"Global apartheid", Chris's alarms, and Islamic medicinal amulets
My apologies that it has taken so long to post this. I promise to be more faithful from now on.
I was talking to one of my former Cathedral students last night, who is now a very politically active student at Vassar. He brought up his belief that the U.S. is now participating in a "global apartheid." I thought about that for a while and realized that despite my strong disagreement with the U.S.'s foreign trade policies (which I think cripple other nations economically and politically), I don't agree. "Apartheid" has very specific historical connotations. To use it as a metaphor for another system that does not meet the criteria of that historic term weakens the political credibility of the people who use it.
Apartheid was a specific historic situation that occurred when the Dutch Reformed Church and the white-only government colluded to create a political theology for rule in South Africa. The political theology stated that God intended for the races to develop separately and to live in separate spheres. Thus, the government could religiously and politically justify the removal of "black spots" from "white areas," thus forcibly removing 1/5 of its African population (the equivalent of 57 million Americans to our population today) and dumping them in the middle of nowhere, with no homes, no water, and no method for survival. It could justify the creation of "Bantu homelands" within its borders--supposedly "independent" nations which were granted no political power and no means of livelihood but where Africans were required to stay unless they wished to be tortured, beaten, or killed within the vast prison system that developed in order to regulate the political system. Lacking South African passports; unrecognized as citizens of any "nation" anywhere in the world; denied basic human rights to work, live with spouses, and provide for their families; and without means of economic survival within the homelands or adequate means within the cities, millions of Africans suffered hunger, disease, and deprivation based solely on their race. Those Africans who were allowed to work within urban "white areas" (granted they left the whites-only areas by 5 p.m. and were safely back in their own ethnically-designated townships) were also systematically brutalized by the system.
As I stated earlier, I believe the U.S.'s foreign trade policies, combined with corrupt governments elsewhere, are unjust--detrimental physically to people in other countries and detrimental to Americans spiritually and morally. But the problem with calling it a "global apartheid" is that it waters down our understanding of injustice--not only under apartheid but also under the U.S.'s system as well. If the shoe fits, wear it. But if the shoe doesn't fit, quit trying to shove the foot in it. To make the word "apartheid" (like Nazism) coterminous with evil and apply it indiscriminately to other problematic political and economic systems, without recognizing that terms have specific definitions and connotations, makes these terms lose their meaning. And they make the people who use them lose their credibility. (Rush Limbaugh's specious coining of the term "feminazi" is likewise an unforgiveably brutal attempt to co-opt a specific historic term that ultimately undermines his credibility and also desensitizes us to the memory of Nazi atrocities. It is simply not funny to suggest that even the most radical feminist in the U.S. is systematically gassing millions of American men to death in concentration camps, then disposing of the bodies in incinerators.)
Thinking about all of this kept me awake for a good portion of the night--that combined with Chris's habit of procrastination. He had to grade papers last night. For some reason I can't fathem, Chris likes to grade in the middle of the night. He'll go to sleep at 10 and set the alarm for midnight. But he won't get up at midnight. Instead, he'll re-set the alarm for 12:30. But he won't get up at 12:30 either. No. He'll reset the alarm for 12:45. This will go on until about 2:30 or 3:00 in the morning, at which point he'll get up and grade for several hours and then come back to bed for half an hour, or until I say, "Either you get up and start grading now--or go sleep on the couch until you do get up because I need to sleep!" Chris blames me because he says it's so tempting to cuddle for just "five more minutes." But in his own words "finger never say look yah, finger always say look dey." Given that last night was one of Chris's nights to set the alarm over and over again, I was more restless and wakeful than normal. Instead of kicking him onto the couch, I lay there and thought about stuff instead.
Tonight, I'm reading The Collected Works of Nana Asma'u in English. Nana Asma'u was a Hausa woman, a Muslim, the brother of the Caliph of the Sokoto Caliphate. Because she was a woman, she was not a Sufi, but her brother instructed her in Sufi ways. She became very influential in Muslim Hausa communities and her poetry and hadith (sayings of the Prophet) survived. The chapter I found most interesting was on Islamic amulets. I don't know if amulets developed in the rest of the Muslim world, but in W. Africa, it is a common practice to use the words of the Qu'ran as medicine. For example, you could write a Qu'ranic verse on a piece of paper, then swallow the piece of paper. Depending on the verse, this could have different effects, of course--but the idea that you are ingesting the holy words of God is a powerful one. Often, it is used to ward against evil. Here are a couple of Asma'u's injunctions for the use of the Qu'ran as a medicinal amulet (Suras refer to chapters or sections of the Qu'ran):
"Sura 69: He (may God bless and protect him) said: 'Whoever reads Surat al-Haqqa will be judged leniently by God. If it is worn by a pregnant woman, then she will be protected from all ailments.'"
"Sura 76: It was related by Abu Ubayy ibn Ka'b (may God be pleased with him) that 'whoever reads Suratu Hal Ata 'ala al-Insan will have a reward of Paradise and silk from God. Whoever reads it will have peace of mind and heart. And if he is unable to read it, then he should have it copied, rub it off into water, and drink it. Whoever persists in reading it will have self-confidence, and words of wisdom will emanate from his mouth.'"
Sura 85, if hung on a weaned child, makes the weaning process easier to bear.
Sura 85 is also useful if you need protection at night. If you read it while in bed, you will be under God's protection until the next morning.
I find these things endlessly fascinating--the idea of this very physical use of scripture for both spiritual and physical purposes.
I was talking to one of my former Cathedral students last night, who is now a very politically active student at Vassar. He brought up his belief that the U.S. is now participating in a "global apartheid." I thought about that for a while and realized that despite my strong disagreement with the U.S.'s foreign trade policies (which I think cripple other nations economically and politically), I don't agree. "Apartheid" has very specific historical connotations. To use it as a metaphor for another system that does not meet the criteria of that historic term weakens the political credibility of the people who use it.
Apartheid was a specific historic situation that occurred when the Dutch Reformed Church and the white-only government colluded to create a political theology for rule in South Africa. The political theology stated that God intended for the races to develop separately and to live in separate spheres. Thus, the government could religiously and politically justify the removal of "black spots" from "white areas," thus forcibly removing 1/5 of its African population (the equivalent of 57 million Americans to our population today) and dumping them in the middle of nowhere, with no homes, no water, and no method for survival. It could justify the creation of "Bantu homelands" within its borders--supposedly "independent" nations which were granted no political power and no means of livelihood but where Africans were required to stay unless they wished to be tortured, beaten, or killed within the vast prison system that developed in order to regulate the political system. Lacking South African passports; unrecognized as citizens of any "nation" anywhere in the world; denied basic human rights to work, live with spouses, and provide for their families; and without means of economic survival within the homelands or adequate means within the cities, millions of Africans suffered hunger, disease, and deprivation based solely on their race. Those Africans who were allowed to work within urban "white areas" (granted they left the whites-only areas by 5 p.m. and were safely back in their own ethnically-designated townships) were also systematically brutalized by the system.
As I stated earlier, I believe the U.S.'s foreign trade policies, combined with corrupt governments elsewhere, are unjust--detrimental physically to people in other countries and detrimental to Americans spiritually and morally. But the problem with calling it a "global apartheid" is that it waters down our understanding of injustice--not only under apartheid but also under the U.S.'s system as well. If the shoe fits, wear it. But if the shoe doesn't fit, quit trying to shove the foot in it. To make the word "apartheid" (like Nazism) coterminous with evil and apply it indiscriminately to other problematic political and economic systems, without recognizing that terms have specific definitions and connotations, makes these terms lose their meaning. And they make the people who use them lose their credibility. (Rush Limbaugh's specious coining of the term "feminazi" is likewise an unforgiveably brutal attempt to co-opt a specific historic term that ultimately undermines his credibility and also desensitizes us to the memory of Nazi atrocities. It is simply not funny to suggest that even the most radical feminist in the U.S. is systematically gassing millions of American men to death in concentration camps, then disposing of the bodies in incinerators.)
Thinking about all of this kept me awake for a good portion of the night--that combined with Chris's habit of procrastination. He had to grade papers last night. For some reason I can't fathem, Chris likes to grade in the middle of the night. He'll go to sleep at 10 and set the alarm for midnight. But he won't get up at midnight. Instead, he'll re-set the alarm for 12:30. But he won't get up at 12:30 either. No. He'll reset the alarm for 12:45. This will go on until about 2:30 or 3:00 in the morning, at which point he'll get up and grade for several hours and then come back to bed for half an hour, or until I say, "Either you get up and start grading now--or go sleep on the couch until you do get up because I need to sleep!" Chris blames me because he says it's so tempting to cuddle for just "five more minutes." But in his own words "finger never say look yah, finger always say look dey." Given that last night was one of Chris's nights to set the alarm over and over again, I was more restless and wakeful than normal. Instead of kicking him onto the couch, I lay there and thought about stuff instead.
Tonight, I'm reading The Collected Works of Nana Asma'u in English. Nana Asma'u was a Hausa woman, a Muslim, the brother of the Caliph of the Sokoto Caliphate. Because she was a woman, she was not a Sufi, but her brother instructed her in Sufi ways. She became very influential in Muslim Hausa communities and her poetry and hadith (sayings of the Prophet) survived. The chapter I found most interesting was on Islamic amulets. I don't know if amulets developed in the rest of the Muslim world, but in W. Africa, it is a common practice to use the words of the Qu'ran as medicine. For example, you could write a Qu'ranic verse on a piece of paper, then swallow the piece of paper. Depending on the verse, this could have different effects, of course--but the idea that you are ingesting the holy words of God is a powerful one. Often, it is used to ward against evil. Here are a couple of Asma'u's injunctions for the use of the Qu'ran as a medicinal amulet (Suras refer to chapters or sections of the Qu'ran):
"Sura 69: He (may God bless and protect him) said: 'Whoever reads Surat al-Haqqa will be judged leniently by God. If it is worn by a pregnant woman, then she will be protected from all ailments.'"
"Sura 76: It was related by Abu Ubayy ibn Ka'b (may God be pleased with him) that 'whoever reads Suratu Hal Ata 'ala al-Insan will have a reward of Paradise and silk from God. Whoever reads it will have peace of mind and heart. And if he is unable to read it, then he should have it copied, rub it off into water, and drink it. Whoever persists in reading it will have self-confidence, and words of wisdom will emanate from his mouth.'"
Sura 85, if hung on a weaned child, makes the weaning process easier to bear.
Sura 85 is also useful if you need protection at night. If you read it while in bed, you will be under God's protection until the next morning.
I find these things endlessly fascinating--the idea of this very physical use of scripture for both spiritual and physical purposes.
posted by Jessica Somewhere in the States at 10:54 PM
1 Comments:
Yup, I don't think this is an issue located on only one side of the political spectrum. Don't think any language is free of rhetorical problems....Using words like "Nazi" or "apartheid" seems to me like kind of a cheap way to make a point and get a reaction.
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