Is the Bible compatible with Western values?

Dutch YouTube series Dit Is Normaal recently conducted a social experiment that probably should be repeated throughout the West: They disguised a Christian Bible as The Holy Koran, and had people on the street read troubling passages within it:

The result is all kinds of troubling prejudice bubbling quickly to the surface:

What's compelling about this to me is that, as a Canadian, I've always felt an affinity for the Netherlands. (Perhaps that's how I ended up writing for a Dutch marketing blog!) Like Canadians, the Dutch pride themselves on being a tolerant and open-minded society. But I can imagine some of the same reactions happening on the streets of Ottawa.

The thing is, many of the world's religious texts were written in more violent and intolerant times. But as  L. P. Hartley wrote (in 1953) "The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there."

To take almost any ancient holy text literally, as a whole, and consider it a guide for modern living is religious extremism. And that's what we really need to be afraid of.

Is this Cavalli logo an appropriated Sufi symbol?

Via The Fashion Law

See that fake tattoo on Georgia May Jagger's neck?

Okay, now mentally rotate it 90 degrees. What does it look like? To an entire sect of Sufi Muslims, it looks like this:

Via MTO

Followers of The Maktab Tarighat Oveyssi Shahmaghsoudi School of Sufi Islam are outraged at seeing their emblem in a sexualized advertising campaign. They've launched a Twitter hashtag campaign, #takeoffjustlogo, as well as a petition.



I have written frequently about the problem of commercial appropriation of cultural symbols. And I think I've established myself as a critic of Islamophobia. But as a branding professional, I think this outrage is completely mistaken.

The logo is clearly a stylized "JC" monogram. There is no extra elaboration. "Just" JC.

I firmly believe that the logo designer was completely unaware of any similarity with the Sufi symbol, and it takes a concerted effort to see it:

Via Allvoices

So what's the big deal? One of the anti-Cavalli campaign organizers, American doctoral student Nasim Bahadorani, said "We have this sign that to us represents blessed peace. It's a refuge … To see it disgraced like this for a company to make money is heartbreaking."

But really? There are only so many ways to create symbols in the world. As much as this one means to The Maktab Tarighat Oveyssi Shahmaghsoudi School, and as much as their religious sensibilities are real, this accidental sort-of similarity ranks pretty low in the problems of the world. At least in my opinion.

Cavalli can choose to withdraw the logo if they want to, and they may if they feel the bad PR will influence their key target audiences. But for now, the brand is appealing to the European Union's trademark and design authority, the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market (OHIM).

From Reuters:

"Roberto Cavalli SpA is deeply saddened by the distress expressed by the Sufist School students, but hopes that the sentence emitted by a competent authority such as the OHIM, will convince the Sufist religion of the complete good faith and the groundlessness of their requests," the company said this week in a statement.

Ironically, Roberto Cavalli was the subject of some much more warranted religious outrage back in 2004, when he produced a line of bikinis featuring classical Indian images of Hindu gods. Cavalli apologized and withdrew the swimwear from stores following protests in the UK.

"Jesus is Muslim" ads provoke Ohio Christians

According to Yahoo! (via Fox News, obviously) these boards are posted in Ohio. Who could possibly take issue?

 In a press release sent to Christian Newswire, [Christian radio host Dave] Daubenmire wrote, “Although we support the Islamic community's right to free speech, as well as their right to post messages on billboards, we do not support the hi-jacking of the name of Jesus Christ in their attempt to lure uninformed Christians into their religion.” Operation Save America was less diplomatic about the rally, writing on their website, “It appears that the Muslim community in Columbus, Ohio, is becoming increasingly arrogant in spreading its monstrous religion, with its false book, and its false prophet, right in the face of the Church of Jesus Christ in Columbus. It has purchased space on three billboards around the city spreading lies about the Gospel of Christ.”

Dave, you may want to look up "free speech". It's the same concept that lets "Operation Save America" spew their intolerance.

Ironically, the Ask A Muslim campaign is all about unity among the Abrahamic religions. On its web site, it says "Adam, Abraham, Jesus, Muhammed: One Message, One God". (However, later in the slide show, it also states rather exclusively "Islam: The Religion of The Only God".)

The Ask a Muslim site claims to invite discussion, saying "We believe that clearing up the many misconceptions about Islam will make this world a better place. A place with less violence and hatred, filled with mutual respect and understanding."



But in the end, this just seems to be an attempt to poke the bear of Christian fundamentalism in the United States by a brand of Islam that is equally intolerant of dissent. Makes me wish both groups would just "let god sort it out," since they're both into fatalism:

Sigh.

American Apparel touts "sweatshop-free" with a topless woman from Bangladesh

Via American Apparel

Of course they did. Maks is a Bengali-American woman who works in their merchandising department. Here's the copy (transcribed by Stylite):

Meet Maks 

She is a merchandiser who has been with American Apparel since 2010. Born in Dhaka, the capitol of Bangladesh, Maks vividly remembers attending mosque as a child alongside her conservative Muslim parents. At age four, her family made a life changing move to Marina Del Rey, California. Although she suddenly found herself a world away from Dhaka, she continued following her parent’s religious traditions and sustained her Islamic faith throughout her childhood. Upon entering high school, Maks began to feel the need to forge her own identity and ultimately distanced herself from Islamic traditions. A woman continuously in search of new creative outlets, Maks unreservedly embraced this photo shoot. 

She has found some elements of Southern California culture to be immediately appealing, but is striving to explore what lies beyond the city’s superficial pleasures. She doesn’t feel the need to identify herself as an American or a Bengali and is not content to fit her life into anyone else’s conventional narrative. That’s what makes her essential to the mosaic that is Los Angeles, and unequivocally, a distinct figure in the ever expanding American Apparel family. Maks was photographed in the High Waist Jean, a garment manufactured by 23 skilled American workers in Downtown Los Angeles, all of whom are paid a fair wage and have access to basic benefits such as healthcare.

How many buttons can AA push with one ad? They take a shot at the competition, like Gap, who were implicated in worker abuse and deaths in Bangladeshi sweatshops. They continue the sexual exploitation of young, attractive, female employees in their ads. They use this woman's ethnicity as a prop. They have a go at traditional Muslim notions of modesty. And, of course, they have everyone talking about them again.

I have no idea where this ad has been placed, or even if the advertiser feels the need to throw any media money at it. It's posted on their site, and has been covered by Elle, NY Daily News, Jezebel, The Daily Beast, SMH, HuffPo, Daily Mail, and elsewhere. Just more proof that the internet gives us the collective intelligence of a hamster in heat.

Ms Marvel gets a multicultural makeover

1977 (via comicbookcatacombs)

Begun as a rather problematic response to second-wave feminism, Ms. Marvel was a superhero who embodied "modern woman's quest for raised consciousness, for self-liberation, for identity" — while wearing very tight and revealing clothes.

2006 (Wikimedia) You don't even want to know about the fan art versions.

That's right. Blonde, blue-eyed and buxom, she was a reminder that inside many male comic book artists is a furiously masturbating 13-year-old boy.

But there's a new Ms. Marvel in town:

Kamala Khan is "a 16-year-old high school student who lives in Jersey City with her Pakistani immigrant parents," according to AlJazeera and represents the first Muslim lead character in a Marvel comic series.

Fatemeh Fakhraie, the founder of Muslimah Media Watch, applauded the move. "She is going to be a window into the American Muslim experience," she said. "A lot of us are bumping up against that the idea that a lot of America is white, while that isn't what America is, we're not all white and Christian."

The best thing about this move is that it appears to be an attempt to move beyond the token ethnic stereotypes of 70s superheroes like Power Man. The character is inspired by the authentic experiences of Marvel editor Sana Amanat growing up as a Pakistani Muslim-American.

Sana Amanat (left) Via Marvel Comics

The character was further developed by writer G. Willow Wilson, who is herself a Muslim convert. She told Patheos.com:

"Her religion is an integral part of who she is, and that is obvious right away. But she is not a poster child (for Islam). I’ve been wearing hijab for ten years, but I wanted to make her representative of Muslim woman at large, and the majority does not wear hijab. She is not perfect, and she doesn’t ascribe to perfection. She’s kind of shy geek girl who kind of has artsy interests. A big part of her life is trying to balance the demands of her faith with the realities of being a teenager. An interesting side story is that one of her best friends just started to wear hijab in the book and is getting more serious about the religion."

It will be interesting to watch this move by Marvel filter through American society. Conan O’Brien already got a taste of controversy when he made a stupid joke about the character on Twitter. Stephen Colbert, on the other hand, got a pass for doing much the same thing — but in strawman character.

Is this ad really controversial?

AdFreak's Roo Ciambriello quips, "Political statement? Plea for tolerance? Maybe in part, but this recently posted Los Angeles billboard featuring a U.S. soldier and a Muslim woman embracing is mostly just an ad for a sleep aid."

That's how I feel, too. The brand wanted to show "couples that you normally don't see in advertising,"t their spokesperson explained, and that diversity follows through in the Snorestop web site:

The funny thing about this, for me, is that it's hard to find concrete examples of this "controversy".

CBC Los Angeles quotes the company spokesperson saying "“People feel that we are trying to misuse the image of military servicemen" but the only person the article interviewed about it was ambivalent.  World Bulletin ran the headline, "LA billboard ad to stay despite offending Muslims" without any specific examples, stating "...the image of a Muslim woman embracing a US soldier in such a way may be upsetting for the Muslim community in LA." An article in 10 News San Diego mentions negative Facebook messages. I can't seem to find any on their page. Nor on Twitter.

As a matter of fact, the "controversy" seems to be entirely a manufactured one, with media accepting whatever the brand says about public reaction to its campaign. An Instagram post of the billboard by stephanianne, who claims to be one of the people behind the campaign, reads "if we can keep this couple together, with their religious and social obstacles, we can keep anyone together."

My first thought was, why would anyone assume the husband does not also follow Islam?
There are thousands of Americans serving in the military who are practicing Muslims. 

The News 10 article identifies the couple as "veteran Jamie Sutton and his wife Aleah, who is Muslim" with no reference to Mr. Sutton's religious views. (Because in America, I guess being Christian is the default faith.) But who cares, really?

I'd love to believe that Snorestop really is committed to treating all couples as, well, just couples. But the lengths they have gone to, to make sure their campaign gets PR for being "controversial",  shows that they are just part of the problem.

Diesel accused of "appropriation" over topless niqab ad

Diesel is certainly no stranger to controversy. So I doubt they're too worried about pissing off people outside of their target audience.

Nonetheless, piss them off they have:

It has always baffled me why the burka, niqab, or either veils are depicted as symbols of oppressive patriarchy in mainstream media, but when they are taken out of their religious context and appropriated like this they suddenly become “creative”, “bold”, and “edgy”. I read one comment describing this campaign as “fashionista meets terrorista.” This is monumentally fucked up.

That's the opinion of Hung Tran, a fashion blogger in Australia. It's shared by Daily Life's Candice Chung, who wrote:

Good one, Formichetti! Never has anyone ever captured cultural appropriation AND sexual objectification so succinctly with a patchy denim headscarf! 

Huffington Post bravely trolled Twitter for opinions on the image, part of Diesel's semi-crowdsourced #dieselreboot campaign, and they mostly came up negative.

But how bad is the image in terms of religious/cultural appropriation?

Christian symbols have been appropriated by fashion for decades. But then again, most of those designers come from Christian-dominated cultures. They're basically recycling their own culture.

It's when you play with the sacred symbols of other people's cultures that things get more rocky. Like when John Galliano stepped out with Hassidic curls. (American Apparel was smart enough to use an actual Hassidic model.) Or when Selena Gomez performed with a Hindu bindi on her forehead.

This kind of thing has been going on for a long time. Secular cultures see religious symbols as style, rather than substance, so borrowing elements of them for exotic fashion statements is old hat.

It was also his second-worst solo album.

Today, we face an increasingly sensitive multicultural landscape. Yesterday's Halloween costume is today's racist insult. But shouldn't fashion, like art, be free to mix-and-match diverse influences?

Well, it is free to do so. But people are also free to dislike it. The real question, for marketers, is if upsetting lots of people on purpose is good business or not. Especially when you're selling style.

Kenneth Cole says that it is, and that his insensitive Twitter strategy is helping his brand. I suspect Diesel feels the same way. Women who wear niqabs and burqas, and those who love them, are clearly not a consideration for a brand that recently promoted itself thusly:

Via The Guardian

Diesel wants to offend. It gets them noticed. And we play along by getting upset and telling everyone about it.

Yes, the topless denim niqab ad is cultural appropriation. It's also heavily sexualized. But until consumers — especially young ones — are ready to drop edgy brands over their marketing behaviour, we can expect to see much more of this in the future. Not despite the complaints, but because of them.

An islamophobic parody of an anti-islamophobia campaign?

In the United States, hate has gone meta.

Back in January, I wrote on Osocio about a campaign by American muslims to promote friendship through a better understanding of what "jihad" really means. A little lightweight, but part of a necessary discussion about the prejudice against Islam that has beed particularly nasty since September 11, 2001.

Part of the impetus for the #myjihad campaign was a reaction against anti-Islam ads run by Pamela Geller's American Freedom Defense Initiative in major American cities. The ads survived a freedom of speech claim, despite advertising space owners not wanting to run them.

Now, the AFDI has used its freedom to get even more nasty.

Via Buzzfeed

Nidal Malik Hasan is a 39-year-old U.S. Army major serving as a psychiatrist. He is charged with  killing 13 people and wounding 29 others at Fort Hood in 2009. Hasan had been in contact with Yemen-based cleric Anwar al-Awlaki prior to the shooting, and witnesses claim his attack was accompanied by shouted religious slogans.

A reasonable person might assume that Hasan was suffering a severe mental illness. It's what we usually assume when an individual suddenly turns on familiar people as a raving mass murderer. But the AFDI would like the people of Washington DC to believe that Islam caused the murder. Worse, by association it implies that the nice people in the #myjihad campaign are just like him.

Who are the evil ones here, again?

Tip via Copyranter

SF public transit disclaims racist ad

The above ad, according to Mother Jones, was placed on San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (Muni) properties by anti-Muslim activist Pamela Geller.

Muni felt they had to accept the ad, based on what they (and legal precedent) perceived as Ms. Geller's First Amendment rights.

So they used their adjacent ad space to run a disclaimer:

Apparently, Ms. Geller insists that the Ayn Rand-inspired quote in her ads refers to particular acts taken by Palestinian groups during the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But that's not the Randian context of the copy.

Mother Jones quotes Ayn Rand in full:

Further, why are the Arabs against Israel? (This is the main reason I support Israel.) The Arabs are one of the least developed cultures. They are typically nomads. Their culture is primitive, and they resent Israel because it's the sole beachhead of modern science and civilization on their continent. When you have civilized men fighting savages, you support the civilized men, no matter who they are. Israel is a mixed economy inclined toward socialism. But when it comes to the power of the mind—the development of industry in that wasted desert continent—versus savages who don't want to use their minds, then if one cares about the future of civilization, don't wait for the government to do something. Give whatever you can. This is the first time I've contributed to a public cause: helping Israel in an emergency. 

Dehumanizing your enemy — now who's the "savage"?

Kellog's Frosted Beefs

Via Flikr

Last week, I blogged about crushed beetles in Starbucks "vegan" smoothies.

Today, my friend and fellow blogger Neil (who is a vegetarian) found something interesting in the Kellog's UK product site.

It seems you can search cereals and other products by ingredient.

Here's "Beef":

Wait, what?

From the Frosted Wheats ingredients page:

"Shredded Wholewheat, Sugar, Humectant (Sorbitol), Beef Gelatin, Niacin, Iron, Vitamin B6, Riboflavin (B2), Thiamin (B1), Folic Acid, Vitamin B12."

Gelatine ("it's made from bones, you know") is a common food additive and a real pest to vegetarians.

But wait! There's more.

He also searched "pork":

Yep. Rice Crispies Squares have pig in them:

"Toasted Rice Cereal (35%) (Rice, Sugar, Salt, Barley Malt Flavouring, Niacin, Iron, Vitamin B6, Riboflavin (B2), Thiamin (B1), Folic Acid, Vitamin B12), Marshmallow (33%) (Glucose Syrup, Sugar, Pork Gelatin, Flavouring), Fructose, Vegetable Oil, Invert Sugar Syrup, Glucose Syrup, Humectant (Glycerol), Flavouring (Contains Milk), Emulsifier (E472e, E472a), Antioxidant (E320)."

I'm not a vegetarian, and I have no problem with animal products in my foods. But many people are, and do. Including, ironically, health nut John Harvey Kellogg, who once said:

“A dead cow or sheep lying in the pasture is recognized as carrion. The same sort of carcass dressed and hung up in a butcher’s stall passes as food.”

The UK site even has a whole section recommending vegetarian diets for young children.

The Canadian and US sites aren't as easy to navigate by ingredient, and searches for beef or pork take you to meatloaf recipes.

However, I did find this on the American site:

What is the source of gelatin in your products? 

Gelatin, which is used in some of our products to provide texture, is derived from either beef or pork. Products containing pork gelatin include Kellogg cereal products with marshmallow additives (i.e., Kellogg's® Marshmallow Froot Loops cereal and Kellogg's Smorz® cereal) and all varieties of Kellogg's® Rice Krispies Treats® Squares. Products containing beef gelatin include all varieties of Kellogg's® Frosted Pop-Tarts®, Kellogg's® Frosted Mini-Wheats® cereal, Kellogg's® Rice Krispies Treats cereal, and the Kellogg's® Fruit-Flavored Snacks that contain gelatin. 

The information provided here is intended to act as a general guide only. We ask that you always check the Nutrition Facts on the side panel of each of our packages to determine if the product contains any ingredient(s) that you want to avoid.

The moral of the story? Animal products show up in the strangest places. When you buy packaged foods, always read the ingredients list. (And always be suspicious of terms like "natural" flavour or colour.) If you're a vegan, vegetarian, Hindu, Jew or Muslim, you may be surprised how often you're breaking your vows.

FEMEN invite the women of Islam to get naked with them

FEMEN are in Paris, demonstrating for Muslim women around the world to demand sexual freedom and equal rights.

     Allah made me naked from FemenFrance on Vimeo.

The demonstration, themed "Allah created me naked" includes slogans such as "Muslim women let's get naked", "Nudity is freedom", "I am a woman, not an object", "Naked war" and "Naked truth". (They also hold signs in Ukrainian, French and Arabic.)

While their hearts are all in the right place, the show of solidarity also reminds me of this cartoon:

The question being whether sexual freedom depends on sexual display. I'm sure the women of FEMEN would agree that the choice of dress or undress is every person's individual choice — as long as they are not being coerced or brainwashed.

On the other hand, women from more oppressive religious Muslim societies who choose the route of nude expression, such as Golshifteh Farahani or Aliaa Magda Elmahdy (who is name-checked in body paint), face disapproval, banishment, and even physical harm.

What do you think of this message and tactic?

You can see and read more about the demonstration (in Ukranian) at FEMEN's Livejournal.

American Atheists going after Muslims and Jews now #FdAdFriday

Animal NY reports that the Hebrew one will be erected in an Jewish area of Williamsburg (known for its Hasidic community) and the Arabic one will appear in a predominantly Muslim area of Paterson, New Jersey (home of the American Arab Forum).

It's as if American Atheists are daring both communities to see which one reacts first, and how.

I just think it's stupid. And I don't even believe in any god. But affronting people's deeply-held faith with fighting words like this is no way to open minds. It will just shut you out more forcefully.

Tea Party politician's ad says all Muslims want to kill Christians

“Do you really want someone representing you who swears an oath on a Quran? A book that undermines our Constitution and says you should be killed?”

These are the words of Gary Boisclair, who is running against U.S. Representative Keith Ellison in Minnesota's 5th congressional district. Ellison was the first Muslim to be elected to the United States Congress.

Boisclair allies himself with the Tea Party and the anti-abortion movements, and calls himself a Christian.

Here is his press release:

“It is common knowledge that Ellison is proud to publicize his devotion to the writings
contained in the Koran. 

This TV ad references several verses in the Koran which call for violence against Jews
and Christians. 

The call to violent acts against Christians and Jews within this ‘holy’ book should alarm
every American. The fact that a U.S. Congressman swore an oath on a book that calls for
most of us to be persecuted is an outrage. 

The Koran is a pillar in Islam’s ‘Sharia Law,’ which is a comprehensive code of ethics
governing both the private and the public behaviors of all ‘good’ Muslims.  Sharia law—
as seen in dozens of Muslims nations—leads to the oppression of its non-Muslim
citizens, and the loss of fundamental human rights for all.  

The fact that Ellison swore an oath to uphold the Constitution on a book that would
destroy the Constitution is as ludicrous as it is absurd. 

We did not pick this fight; Islam’s war against Christianity and human liberty has raged
against us for 1400 years. We are merely responding with the truth."

The truth... hmmmm.

Wikipedia has Ellison saying, "The district I represent is the kind of district where you can have a Member of Congress stand up for religious tolerance and against religious bigotry, against anyone, but also stand up for the rights of gays too." Not exactly out to kill, is he?

On the other hand, if we're going to accuse people of blindly following every policy in their religion's holy books, let's accuse Boisclair of supporting things like this:

"And they warred against the Midianites, as the LORD commanded Moses; and they slew all the males. And they slew the kings of Midian, beside the rest of them that were slain; namely, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, five kings of Midian: Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword.

And the children of Israel took all the women of Midian captives, and their little ones, and took the spoil of all their cattle, and all their flocks, and all their goods.And they burnt all their cities wherein they dwelt, and all their goodly castles, with fire. And they took all the spoil, and all the prey, both of men and of beasts. And they brought the captives, and the prey, and the spoil, unto Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and unto the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the camp at the plains of Moab, which are by Jordan near Jericho.

And Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and all the princes of the congregation, went forth to meet them without the camp. And Moses was wroth with the officers of the host, with the captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, which came from the battle. And Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive? Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the LORD in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the LORD. Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him. But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves."

"I approve of this message"

 Okay, then.

F'd Ad Fridays: Racist Ramadan ads

According to 154 Media, this series of ads sparked controversy in Malaysia when non-Muslim minorities complained about the racism depicted by the Chinese tourist speaking accented English.



Using insensitive cultural stereotypes to promote cultural sensitivity. Jesus! (Oh, wait! Wrong prophet.) Let's just say it's both disturbing to see the global nature of xenophobia and comforting that some people won't stand for it.

The pathetic politics of hate and fear

My friend Rachel (who lives near Barcelona) sent me this political ad from one of Catalonia extreme right-wing anti-immigration parties:



My first reaction (besides recoiling at its sheer shittiness) was anti-racist outrage. My second reaction was, how far are we old-school Canadians from this level of anti-Islamic ethnic paranoia?

Especially since some of our southern neighbours seem to already be there:

I'm not scared of Islam. I'm scared of ethnocentric hate... by anybody, towards anybody.