Monthly Archives: May 2009

Guns and Bibles

Afghanistan, Bible and Holy Land, Iraq War, Islam and Christianity


Bible Translation map for Afghanistan from Mission Atlas Project

So much for the secular state. When the founding fathers envisioned the transformation of the thirteen original colonies into the United States of America, the explosive baggage of a state religion was wisely foregone. Contemporary Fundamentalist preachers may bemoan the historical fact, but we do not live in a “Christian” nation. Other states have chosen to maintain a formal religious identity, with varying levels of tolerance for those who are not in the majority. Take Afghanistan, for example. Indeed, the Bush administration did just that, or at least did so partially. Although the Taliban were sent packing into the hills, much to the dismay of Pakistanis who value sovereignty in Swat, Afghanistan is still a solidly Muslim country. The American military is present in Afghanistan in order to ensure security and protect the development agenda. Obviously this takes guns. But the latest addition to the peace-on-earth-keeping mission arsenal appears to be Biblical.

A report on al-Jazeera reveals that an American military chaplain is exhorting evangelical men in the ranks to tote more than their rifles. “The Special Forces guys, they hunt men. Basically, we do the same things as Christians. We hunt people for Jesus. We do, we hunt them down. Get the hound of heaven after them, so we get them into the Kingdom. That’s what we do, that’s our business,” he said. Continue reading Guns and Bibles →

Portrait of a Bahraini Anthropologist

Anthropology/Sociology, Bahrain, Scholars


Bahraini dhow builder, photo by Abdulla Al Khan; insert shows Dr. Abdullah Yateem

A modern culture specialist
By Paul Balles, Bahrain This Month

What makes Dr. Abdullah Yateem a modern culture specialist? He’s an anthropologist who has taken a modern approach to studying cultures.

Many people don’t know what anthropology is or what anthropologists do unless they happen to have attended university and learned that they could take courses in the subject.

If they listened to British television critic Nancy Banks-Smith, they might have heard her say, “Anthropology is the science which tells us that people are the same the whole world over — except when they are different.”

Cultural anthropologist Ruth Benedict, with tongue in cheek, put it another way, “The purpose of anthropology is to make the world safe for human differences.”

From these comments, one might safely assume that anthropologists study almost anything related to the similarities and differences between cultures.

Anthropologists like Dr. Abdullah Yateem address questions such as: how can people who look different, talk differently and come from different cultures get along together in today’s world? (paraphrasing Clyde Kluckhohn). Dr. Yateem is not only an anthropologist who studies cultures. Currently, he’s Assistant Undersecretary for Press and Publications in the Ministry of Information. Continue reading Portrait of a Bahraini Anthropologist →

Why hedonistic polygyny is against Islam

Gender and Sexuality, Pakistan, Qur'an


Mukhtaran Mai

Why hedonistic polygyny is against Islam

by A. Faizur Rahman

The marriage, under pressure, of Mukhtaran Mai, the courageous woman who stood up to the atavistic tribal laws of Pakistan after being honour-raped by a gang of human beasts, has brought into focus the enormity of the gender bias prevailing in Muslim societies, particularly through the misuse of the law of polygyny. Without doubt, Ms. Mai is a victim of both emotional and physical blackmail. That she is also a victim of medieval indoctrination can be deduced from her unqualified statement (“A controversial marriage in Pakistan,” The  Hindu, March 30, 2009) that taking a second wife is permitted in Islam. Therefore, it could be said with some conviction that it was the belief that her marriage was not un-Islamic (rather than the fear of jeopardising the marriages of three other women) that prompted her into marrying an already married man. For it is unbelievable that a woman of the mental strength of Ms. Mai could have succumbed to the threats of a cowardly blackmailer. Continue reading Why hedonistic polygyny is against Islam →

Kill the Pigs

Animals, Egypt, Food and Drink, Israel

“Kill the pigs.” After all, they are a bunch of swine. Were this the rallying cry of a terrorist group or the mantra of war-torn propaganda, such a phrase would not be a surprise. But beyond the barricades in the pigpen, there is a new strain in the refrain. It’s bad enough that the pig has been a symbolic target for censure by the orthodox in Judaism and Islam (Christians were saved by St. Peter’s dream), but now it is subject to literal swinocide. That is what is happening in Egypt, a country where pig bones are as much a part of the rich archaeological record as mummies. Here is the AP story, written by Maamoun Youssef:

CAIRO – Egypt began slaughtering the roughly 300,000 pigs in the country Wednesday as a precaution against swine flu even though no cases have been reported here, infuriating farmers who blocked streets and stoned vehicles of Health Ministry workers who came to carry out the government’s order. Continue reading Kill the Pigs →