The Future of Academia?

Published
by
Bennett
on April 28, 2009
in Miscellaneous
. 0 Comments

Here is an interesting op-ed piece from the New York Times. End the University as We Know It.

Professor Taylor makes some interesting observations and proposals, some of which I have some difficulty with. Mainly his view of eliminating tenure I find problematic. His is right in that the tenure process may protect bad professors, but it also protects professors from academic witch hunts. People like David Horowitz and Daniel Pipes have made a careers (not to mention quite a bit of money) trying to get professors that do no subscribe to their conservative worldview fired. Classrooms need to be places where an open exchange of ideas can take place, but if people are worried that their words might get them fired then self-censoring takes place and the academic process looses a little something.

Digital Ethnography

Published
by
Bennett
on November 13, 2008
in Miscellaneous
. 0 Comments

These are two interesting videos about education and media made by Kansas State University Professor Michael Wesch. I suppose I could get deeper, but I’m tired. Enjoy.

YouTube Preview Image YouTube Preview Image

11/4/08

Published
by
Bennett
on November 5, 2008
in Social/Political
. 0 Comments

My grandfather, who I never knew, was on the school board of a small town in Mississippi when the schools were desegregated. He had life long friends refuse to speak to him because he was integrating schools. He had folks come to his house on clan business, not in full garb mind you but it was clear why they were there.

My father put together a project for Martin Luther King Day a few years ago. It was truely a sight to see. It honored, not just the man, but the ideas and principles he epitomized. After it was over an African American woman, a woman who when she married her white husband was actually breaking the law in many states, came up to my father and said that this day, Martin Luther King Day, meant more to him than to anyone she has ever known.

My daughter will not grow up in the same world my grandfather did. She will not witness things my father has. She will grow up in a world where she will know anyone can achieve greatness. She will know the promise of America is, in fact, a reality. She will know a world in which this nation judged a man, not by the color of his skin, but by the content of his character. She will know a better world.

Fitna

Published
by
Bennett
on April 10, 2008
in Political/Social/Religious
. 0 Comments

Fitna, which means “discord” in Arabic, is the title of a short film by Dutch parliamentarian Geert Wilders. Wilders is an outspoken critic of Islam and of Muslim immigration to the Netherlands. This film was inspired by the murder of film maker Theo van Gogh and the Danish cartoons controversy.

The film is an attempt to show how Islam is inherently violent, and that the Qur’an advocates murder, terrorism and the subjugation of women. Fitna is divided into sections, each of which begins with a quote from a sura. The images that follow are meant as evidence of Islam’s radically violent nature. Images in the film include planes hitting the World Trade Center on 9/11, pictures from the London and Madrid bombings and U.S. soldiers being dragged through the streets of Somalia, inter-spliced with speeches from Imams advocating violent acts against the enemies of Islam as well as Jews. The film addresses the Netherlands specifically by showing images of the Muhammad cartoons and newspaper headlines about the death of Theo van Gogh and death threats against Salman Rushdie, Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Wilders himself. Finally the film offers a glimpse of the future under Islam or as Wilders puts it “under the spell of Islam.” This includes women in burqas, homosexuals being rounded up and executed, children covered in blood, and female circumcision. Wilders compares Islam to Nazism and claims that “Islam…seeks to destroy our Western civilization.”

Wilders’ film is clearly sensationalistic. Much like the Danish cartoons and Theo van Gogh’s film Submission, Fitna is designed to create controversy. The splicing together of sound bites and brief video clips is far from an intellectually serious way of criticizing a religion or any group for that matter. But clearly engaging in a true discussion about Islam and its role in the world or in the Netherlands specifically is not Wilders goal. Instead he is interested in nothing more than the attention that comes from a film such as this.

Additionally, Wilders makes blanket statements about Islam as a whole. He sees Islam itself as the threat, not any one particular aspect of the religion.

The idea of cherry-picking the most inflammatory statements and showing them without any context is disingenuous to say the least. However, it appears as if he has taken images of the Shi’a festival of Ashura, which commemorates the martyrdom of Husayn, and uses those images to express the threat of Islam with regard to children. This is simply intellectually dishonest. Furthermore this method of cherry-picking clips in order to portray Islam in a negative light could be used to portray any religious, ethnic, or political group negatively.

Engaging Muslims in a serious debate about perceived controversial aspects of their religious doctrine or their role in Danish society is a perfectly acceptable and even laudable enterprise. Fitna is not that. This film has the stench of an egomaniacal agenda all over it. Wilders is appealing to the minority who already share his views, while getting worldwide attention. At my most cynical, I think it is possible that Wilders intended for this film to actually produce violence on behalf of Muslims. If it had, he could easily make the claim that he was right and Muslims are opposed to basic freedoms such as freedom of expression. Thankfully, Muslims did not take the bait and have chosen instead to simply speak out against the film or ignore it all together.

A Feminist Reading of the Qur’an

Published
by
Bennett
on March 12, 2008
in Political/Social/Religious
. 16 Comments

For some reason the blog I posted a little over a year ago on multiple wives is the blog that has attracted the most attention. Apparently, that post struck a cord with some of you and has prompted me to post a sequel (albeit a year later).

There is a movement underway in Qur’anic scholarship to engage in a new interpretation of the Qur’an. Throughout Islam’s history, interpretation of the Qur’an has been traditionally the duty and responsibility of men. The problems with this are obvious. By not letting women have a say in interpretation, a major perspective is being silenced.

Amina Wadud, in her book Qur’an and Women: Rereading the Sacred Text from a Woman’s Perspective, makes a strong case for this new reading and provides some decent interpretation herself (to be fair there are some significant holes in some of her specific examples but for the most part her argument stands up).

Better still is Nimat Hafez Barazangi’s Woman’s Identity and the Qur’an: A New Reading. Barazangi calls for a new reading of the text, not with women in mind, but with justice in mind. Her argument is that the Qur’an is innately just and that if read with justice in mind, all manner of social justice beliefs would be apparent, including gender justice.

Apparently there is a stigma attached to the feminist label. Wadud goes out of her way to say she is not a feminist (although after reading her book I don’t see how she can make that claim) and Barazangi frames her thesis in terms of justice not feminism. Regardless of the label, I concur with both of their general arguments- women need to be more assertive in claiming the role of interpreter. This will only help diminish the negative connection that many make between Islam and the treatment of women.

US Bombs Somalia…Again

Published
by
Bennett
on March 3, 2008
in Political/Social/Religious
. 0 Comments

There is a reason that I keep posting news articles about Africa. In short, it has to do with my current studies and focus of my doctoral work. I will provide a longer explanation when I have time but for now just know there is a method to my madness.

Also a big thanks to the Bry-Cat for redesigning my site. Were it not for him this would just be a blank white page.

From the BBC:

Three missiles hit Dhoble town early on Monday, reportedly killing four people and wounding 20.

People are fleeing the town, fearing more strikes. Residents say planes could still be seen flying overhead on Monday morning.

Islamist insurgents seized the town last week and reports said a leader, Hassan Turki, had been in the area.

Mr Turki is on the US list of “financers of terrorism”.

US Defense Department spokesman Bryan Whitman refused to give the identity of the target, whether the strike had achieved its goal or how the strike had been carried out.

The planes keep flying over us. They are so low that we’re deafened by their engines

Dhoble resident

A US military official, who refused to be named, told the AFP news agency that at least one cruise missile had been fired.

Meanwhile, Islamists have attacked the town of Bur Hakaba, leaving the local police chief and four others dead.

The BBC’s Mohammed Olad Hassan in Mogadishu says the Islamists have adopted a new strategy of launching attacks outside the capital.

‘Hideouts’

Dhoble resident Fatuma Abdullahi told the BBC they were woken up by “a loud and big bang”.

“When we came out we found our neighbour’s house completely obliterated as if no house existed here,” he said.

Another resident said: “Right now - in full daylight - the planes keep flying over us. They are so low that we’re deafened by their engines.”

“We are poor civilians living in a simple town - what have we done to deserve this bombing?”

Local official Ali Hussein told the BBC that many people were fleeing the town.

The border with Kenya has been closed for the past year.

Islamist spokesman Sheikh Mukhtar Robow said the US was trying to hit Islamist hideouts in the area.

“The Americans bombed the town and hit civilian targets, thinking that they were Islamist hideouts. They used an AC-130 plane,” he told the AFP news agency.

Regrouping

The US bombed the area a year ago and residents said the same plane was again involved.

There have been reports that the Islamists have been regrouping in the area around Dhoble in recent weeks.

Somalia is the world’s worst place for children, the UN says

They were ousted from the capital, Mogadishu in December 2006 by government forces, backed up by Ethiopia, with some intelligence from the US.

Dhoble was the last town they held.

The US has an anti-terror task force based in neighbouring Djibouti.

The US accused the Somali Islamists of harbouring those responsible for the 1998 attacks on its embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.

The Islamists denied this, as well as reports they had links to al-Qaeda.

Somalia has not had an effective national government since 1991.

Last month, a senior UN official told the BBC that Somalia was the worst place in the world for children.

Janjaweed Leader Gains Government Position

Published
by
Bennett
on January 21, 2008
in Political/Social/Religious
. 0 Comments

From the BBC.

Federal Affairs Minister Abdel Basit Sabderat said clan leader Musa Hilal had been named as his adviser.

The US State Department and human rights groups say Mr Hilal is a leader of the Janjaweed, which is accused of committing war crimes in Darfur.

He denies the accusations and blames the violence on Darfur rebel groups.

More than 200,000 people have died in Darfur and two-thirds of the surviving population rely on humanitarian assistance.

‘Slap in the face’

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has strongly condemned Mr Hilal’s appointment.

“Musa Hilal is the poster child for Janjaweed atrocities in Darfur,” said HRW’s Richard Dicker.

Hilal denies genocide

“Rewarding him with a special government post is a slap in the face to Darfur victims and to the UN Security Council,” he said, pointing out that Mr Hilal was under a UN travel ban for his role in Darfur.

Mr Hilal, an Arab clan leader, told Reuters news agency he would be based in Khartoum but might have to travel to outlying regions.

He has said he has simply mobilised Arab clans to defend against rebel attacks.

Correspondents say his appointment as a ministerial adviser will be seen as another set-back in the faltering peace process in Darfur, and is likely to increase rebel suspicions about the motivations of the authorities in Khartoum.

The International Criminal Court last year issued an arrest warrant against a junior government minister and another Arab clan leader.

The government has denied backing the Janjaweed.

There have been repeated delays in deploying a joint UN-AU peacekeeping force to Darfur, with accusations that the government is trying to block them.

Only 9,000 troops out of a planned 26,000 are currently in place.

Equal Time

Published
by
Bennett
on November 20, 2007
in Social/Political
. 1 Comment

I kinda hate myself for weighing in on the election process so long before the actual election but something has been annoying me. If you watch the pundits you know that you hear the same names over and over- Clinton, Obama, Edwards, Romney, Giuliani. There are, however, many more people running for president. My problem is with the way the candidates are being covered and the amount of attention each candidate receives in the debates. It is as if the media has decided who should be running for president and chooses to ignore the others. While I concede it is highly unlikely that Ron Paul or Dennis Kucinich will earn their party nomination, they, and all the other declared candidates, should be given the chance, especially when you consider some of the tier-two and tier-three candidates are worth listening to. David Brooks made a similar point on the NewsHour on November 16th.

DAVID BROOKS: I have total sympathy with that. We pay attention to this every day; this is what we do for a living. So we’re looking for the little minutia there. But I think for most people who look at it in a normal sense, tune in and out occasionally, I think a couple of things would leap out at you.

One, I always think almost — and especially last night — that Biden, Dodd and Richardson won the debate. I just think, if you didn’t know anything about these people, you saw those three, you’d say they’re pretty qualified to be president.

JIM LEHRER: Not on body language and one-liners, but on its face, huh?

DAVID BROOKS: I thought Richardson had an excellent answer on the illegal immigration issue. He’d actually done it. He knew the safety concerns. Biden had an excellent answer on Musharraf. He’d actually talked to Musharraf. He knows the issue better than any of them, believe me.

And so if you’re president, looking for somebody who actually knows what they’re doing, I think you would gravitate towards those guys.

A Great Writer

Published
by
Bennett
on November 13, 2007
in That's Entertainment
. 1 Comment

What the world needs now is yet another tribute to Norman Mailer. So here goes. Mailer has long been one of my favorite writers (Salman Rushdie and Charles Bukowski rounding out the trinity). Since his death on November 10, 2007, many of the tributes and obituaries have discussed his activism, his personal life, and his massive ego. While interesting, I don’t really care that much about that stuff. I loved his books.

I want to mention one particular element of his writing that goes largely unmentioned; the physical. More than anyone I have ever read, Mailer can make poetry out of men engaging in incredibly difficult, often painful physical activity. In The Naked and the Dead, his first novel, Mailer describes a squad of men pushing a cannon up a hill in the mud and rain. It goes on for pages and every word is perfect. In the same book he describes how two men must carry a wounded man down a hill in a vain attempt to get him medical help. It is picture perfect. In The FightI waited with patience until he finally gets to the Rumble in the Jungle that gives the book its name. I was not disappointed.

Yes, Mailer wrote about sex, politics, God and culture and he did it better than just about anybody, but it was those moments of physical endurance, of pain and anguish, (both physical and mental) and the bonds that those physical acts created among the men that performed them that made Mailer so damn good.

300

Published
by
Bennett
on September 14, 2007
in That's Entertainment
. 0 Comments

So I know I am a few months late for writing a review for the film 300 but I have a 1 year old so I don’t get to the movies that often. Give me a break.

I am writing this because a friend of mind asked me to. He was interested in my take on the film due to my current study of Islam and the Middle East. Specifically he wanted to know if I felt the film was as racist in its depiction of Persians as some have claimed. So here goes…

The film is simply okay. It is a highly stylized depiction of the Battle of Thermopylae, in which 300 Spartans hold off the Persian Empire’s advance into Greece. Or to put it a different way; a bunch of buff dudes run around in speedos in what must be the most homoerotic thing I’ve seen since the volleyball scene in TopGun. The argument against the film is that the Persians are depicted as bloodthirsty and barbaric, but that doesn’t hold up for me. Xerxes is depicted as over 7 feet tall and androgynous with this weird echoey voice, the Immortals look like rotting corpses, there is some huge monster-looking dude, the traitor is a deformed hunchback and there is the biggest damn battle-rhino I’ve ever seen (not that I knew a battle-rhino was a thing but whatever). The point is, it is too silly to be offensive. This is so far from the reality of what the Persian Empire was or Iranians are today that I have a hard time seeing it as stereotyping. I can see why some were offended but to me it is as if someone made a film depicting all Americans as green with three eyes. It has no relationship with reality.

Tony Kashani, a film professor, wrote a very good piece taking up the opposing view. He outlines all the reasons that 300 is racist, homophobic and so on. He also has some quotes from Frank Miller himself expressing take on current events. Mr. Miller is not exactly enlightened. While I think Professor Kashani reads too much into 300, and comes down a little hard on comics in general (he teaches the profession that gave us White Chicks while knocking the profession that gave us Maus), I do feel he illustrates the arguments against the film quite well and it is worth reading if you have the time.