Here in Taiwan, they edit all language, nudity, and other titillating stuff out of TV programs. I think it's pretty silly, but not a big deal. I have grown accustomed to watching programs that have been "sanitized". Until the other night I had never been puzzled why they edited something out of a program.
A few nights ago I was watching an episode of Fear Factor. It's fun to watch if you can get past the host. I think they discovered him at a frat party on a college campus...every other word out of his mouth is "dude". Anyhow, at the end of each program they have a segment where they go to a viewer's house and have them perform one of the eating challenges. If they are successful they win $5000. On this particular episode the family had to stick their faces into a vat of nastiness and pull out several pig's feet with their teeth. The host went about explaining the challenge to the family and every time he said "pig's feet" they edited out the word "pig's". Huh? Is this a pork and Islam thing? Help me out here. The editing process is done for the Asian broadcast of the show, so I am assuming that it was done in deference to the large Buddhist and/or Islamic population. I am not losing sleep over this. Just curious.
Showing posts with label Islam. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Islam. Show all posts
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Thursday, February 22, 2007
In the Midst of the Islamic Reformation...
I recently read an article in Time magazine that examined the mess in the Middle East. The writer drew some interesting comparisons. His argument is that we may be stuck in the middle of an Islamic reformation.
The Reformation of the 16th century saw the differing sects within Christianity killing each other off because of differing interpretations of the Bible. The Catholic church was splintered and several new forms of Christianity emerged, including Lutherans, Presbyterians, and Anglicans. Many of the sects have come to form what we know as Protestants today. The cost of this fight was great, countless believers were killed all in the name of religion...
Today, we have Islam going through a transition period. 85% of the Muslim world is Sunni. The remaining 15% is mostly Shia. Again, much like Christianity, the reason they are not united is differing views of the substance in the Qur'an, the holiest in book of Islam. They are particularly differentiated by their interpretations of the 5 pillars of Islam:
*Tawhid: The Oneness of God
*Adelah: The Justice of God
*Nubuwwah: God's appointed messengers and prophets
*Imamah: God's appointed leaders to guide mankind
*Qiyamah: God's judgment on man.
Each sect has differing views on the importance of the above.
Shiites have managed to take control of Iraq & Iran despite having only 10-15% of the world's Muslim population. Shiites have long been oppressed by the Sunni majority throughout and the Islamic world. Infighting has been commonplace for hundreds of years. Recently, Shiites have been exercising their power much to the dismay of the rest of the Islamic community. This has caused a upswing in fighting throughout the region. Perhaps in the coming years we will see a Shite-led movement similar to the Protestants of the 16th century?
Throw in the US & British troops into the mix...not good. If there is one thing for certain in this world, it's that religion is an all-powerful force that drives people to extremes. Why in the world would anyone want to step into the middle of this? What the so-called coalition of the willing has done is given the extreme elements of both sides of the conflict fuel for the fire. One thing that seems to bring the groups in the Middle East together is their disdain for the western world and it's desire to shape things to their liking.
The war in the Middle East is about the future of Islam. We, the western world, have to step back and allow the leadership of the dominant factions work things out. There is no way that military actions will ever trump religious fervor.
The Reformation of the 16th century saw the differing sects within Christianity killing each other off because of differing interpretations of the Bible. The Catholic church was splintered and several new forms of Christianity emerged, including Lutherans, Presbyterians, and Anglicans. Many of the sects have come to form what we know as Protestants today. The cost of this fight was great, countless believers were killed all in the name of religion...
Today, we have Islam going through a transition period. 85% of the Muslim world is Sunni. The remaining 15% is mostly Shia. Again, much like Christianity, the reason they are not united is differing views of the substance in the Qur'an, the holiest in book of Islam. They are particularly differentiated by their interpretations of the 5 pillars of Islam:
*Tawhid: The Oneness of God
*Adelah: The Justice of God
*Nubuwwah: God's appointed messengers and prophets
*Imamah: God's appointed leaders to guide mankind
*Qiyamah: God's judgment on man.
Each sect has differing views on the importance of the above.
Shiites have managed to take control of Iraq & Iran despite having only 10-15% of the world's Muslim population. Shiites have long been oppressed by the Sunni majority throughout and the Islamic world. Infighting has been commonplace for hundreds of years. Recently, Shiites have been exercising their power much to the dismay of the rest of the Islamic community. This has caused a upswing in fighting throughout the region. Perhaps in the coming years we will see a Shite-led movement similar to the Protestants of the 16th century?
Throw in the US & British troops into the mix...not good. If there is one thing for certain in this world, it's that religion is an all-powerful force that drives people to extremes. Why in the world would anyone want to step into the middle of this? What the so-called coalition of the willing has done is given the extreme elements of both sides of the conflict fuel for the fire. One thing that seems to bring the groups in the Middle East together is their disdain for the western world and it's desire to shape things to their liking.
The war in the Middle East is about the future of Islam. We, the western world, have to step back and allow the leadership of the dominant factions work things out. There is no way that military actions will ever trump religious fervor.
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