New York City and Eid

Multiculturalism and racism or bigotry go hand-in-hand in the sense that many oversimplify these terms to be opposite sides of the same coin. This is to say, if you do not support multiculturalism or a more plural society then you are racist or a bigot and conversely if you have racist or bigoted tendencies you cannot support multiculturalism. Sometimes I wonder whether the equation is quite as simple as that.

Nevertheless, the Big Apple or perhaps the Big Melting Pot that is New York City is soon to vote on whether two Muslim holidays are to be declared school holidays for all. The two holidays are Eid ul-Fitr and Eid ul-Adha which celebrate the end of the fasting month and the Haj pilgrimage month respectively. The vote is to take place on 16 October 2008.

This is something that has been on the agenda since 2005 and it seems that the supporters of the vote have finally mustered the numbers to take the issue to committee and then get it through to a full council vote.

The measure was initiated by a Muslim councilor from Harlem, Robert Jackson. However, it is claimed that the measure has broad support within the community and also on the council and this support is from non-Muslims as well. Broad-based support is no guarantee that it will get up when it comes to a vote.

I wonder though whether this sets a precedent that every religion should be able to lobby for its special days to be legislatively declared holidays and then have them so declared. I am happy for governments to declare as many religious holidays that they want. Simply, the more they declare the less number of days I have to work while still getting paid.

The population of NYC is approximately 7 million and of these 1 million are Muslims.

Racism in Australia

I am an Australian and I am a proud Australian. The results of the recent study, Challenging Racism: The Anti-Racism Research Project, does not change the level of pride that I have for Australia and all things Australian.

The results of the study highlight that there is much work to be done if Australia is to become a truly tolerant nation of the diversity that we already have. Quite simply we cannot turn back the clock and start deporting people left right and center that is never going to be a practical response. The report will need to be analyzed in its entirety as i have only seen snippets to date in the form of news bites. However, the study is set for general release at the Rights, Reconciliation, Respect and Responsibility conference to be held at the University of Technology in Sydney this coming Friday.

The study was conducted over ten years and has surveyed some 12,500 people over the last eight years. So, this should in theory provide a relatively good cross-section of the much broader Australian community.

My home state of New South Wales tops the list as the most racist state. I have seen a lot of racism first hand, this is in the sense of having witnessed it and not because I have been subject to it. It is a seeing or watching it happen as opposed to a having it happen to me experience. Racism is also something I have thought about as I am married to an Indonesian and my children will be Australian citizens of mixed race.

The results are alarming in that they suggest as many as 2 out of every 5 people surveyed felt that some ethnic groups and religions did not belong in Australia. The study also found that at least 1 in 10 people surveyed held openly racist views.

This is a concern because if these results are considered to be representative of the broader Australian population then it would seem that we as a community are destined for some pretty rough times in terms of cultural, ethnic, and religious clashes.

It would be my feeling that any kind of cultural, ethnic, or religious based clashes in Australia are destined to further polarize what seems to be a polarizing society.

The people most identified as not belonging (perhaps not fitting into the concept of Australianism that is dominant presently) are Muslims and those from the Middle East. Islam is a religion so I do not know how you can be a racist if you say bad things about it. Perhaps the term is a religious bigot?

The study also asked questions that required people to answer on whether marriages between cultures were a good thing and whether all races are equal. The results for these two questions show that about 10% of those surveyed believe that inter-cultural marriages are a bad thing and that a similar number believe that not all races are equal. These results do not surprise me and in some ways I am surprised that they are not higher.

I wonder if a similar study was conducted in Indonesia what the results might be. There are plenty of inter-cultural marriages but there is always talk and gossip of the unhappiness of the extended family that such marriages have taken place. The idea of marrying within your own group is strong here among most of Indonesia's diverse range of ethnic groups. A read of the singles columns highlight this as race or ethnicity is often identified as a desirable characteristic.

I have been following some blogs and sites where race, ethnic, and religious issues get a regular airing. One such site is Indonesia Matters. The beauty of Indonesia Matters is that one can get to read a very broad cross section of opinions on these topics.

The lead researcher on this study was Professor Kevin Dunn of the University of Western Sydney (this happens to be one of my alma maters). According to Professor Dunn the results are high but it is worth pointing out that overall Australia ranks as being a country with a low level of racism. This means that there are plenty of countries out there in the big bad world with a lot more serious racial, ethnic, and religious tolerance problems than us.

Is Isaac Hayes Really Dead?

Being a bit of a fan of South Park meant that I was familiar with Isaac Hayes' membership of the Church of Scientology or the Cult of Scientology. The Church vs. Cult issue depends on your definition of either church or cult. Nevertheless, Hayes (photo) was a star long before ever signing on to be the voice of Chef in South Park. Hayes was the voice of the theme song of the movie Shaft.

However, this post is not really about Hayes' fame and fortune but whether or not when he was found dead last week crumpled next to the treadmill whether he was really dead or not! Now, if that sounds a little confusing, it should not be. Scientology believes that Hayes simply moved onto another body or as the Scientologists would have you believe, Hayes has gone onto claim his next piece of "meat". Scientologists believe that the human body is just a piece of meat that is inhabited by a spiritual being known as a thetan.

Hayes was a dedicated convert to Scientology, so much so that in July 1997 Hayes and fellow Scientologist Lisa Marie Presley founded the Church of Scientology in Memphis. The thing about Scientology is that it cultivates relationships with the rich and famous by convincing them that they are better than everyone else and in some bizarre way better than the rest of us not so rich and famous people.

I am guessing that Isaac Hayes has not chosen to inhabit my body, although I would not mind being able to sing! Unfortunately, the exact means of Hayes' spiritual being finding a new piece of meat is not entirely clear. However, the means of transfer is apparently an inside secret for those who are members. Therefore, if you want to know how the Scientology version of reincarnation works you will either need to become a member or wait patiently like the rest of us until a convert un-converts and sells the story to the National Enquirer.

For those of us who were not alive or were too young when Hayes hit his popularity peak in the 60's and 70's, our acquaintance with him and his spiritualism came via South Park. The beauty of South Park is that the creators, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, have no shame and are prepared to satire anything and everything without fear. This included a satire of Scientology and in particular the most famous face of Scientology after its founder L. Ron Hubbard, Tom Cruise.

Hayes' main beef with the episode was:

There is a place in this world for satire, but there is a time when satire ends and intolerance and bigotry toward religious beliefs of others begins. Religious beliefs are sacred to people, and at all times should be respected and honoured. As a civil rights activist of the past 40 years, I cannot support a show that disrespects those beliefs and practices.

However, as South Park co-creator Matt Stone pointed out:

This is 100 percent having to do with his faith of Scientology… He has no problem — and he’s cashed plenty of checks — with our show making fun of Christians.

So, it would seem that Hayes' had no beef with ridiculing all other religions but got a little upset when his own came under the harsh glare of the South Park sun. To many this would be hypocrisy in a somewhat extreme form.

Yet, those scientologists are a little crazy. It was not all that long ago that Tom Cruise was off on a crusade against psychiatry as being phantom science and medicine. This included some ranting about Brooke Shields and post-partum depression.

Scientology -- A religion or a cult?

As Fox News Channel is fond of saying, "we report, you decide".