From David Anthony Hohol…

Led by France and President Nicolas Sarkozy, Europe continues to move towards a full ban on both the full face-covering burka and the niqab, while cries of discrimination against Muslims run through the Arab World. A funny thing then happened – Muslims the world over were caught off guard when Syria banned veils of all types from post-secondary institutions across the country, both public and private.

The ban reveals an unusual agreement in principle between the authoritarian secular government of Syria and democratic Europe. In the end, both see the niqab as an oppressive threat to identity and secularism.

Directives have been given to all Syrian universities from the Ministry of Education to ban niqab-wearing (and burka-wearing) women from even registering. Syria has taken things even further by transferring all primary school teachers who were wearing the niqab out of the classrooms and into administrative positions, separating them from the children altogether. The political aim is to protect Syria’s secular identity.

Only last week, the French parliament approved a ban on the niqab, doing so in an effort to define and protect French values — a move that angered many in the country’s large Muslim community. When news of Syria’s ban hit however, there was barely a ripple. The lack of protests suggests there is a double and somewhat hypocritical standard being applied by many in the Arab World.

“Well, it’s not really a part of Islam. Nowhere does it say that a woman must cover her face and anyone who says so is lying. It’s more about very old traditions,” is something I heard several times when discussing the ban with people here in the Middle East.

This is a far cry from, “ Those French Bastards should mind their own business! Sarkozy is an asshole! ”

Back in August this writer openly disagreed with the blanket ban being attempted by France. Niqabs and burkas should certainly be banned from any and all levels of education and places of work, but banning someone from wearing what they want to wear while walking down the street on their day off is just plain ridiculous. A government cannot over-reach itself in such a manner and must have limitations. Too much government is never a good thing. A sweeping law such as the one proposed in France suggests a blindness to the fact that drafting laws to dictate the dress codes of women at all times is exactly what the backwards dictatorships in Saudi Arabia and Iran do, making such a law an inverted reflection of what it is standing against.

Nevertheless, one can argue the extremist ban by France has had ripple effect of positive change in the Middle East.

Syria is only the latest nation to take a stance on the veil. Turkey has not only long banned the niqab, but even the headscarf, considering attempts to allow them an affront to the nation’s secular Laws.  The Egyptian and Jordanian governments have started to discourage them, and the United Arab Emirates has also begun to ban them in certain instances. With the Muslim world looking to cut out the niqab, its no wonder the Netherlands, Spain and Belgium are all considering taking steps similar to that of France.  And it’s also understandable that if Muslim countries are willing to ban them from schools or workplaces, European countries would take things one step further and attempt to ban them altogether.

Opponents have said such bans violate freedom of religion, one’s personal right to choose and further still, such legislation damages the image of Muslims. They fall relatively silent however, when countries within the Arab world take similar measures.

It’s also important to note that while the West’s objection to face-covering is largely a form of activism in the name of women, moves to do the same from inside the Arab World stem from fear of social dissent.

Middle East experts say the issue is more about the growing chasm between the Arab World’s secular aristocracy and the poverty-stricken masses of the lower class who often turn to religion for comfort. The niqab is not widespread in Syria, Jordan or Egypt, but in recent years it has become more common. The Middle East in general is currently witnessing a rapid growth of income gap, and governments have been quick to take note. Lower class and the working poor tend to cling to religion as a way to cope with their less than satisfactory existence. Salafism, the most extremist sect of Islam, is what Syria is trying to discourage with this ban.  Simply put, the government wants to stamp out any symbolic dissent represented by the very un-secular niqab in order to maintain control.

“We are witnessing a rapid income gap growing in Syria — there is a wealthy ostentatious class of people who are making money and wearing European clothes. The lower classes are feeling the squeeze. It’s almost inevitable that there’s going to be backlash. The worry is that it’s going to find its expression in greater Islamic radicalism,” says Joshua Landis, an American professor and Syria expert who runs a blog called Syria Comment.

It’s a mistake to view the niqab as a personal freedom. It is rather a declaration of extremism.” Says Bassam Qadhi, a Syrian women’s rights activist.

There’s no doubt, Islam is changing. As a religion, Islam is more than 600 years younger than Christianity. Let’s not forget 600 years ago the Judeo-Christian West was burning women at the stake for being witches. A more pluralistic, more secular and indeed, a more Western version is Islam is inevitable.  It will simply take some time, but the clock is already ticking.

The day before yesterday marked the beginning of the holiest time of year for Christian’s worldwide. But Christmas, isn’t that in December? Yes, Christmas is in December, and with all the snow the U.S. received these past few weeks it might have felt like December.  In actuality, however, the holiest holiday for Christians is Easter. Easter is the focal point of Christianity, based on the belief Jesus Christ, the only begotten son of the Father, was crucified on the cross (Good Friday), and on the third day rose again (Easter). Easter is on Sunday, so what happened the day before yesterday? Yesterday was Ash Wednesday, which marked the beginning of Lent.

Lent is a forty day period during which Christians fast in what is considered to be the preparation of the believer. Historically, observing lent meant all animal products were forbidden and even went as far as to require only bread was to be eaten. With that said, as civilization evolved so did Christianity. Present day Irish Catholics like myself are required to abstain from the consumption of meat on Ash Wednesday and on each Friday during the holy period. The forty day fast is meant to signify the forty days Jesus spent in the desert being tempted by the Devil. 

Catholic credence aside, religion, regardless what the belief system it may represent, is on the outs with the younger generation; and not just here in the United States, but the world over. Increasing fanaticism within all of the prominent religions has overshadowed the positive place religion has in our cultures. The Catholic Church has been marred by numerous counts of child molestation, the Jews are frowned upon for their abhorrent treatment of Arabs in Gaza and Palestine, and Islam is viewed with negativity and even fear throughout the world for the horrific actions of only a few. Today, more than ever, it’s clear being religious not only carries a stigma, but requires one to constantly defend their beliefs.

It is hard to get the whole picture when we constantly see only one side. Being Irish Catholic, this week was another wake-up call, as the Pope meet with Irish bishops about a widespread cover-up over abuse reports. Perhaps if we were to take a look at Religion from another view point, it would change your perspective.

I often hear the argument that religion is outdated and that modern constitutions and laws have taken its place. However, in looking at the pillars of modern law it is hard to find anything that hasn’t been influenced by religious text. Far before formal governments, religion guided one’s life. Religion is a vessel that offers interpretations and explanations for many of life’s greatest questions. 

Religious texts offer us a guide by which to live our lives. Many of the lessons we teach our children, “Turn the other cheek,” or “Do onto others as you wish done onto you,” are rooted in religious texts. Religious texts are rich with lessons to help guide one’s life and manage interactions with others.

Religion has a very constructive place in our society, but the modern media chooses to ignore positive stories and impact of religion to do good in the world. With its constant trumpeting all that is wrong with religion, the media has played a large part in turning many Americans against religiosity as a whole. Gone are the days of a quality Christian education bringing together mind, body, and spirit – at least in the United States. Even Christian soup kitchens and homeless shelters have come under fire.

Older people often have a tendency to believe that to be religious one must strictly adhere to all that a religion requires, whatever that religion may be; but I’m not so sure.

So many times I’ve heard people say I was raised Christian, Muslim, or Jewish, but I’m not anymore. That being the case, they still continue to hold on to the core values and beliefs found within their Holy Scripture. When we’re young, religion provides the black and white structure needed to give our lives a moral compass. When we grow older, religion evolves with us as well - regardless if we choose to accept this. Some of us might not agree with the organized faction of a religion, or the path upon which a religion choose to relay its message.  With that said, so much of what is good within us is derived from faith and religiosity.

And for those of you who think we would eventually learn the moral essence of humanity within a secular vacuum free of religion, I ask you to consider Thomas Hobbes.  The politcial philosopher believed people were in fact inherently evil, and if given the opportunity, would act devilishly in the name of hedonistic self-preservation.

So the next time you’re walking around and happen to see someone wearing a cross, don’t assume they support priest abuse, are abortion fanatics, or gay bashers. If you see someone wearing a yarmulke, don’t think they’re an Arab hating Zionist. And if someone is wearing a hijab or a kandora, don’t assume they’re going to blow something up. Why not ask about their beliefs and what their religion means to them. Because if you just walk by blindly, and continue to believe in the preconceived notions you hear in the news, you are no-less of a fanatic than the people you criticize.

Your fanaticism lies in your prejudice. 

From Gibbs Burke…

Writer’s Note: In the spirit of Lent, I would like to wish everyone good health, love, and prosperity. I know that I am not without sin, so I am sorry to all those whom I’ve offended.

From Dr. Ron Villejo…

In the United States, I turned off to Christmas.

Living in Chicago is not very pleasant around Christmas time – with December temperatures usually very cold, days depressingly grey and short, and snowfall causing havoc in the streets.  The shopping malls are crawling mad with people, parking lots over full, and budgets cracking from the weight of spending.  Plus, the year end push at the office brings added pressures around this time of the year.

Don’t you see why I got turned off?   

Americans are predominantly Christian.  By virtue of this fact alone, Christmas is BIG in the US.  But I railed at what I saw as the misguided secularization of one of the holiest days on the calendar.  I saw this holiday as being commandeered by commercialism and materialism.  Add a dose of self-centeredness disguised as gift-giving – that is, focused more on what ‘I myself will get.’  If these were the underpinnings of a secular Christmas, then I no longer wanted any part of the holiday. 

And I used to really love Christmas!

I don’t begrudge retailers from what they have to do – simply, to sell their merchandise.  It’s what business – and society as a whole – are all about.  Economies thrive in good measure on people spending their cold hard cash.  For that cash provides jobs, necessities and comfort for the retailers’ employees, who then ‘cycle’ the cash back with their own spending.  But the things I’d hear too much of were news reports of quarterly and year-to-date revenues for these retailers.  It was almost as if the Christmas season was deconstructed to figures on the cash flow tracking record, income statement and balance sheet.  

I love commercials, too – on TV and radio.  I enjoy figuring out the strategies by which companies position their products and services and attract their customers.  I reveled at the cleverness of some of the advertisements I’d see.  Still, because many retailers make a good chunk of their yearly revenues around Christmas, it seemed that all modes of communications in our everyday lives in the US were dominated by commercials.  Virtually mind-numbing!  There was always that gnawing, persistent ‘call’ to parents to buy whatever the most popular toys were for their children, their nieces and nephews, plus all their neighbors’ children and their children’s children.  There was always the guilt-inducing ‘call’ for lovers to buy whatever was supposed to be their partners’ hearts’ content.  Don’t have the cash?  No worries, just use the ‘plastic’ (credit card). 

What’s more, in America, in well-meanings efforts to stamp out prejudice, discrimination and all forms of socio-cultural hatred, there was another phenomenon that eroded Christmas.  We know it as ‘PC’ – political correctness.  Yes, we’d all have the trappings of the holiday – the tall trees, the colorful lights, and of course the jolly, stoutly fellow in the red suit.  But you dare not say “Merry Christmas” widely or indiscriminately.  Nothing on cards.  Nothing, it seemed, on TV or radio.  It had to be “Happy Holidays” or “Season’s Greetings.”  Why?  So as not to offend others who weren’t Christians or didn’t quite celebrate Christmas.  It was better to know the specific holiday or practice our friends, colleagues and neighbors followed, and to wish them accordingly – “Happy Hanukkah” to Jews and “Happy Kwanzaa” to African Americans. 

These are all dear holidays, endowed with a richness of history, lore and culture.  But I hated how Christmas got transformed into a generic greeting!  (Interestingly, in the Middle East, my Muslim friends are quite comfortable wishing me “Merry Christmas” and, what’s more, they enjoy me wishing them “Merry Christmas.”  Here, as another example, many people of different nationalities and religions openly wish each other “Eid Mubarak.”)  Not so, apparently, in the US, as the PC police seemed to lurk in every corner, just waiting to pounce on any violator of the holiday protocol!  Imagine the mad ‘double-bind’ feeling:  Symbols of Christmas were virtually all around you, yet you couldn’t necessarily acknowledge it so easily or openly.  Strange, huh. 

One reader recently wrote to the Chicago Tribune, and argued that Christmas cannot be secularized.  A secular Christmas, he said, was “oxymoronic.”  Why?  The very name of the holiday speaks to the solemn and joyful – read:  religious – importance of the birth of the baby Jesus Christ.  He said that to discourage or prohibit office workers from freely wishing each other “Merry Christmas” was to delegitimize this holy birth!

So this is where the very quandary of a secular Christmas lies.  If we are not Christians, does it mean we cannot – or do not – appreciate the precepts of Christianity?  Conversely, if we are indeed Christians, does it mean we cannot – or should not – openly but respectfully celebrate our faith on the most holy day in the year?  How do we as a society navigate our faiths in such dizzying environments of diversity, plurality and sensitivity?  I’ve lived in and visited many, many cities in the world, and such an environment is so dynamic, sometimes so complicated that it’s not easy at all to keep up with it, never mind grasp it. 

For me, here is an open way forward and through this quandary of a secular Christmas.  I tell you a story…

First, very recently, a writer from Khaleej Times asked me to comment on how Filipinos celebrated Christmas here in the UAE and in the Philippines.  He has now asked me several times to comment on various events, from the Philippine Independence Day to the launch of the Dubai Metro.  And he’s been very commending of me   But my first reaction to his recent request was – quietly, to myself – “Man, I have no idea!”  I hardly lived in the Philippines, and I’d been in Dubai only three years.  So what did I do?  I promptly called some dear Filipino friends, and got their take on how they celebrated Christmas. 

One friend, in particular, suggested that I go see the Christmas tree at St. Mary’s Church here in Dubai.  I was still in the office, and she knew that I was closeby.  I hesitated on the phone – remember, I’m largely turned off to Christmas – but she insisted.  So off I went.  There were the usual congestion of traffic near the Church, the dirt and diversions of a construction site, and a moderate crush of people on foot.  I parked the car a fair distance away, and patiently made my way to the Church.  

When I entered the courtyard of St. Mary’s, I immediately knew that I had a visited a simple but very solemn place.  Filipinos and Indians gathered together here, with that colorfully lit Christmas tree stretching 20 feet (6 meters) into the air.  There were just a couple of merchants plying their Catholic and Christmas wares.  Some prayed in front of the Virgin Mary, situated in a grotto, mostly standing but a couple kneeling on the hard pavement.  Still more, there was a scattering of worshippers before a large outdoor TV screen, on which mass inside was broadcasted, so we could all hear the sermon and song in the solemnity of that “Simbang Gabi” (Night Mass).  The words I came up with to describe my experience were these:  Here, the pace was slower, the mood more reflective, and the prayers deeper.  These words kept coming to me, while I was there and in the ensuing days.   

You see, I believe in fate.  I believe that things happen for a reason.  For not only was I asked to comment by this Khaleej Times reporter and not only was I urged by my friend to visit St. Mary’s, but the Editor-in-Chief of this magazine also recently asked me to write about Christmas!  So this convergence of messages told me to have another look at this holiday.  But more than just a look, it told me to re-open myself to a deeper experience of the holiday.  I live in an Arab Muslim country, so you can appreciate my feeling a bit stunned at this convergence of personal messages around a Christian holiday. 

Here’s a way forward for a secular Christmas…  Regardless of your faith, feel free to enjoy various symbols of Christmas around you, if you so wish – besides the tree, perhaps a wreath, a candy cane, or a red Santa Claus hat.  Feel free to wish each other openly “Merry Christmas.”  Remind those who might take umbrage at this that it is the essential spirit of Christmas that we can all celebrate – love, kindness, even redemption or salvation.  Remind them that the jolly fellow – Santa Claus – isn’t just a European or American fabrication, but a universal symbol of the joy of giving.  Emphasize the giving, for Christmas is NOT about spending or getting!  I am very fortunate that money has rarely been an issue in my life.  Whatever I needed or wanted, I usually had the cash to buy it.  But the gifts I’ve gotten from many, many friends at Christmas have been absolutely free – sweet text messages on my mobile, cool greetings on Facebook, and the oh, so simple and sincere “Merry Christmas” said to each other in person.  I’ve reciprocated such gifts, plus recited and given my poetry to friends.  People say, “It’s the thoughtfulness that counts.”  Absolutely, that in brief is what Christmas is all about. 

So contrary to that reader who wrote to the Chicago Tribune that a secular Christmas was a contradiction in terms, I say, “Not necessarily.” You may not believe in the birth of Jesus, that’s fine.  You may, on other hand, love the festivities and trappings of Christmas, that’s great.  But above all keep the spirit of what Christmas means – again, love and kindness.  Find that balance of joyfulness and laughter, on the one hand, and the meditative, solemn spirit of the holiday. 

Do not fall into the trap of those who would commercialize, materialize and otherwise secularize Christmas in ways that I had described earlier.  Now, that’s a holiday mouthful to add to your festive meals, eh    

Ron Villejo, PhD

+971 50 715 9026

ron.villejo@gmail.com