Posts Tagged ‘identity’
Faisal Shahzad or Rima Fakih: The Choice of Identity
Last week, I wrote a post on the micro effects of Faisal Shahzad’s failed terror attack in Times Square. Today, I came across another news item, which made me wonder about my observations in the last post. If Faisal Shahzad can make many American Muslims feel nervous about their religious identity, could Rima Fakih make them feel proud in any way?
Rima Fakih, who is of Lebanese Muslim descent, has been crowned Miss USA 2010.
Is Rima Fakih’s achievement a symbol of American liberalism or is she the face of ‘modern’ ‘American’ Muslims?
Burqa, Identity and Democracy: Sarkozy’s Flawed Logic
Nicolas Sarkozy is the first French President since 1848 to address both Houses of the French Parliament. The speech at Château de Versailles was expected to elaborate the President’s policy plans for the second half of his tenure. True to reputation, President Sarkosy’s utterances have evoked another controversy. According to the President, “The burqa is not welcome on French territory. In our community, we cannot accept that women be prisoners behind a screen; cut off from all social life, deprived of all identity.”
The President’s comments have been condemned by Islamic groups across the globe, reminiscent of the protests in 2004 against the French law prohibiting the display religious symbols in public places. Click to continue…