EDITORIAL
POLITICALLY &
ETHICALLY
INCORRECT
By Prof. Talaat I. Farag
Chief Editor, Ambassadors Magazine
Email: drfarag@ambassadors.net
Miss Isioma Daniel a
columnist in the Nigerian ThisDay newspaper and the former host of
ABC’s Politically Incorrect Bill Maher have something in common. They
are both at the forefront of news media for committing serious faux pas.
Beauty Pageant gets ugly
 Why was the pageant set in Nigeria during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan? |
The Nigerian Miss World for 2002 was the reason her home country was chosen as the next host of the pageant. Do much of the world's dismay, this year's competition has wrought humiliation, distraught, bloodshed and tragedy to its host country.
In deciding to hold
this year's Miss World pageant in
Nigeria, the organizers had closed
their eyes and ears in order not to see or hear the anger of many Nigerians who had
threatened to disrupt the ceremony. Many of the country's devout Muslims called
the event sinful and condemned the
contestants' arrival during the holy month of Ramadan.
During the
demonstrations in Kadona Nigeria, Muslim protesters carried signs with the
strange message “Down with Beauty.” These very demonstrators are the
ancestors of some of the most artistically inclined in the continent. Their
mosques, churches, marketplaces and homes are masterpieces of decorative art. Their ornate surroundings
are a testament to their innate appreciation for beauty. Why then did they react
to the pageant in this fashion?
To further inflame
the situation and to pour gas on the fire, Ms. Isioma Daniel wrote a column in
her newspaper, ThisDay, mentioning that Prophet Mohammed would not have
been opposed to the staging of the pageant. Instead he may have even wished to
marry one of the contestants. This statement enraged public opinion among the
Muslim population in Nigeria. Violent demonstrations and rioting that ensued led
to the burning down of her newspaper's offices, her firing, and subsequent
escape to the US.
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Just as the situation
calmed in Nigeria, Mr. Mahmoud Shinkaft, Zanfara estate deputy governor issued a
fatwa (religious edict) calling for the death of Ms. Daniel (just like the
blasphemous British-Indian writer Salman Rushdie.) The Nigerian supreme
Islamic body ordered Muslims to ignore the edict noting that the state had no
religious authority in the first place.
Interestingly, Ms.
Isioma Daniel, in self-defense, she mentioned that in a 7th of
December column in ThisDay, she criticized the Christian churches
for turning a 'blind eye' to the moral and social decay of the country, saying
that “If
Christ were to come again, what would he say to those who profess to be called
his name?”
Former Miss World from Nigeria embraces newly crowned Ana Akin (Turkey) |
There is no doubt that
both the Miss World pageant organizers and Ms. Isioma Daniel have a responsibility in
this havoc.
What happened in
Nigeria appears to be far more than religious objections to female nudity, as
some had described it. The hostility is directed not at Christianity but at an encroaching
Western culture. Is it as some
profess a clash of
civilizations, ideologies, or cultures or is it a failure to communicate. Is
this an outcome of insensitivity for local sensibilities on the part of the organizers and
Ms. Isioma Daniel? Could the bloodshed have been averted if the competition were
postponed after the holy month of Ramadan and if Ms Isioma Daniel had avoided
her inflammatory rhetoric?
Bill Maher crosses the line
 |
This week, as I
strolled through the local Chapters bookstore near my home in
Guelph, Ontario, I was drawn to Bill
Maher’s new book When You Ride Alone You Ride with Bin Laden: What the
Government Should be Telling Us to Help Fight the War on Terrorism (New
Millennium Press, 2002)
The book is a
collection of 30 cartoons coupled with a political commentary from Maher on each. I was shocked to
find on page 62 a cartoon showing a spoof boxing match between an animated Jesus and
prophet Mohammed. Each is depicted in a particularly derogatory fashion. Jesus
is decorated with a crown of thorns and prophet Mohammed is shown with veil covering his face.
As far as I know,
Islamic tradition prohibits any representation of Prophet Mohammed. There has been no
record of his depiction, let alone in a caricature of this kind. By simply
placing two religious figures in such a scenario, is in many respects, offensive to
both their followers, who amount to more than 2 billions.
 Some Americans are trying to breach the gap. Here, President Bush speaks to Muslim-American leaders before the start of Iftaar dinner in the White House, on the occasion of the beginning of Ramadan. |
In fact, while Bill
Maher argues that 'riding alone is like riding with Bin Laden', he himself
offers the greatest gift to fundamentalists and Anti-American sympathizers with
this cartoon. Instead of
trying to beautify his country's profile around the world, particularly with
heightened sensitivities after
September 11, his cartoons do more harm than damage-control. Maher's
contribution to intercultural turmoil is perhaps more drastic and
provocative than Ms. Isioma Daniel’s words in the Nigerian daily.
On behalf of my colleagues in the Ambassadors Magazine who hail from 18 nationalities, and of Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, and Sikh faiths, we request an urgent deletion of this unacceptable cartoon from his book. We also ask for an apology from Bill Maher, a man who in the past has done much for freedom of speech in the US. Strangely enough, at a time when politicians and publics alike try to narrow the gap between cultures and civilizations, not only is Maher's act politically incorrect, it is also ethically unredeemable!
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