Comments on: Hotdogs, souvlakia and shawarmas: my life, my culture

By: ImanK

ImanK — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 09:58:01 +0000

Interesting comment SonsofSparta. I agree that this is a generalisation and not true for all kids. That's why I particularly used the word "some kids". To make my point more clear, I can rephrase what I meant to:

For example, in the Canadian (and sometimes even Greek) society these days, it’s becoming common in the last generation to see some kids violently swearing at their parents and yelling at them or treating them with no respect whatsoever. Obviously, this is totally against Islamic principles.

By: SonOfSparta

SonOfSparta — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 02:38:36 +0000

ImanK I wonder if you notice the misconception you put in print. I understand that your are trying to convey that some people mix up culture and religion and create false stereotypes, but did you not make a comment yourself that can be viewed as a misconception? You stated that “For example, in the Canadian (and sometimes even Greek) society these days, it’s very normal to see some kids violently swearing at their parents and yelling at them or treating them with no respect whatsoever. ” Living in Canada myself and having worked with children, I can tell you, I know many Canadian adults who do not accept children swearing at their parents, and it is wrong assume it is very ‘normal’ to see kids acting in this way. Do kid’s swear in Canada? Yes. Is it very normal to see this? I would so, no, of course, I can only speak of my experience in this country. You see, you cannot simply point out to the Canadian who generalizes about the plight of Muslim women with their ‘horror stories’ and then turn around and make a generalization about Canadian children. In a way you are equally guilty as those who tell the ‘horror stories’ because you are stereotyping about an entire group of children in a particular culture. Now, I realize ImanK that you are trying to break down barriers and express how your Canadian friend has a misconception about a certain aspect of Indo-Pak culture by stating, “my Canadian friend was telling me one of those “horror stories” of a Muslim friend in the Indo-Pak region that is being completely denied of her financial maintenance rights from her husband.” but you must also see the irony of your position. I bring up this point just to illustrate to you that perhaps without realizing it you are equally misguided yourself towards people whose culture and religion differs from your own.

My point is even though many of us try our best at times to see the world as objectively as possible, free from misconceptions, the truth is we will always view the world either knowingly or unknowingly based on our own individual and cultural and religious perspectives. This is why the way in which the clashes beween the Chinese government and its Muslim population will be looked upon in the next few days will greatly depend upon our own individual, cultural, political and religious and background.

By: Xenia

Xenia — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 20:56:49 +0000

Asalamu Alaykum
Masha Allah Sister Iman. Very well said.
Of course we can be Greeks and Muslims. I think most of the problems start when people mix culture and Islam and they confuse others with the image they project with this mixture. Others then start attributing things to Islam which are nothing but the pure culture of the person that projects it. Thus the misconceptions about Islam. I personally find it easy to float between cultures and I say this with a pinch of salt but always being Muslim. And I am grateful to Allah for allowing me to know Islam and to have experienced and appreciated other cultures but always being Greek.
I hope it makes sense.
Thanks for a great article and a breath of fresh air.
Jazaki Allah kheyran

Xenia