Life in Saudi Arabia
I think you'll appreciate reading this. What you'll appreciate most is not living there!
When I read stories like this one I like to remind North Americans of an important fact: Official "Multiculturalism" does NOT mean "a wonderful rainbow of cultures all living in harmony together". What it does mean is that one must fully accept all other cultures as no better or worse than one's own. Thus, those who follow the precepts of official multiculturalism don't believe there's anything wrong with what's described in the blog posting above. They will also declare you to be a racist and an intolerant bigot if you dare to criticize such Saudi Arabian practices occurring in North American society.
The next time someone tells you how much they love multiculturalism, challenge them on it and ask why they fully support treating some foreign women like chattel. The answer, if there is one, should be interesting.
3 comments:
I didn't want to hijack Amy's blog so I'll answer you here. It's also important for people to know that "Dar Al Salaam" which literally means "camp of peace" is what the Muslim talking heads claim Islam is all about.
What they don't talk about is that Dar Al Salaam is a state that can only be reached when everyone is a follower of Islam.
We think we're being open and multicultural when we have mosques built by churches in our neighborhoods. The perspective of many Muslims here is that we are weak, don't have enough faith in our own religion to stand up for it, and not let others take over etc. They scoff at us and see themselves as victors in this war they are waging on the "kaffirs"(unbelievers) or infidels. I'm sure on your side of the pond you encounter more educated Muslims, a little more in touch with reality.
I'm all for multiculturalism and diversity, but with my eyes wide open, not assuming that the feeling is mutual or reciprocated, or that their definition of multiculturalism is the same as mine.
Thank you so much for sharing your first hand knowledge of what's going on over there. I don't know if it's so much eye-opening, as it is confirming what I already suspected.
As for the last part of what you wrote in your comment, I have to disagree. Here's why: Words have meaning. "Multiculturalism" means precisely what I described above. I am not prepared to lay Canadian values down like a door mat and allow values from more primitive cultures (yes, I am making a judgment) to supplant them.
Diversity, yes. Multiple ethnicities, yes. But multiculturalism ... HELL NO!
Too bad more people don't understand what's going on around them - it'll catch up with them! Thanks for linking me :)
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