: Islam

Alone, Asian, Atheist in the Middle East

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Obey-Middle-East-Mural

Middle East! Turn around and look East! (Obey Middle East Mural, Shepard Fairey)

Many of you followed Phuong-Mai Nguyen’s journey through the Middle East, as written live right here on the Cultural Detective blog. Last year in Estonia, Mai, the co-author of Cultural Detective Vietnam, keynoted the SIETAR Europa congress. In that speech she shared the ten lessons (‘commandments”) she had learned after almost a year of living in the Middle East after the Arab Spring. Her remarks have now been republished by The Islamic Monthly, and I’m confident you’ll be eager to read them.

As Mai tells us, her learning “touches on threats of Islamism, the tendency to self-victimize, and the need for all of us to establish a genuine relationship with moderate Muslims in the West.” The full article reprinted from her speech contains some of her powerful photos as well as her personal learning and viewpoints. 

The ten lessons she learned from her journey include:
  1. Thou shalt not watch TV
  2. Thou shalt stay thyself
  3. Thou shalt empower thy man
  4. Thou shalt fear God
  5. Thou shalt turn around
  6. Thou shalt break free
  7. Thou shalt seek guidance
  8. Thy land shalt be named
  9. Thy land shalt be named again
  10. Thou shalt acknowledge my new identity

Please, read her remarks and let us and Mai know what you think! I have been fascinated by the fact that she chose to make this journey, and the opportunity to view such an experience through the eyes of a Vietnamese woman.

Best, Dianne

 

A Vietnamese Woman’s Experience of the Arab Spring

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1947577_10203237474119981_1557351267_nCultural Detective Vietnam co-author, Phuong-Mai Nguyen, spent eight months traveling through 13 countries, tracing the path of Islam from Saudi Arabia to East Asia. She chronicled her journey here on this blog. Mai traveled alone, during the height of the Arab Spring, amidst so many changes and so much turmoil. She met hospitality everywhere she went, learned a whole lot, and fell in love with the people and places.

Mai has just launched her Vietnamese-language book (two, actually) about her journey. The English edition will debut in October. Be sure to catch her powerful short video, below.

“The Innocence of the Muslim” Provokes Mismatch in Cultural Understanding

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Media has indeed become the strongest destructive weapon one can dare to imagine. An idiot with next to no ethics or professional knowledge can produce a stupid, laughable, amateuristic film about Islam, put it on the internet, and there you go: one ambassador murdered, hundreds wounded, thousands of others threatened with death, and escalating protests across the whole Middle East.

A silly movie with a quality that deserves to die slowly and peacefully in a mossy corner of the internet suddenly caused waves of unrest around the world.

If anyone has 14 minutes to waste and not regret, watching the trailer of “The Innocence of the Muslim” will help to confirm this and this message only: the movie was made to ignite violence, exactly what we are witnessing at the moment. Producer Sam Bacile has reached his goal, gloriously, to lure easily-agitated Muslims to fall into the trap. Now the whole world is sitting in front of the TV, thinking to themselves: “Oh dear! It is right! Islam is indeed violent.”The core of the conflict is none other than a classic mismatch in cultural understanding. For the West, it is firmly decided that freedom of speech can not be sacrificed, no matter how offensive the content may be. For many others who are religious, freedom of speech does not necessarily mean the freedom to offend others. Also herein lies the dangerous border: to what extent can something be seen as offensive?It is naiveté for protesters to demand that Western governments ban religiously offensive media. Hello? It is 2012, just in case one happens to have short-term memory. We have entered an era where a five year old children can play with their parents’ notebook and share with the whole world everything that their parents would kill to keep secret. With today’s technology, absolute control is simply impossible.Last but not least, let’s delve into that concept called “control.” Demanding protesters in Middle East should understand that governments in some Western countries do not act, and can not possibly act, like parents. They issue laws based on a certain level of democratic process, exactly the sort of democratic system that many Middle Eastern people have been fighting and dying for in the Arab Spring.
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Chưa bao giờ mạng xã hội lại trở thành một thứ vũ khí lợi hại hơn cả một đạo quân lớn như ngày nay. Một gã đàn ông vô danh tiểu tốt sản xuất một bộ phim không chuyên, nực cười và ngu dốt nhằm vào Hồi Giáo, tung lên mạng, và thế là tằng tằng

 tằng, một ông đại sứ bị bắn chết, hàng trăm người khác bị thương, hàng ngàn người bị dọa giết, và liên tu bất tận các cuộc biểu tình không ngưng nghỉ.Nếu ai đó rỗi hơi đến mức có thể vứt đi 14 phút quý báu của đời mình mà không hối tiếc, xin mời ngó thử cái đoạn quảng cáo của phim “Sự vô tội của người Hồi” (The innocence of the Muslim). Kết luận duy nhất chỉ có thể là Sam Bacile làm bộ phim này để kích động người Hồi dùng vũ lực, chính xác là kiểu vũ lực và giết chóc mà chúng ta đang được chứng kiến. Người Hồi mắc bẫy thảm thương. Các lãnh tụ Hồi giáo cực đoan thù ghét phương Tây nhân cơ hội đẩy mạnh thánh chiến. Phần còn lại của thế giới ngồi trước TV, bụm miệng kêu thầm: “Ối trời ơi! Hóa ra bọn đạo Hồi này đúng là ưa bạo lực” . Mục đích của Sam đã đạt được một cách vinh quang, chói lọi.Có 3 điểm cần nhấn mạnh ở đây. Thứ nhất, phương Tây tôn thờ tự do ngôn luận tuyệt đối. Điểm này mẫu thuẫn với văn hóa của rất nhiều đất nước cho rằng tự do ngôn luận không có nghĩa là tự do phỉ báng người khác.Thứ hai, việc những người biểu tình yêu cầu Mỹ và phương Tây phải có luật ngăn cấm các sản phẩm văn hóa xúc phạm tôn giáo là điều không thể. Bây giờ là mấy giờ rồi ạ? Năm 2012 nếu ai đó bị mắc chứng trí nhớ ngắn hạn. Một đứa trẻ con 5 tuổi có thể toáy ngoáy máy tính của bố mẹ và tung lên mạng tất tần tật những bí mật mà bố mẹ nó thà chết chứ không để lộ ra ngoài. Với công nghệ thông tin như hiện nay, cấm văn hóa mạng là một điều không tưởng.Cuối cùng, đó là việc dân biểu tình ngây thơ cho rằng Mỹ và phương Tây có thể hồn nhiên cấm cản điều này điều nọ. Luật pháp phương Tây được xây dựng trên một hệ thống chưa phải là toàn diện nhưng tương đối có tính dân chủ. Trớ trêu thay, đây chẳng phải là điều mà bao nhiêu người ở Trugn Đông đã hy sinh để đạt được trong Mùa Xuân Ả Rập đó sao?Xin gửi các bạn một hình ảnh từ Libya, nơi rất nhiều người Hồi hối hận, buồn bã về việc Đại Sứ Mỹ Steven bị giết.

What also makes people discriminate?

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(Tiếng Việt ở dưới cả nhà ạ)

I choked when this picture popped up on my Facebook wall, claiming that Muslims are being oppressed in Vietnam. Within the last few days, almost 4000 people have shared the photo. By now, those who genuinely believe that the Muslims in my country are being rope tied to each other, forced to kneel down, and threatened with knives could be a million. And the number rolls on! Uncontrollably!

There is no doubt that social media is a monstrous tool to promote both goodness and dark deeds. This is an era in which a picture does not just equal 1000 words but can turn 1000 ill-informed innocent people into 1000 martyrs.No time to read, no time to research, no time to cross check, not even time to use our brains to think. All reason can be overwhelmed by the thrilling power and the irresistible waves of emotion that a snapshot or a video clip can deliver.

For your information: This is a picture from the Vietnam war, roughly 40 years ago, capturing an investigation of North-Vietnam solders. The 70,000 Muslims residing in Vietnam are not in danger and often harmoniously mix their lifestyles and rituals with Vietnamese tradition and culture.I can imagine my Vietnamese countrymen would not be happy to see this abuse of history and ignorant act, although it may have originally been posted with good intentions. Yes, note this! It is not only the terrorists with their hideous acts that make people discriminate; it is also those who blindly believe that the whole world is against them and thus turn even a friend into a foe.

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Tức ói máu khi nhìn thấy tấm ảnh này trên wall nhà mình với cái tiêu đề to tướng: Người Hồi Giáo bị đàn áp ở Việt Nam. Pót lên mạng ngày 23-8, cho đến nay đã có gần 4000 người share, và có lẽ hàng triệu người trên thế giới này đang đinh ninh rằng người Hồi ở VN bị trói chằng tay vào nhau, bắt quỳ xuống đất với dao găm kề vào cổ.

Mạng xã hội khiến ai cũng cảm thấy như mình là một nhà báo quyền lực vô song. Kể cả khi nhà báo ấy ngu dốt, quan điểm sai lạc, hay như kẻ pót cái ảnh này, thì nhìn gà hóa quốc, chỉ nhăm nhăm muốn gào lên cho cả thế gian này biết mình là kẻ bị hãm hại. Rồi thì trong cơn phẫn uất, bạ ai cũng lên án, vô tình biến cả bạn bè thành kẻ thù. Ai bảo chỉ có mấy thằng khủng bố mới làm cho người ta trở nên dị ứng với đạo Hồi?

Nhiều lúc cảm thấy lo lắng vì mình đang sống trong một thế giới mà tốc độ thông tin phát triển quá nhanh khiến người thường không mấy ai đủ thời gian để thích nghi. Một bức ảnh bây giờ không chỉ còn có sức mạnh hơn 1000 con chữ nữa mà còn có thể biến 1000 kẻ ngu xuẩn thành 1000 kẻ sẵn sàng cảm tử. Ở thế hệ You-tube này, chẳng mấy ai còn có thì giờ để đọc, để cân nhắc, chưa nói đến để suy ngẫm. Đập vào mặt một cái ảnh hay một cái clip thì lập tức tình cảm dồn lên đè bẹp tư duy. Loài người bao nhiêu năm qua đúng là cừu vẫn hòan cừu (câu này ai nói quên xừ mất rồi!)

Tái bút: Gần 70.000 người Hồi ở Việt Nam sống chủ yếu ở vùng của đồng bào Chăm. Họ, cũng như đại đa số những người Hồi trên thế giới chẳng khác quái gì đồng loại xung quanh cả. Từ khi du nhập vào VN, người Hồi thậm chí còn hòa quyện tín ngưỡng tôn giáo Hồi vào các dòng tín ngưỡng khác của dân tộc – một đặc điểm chung của rất nhiều nền văn hóa châu Á.

Link

The latest update on my Middle Eastern travels has been published in the Jerusalem Post. I hope you’ll let me know what you think!

Syria — The war within and between

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Many have asked me to give a briefing on Syria because I am here in person. Well, here is that briefing, in a VERY simple way.

To many people, the war in Syria is just another Arab Awakening. Being in the country myself, I realize that this is not at all the case. There are at least three conflicts going on:

  1. A true Arab Spring involving young liberals regardless of religious backgrounds, demanding regime reform and democracy.
  2. A war between two Islamic sects, the Alawite government and the Sunni opposition.
  3. A political game with hidden agendas among the big boys (US, EU, Iran, Israel and Saudi).

Mainstream media in the West seems more likely to feature war number 1 and manipulate war number 2 to the advantage of war number 3. Those representing the opposition who appear on CNN and BBC look liberal, westernized and almost victimized.

Next, the media backed by (Sunni) Saudi will call for jihad to provoke war number 2. I saw with my own eyes an opposition’s channel broadcasting from Saudi called “Sunni blood as one.” Note that the Syrian president is not a Sunni Muslim; he is from Alawite, a small sect of Islam.

Last, micro media — social media (blogs, Twitter, forums…etc) and word of mouth will keep circulating around zillions of conspiracy theories and guesswork about war number 3. For example, one of them I have heard: “The West does not want to topple the government; they just want to keep Syria in conflict to the point that it would benefit Israel and weaken Iran, who is Syria’s big ally.”

In this age when images and video clips dominate and cloud our thinking, one easily loses the big picture and falls victim to the vivid power of visual effect. As a good Cultural Detective, please pay attention to hidden biases.

As a journalist, I have the power to CHOOSE what to report. Is there something called “complete objective journalism”? I doubt it.

I have seen demonstrations for and against the regime. Which one would I report? Most secret journalists in Syria would choose to capture the opposition because they and their news (sub)consciously support wars number 1 and 3.

I’ll make a counterbalance here to share with you a view on war number 2. This is the picture of the regime’s supporters who gathered to celebrate with cheerful music and dance. Quoting a local from the crowd: “To be honest, our president is not perfect. But between him and the Sunni extremist opposition, I would go for the lesser of the two evils.”

With Love, from War-torn Syria

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On my second day in Damascus, I moved in with Noura and her family, only to find out that … they themselves have just miraculously escaped from their home town, Homs – the city that is being bombarded and torn apart by civil unrest!

Her brother has gone to school only 30 days this year. They were trapped in their house for two weeks without electricity. Each time they go to the grocery they are uncertain of ever being able to come back. Leaving their only source of income – an internet café – behind, the single mom and her two children have been struggling to avoid falling apart. With very limited resources, this refugee family has been hosting me, feeding me, loving me, giving me a bed, and escorting me to all sorts of sightseeing places that a tourist is supposed to visit. And all that amidst tears, fear, sadness, worries and uncertainty about their future.
In this picture, Noura and I are under the hooded cloaks, visiting Umayad Mosque, one of the earliest mosques in Islam, built on the 3000 year old remains of an Aramean temple. The worship site was turned into a Roman temple, later converted to a Christian church, and finally was dedicated to Islam in 636 (only four years after the death of Prophet Mohammad). The rich history of this mosque reminds us that holy sites should not be seen as the monopoly of one religion, and that we are the result of an accumulated heritage.

Looking at the chaos in some of the Arab countries right now, I can’t help wishing those various branches of Islam could understand this simple notion. And may the extremely hospitable people of their countries, like Noura’s family, teach them the lesson of co-existence, even in time of harshness.

Saudi and Its Treasure

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Saudi Arabia absolutely deserves its renowned title, “the last forbidden kingdom in the world.”

There are virtually no tourists in the country. There is also no such a thing as a tourist visa. In order to get into the kingdom, I needed to have an invitation from a friend or a company. After a few months furiously networking, I still found no one who was bold enough to want to get involved. A colleague of mine kindly explained: “You don’t make friends with a Saudi through email. You need to have incredible luck to meet one first, then wait until you have eaten all their dates and your body has been swollen with their tea, then you may say you have a friend.”

However, I must say I do have some self-claimed friends from a Saudi forum. One of them, not sure of his nationality, has helped me generously up to a point where he asked me to send a photo so he could pick me up at the airport and (word by word) “…make sex together”. After many other dramas, I decided to contact the embassy and frankly told them my whole idea: “Sir, I would like to travel along the Islamic history route, from where Islam began, which is your country. And then I will follow its expansion path through three continents. Think Ibn Batutta! I want to show people that there is also a different Middle East than what is described in media. I’m a good person with good purpose. Please help!”

I started to email and call Saudi embassy in The Hague nine months before my journey began, without much luck. Then I decided to just knock on their door. The first man I talked with made me jump to my feet when he said this is an amazing project, and the embassy “has to” support me. I came back home, preparing a cover letter and all other documents as suggested. A month later, I got an appointment with the first secretary and was overwhelmed by the friendliness I received. I came home again to prepare a thick package of paper as suggested, even got to details such as who I plan to meet and where I plan to visit. Mr. Secretary promised to inform me if anything else is needed. He kindly asked for my patience as the papers would have to wait after the annual Hajj to be submitted to the Ministry of Culture. Three months later, he informed me that my application had been sent away.

Then I patiently waited for another three months…

And I am still waiting…

Now, let me tell you another story. When I was small, my father – a colonel in the North Vietnamese army – had in his room a small safe that nobody was allowed to touch, let alone to open it. My siblings and I used to stare at it for hours, arguing what it was inside. Our imagination ran wild, starting with all sorts of guns and weapons, or maybe poison. One day, I – by then five years old – stood up and seriously concluded that there must be a monster being kept in the safe. None of us ever thought of something beautiful, like a precious stone or similar treasure. Daddy would share it with us no doubt if it was a beautiful thing.

Years after, when my father got his cancer, in one of the last days of his life, he called me to his bed and gave me the secret that he had been keeping away from us for so long.

It is a bible. It is a small bible with a beautiful red leather case.

In another story, I will explain to you why the bible must be hidden in my family. For now, whenever I recall my childhood staring at father’s safe, letting the wild rumor and imagination consume my mind, I could not help a chuckle. It still surprises me how far from the truth our guess work had been.

My friends, don’t you think we have done enough guess work about Saudi?

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It’s nice to meet all of you here on the Cultural Detective blog! I am a proud member of this team, and co-author of Cultural Detective Vietnam. I am in the midst of a journey that traces the path of Islam, from its origins as it spread outward around our planet. You can follow my journey daily in Facebook or via my blog.