The sense of alienation that an immigrant community may face in a country can drive the members of the immigrant community to drastic measures like this. It's a pity I cant post nytimes links here (requires registration and articles older than 2 weeks are archived for a pay-only service), but Tom Friedman had a couple of very good articles analysing this scenario (now, who isn't analyzing this scenario these days, even *I am*!) which resonated with my thoughts on it too.
Suketu Mehta (who, if I may show off, I met during a film-festival, where he introduced the movie, Bombay, and stayed on to speak with some of us after the show), an Indian author, had a real good op-ed piece where he said the US could use the Indian immigrant community here help them understand the psyche of the Indian commuity in India (with reference to why American jobs are going overseas to India and what we have to do better/differently here in the US) and similarly, the muslim immigrant community could help us understant the psyche of the muslim communities all over. To stereotype and typecast may be one of the most dangerous things at this point.
Every muslim doesn't wanna blow up people - the greatest majority are god-fearing, simple people like you and I who would rather take a subway without the fear of getting blown up. I sincerely believe that a solution lies in not just searching through bags in the subway, but striking the problem at its root, and understanding why someone would wanna do what they do, and addressing that issue. Wonder if it'll happen though..
In the same ballpark of immigrant communities, a great movie I saw recently, Crash - big cast; good acting; strong, powerful dialogues and punch-lines. It beautifully explores the typecasting and stereo-typing that happens in societies all over and without being preachy, very subtly gets the point through.
2 comments:
There is a saying: "Nobody is the stereotype." There are always personal stories that run behind the facades/stereotypes. It would be disingenious of me to say that cultural factors don't affect our perception - they most certainly do -but lets not put everybody in the same parenthesis.
Muslims, contrary to images on television, come in all shapes and sizes. Majority of the muslims in the world are non-arab. There are Shias and Sunnis and there are Sufis, the whirling dervishes.
More importantly terrorism is not like somebody going in the street with a knife - though it can be. It is about organized syndicates with maniacal leaders and crusty ideologies. They have nothing to do with Islam or Christianity or any other religion. They are best understood at networks of power with unsuspecting pawns at their disposal.
Most immigrants to western countries, Muslim or otherwise are economic migrants. They came out of choise, to get an opportunity at a better life.
Honestly I don't see first generation migrants getting swayed by any argument to turn against their adopted countries. The second generation is another matter altogether. Call it angst or whatever else u will. Young and restless minds when faced with a lack of opportunity, are fertile grounds to imbue whatever hate filled spiel maulvis spew.
But poverty cannot be an excuse for blowing up people. The problem is not just painting all muslims with the same brush(its a side effect), its how do we deal with crazed
individuals who are convinced in the divinity of their mission. The awnser in my mind is the solution has to emerge from the muslim world. Protestations of being peace loving wont be enough if we are to wipe out this scourge.
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