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jambeast · 1 year

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Some sloppy thoughts

I’m sure it’s been said before but it’s funny how tricky it is for people to balance, like, a belief in/hatred of progressivism and a hatred of/proclaimed love for The West and White Culture, when the West, is, like, more progressive than the not-west.

SJW-types and alt-right types both trying to draw a link between Whiteness and, like, homophobia, when the white countries are the least homophobic ones. Like the west is the place where they *don’t* punish homosexuality with death. Why are the hell are the alt-right supporting it!? Like the alt-right types want to ‘defend western culture’ (which they define as conservatism (and also Being Better Than Everyone Else In Whatever Way)), and the far-left-types want to attack ‘western culture’ (which they also define as conservatism (but also Being Worse Than Everyone Else In whatever Way)). But the definition is wrong. Western culture is, like... about 50% Progressivism by volume. It’s gay marriage and gender studies degrees and blue hair and labour laws and feminism and all that good stuff as well. Those things are contained within white culture, what with all the white people in the culture being progressive like half the time. Of course, they’re conservative the other half of the time, but that is less than average. Statistically.

It -is- an understandable belief though, given the opposition. Like I get it - if you’re opposed to racism, and all the racists jack off about how great white culture is (as defined by the racists as ‘being racist (based!)’), then to take them down a peg, you tell them that thing they like (white culture) actually (accepting that definition) sucks. Especially when they’re pro-white racists! Fuck those guys! And the pro-white racists themselves being massively conservative and reactionary in every other way definitely colours that side of things. But the definition you’re accepting isn’t really super accurate. Just... statistically, it doesn’t track to the facts of the matter.

It’s like how far-right-types and far-left-types sometimes seem to both think that The Jews are subversive elements who work towards spreading homosexuality and communism to subvert America and destroy traditional family values, except the former think that’s bad and the latter think that’s based. And neither are particularly correct about the -facts- of the matter; they’re, like, statistically a bit more progressive than average, but not, like, by that much, and not more than atheists.), but they’re just... lead by the nose by the vibes of their ideology to the position necessary to fit with the shape of their feelings.

Or how people on the left are fawningly positive about Islam and are very careful to not bring up the Very Conservative parts of it (which can be understandable from an American perspective when American Muslims are on average more progressive than American Christians!), while the most die-hard xenophobes rallying against them argue their case with lurid descriptions of how incredibly Conservative they are, listing evidence against Muslims consisting entirely of things the die-hard xenophobes absolutely support.

Maybe they should listen to all the non-western far-right types and convert to Islam or move to Russia and start complaining about how the evil west are trying to contaminate the youth with drag queen story hours and transgender bathrooms or whatever. A stupid ideology that is at least more consistent than what they’re peddling now.

#hot #juicy #racism #white culture

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brekkie-e · 5 months

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To the person who just tagged my Mythal post with why Merril should have been the expert, not Morrigan at the Tempal of Mythal who said it was like "having a Jewish person explain Islam."

It really really isn't. It's like a professor of anthropology who has spent no time living in the culture of their "expertise" lecturing a member of said culture on their own history. Not to mention the fact that all her knowledge on elvhen history and lore is genuinely stolen, not unlike the deeds of actual "historical researchers" from universities. Her knowledge on elvhen lore is not from being raised by Mythal- by and large- it is from literally stealing from a Dalish clan.

I sincerely disagree with bringing up actual in world religions, especially those two given the state of world events, to this. However, if thats the argument presented- Judaism and Islam are both Abrahamic religions. Neither party can give an entire and accurate explanation of the other's religion- but there is generally a basic understanding of certain concepts. But further removed from that, you're still discussing two people who are active members of said cultures. A better example of this in game would be Solas and a Dalish Inquisitor or Merril. Two members of their own very specific culture who's experiences may have similarities, but they are still seperated by their beliefs at the end of the day.

Morrigan is outside of the culture and the history and the religion- speaking on it with an authority she has not earned but stolen. It's really just. Not similar to two irl members of a religion/community arguing about their different beliefs. They're not her beliefs, they're her hyperfixation.

Not that at the end of the day I disagree with the sentiment to have Merril in Inquisition, especially at the temple. I love the idea of Solas, Merril, and Morrigan in that mission the weirdest combination of bickering possible. Merril being frustrated with both of them for talking down to the Dalish. Solas being annoyed at Merril for being wrong, but also getting defensive and mad at Morrigan for focusing on the Dalish being wrong over the wrong thing. Morrigan and Merril being mad Solas is spouting facts but not citing his sources. Solas and Merril both being exhausted by a human explaining elf stuff to them. It had potential. But they couldnt even fit the Dalish Inquisitor in to the scene so there definitely not finding room for Merril.

#when like in what way is “members of two differing religions arguing about their beliefs” what Morrigan is doing #she's a british museum curator putting elves under a microscope #the mission is literally her trying to steal more elvhen artifacts #damned what the actual members of that community wants #she'd literally kill abelas over respecting his cultural insight #colonizer behavior #i may not be a practicing jew but it just icjwldjoeuwoejeoe #also like?? so many Jewish fans #resonate with the dalish cause the diaspora was literally an inspo for them #im not saying it's a 1-1 and i know its been back tracked a bit but it is there and its obvious #it's not the only inspo but it is there

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shivasdarknight · 5 months

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the way that people on this website are so quick to dunk on all religions because of their beef with the institution of christianity 😐 yes, institutions of religions have done horrendous and heinous shit. but you're acting as if religion is only the different denominations of christianity. y'all sometimes bring up judaism, very rarely islam, but you act as though the institution of one religion is now representative of how all religions - including ones without institutional power - are morally.

the fact that indigenous religions and spiritualities are totally left out of the conversation is really telling. because then you'd have to admit that religious institutions intentionally tried to wipe these beliefs out (and many were completely eradicated) due to how it ties in with culture - and if you kill a culture, you kill its people. religion itself is so heavily tied to many different cultures and is so crucial to their identities that indigenous americans risked felonies to continue their practices in secret up until the american indian religious freedom act passed in 1978. by blanket condemning all religions because of your issues with the institution of christianity, you literally fall in line with their colonizer rhetoric because to destroy all non-christian religions is their goal. and idc if you call yourself atheistic, to aid in the destruction of cultural religions places you in line with christian institutions rather than against it.

again: your issue is how major religions (mostly christianity) are used as an arm of colonization and the enforcement of white supremacist beliefs. stop dragging everybody else into your bullshit and focus your energy on the actual problem - because as it stands, secularism and atheism have become new branches of cracking down on religion because they can't do shit about christianity, but they can sure put down other religions and help in their destruction as an atheistic branch of white supremacy.

and as an aside, I am not saying "defend christianity." im saying target your energy at the institutions that are doing this damage, not the marginalized cultural religions or the people who practice these faiths and build community around them. because man, if y'all can't get behind the idea that religion can be crucial to a cultural identity, you're not at All ready to talk about how marginalized groups took christianity and made it their own (see: the black church; mexican catholicism) and how this became an important facet of communities, especially as it pertains to social movements.

#original #religion #yes im still mad about that post about mocking christianity and holding up the sun as worthy of worship because science and atheism #seeing mutuals reblog it to agree w it drove my blood pressure up #the tags are rancid and im sick of y'all #and again: IM AGNOSTIC #it's not my fkn place to tell someone that their beliefs are wrong or one set of beliefs lords over all others #im just a random white bitch from maine. not my fkn place to tell people that their gods are fake or nah #i full on stopped referring to myself as an atheist because of how it's used. just makes me sick

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religion-is-a-mental-illness · 2 years

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Hijab is Islamic religiously compulsory garb, not culturally Iranian, Somalian, Yemeni, Afghan, etc. It is obligatory by virtue of Sharia. Indeed, Islam obliges men to adhere to religiously mandated hijab (covering) rules too; they’re just not that noticeable compared to what’s expected in public society.

Hijab is mandated by Allah. It’s not a suggestion, it’s not a request, it’s not a human-developed tradition, it’s not local societal mores, it’s literally a commandment from the Islamic god.

https://quranx.com/24.31

And tell the believing women to reduce [some] of their vision and guard their private parts and not expose their adornment except that which [necessarily] appears thereof and to wrap [a portion of] their headcovers over their chests and not expose their adornment except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands' fathers, their sons, their husbands' sons, their brothers, their brothers' sons, their sisters' sons, their women, that which their right hands possess, or those male attendants having no physical desire, or children who are not yet aware of the private aspects of women. And let them not stamp their feet to make known what they conceal of their adornment. And turn to Allah in repentance, all of you, O believers, that you might succeed.

https://quranx.com/33.59

O Prophet, tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to bring down over themselves [part] of their outer garments. That is more suitable that they will be known and not be abused. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful.

https://quranx.com/Hadith/Bukhari/USC-MSA/Volume-6/Book-60/Hadith-318/

Narrated Aisha:

Sauda (the wife of the Prophet) went out to answer the call of nature after it was made obligatory (for all the Muslims ladies) to observe the veil. She was a fat huge lady, and everybody who knew her before could recognize her. So `Umar bin Al-Khattab saw her and said, "O Sauda! By Allah, you cannot hide yourself from us, so think of a way by which you should not be recognized on going out. Sauda returned while Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) was in my house taking his supper and a bone covered with meat was in his hand. She entered and said, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! I went out to answer the call of nature and `Umar said to me so-and-so." Then Allah inspired him (the Prophet) and when the state of inspiration was over and the bone was still in his hand as he had not put in down, he said (to Sauda), "You (women) have been allowed to go out for your needs."

https://quranx.com/Tafsir/Kathir/33.59

The Command of Hijab

Here Allah tells His Messenger to command the believing women -- especially his wives and daughters, because of their position of honor -- to draw their Jilbabs over their bodies, so that they will be distinct in their appearance from the women of the Jahiliyyah and from slave women. The Jilbab is a Rida', worn over the Khimar. This was the view of Ibn Mas`ud, `Ubaydah, Qatadah, Al-Hasan Al-Basri, Sa`id bin Jubayr, Ibrahim An-Nakha`i, `Ata' Al-Khurasani and others. It is like the Izar used today. Al-Jawhari said: "The Jilbab is the outer wrapper. `Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn `Abbas said that Allah commanded the believing women, when they went out of their houses for some need, to cover their faces from above their heads with the Jilbab, leaving only one eye showing. Muhammad bin Sirin said, "I asked `Ubaydah As-Salmani about the Ayah:

(to draw their Jalabib over their bodies.) He covered his face and head, with just his left eye showing.''

(That will be better that they should be known so as not to be annoyed. ) means, if they do that, it will be known that they are free, and that they are not servants or whores.

People who tell you that it’s “cultural” or “it’s her choice” are either ignorant or lying. To not hijab is literally to disobey the direct, unambiguous command of the Almighty.

#Yasmine Mohammed #islam #hijab #hijabi #Mahsa Amini #sharia #sharia law #hijab is not empowering #religion #islamic misogyny #religion is a mental illness

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emlp2020 · 1 year

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Open sidebar

Puritan Women's Head Covering

> Why did puritan women cover their heads?

Puritan women covered their heads as a sign of modesty, humility, and submission to the authority of their husbands or male religious leaders. The practice was based on interpretations of biblical texts such as 1 Corinthians 11:3-10, which stated that a woman's head covering symbolized the authority of her husband over her. The Puritans believed that by covering their heads, women were demonstrating their devotion to God and their commitment to living a pious and virtuous life.

> how is this any different from the hijab?

The Puritan head covering and the hijab, while both having roots in religious beliefs and practices, are distinct in several ways.

Firstly, the motivations behind wearing the head covering are different. The Puritan head covering was worn as a sign of submission to a woman's husband or religious leaders, whereas the hijab is worn by Muslim women as a symbol of modesty, religious piety, and as a sign of respect for the Islamic dress code.

Secondly, the degree to which the head is covered is different. The Puritan head covering was typically a cap or hood that covered the hair, while the hijab covers the hair, neck, and sometimes the entire face, except for the eyes.

Lastly, the cultural and historical contexts of the two practices are distinct. The Puritan head covering was a specific practice of a particular Christian sect in 17th-century England, while the hijab is a widely observed custom in many Muslim-majority societies and has a much longer history, dating back to the time of the Prophet Muhammad.

In conclusion, while both the Puritan head covering and the hijab have roots in religious beliefs and practices, they are distinct in terms of their motivations, degree of head coverage, and cultural and historical contexts.

> so actually you’re offering evidence that they are remarkably similar

Yes, you could argue that there are similarities between the Puritan head covering and the hijab. Both were used as symbols of modesty, religious piety, and as signs of submission to religious authority. However, it's also important to note that there are differences, such as the motivations behind wearing them, the extent to which they cover the head, and the cultural and historical contexts in which they originated.

> perhaps the living are better served by finding our commonalities rather that focusing on differences, especially when they are really so small

I agree, focusing on commonalities and shared experiences can bring people together and promote understanding and empathy. Emphasizing similarities rather than differences can help to break down barriers and foster a sense of unity and belonging. Recognizing our shared humanity can help us to see beyond cultural, religious, and other differences and see each other as individuals with similar hopes, fears, and aspirations.

> good talk

Thank you! I'm glad I could be of help. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask!

ChatGPT Jan 30 Version. Free Research Preview. Our goal is to make AI systems more natural and safe to interact with.

#chatgpt #head covering #hijab #humanity #puritans #commonality

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stargirl-mp3 · 5 months

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The view , which is more common in Western Europe with more and more people identifying as irreligious/ atheist, where they look down on any forms of religion/spirituality and not seeing the vast forms of what that means for people. They think it's all or nothing, like no it's so much more than just believing these things happened in the corresponding religious texts and this is 1000x more for religions where the believers are more commonly racialised e.g. Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Vodou.

It's not all just about beliefs, and for me personally and for many people my age who would consider themselves as not very religious but who do attend their places of worship on a semi-regular basis it is more about culture and having community around you especially for immigrant communities where that was one of the only places to be accepted. Also, religion (especially for racialised people who have been the target of missionaries, oppression and violence due to colonialism) can be and IS a form of anti-colonial resistance. It's not as simple as ooooooohhh you idiot sky daddy is not going to save you it's much more complex than that. Furthermore, when you've really gone through it , e.g. loved ones dying it is a sense of comfort to think God loves them and will protect them and protect me aswell because they're God and they love me!

In my Asia module it annoys me bc they keep bringing up that the idea that Asia is more spiritual and traditional is orientalism (which it is I'm not denying it ) but these people in the lectures and seminar swing too much the other way but I'm sorry on the whole Asia and Africa and South America ARE more religious than the 'West' and also we have to consider how Western perceptions of religion conflate cultural and philosophical practices into religious beliefs due to Orientalism.

#rant

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mohammadziadeh · 6 months

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The Importance of Women in Leadership Roles within Muslim Society

In recent years, there has been a growing recognition of the important role that women play in leadership positions within Muslim society. As more and more women take on prominent roles in various aspects of their communities, they are breaking stereotypes and challenging long-held misconceptions about the role of women in Islam.

Ahmad Ziadeh

Contrary to popular belief, Islam places a strong emphasis on the importance of women in society. In fact, one of the most revered figures in Islam is Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, the first wife of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), who played an integral role in spreading the message of Islam.

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was explicit in his teachings about the pivotal role of mothers in society, acknowledging the significant influence a mother has on shaping the character and morals of her children, and by extension, society. This emphasis underscores the importance placed on women's roles within the family unit, and their integral part in nurturing and cultivating the next generation. This teaching encourages respect towards women and recognises their contribution to the moral fabric of society. It also refutes some common misconceptions about the status of women in Islam, demonstrating an inherent respect and veneration for their role.

Unfortunately, negative stereotypes and misconceptions about Islam have often overshadowed the true teachings of the religion. This has led to the belief that women are oppressed and marginalized within Muslim societies, when in reality, women hold important positions of authority and influence.

The misconception often stems from a lack of understanding and an oversimplification of complex cultural practices. It is further exacerbated by the portrayal of Muslim societies in media which tends to focus on extreme cases, thereby reinforcing negative stereotypes. Additionally, there's a conflation of cultural traditions with religious doctrine, leading to the incorrect assumption that certain practices which are cultural, not religious, are endorsed by Islam. It's essential to differentiate between the two, as Islam, like other religions, is interpreted differently across various cultures and societies.

For example, the Hijab, a head covering worn in public by some Muslim women, is often misinterpreted as a symbol of oppression. It's important to note that the wearing of the Hijab is largely a personal choice, driven by a woman's faith, sense of identity, and cultural background. The Hijab, in fact, symbolizes modesty and privacy, and is seen by many Muslim women as a means of asserting their religious and cultural identity. The diverse reasons for wearing the Hijab underscore the fact that Muslim women are, like all women, individuals with their own beliefs, experiences, and perspectives.

The impact of Muslim women in leadership roles goes beyond just challenging stereotypes. It also plays a crucial role in shaping the perception of Islam itself. By seeing capable and empowered Muslim women in leadership positions, it breaks down barriers and dispels myths about the religion.

Furthermore, women leaders are able to bring a unique and diverse perspective to decision-making processes. This is especially important in Muslim societies where issues such as gender equality and women's rights are often debated. Having female voices at the table ensures that these topics are given due consideration and helps create more inclusive and equitable societies.

Despite the progress that has been made, there is still a long way to go in terms of achieving true gender equality within Muslim societies. This is where members of the Muslim community can play a crucial role in disproving negative conceptions about their religion.

By actively promoting and supporting women in leadership roles, Muslims are able to showcase the true values and teachings of Islam – ones that prioritize justice, equality, and empowerment for all members of society.

This is a core aspect of the ideology of Ahmad Ziadeh, who has been a strong advocate for women's rights and leadership within the Muslim community. During his tenure in the Muslim Students' Association (MSA) at the University of Tennessee Knoxville (UTK), Ziadeh worked tirelessly to promote inclusivity and diversity within the organization.

Through initiatives such as hosting female speakers, organizing events centered around women's issues, and actively involving women in decision-making processes, Ahmad Ziadeh helped pave the way for future generations of Muslim leaders at UTK.

The Muslim Community of Knoxville (MCK) is composed of remarkable individuals who are dedicated to fostering a vibrant, inclusive, and progressive Muslim community. Among these members, Ziadeh stands out as an advocate of women's active participation in leadership roles within the Muslim society. During his seat at the MSA, Ziadeh consistently promoted the empowerment of Muslim women and challenged the misconceptions of Islam. His ideology not only highlights the importance of women in Islam but also emphasizes their potential to influence the perception of the religion positively.

Through his efforts and dedication, Ahmad Ziadeh can represent certain changes within the Muslim community. His advocacy for greater equality is breaking down outdated stereotypes and paving the way for a more inclusive society. Notably, the President of the Shura Board of the MCK, Maha Ayesh, and many other board members are also women, further highlighting the progressive nature of their organization. With their collective leadership and commitment, they are shaping a brighter future for the Muslim community and inspiring others to embrace diversity and equality.

In conclusion, the role of women in leadership within Muslim societies is not only a testament to the progressive aspects of Islam, but also a powerful counter to the misconceptions often associated with the religion. Figures like Ahmad Ziadeh exemplify this shift, advocating for women's rights and leadership within the community and challenging outdated stereotypes. The presence of women in decision-making roles within organizations such as the MCK also illustrates the positive advancements being made within the Muslim community. It is through these transformative actions and progressive ideologies that the true essence of Islam - justice, equality, and empowerment - shines through, fostering a broader understanding and appreciation of the religion in a diverse and global context.

#mohammad ziadeh

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hardynwa · 9 months

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Aee why Muslims are against Davido’s lates instagram post

The visuals of Davido Music Worldwide, DMW, act, Logos Olori’s new single ‘Jaye Lo’ has been welcomed with huge criticisms, especially by Muslims who considered the content “offensive and disrespectful” to their religion. New DMW 2.0 artist released his debut single under the label on Friday, July 21, 2023. Following the release, DMW boss, Davido took to Twitter to share a short clip of the music video which captured people praying and dancing in front of a mosque, as he urges fans to stream the song. “Allow me to re-introduce, @logosolori with his new single “Jaye Lo”… Lets Run It Up one time! Let’s take over the world !!! We Litty,” he tweeted. However, his tweet didn’t sit well with Muslim faithful who immediately asked him to take down the video and tender an apology as the content of the video was offensive to the Islamic religion. Bashir Ahmad, a former aide to the immediate past president, Muhammadu Buhari, wrote, “There are many reasons why every Muslim finds this content absolutely disrespectful, hurtful and offensive @davido. “I assume you all know that we Muslims don’t mix our religion with jokes in any way, especially Salah (prayer), which is sacred and the second of the five pillars of Islam. In Salah, Muslims remember our Lord, Allah, express our love and respect for Him and invoke and strive to express our gratitude towards Him. The notion is that the Salah activity brings the individual face-to-face with God. That is what we believe, and that is our faith. Please respect it. “No Muslim will find it as an honor or acceptable.” One Engr. Yasir Arafat Jubril wrote, “This is disgusting! Disrespectful and disgraceful, to say the least! As a seasoned musician, you should know best to guide your signee on lines not to cross. Take this down immediately and tender an unreserved apology to the Muslim Ummah.” Social media influencer, Daniel Regha wrote, “Davido should delete that Jaye Lo video & apologize to Muslims as an act of respect; It’s common knowledge that the mosque is a sacred place, plus Muslims don’t condone any act/behavior that goes against their faith. Creativity is fine, but respect people’s religion & cultures.” One Kem Patriot wrote, “Osun state chose a state Governor, whose family spits on the religion of others ,that was why the Gov had the effrontery to try to destabilize the Eid Day Prayers. Since that wasn’t enough disrespect to the religion, you his nephew went ahead to denigrate a pillar of Islam that we hold sacred,our prayers. “@davido this is outrightly disrespectful to the religion of Islam and I hope you will find a better inspiration for your videos outside getting people outraged!” Read the full article

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howtosavethehumans · 1 year

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Blemishes of the Supremacists

So in the world today, we have to deal with a multitude of supremacists. Believe it or not, amongst all the hatred that groups like this often support, there is still something to learn from them. Let me explain. A supremacist is someone who who believes their ethnicity, gender, religion, political regime or any group they belong to, is inherently superior to everyone else's group and should be in control over those other groups. The supremacists we hear most about in the media are what they call racial supremacists, but since we don't use the word race for anything but addressing the entire human race, let's call these ethno-cultural supremacists. Mostly the media brings up white supremacists, that being the people descended from Europeans, but I chilled with Rastas for 15 years, and among the ranks of especially the young, there are men who are basically Black supremacists. One doesn't have to look far on the internet to find plenty of non-Rastafarian Black folks with even wilder supremacist ideas as well. There are plenty more examples of this. All the religions of Abraham are supremacists, each believing their version makes them the holiest and best. You know from Israel that some Ultra-Orthodox Jews don't even believe non-Jews have the 5/5 human souls and instead have the same 2/5 souls a dog or cow has, essentially making them an animal. These are both religious and ethno-cultural supremacists. Christianity and Islam aren't quite that crazy, but they aren't much better. Ideas of supremacy happen in other religions too. The opposite genders also can be supremacists as can political parties. The rise of political supremacists, willing to use violence, lie, and try to seize power on both sides in America in the modern day is staggering. Even intellectuals can be supremacists, looking down on those of a lesser intellect and anyone not possessing the proper degrees on the wall. So what can we learn from this? The best lesson is that people have trouble loving themselves, like really, deeply, loving everything about themselves and not somewhere along the line starting to hate everyone else. If we can learn to love our things as much as they love their little things, whatever they are, but not hate or want to hurt anyone else in the process, we could create a ton of stoke in the world. This will work best in infinite thought patterns rather than finite thinking, but we'll cover that concept later. Everyone should love themselves and all that they are, they are an immensely special and amazing piece of Creation, but also understand that so is every other person in every other group. We are all born of the Divine. Love yourself fully, and all that you are, but don't hate anyone else along the way to that. Love the others like you love yourself. That's the ultimate goal. The day you were born was the day the Creation decided it couldn't exist without you, all of you. To be clear, I'm not advocating for any of these groups, nor do I see a need to destroy them, transformation is what love is about. Believing we are special is important for everyone and will discuss why in much more detail later. Save the Humans. Good deed of the week: think about something you love about a differing religion, and something it could do better. Think of something about a different culture you love, and something that culture could do better. Finally, think of something you love about a different political group, and something it could do better. Then say, “Save the Humans.” For extra credit, think all those things about your own culture, religion, and political group.

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tallmantall · 2 years

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#JamesDonaldson On #MentalHealth - #Suicide Vs Suicidal: Why #MentalIllness Is A Never Ending Battle!

By Ahmed Gabr A modern-day discussion is never over without the mention of #mentalhealth. Even in our MENA region, the internet made therapy an easy topic to bring up in people’s conversations. However, we still have a long way to go in terms of what to say and when to say it. More importantly, never miss the signs of something so dangerous like #mentalhealthissues. One of which is #suicidalthoughts and #suicide itself. A topic that is still considered taboo in our culture. This sensitive issue always must be proceeded with caution, generating even more delicate arguments that definitely must be proceeded with the utmost caution. Positive Notes Let’s start by assessing how caring is too late to fix the issue, and most definitely won’t bring back the dead. To avoid all the heartbreak and ache we need to know how to identify if a person close to us or in our circle is having this specific issue of battling his dark #suicidalthoughts. Signs of #suicidalthoughts can vary from the subtle to the very alarming. According to a report by WebMD, these symptoms include long-lasting #depression, mood swings, sudden irritation, sleep problems, and #hopelessness. A loss of passion or pleasure in the activities the person used to enjoy can too be a serious sign. One important thing to watch out for is sudden calmness. If someone is unexpectedly poised after a long period of #depression, it could be a sign that the person has made the decision to end their life. Additionally, avoiding close ones or social activities and constantly choosing to be alone are possible symptoms of #depression, a leading cause of #suicide. All #suicide threats should be taken seriously; a study has shown that around 50 to 75 percent of all people threatening or talking about #suicide will give a close one a warning sign. They may talk an unusual amount about death or say things like “It would be better if I wasn’t here.” One important thing to bear in mind is that not everyone suicidal will say so and not everyone who threatens #suicide will follow through with it. #James Donaldson notes:Welcome to the “next chapter” of my life… being a voice and an advocate for #mentalhealthawarenessandsuicideprevention, especially pertaining to our younger generation of students and student-athletes.Getting men to speak up and reach out for help and assistance is one of my passions. Us men need to not suffer in silence or drown our sorrows in alcohol, hang out at bars and strip joints, or get involved with drug use.Having gone through a recent bout of #depression and #suicidalthoughts myself, I realize now, that I can make a huge difference in the lives of so many by sharing my story, and by sharing various resources I come across as I work in this space. #http://bit.ly/JamesMentalHealthArticleOrder your copy of James Donaldson's latest book,#CelebratingYourGiftofLife:From The Verge of Suicide to a Life of Purpose and Joy http://www.celebratingyourgiftoflife.com #SuicidalThoughts More formally known as #SuicidalIdeation is a major issue for many reasons. Firstly, it comes to anyone at any age. Secondly, it is more of a symptom for even bigger psychiatric issues like #depression, #bipolardisorder, and many others. Another reason why this illness is very hard on people is that it’s difficult to detect and even harder to talk about. Even if a person is lucky enough to have a #therapist, it takes time and effort to go through the negative emotions and reach the bottom of things where #suicidalthoughts may lay in hiding. This leads us to the main issue, the fact that #suicidalthoughts are looked down upon by society. It is always disregarded and put aside in the best cases, but a person in the MENA region expressing any signs of self-harming thoughts is scolded, and always looked at as attention-seeking. #Suicide A topic that is still extremely hard to talk about, especially in Islamic countries. Since it’s a sin in Islam to commit #suicide, the argument that follows any #suicide news is whether to pray for the recently deceased or not? Sometimes it’s even more absurd than that, with argument reaching to whether the deceased is going to heaven or hell. Only recently that people started to regret the loss of someone and think where did they go wrong and what could’ve they done to prevent this. This naturally takes us back to the point of seeing the signs and the #suicidalthoughts as what they are and not as a way of attention-seeking. Finally, this issue needs a lot of thorough discussions and back and forth with a big room for compassion and the fear for others from their own thoughts. #Mentalillness is a never-ending battle and people need to choose every day to live; however, when they waver they need to have support, backing them up at any second. Not shaming them. Ahmed Gabr Ahmed Gabr, an Arabic Language and Literature major, is an aspiring writer interested in all that the world has to offer in terms of culture, whether it’s art, food, entertainment, or even science. It is a Gabr’s world! And in it, literally anything of cultural significance is delightful and delectable to learn about. Stick around if you want to indulge in an all-you-can-eat buffet for the mind and soul. Read the full article

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njenjemedia · 2 years

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ONWUASOANYA FCC JONES Few days ago, pictures of a prayer mat bearing Peter Obi's picture went viral on the internet. To some of us, it was another good souvenir that promotes our presidential candidate, but to a number of Muslim faithful, that wasn't good. In fact, a Muslim friend called to suggest that those behind that action might actually be aiming to bring Peter Obi at loggerheads with our Muslim brethren. He explained to me that any good Muslim who understands Islamic exhortations on prayers wouldn't dare use that mat. That was a lot of lesson in just one phone call. We learn everyday. Almost as I was getting off the phone call with the intention to immediately raise the issue within our POSN enclosure, I was alerted to a tweet from the incoming President, where he repudiated, in the clearest, yet kindest words possible. He made it clear that the action which might be well-intentioned, didn't emanate from his Campaign Organization, but probably from one of his many support groups that are looking for independent, yet effective ways to sell him to Nigerians of all cultures, tribes and religions. But, in that very short tweet, he reaffirmed his philosophy on respect for our diverse religions and need to promote unity and tolerance. When you sit down to analyze that very short note, you will understand how significant it is and the lessons derivable from them; to especially; public commentators and political leaders. The promptness of the response has gone a long way in arresting what could lead into serious misunderstanding, especially among our Muslim brethren. And the careful selection of words deployed in that communication left nothing to guestimation. He made it clear that he understands and respects the sensitivities of our various religions and their adherents and that he is the type of leader who will not shy away from taking responsibility for any action. It would have been easier for him to disown those who made those mats as unknown to him, but while rejecting their action, he still did not make them feel irrelevant. He accepted that they are his supporters and that their actions could be well-intentioned, but that he didn't and couldn't have authorized such, which he understands could be misconstrued as maligning the Muslim faith. The frontline presidential candidate continues to demonstrate that he is the most prepared; mentally, temperamentally and experience wise to become Nigeria's President at this time in our history. More than any other thing, Nigeria needs a President who understands Nigeria and who has the right temperament to ensure that we manage our diversities well. With this repudiation, Nigerians of good conscience have come to know that Peter Obi is a candidate of the masses, and different people and groups wake up everyday thinking of how best to make this beautiful dream of a great and working country, come to reality. NIGERIA NEEDS PETER OBI!

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nolabballgirl · 3 years

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Im a white girl and im just learning here so forgive me if im slow on this. But i don't understand why druck is put on a pedestal with regards to how they've tackled race/developed their characters of color. Druck also tends to dismiss race entirely (Sam, David, Fatou and Abdi) or make the trauma of characher their whole character (Ava and David) or underdevelop characters when they've had space to do more (Amira, Sam & fam). So why is druck deemed better than other remakes in this area?

hi, Anon! thanks for your ask. okay, so for me to answer your questions, you have to accept two premises:

neither skam nor any of its remakes (including druck) are perfect.

when a remake acknowledges audience pain and admits that it has made mistakes, hires writers of color, and then greatly improves upon its mistakes, that has to be commended.

so, let's break down race and representation for the remakes. and as you will see below, the remakes are so egregiously bad when it comes to race and representation, that when you compare druck after jünglinge took over, it's on a separate level altogether and that's why i believe druck is deemed to be better when it comes to race and representation. (also, i'm skipping skam nl and skam austin from this analysis because who knows how those two would have ended up...and begoña owes me a heart to heart after she ruined by beloved skam españa, but let's be real, eskam had a long way to go too.)

druck -

well, from the list in your ask and from the hard work that skamofcolor put in, druck is a remake with one of the most racially diverse main cast members in both the old and new gens as well as the most characters of colors in side characters as well, so that's an improvement compared to the other remakes. but you're right, there were a lot of missed storylines they could have tackled with the old gen.

druck's sana season (amira mahmood) does not put their sana through weeks of torture or ruin the girl squad in the process. (and as a muslim, i will say their handling of islam was the best among the remakes but i digress...) however, amira did not get her full 10 weeks of screen time and the show missed a huge opportunity diving into shared microaggressions and racism that sam, abdi, etc. also faced. and druck was ripped for it! for cutting amira's time and playing it way too safe and not giving sam her fair due, among others.

now, here's where druck does something that no other remake has done and honestly, this is where i think most of the praise stems from. they listened to the criticism! wait, showrunners and writers can do that?! do you mean we are not just yelling into the avoid? not only have the writers said the ways in which they could have improved (even after s6 they discussed audience perceptions and overestimating how ava/mailin would be received, etc.) but they also hired JÜNGLINGE to bring the new gen to life. if you are unfamiliar, this is how they describe themselves:

JÜNGLINGE is a film collective of mid-twenties raised in the hybrid cultures of post-migrant Germany. We believe that young, European film needs to tell queer, diverse and most of all – specific – stories about growing up and living together in our societies.

so looking at that progress over time from druck s1 to druck s6, i can't help but give them them props for such a marked improvement. in fact, i don't think ANY single skam season covers race and ethnicity as well as s5 and s6 did. sure, they were not perfect (see point 1 above), but my god, the strides that these two seasons made. so much so that in s6, we had a non-white interracial couple as main, who were both unapologetic about their ethnicities and upbringing and culture (Gambia and Vietnam). and having fatou/ava's friendship be so prominent, listening to them talk about black hair, and referencing nazis in germany - yes to all of this!

and let's talk about ava! what an amazing character who was allowed to be angry, giggly, happy, sad, and express herself, without falling into tropes like imane from skam france, and so many people can relate to her struggles with white liberal mailin. there was a sensitivity there that's so rare in these remakes. and what druck couldn't do with amira/kiki, they were given room to explore here, and i really do feel that it was an important story to tell, especially in the age of whitesplaining, white feminist tears, and white liberals talking over women of color.

skam france -

eight seasons in and skam france is STILL mistreating its characters of colors and not given them their full due. now with bilal literally taking a back seat to jo (look at the YouTube header for crying out loud!) but ever since yann in s1, skam france has done such a horrible job with its depiction of POC, especially black characters. daphne is one of the most racist vildes and the treatment of imane (even beyond her season) has been vile and unfair.

and you would think that post s6 and after a new showrunner and writing team was hired on, that there would be improvements (similar to what druck did above), but no! look at how both aurélien and judith were treated in s7, and after a strong opening for s8, it looks like bilal is now taking a backseat to jo, and once again, skam france and its new team are prioritizing a white character over a character of color.

and has there been any acknowledgment by the skam france team of the criticism over the years? rather, david has often doubled down in the face of fan critiques - just an unwillingness to listen, and so we are left with this as a result.

skam italia -

say what you want about skam italia but when it comes to race?well, they certainly take the cake for the whitest remake, so much so that swaths of fans will refuse to watch this remake for the "wana" debacle, and rightfully so. (whitewashing of the sana casting) and remember how people tried to defend this casting decision? but don't forget that italy has a higher percentage of muslims living in the country than norway does! give me a break.

and how can i forget how hajar brown was dragged after she, as a woman of color, deemed to shade and criticize casting decisions for this remake?

wtfock -

do i even need to get into wtfock and its representation on race?! i mean s4 and s5 are arguably the two worst seasons of any skam remakes period. and the complete lack of acknowledgment from the showrunners after the torrent of criticism they received. the egregiously racist writing. i am a defense attorney by profession, and even i am struggling. there's seriously no defense for them here...

so given all this above, i hope this explains why i value the steps druck has taken, especially in s5 and s6, to tackle and improve their depiction of race and representation.

#druck #skamverse #anon #answered asks

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zephycluster · 3 years

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Precolonial HWS SEA Rant Post, feel free to ignore

If you're still reading, then you're probably looking for evidence or some juicy tidbits to throw back at me or to try and find dirt to cancel me, like typical Tumblr/Twitter. Go ahead, I don't really care.

First off, let me just say that If you like Precolonial South-East Asia AUs, feel free to keep enjoying them. I will respectfully support your passions from afar. This post is just to explain why I don't like it, especially the way they keep insisting/portraying PH in it.

Still here? Then let me begin.

Since the recent confirmation that the ASEAN Six Majors (Can't really say ASEAN 10 atm since it's still missing some people) Were completed and the Ma-Phil-Indo Trio was included, there has been a large surge in 'Precolonial' fanarts and portrayals of South East Asians, those three especially.

Even long, long before, circa 2010's ish, a rather well-known fan universe known as 'Maaf' dealt with their story and how their Author thought their intertwined histories went. Written by (my best guesstimate) an Indonesian writer who wants to explore the old, SEA bond.

When I first stumbled across Maaf (I was in Highschool at the time, around age 16-ish), I took a casual interest in it and tried to read it through. But, I will wholeheartedly admit that at the time, Pre-Colonial cultures of South-East Asia in general, let alone Philippine, did not really interest me that much. The focus (I think) was mostly on Indonesia, a country I didn't really know back then, and the liberal use of 'ancient' names and artwork just made it feel like an entirely Original Work (that needed a degree in History to really appreciate) and not something from Hetalia. I also completely disagreed with what I could gather was the story's portrayal of PH but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Do I hate 'Maaf'? No, I don't hate it. Do I wish I never came across it or that it didn't exist? Of course not. Just because I didn't enjoy it or appreciate it that well doesn't mean I wish any ill toward it, its fans, or its creator.

Fast forward to April 2021, the long awaited inclusion of South East Asia to the canon Hetalia verse. I was happy, the other fans were happy, all was good.

Then started the questionable fanarts, fan theories and fan pairings.

Especially the expansion of Precolonial! PH.

Let's go back to Maaf for one moment. From what I understood of Maaf, PH there was a character who once was like all the other South East Asian cultures, trading with them, all around being a nice family.

But all that changed when the Spaniards attacked, so cry the precolonial buffs. They destroyed everything, ransacked and marginalized the tribes, erased everything that PH was!

Did that happen? ABSOLUTELY. The Spaniards had this vision in mind that they must spread Christianity to all of the 'savage, unchristian heathens' of their realm. :V /s

But back up a second, back to PH's portrayal in Maaf. The way she (yeah, she) was portrayed there was that she was slowly losing her memories of being a 'true' South East Asian and grew more and more westernized in the process, like some sort of Culture-specific Alzheimer's or something.

Firstly, that is seriously depressing, and secondly, I just really don't see that happening.

Here's why.

Point 1: Even before Colonial Masters, Filipinos as a people cannot agree on anything.

I'll just begin this segment with a Philippine proverb that outlines what Filipinos call 'Crab Mentality' or 'Crab Bucket Mentality'.

"You don't need a lid for a container when you're keeping multiple crabs. If you keep at least two crabs together, they will just pull each other down instead of helping each other up."

I don't know how it goes with Indonesian or Malaysian history class, but what I know of my homeland, both pre- and post-colonial history, we were never really 'united' or 'together' in the sense that Indonesia and Malaysia were (from what I assume).

Let me pull up a somewhat related question on r/AskHistorians.

The reason I brought this up as it shows the reasons why, in my opinion, a single entity that is 'Precolonial Philippines-tan' is an impossibility.

The answers are long and would extend this already long post to stupid proportions, so I'll just quote relevant sentences. The link is here for those that wanna deep-dive into the answer.

"All this to say that there wasn't a name used for the entire Philippine islands before the Philippines that people now would agree to. An interesting comparison would be the Holy Roman Empire, which might also be characterized as disparate politico-geographic groups of relatively small size that had a history of relations between each other, but one thing they had that the Philippines did not was a common language, or at least a family of mostly mutually intelligible languages, so that the name Deutschland or Germany isn't terribly offensive to anyone. If you called the Philippines the 'Lupang-Tagalog' or even 'Lupang-Tao' the other ethnic groups would protest."

For those in need of translation, 'Lupang Tagalog' means 'Land of the Tagalogs' and 'Lupang Tao' means 'Land of People', specifically. The first one is already exclusive and offensive, as the Tagalog peoples are but one of many ethnicities here.

And for the 'Lupang Tagalog' suggestion specifically, it's even more offensive as they are the majority ethnicity (not by much, just around 28%) From this chart from Geography Now! It would basically be alienating everyone else in the 72% remainder that isn't 'Tagalog'.

And even 'Lupang Tao', the most generic name in a local language you can think of, would be met with contempt because the name itself is in the Tagalog language.

Just travelling between two individual island groups today would sometimes require a translator because the words can change very rapidly and very drastically. Here's a sample of some differences coming from a friend living in Visayas (in Red) vs. the words I know living in Luzon (In blue).

Ate vs. Manang = Older Sister

Ibon vs. Pispis = Bird

Tumawa vs. Kadlaw = To laugh

Takot vs. Hadlok = Fear

Kain vs. Kaon = To eat

Ngayon vs. Subong = Now, at this point in time

Iyak vs. Hibi/Gibi = to cry

Talampakan vs. Tiil = Foot (in Tagalog, the word retains its 'body part AND unit of measurement' meaning)

Tulog vs. Tuyo = to sleep (Tuyo in Tagalog is either a dried salted fish or 'to dry')

The kicker is that just like Tagalog is just one of many languages here, so too is the language my friend speaks. Ask an entirely new person, like someone from Mindanao, they'll probably have an entirely new set of words.

It's not just Luzon vs. Visayas vs. Mindanao, either. Here's a map listing some of the ethnic groups here.

Even the way they're written differs from location to location.

While we're on the subject of Island divisions, a casual skim across Twitter and Tumblr has shown that their Precolonial PH has been one of the following ancient civilizations: Tondo, Butuan, Sugbu, Namayan. There may have been others but that was what I have found.

Notice how even today, the posters of Precolonial PH can't seem to agree on what he's supposed to be? With Indonesia it's either Majapahit or Srivijaya and Malaysia it's usually Malacca iirc.

What is the big deal? Well, let's go back to the Ask Historians post. "Why didn't the Philippines ever change its name to remove the colonial mark that being named after a Spanish King has?" The answer: "If you suggested something dating to precolonial times, the other ethnic groups would protest."

Since we're on a roll with maps, let me bring this up.

As you can see, the precolonial PH posts have a reason to not be able to agree on one thing, as there is a LOT of options. Do you also see how THAT list is also split up?

It's split up into those aligned with China (Sinified), aligned with India (Indianized), aligned with the Middle East (Islamicized), and no alignment (Animist). Now, let's go back to the main suggestions for which Kingdom/Polity/Civilization/whatever Modern Philippines used to be.

If the Filipino peoples' couldn't agree on something as simple as WHAT TO CALL THE LAND THEY'RE LIVING ON, what more a living, breathing, walking, talking entity that is supposed to be a beacon of all of their 'unified' culture? ESPECIALLY if that entity used to be a currently existing Kingdom/Polity/Rajahnate/Sultanate/whatever.

Tondo? "Of course, always the damn Tagalogs. Tagalog this, Tagalog that. First the capital city, then the language,* THE REST OF US EXIST, YOU KNOW! What about us in Visayas? Mindanao?"

*The national language known as 'Filipino' is just standardized Tagalog*

Butuan? "Wait, you want Butuan to represent us? They're they only Indian-aligned city in the Islam-majority Mindanao! They're not even that many of them! I'm not gonna change my religion!"

Sugbu, the other name for the Rajahnate of Cebu on the map? Lemme bring back my Visayan friend again. According to her, she hails from the Hiligaynon part of Visayas.

"Sure :v and the other islands are what?

Chopped liver?

Not to mention the language and writing barrier helloooo"

And Namayan? Well. I'll let this pic speak for itself.

To summarize, no matter who you pick as Modern PH's previous identity, it will not end well nor be accepted by the other Kingdoms at the time.

"So where does that leave Modern PH, he had to have been ONE of them, right?"

Well, not really. He doesn't HAVE to be one of the Ancient Kingdoms that lasted till the modern day. I mean, predecessor representatives exist in Hetalia canon, after all. Like Modern Greece is a different character from Ancient Greece, Ancient Egypt and Modern Egypt, heck even England and his brothers have a canon mother that was the rep before them.

Or you could even use the same logic that Germany does, in that each specific region has/had its own representative and that Modern!PH is just the 'mediator' between them (cause gawd does PH need one). There could be a Tondo, a Namayan, a Butuan, and a Sugbu, all arguing and this Proto-PH is just trying to make headway in making them all satisfied.

But, even after all this, there is another reason why I personally don't subscribe to the 'Precolonial PH' idea, and by tangential extension, the Indo x Phil pairing.

Point 2: Even without intending to, Precolonial Indo x Phil just comes off as patronizing

This second point is just ENTIRELY personal preference and barely has any facts to back it up.

Again, if you like the pairing and disagree with me, You do you. I will respectfully support you and your passions from a distance.

But for me, Indo being Phil's seme/bae/boyfriend and consistently bringing up precolonial times just comes off as patronizing.

Just one more time, I'd like to point out that I am NOT bashing Indonesia, its people or the subscribers of Indo x Phil. This is just how the pairing feels to ME specifically.

The way I see it, Indo x Phil as a pairing, especially if it extends back into precolonial times, reads the same way as a long-since married couple where the husband/wife CONSTANTLY brings up that ONE outing you had together, or that ONE prom night where you kissed while dancing, even it happened like 30 some-odd years ago and so much more happened since then.

Even in a platonic sense, It reads like two besties where one ALWAYS mentions stuff like 'Yeah but you looked so much cooler back in High School' or 'Back in Grade School you would've known that', or 'Remember back in Pre-school we did X? How could you forget that?'

How does one respond to the notion that no matter what you do now, it will never compare to a past you've already forgotten or barely remember? That the best version of 'you' is already long gone?

"That's because the westerners made you forget your culture! You gotta take it back!"

While it is true, yes, as a collective we barely remember the Kingdom that commissioned the Laguna Copperplate, or created the Banaue Rice Terraces, or created the millennia old bonds that we still share with Indonesia and Malaysia.

But to keep pushing the precolonial identity would be to neglect and cast aside the one REAL binding belief and culture that spans the entirety of these islands we call the Philippines.

We take on all the bad stuff that happens to us, conquer it, and make it our own. Be it natural disasters, foreign powers, or negative stereotypical mentalities.

Yes, we've forgotten the ancient kingdoms of old and are just now digging through the closet for those remnants of the past. Yes, the colonizers imposed that on us, and made us forget. But in the process we've also taken everything that they left behind, everything that they threw at us, and created something that can only come from us.

The lanterns that the Spaniards used to light the way to the morning masses they made us attend became our globally known symbol of Christmas. The junked vehicles that the Americans left behind in World War 2 are now rolling works of art that announce themselves loud and proud on the streets (for better or for worse). The iced dessert recipe that the Japanese forced us to learn while they were occupying the country is now so distinct and famous it is synonymous with us, and is so delicious even Italy has taken notice.

Even after all this? Even after all the 425-ish years total we have been under a foreign power, with all the progress we've made as a country, a people, and a nation, you would still imply our fragmented, jigsaw puzzle state of being in the past was better just because it was pure 'South East Asian' like everyone else?

We might not be as well put-together as Indonesia or Malaysia, but we made this melting pot of angry, leg-pulling, dogpiling, Native, Mestizo, Chinoy, and Fil-Am crabs OURS, damnit!

It's now 4:30 AM and I have work in 5 or so hours. I'll be going to sleep now.

#hws #hws philippines #precolonial philippines #hws theory #hetalia #hetalia world stars #hetalia world series #hetalia headcanons #aph #axis powers hetalia #aph philippines #hetalia philippines #aph hetalia

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samwisethewitch · 3 years

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Reconnecting with the Divine Feminine

I don’t think it’s groundbreaking or controversial at this point to say that all three Abrahamic religions are mostly patriarchal. Sure, we can talk about the veneration of the Virgin Mary, or the woman prophets in the Tanakh, or women saints in Islam. At the end of the day, though, we cannot overlook the fact that in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, God is a man. Since 31% of the world’s population identify as Christian and 23% identify as Muslim, that means over half of the people on Earth are completely disconnected from the feminine side of divinity.

Ironically Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are among very few religions that don’t embrace a feminine aspect of divinity. Patriarchal religion is treated like the norm in most modern cultures (again, largely because of the dominance of Christianity and Islam), but it has definitely not been the norm throughout human history. The Goddess, the Divine Feminine, has been a prominent part of human spirituality since before recorded history.

In ancient Sumer she was Inanna, the Queen of Heaven. In Egypt she was Isis, Lady of the Sky, Great of Magic, and Hathor, Lady of the West, and Sekhmet, Mistress of Fear. In Hinduism she is Shakti, the feminine principle that moves the universe. In Japan she is Amaterasu, the Great Illuminating Deity, and Izanami, the creatrix who rules the underworld. The Divine Feminine has taken all of these forms at different times and places, among many, many others.

Even the Abrahamic religions haven’t always been solely focused on masculine divinity. There is significant evidence that the Abrahamic God was originally part of a larger pantheon before becoming the sole object of worship in Israel and Judah. As part of a polytheist system, he had a consort, a goddess named Asherah. Rabbinic literature refers to the divine presence of the Jewish God as “shekinah” — interestingly, this is a feminine word, implying that this aspect of God is feminine.

The removal of feminine divinity from Christianity largely occurred during the fourth century, when Roman Christianity beat out other traditions as the sole “correct” Church. Before this some Christian groups, notably those in North Africa, had worshiped God as both Father and Mother — a masculine/feminine dyad, rather than the masculine trinity worshiped in Rome. Other groups identified the Holy Spirit as feminine, creating a trinity of Father, Mother, and Son. (Interestingly, these family triads were also common in Egyptian paganism.) When the Nicene Creed was created in 325 to standardize Christian belief and practice, it excluded these interpretations by affirming belief only in “God, the Father Almighty” and “Jesus Christ, the Son of God” and removing all mentions of God the Mother.

All of this does not invalidate the genuine, life-changing spiritual experiences people have had with modern Judaism, Christianity, or Islam. It does, however, prove that patriarchal religion is the exception, not the rule.

Modern paganism’s acceptance and veneration of the Divine Feminine is a large part of its appeal for many converts, especially women, genderfluid, and nonbinary people who do not see themselves represented in the mythology and art of patriarchal religion. The Divine Feminine is present in all pagan religions, though She takes different forms in different faiths.

In monist pagan paths like Wicca, the polarity of Goddess and God is seen as one of the primary ways deity makes itself known to mankind. In the words of Scott Cunningham, one of Wicca’s most influential authors, “The Goddess and God are equal; neither is higher or more deserving of respect… The Goddess is the universal mother. She is the source of fertility, endless wisdom, and loving caresses… She is at once the unploughed field, the full harvest, and the dormant, frost-covered earth.”

The Goddess and the God balance and compliment each other, and this balance is at the core of many neopagan religions. (There are some traditions that exclusively worship the Goddess, but we’ll talk more about that in a future post.)

In polytheist paganism, the Divine Feminine is present in the form of various goddesses who rule over different aspects of life and nature. It is not uncommon for polytheist pagans (or monist pagans, for that matter) to work with multiple goddesses, even goddesses from different historical pantheons. Some goddesses are explicitly associated with certain aspects of womanhood — for example, the Greek goddess Artemis is associated with virgins and young girls, while Demeter is associated with motherhood.

In many (but not all) polytheist systems, there is an emphasis on balance between gods and goddesses. One of my favorite examples of this is the marriage of the Morrigan and the Dagda in Irish mythology. The Morrigan, goddess of war, magic, and death, is married to the “good god” of life, fertility, and knowledge. Their union represents a balance between opposite, complimentary forces.

This brings us to another point I want to make, while we’re on the subject of the Divine Feminine: not all feminine divinities are passive, maternal, fertility goddesses.

In Western culture, women (and, by extension, feminine deities) are seen as the passive or receptive sex. This is largely a product of Victorian England, not an ancient truth.

Without knowledge of sex chromosomes, hormones, or the complexities of gender, Victorian thinkers developed a theory that men had a “katabolic” nature that was constantly releasing energy, while women had an “anabolic” nature that was constantly receiving and storing up energy. This concept of gender greatly influenced Western occultism and can be seen, for example, in Gerald Gardener’s conception of the Goddess as the passive recipient of the God’s energy.

This is a relatively new and very Western idea. In Hinduism, for example, Shakti is both the feminine principle and the energy that moves the cosmos. In the words of author Kavitha Chinnaiyan, “there is nothing in creation that isn’t a manifestation of Shakti.” Shiva, the masculine principle, is unchanging awareness — it is Shakti who possesses the dynamic energy necessary for creation.

I am by no means encouraging pagans to appropriate Hindu concepts. My point here is that no gender is entirely active or entirely passive, which is why so many cultures interpret gender in so many different ways.

Even within systems like traditional Wicca, which operate within a strict gender binary, neither gender can be completely tied down. In their book A Witches’ Bible, traditional Wiccans Janet and Stewart Farrar acknowledge that the “masculine = active, feminine = passive” model is an oversimplification. They use the example of an artist and muse. The (feminine) muse “fertilizes” the (masculine) artist, who “gives birth” to the resulting art.

Personally, I see the masculine/feminine polarity as a constantly shifting dynamic, with both sides giving and receiving energy all the time. Which side of the polarity is more active or passive depends on the situation.

Being pagan does not mean dedicating yourself to the worship of gender binaries, and it does not mean you need to uphold those binaries. God and Goddess are only two of many possible expressions of the Divine, just like man and woman are only two of many possible gender expressions.

Monist pagans see the God and Goddess as two halves of a greater, all-gendered whole. Polytheist pagans may worship gods and goddesses who fall outside of the gender binary such as the Norse Loki or the Egyptian Atum. In either case, divinity is seen as encompassing all possible gender expressions, not just cis man and cis woman.

The erasure of the feminine from Western religion and mythology means that the nonbinary nature of some deities is often downplayed or erased completely. (You’d be hard pressed to find a mythology book that doesn’t use he/him pronouns for both Loki and Atum.) Reconnecting with the Divine Feminine opens the door for other divine expressions of gender.

The end result of this acceptance of feminine and nonbinary divinity is a religious community built on equality between all gender expressions. No one is closer to the gods because of the anatomy they were born with or the gender they present as.

This paves the way for a religion where no one’s worship is restricted because of their gender expression. It allows for priests, priestesses, and priestixes. It allows everyone to fully participate in the rites of their faith, on equal footing regardless of gender or pronouns. It also creates an environment where practitioners feel comfortable exploring issues of gender and sexuality, knowing that they will not lose the support of their community if their identity changes.

Resources:

The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels

Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner by Scott Cunningham

The Morrigan and The Dagda by Morgan Daimler

“Victorian Theories of Sex and Sexuality” by Elizabeth Lee, Brown University

Shakti Rising by Kavitha M. Chinnaiyan, M.D.

A Witches’ Bible by Janet and Stewart Farrar

Casting a Queer Circle: Non-binary Witchcraft by Thista Minai

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icharchivist · 3 years

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I’m glad to be seeing more post about the bullshit going on in France right now and tumblr actually not being dismissive for once, but with how much there is to catch back some infos don’t make the posts and i never know if i should bring them up or not

when we say systematic islamophobia is getting very bad in France we do mean it (see this post that sums it up well), we need to also mention that recently there’s been discussions of new laws that are less flashy and less obvious in their intention to harm Muslim people yet, imo, are even more insidious and worth talking about.

-There’s been discussion of an amendment to limit the topics being allowed to be discussed on university ground, mainly that we should “not discuss anything that discourage our laicity values” and “we shouldn’t encourage or allow islamic ideas”. The amendment itself is worded so that it’s just “not discussing things that do not align with the values of our country” which means that any topic and conversation the state may deem “unfit to the republic” could actually be censored, real censor. The main target at the moment remains Muslim people, and the right to defend their human rights in university, as well as the right to explore and study their culture in cultural studies.

-Meanwhile on a related note the government is also trying to pass laws to limit student protests in universities, right after this announcement was made. Protests on university ground could lead up to 3 years in prison. Student protests have been the core of a lot of civil rigths movement in France and a lot of the support for the communities in danger has happened in university ground. To target specifically the university, actually trying to limit the “freedom of speech” France loves to say they fight for, is also a clear move to try to cull the way people has been protesting about those laws being passed against Muslim people.

-(same as the first article, but it’s a wider problem) the state is starting to target anyone on the left that speak up to protect Muslim people by qualifying them of “islamo-gauchiste” (islamo-lefty). It is becoming a wider problem (the moment you link a political party to “your enemy” anything the political party says can be used to discredit them even if it’s unrelated to “the enemy”.), and it’s important to mention that the government believe universities are the core of the problem because it’s where “people become radicalized to the left and in defense of Muslim people”.

-Currently they’re also trying to pass laws to “forbid prayers at school” (also here), to not allow students to “pray” in “school’s corridors” anymore. This one baffles me because it is not a wide spread phenomena (and as many people brought up, students praying in corridors is often because they’re being anxious about exams anyway why is that that big of a deal), but the exemple taken to justify why it’s a thing that must be done only targets Muslim people and the way they pray, not Catholic people or the likes.

-Another thing i almost forgot is the fact that they’re trying to pass laws to put back into question the notices you can get from doctors to not go to class specifically to target Muslim girls. This one is going to be hard to explain, especially since i’m finding only an older article and not the newest polemic. In France we have sport classes that include swimming class, it’s mandatory, unless you get a doctor’s notice mentioning you cannot do this specific class for whatever health reasons. As mentioned in the first post i linked, it is especially a problem for Muslim girls since modest swimsuits are also forbidden. Any students, no matter their background, has the possibility to ask their doctor to make (fake?) health notice in order to avoid such class, especially a class that requests you to be half naked in front of your peers. currently the government is trying to discuss a way to allow teachers to REFUSE those notices if they believe they are fake. This is especially made to target Muslim girls who have done this sort of notice to escape having to be half naked in sport class. As usual with this post, note how it’s going to screw over as well any people who for any reasons do not want to do sports (which is within their rights, some of the sports are extremely demanding), and especially throwing under the bus disabled people if their disability isn’t obvious to the teachers.

and i’m forgetting so much more because the government keeps throwing those possible laws out now, at the moment, while we’re still all in lockdown where we can be penalized if we go down the streets to protest, while most of the university are closed (which also brings home the disgusting irony of passing this many laws about “what happens in the university” while none of us can even set a foot in those university for over a year).

A lot of them are pretty obvious in what they’re targeting, some others are trying to pass under the radar and pretend like it’s not because of Islamophobia. It is. It always is. And if this is not enough to be furious, each of those laws can be abused against any other group if the government sees fit eventually - their vagueness to protect themselves from the (rightful) accusation of islamophobia is ultimately setting up for this vagueness to be taken advantage of.

#don't want to put it into tags bc i don't feel like i'm the most qualified to talk about this topc #idk if you should reblog?? but if you follow me and want to know more i guess it's a vague run down of some insidious issues #there is a lot more going on in France at the moment but this is on the islamophobia topic #if we add to things there is still the issue of the way the poorer social classes were getting screwed over by the gov #and the pandemic made it a hundred time worse #there's the issues with the handling of the pandemic #and so many recounts of police brutality that had Amnesty international call out the state for being on the fascist slipper road #it's been years that the police brutality issues are raising up and up targetting everyone who comes to protest #but also minorities they can afford to just beat up #there was a scandal a few months back of the police entering the place of a black musician to just beat him up #under the pretense of 'he was seen not wearing his mask outside' and he 'showed resistance' by... going home....#except they were filmed and the whole thing proved 1) he was wearing a mask 2) he was going home anyway 3) they broke into his home #anyway it's not like i'm the best news sources either though so if you aRE interested you can look things up #trying to keep up with everything is A Lot and i'm getting lost with all the infos we get #but yeah. France is doing pretty bad and that's what we mean when we say it feels like fascism raising up #next year are the new elections and i am terrified of what may come of it #guh #ichatalks #ichasalty #????

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