After chewing on the advice given by a plethora of intellectual peers and synthesizing in my own mind ideas of truth, justice, feminism, peace and conflict, I have decided to re-name my site and re-write my "anchor" piece." Justice by Truth will now be known as The Struggle for Justice. The Struggle for Justice will focus on pacifism, a basic opposition to war and violence, as an active struggle, not simply a passive resistance. Evident in the music and lyrics of hip-hop, based on the philosophy of Ghandi, specifically his principle of satyagraha, integrated into international relations by the feminist theory, an active struggle for peace is not only a valid but a potentially succesful alternative to war. Any thoughts or advice are welcome regarding the new focused journey for The Struggle for Justice.
Themes to be explored: justice, nonviolent struggle for peace, feminist theory, hip-hop, conflict and war
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Friday, February 9, 2007
Alternate Universe
Jerusalem is one of the holiest sites for three Abrahamic faiths. Bullets and blood are flying at the Dome of the Rock, the site where the Prophet Muhammad p.b.u.h, beloved spiritual ascendant to the Muslims as well as other faiths.
A place where people go to worship something greater than themselves, a place where seekers meditate upon truth, the site where many have traveled to as a pilgrimage is being torn apart. It is erupting from within. It is somewhat ironic actually. Religion is dying in the very place it was born.
I can't help but think about the origin of the Abrahamic faiths. Not many people know this, but the Prophet Muhammad p.b.u.h., when he was revealed to, thought he had lost his mind. He ran to his much older wife, Khadija for comfort. They lived in a pagan society, but Khadija had heard of a group of people believing in one God, a uniting being. She advised him to discuss the matter with the Christians and Jews who at first welcomed the Prophet as their own. The enemy was not each other, but paganism. They fought for others to recognize that God united mankind, thus love for one another was the only way to live. Mankind has a short memory it seems.
It makes me really sad to see this image. Especially when I had been standing in that very spot less than one year ago.
Whether or not Israel truly was renovating the sight, and any violence was not precipitated, is not the question. Nor is the question whether or not the Palestinians were protesting to protect their holy site, or used this occasion to incite violence.
The main point here is that the region is incredibly volatile. There is no peace. People are jumping at the chance to throw a rock, shoot a gun. Suspicion, hatred, fear: no one can live like that.
This is not a war between religions per say, it is a battle between two groups of people inhabiting the same land. It has gone unresolved for so long the battle has grown into a monster: a war between religions. Now we have all looked under our beds and in our closets, and we know monsters do not exist. So I plea for all to recognize this battle for what it is.
A place where people go to worship something greater than themselves, a place where seekers meditate upon truth, the site where many have traveled to as a pilgrimage is being torn apart. It is erupting from within. It is somewhat ironic actually. Religion is dying in the very place it was born.
I can't help but think about the origin of the Abrahamic faiths. Not many people know this, but the Prophet Muhammad p.b.u.h., when he was revealed to, thought he had lost his mind. He ran to his much older wife, Khadija for comfort. They lived in a pagan society, but Khadija had heard of a group of people believing in one God, a uniting being. She advised him to discuss the matter with the Christians and Jews who at first welcomed the Prophet as their own. The enemy was not each other, but paganism. They fought for others to recognize that God united mankind, thus love for one another was the only way to live. Mankind has a short memory it seems.
It makes me really sad to see this image. Especially when I had been standing in that very spot less than one year ago.
Whether or not Israel truly was renovating the sight, and any violence was not precipitated, is not the question. Nor is the question whether or not the Palestinians were protesting to protect their holy site, or used this occasion to incite violence.
The main point here is that the region is incredibly volatile. There is no peace. People are jumping at the chance to throw a rock, shoot a gun. Suspicion, hatred, fear: no one can live like that.
This is not a war between religions per say, it is a battle between two groups of people inhabiting the same land. It has gone unresolved for so long the battle has grown into a monster: a war between religions. Now we have all looked under our beds and in our closets, and we know monsters do not exist. So I plea for all to recognize this battle for what it is.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Religion of Love
My heart has become capable of every form;
It is a pasture for gazelles and a convent for Christian monks,
And a temple for idols and the pilgrim's Ka'ba
And the tables for the Torah and the book of the Qur'an.
I follow the religion of Love, wherever way
Love's camels take, that is my religion and my faith.
Ibn al-'Arabi
I studied this poem in a poetry class at the American University in Cairo and recently came across it once more in the introduction to The Essential Writings of Gandhi. The love poetry of Ibn al-'Arabi always has a double meaning, one literal the other esoteric. Much of his poetry was charged for being overly lustful, yet many scholars, such as William Chittick and Frithjof Schuon, believe his love poetry to transcend romance between man and woman and described a deeper love between humankind and God. These lines from the collection, Interpretor of Desire, I feel reveal the true nature of his poetry to be more than just lustful words. Instead, his poetry describes a philosophy of oneness in being and love for all mankind.
In our world today, religion's exclusivist nature has led to fear, manipulation and war, when in actuality, all religions share the universal characteristic of love for others. Humankind's inability to recognize the universiality of all religions, is in my opinion, the root of conflict today. Any system of exclusivism or hierarchy creates the dichotomy of us and the other. If this dichotomy, this manner of dividing mankind could be replaced with a recognition of the unity among man, conflict in this world would cease to exist.
It is a pasture for gazelles and a convent for Christian monks,
And a temple for idols and the pilgrim's Ka'ba
And the tables for the Torah and the book of the Qur'an.
I follow the religion of Love, wherever way
Love's camels take, that is my religion and my faith.
Ibn al-'Arabi
I studied this poem in a poetry class at the American University in Cairo and recently came across it once more in the introduction to The Essential Writings of Gandhi. The love poetry of Ibn al-'Arabi always has a double meaning, one literal the other esoteric. Much of his poetry was charged for being overly lustful, yet many scholars, such as William Chittick and Frithjof Schuon, believe his love poetry to transcend romance between man and woman and described a deeper love between humankind and God. These lines from the collection, Interpretor of Desire, I feel reveal the true nature of his poetry to be more than just lustful words. Instead, his poetry describes a philosophy of oneness in being and love for all mankind.
In our world today, religion's exclusivist nature has led to fear, manipulation and war, when in actuality, all religions share the universal characteristic of love for others. Humankind's inability to recognize the universiality of all religions, is in my opinion, the root of conflict today. Any system of exclusivism or hierarchy creates the dichotomy of us and the other. If this dichotomy, this manner of dividing mankind could be replaced with a recognition of the unity among man, conflict in this world would cease to exist.
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Structural Violence
Structural violence, a term which was first used in the 1970s and which has commonly been ascribed to Johan Galtung, denotes a form of violence which corresponds with the systematic ways in which a given social structure or social institution kills people slowly by preventing them from meeting their basic needs. Institutionalized elitism, ethnocentricism, classism, racism, sexism, adultism, nationalism, heterosexism and ageism are just some examples of this. Life spans are reduced when people are socially dominated, politically oppressed, ore economically exploited. Structural violence and direct violence are highly interdependent. Structural violence inevitably produces conflict and often direct violence including family violence, racial violence, hate crimes, terrorism, genocide, and war.
Wikipedia
Wikipedia
Sum of Us
If you wanna fight the power
Get the power to fight
Cuz some of us judge without knowing the man's inner
And some of us find fault in the sin and not the sinner
Jurassic Five
Get the power to fight
Cuz some of us judge without knowing the man's inner
And some of us find fault in the sin and not the sinner
Jurassic Five
Human Shield Tactic
Palestinians' high-risk human shield tactic
A beautiful example of nonviolent resistance. Gandhi has said violence is a tool of the weak, and non-violence is a tool for the strong, a philosophy I am proponent of. The Palestinian response to IDF violence should be disclosed to the world as the poster-child for peaceful resistance.
A beautiful example of nonviolent resistance. Gandhi has said violence is a tool of the weak, and non-violence is a tool for the strong, a philosophy I am proponent of. The Palestinian response to IDF violence should be disclosed to the world as the poster-child for peaceful resistance.
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