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A society out of balance ......
by
Elizabeth F. Rahman
Editorial Note: This article first appeared on the Religion page of the Peterborough Examiner 27 March 2004.
On the 21st of March 1960, police opened fire at a peaceful demonstration against the apartheid ‘pass laws' in Sharpeville, South Africa killing 69 people. In 1966 UN General Assembly, inspired by the Sharpeville incident, proclaimed the 21st of March as the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. In so doing, the U.N. called on the international community to redouble its efforts to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination.
"All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status..." . So begins the Universal Declaration of Human Rights accepted by the UN General Assembly in 1948. Every human being has the right to dignity, equity and justice; these rights are guaranteed by the UN Declaration of Human Rights, and in Canada, they are reinforced by federal and provincial edicts.
In February 2002 at the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance in Durban South Africa, the Declaration and Programme of Action adopted by consensus and endorsed by the UN General Assembly recommended that action be taken on three fronts: enhanced prevention of acts of discrimination, harsher punishment for racist offences, and the provision of more effective support to victims in their struggle for dignity, equity and justice. The Director-General of UNESCO stated at that time, "All countries today recognize unequivocally that racism and discrimination affect their respective societies and represent a threat to their own security and stability. ..... Slavery and the slave trade are now recognized as crimes against humanity and as being among the major sources of racism. .... New forms of discrimination and exclusion are appearing ....... which are raising new barriers between individuals and between cultures, (so) it is increasingly a matter of urgency to mobilize, together, against the destructive forces of racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia.".
Despite all these declarations and good intentions, the world we live in today is rife with conflicts brought about by racial, tribal, religious and other cultural differences or diversities and these conflicts are not peculiar to any continent. Ethnic cleansing in Kosovo led to NATO intervention; the conflict between Palestinians and Jews was exacerbated in the late forties by the decision of western nations to expropriate Palestinian land which has culminated in unprecedented suffering and death on both sides; the religious and political differences in Northern Ireland have caused untold suffering; the hatred between the Hutus and Tutsis of Rwanda has resulted in the massacre of almost a million people; the ethnic crisis in Russia and its former states such as Chechnya has led to unprecedented violence in that region.
What all these conflicts have in common is that the society is out of balance; in order to be in balance there must be dignity, equity and justice for all citizens. At the World Conference mentioned above, agreement was reached that ‘these crises are brought about by differences or diversities which can be resolved through the design of an equity model. Equitocracy is an act of competitive balancing. The world is created in pairs. Following the events in this world, the conclusion to draw is that we are in this world to manage diversity. Political and socio-economical interests are determined by diversity.' Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa in his address to the recent Commission on Human Rights in Geneva said, "We are all of equal worth, born equal in dignity and born free and for this reason deserving of respect whatever our external circumstances. We belong in a world whose very structure, whose essence, is diversity almost bewildering in extent and it is to live in a fool's paradise to ignore this basic fact."
We Canadians tend to take a superior attitude to conflicts in other parts of the world; however we must not forget the treatment of first nations people who believe we do not own the land but merely hold it in trust for our children. Europeans occupied this land which the first nations cared for and respected, and herded the members of the first nations onto reservations. Also, during the Second World War the Canadian government ordered Japanese Canadians to be held in detention camps merely because of their ethnic origin. Lately we have been astounded that this could have happened in Canada - yet we are now detaining indefinitely certain men simply because they are of Arab origin and/or of the Muslim faith, even though no charges have been laid. People of many faith communities realize this is totally contrary to our inherent rights of dignity, equity and justice, and that although one particular faith and culture is being discriminated against today, any group could become the next target.
France has recently introduced a ban on overt religious symbols. Its main intention is the control of Muslims; President Jacques Chirac told students at a French high school in Tunisia that he sees "something aggressive" in the wearing of traditional Muslim headscarves. This sets a frightening precedent. Furthermore people of other faiths could also be affected; French education minister Luc Ferry, who drew up the text of the law, told the National Assembly's social affairs committee that Sikhs could be persuaded to wear "invisible nets" on their heads instead of turbans. Ferry went even further: "One can invent religious signs from mere hairiness. When a beard is transformed into a religious symbol it will fall under the law. Creativity is infinite in the matter"
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What is the difference between a government that bans head coverings and beards when they are religious symbols, and the Taliban that enforced the wearing of such symbols? Why are those who so vocally protested the latter now silent regarding the new law in France?
In the Holy Qur'an God says "O mankind! We created you from a single pair of a male and a female and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other, not that you may despise each other." (49:13). If we as human beings are to survive on this planet and ensure that our children and grandchildren live with the dignity, equity and justice to which they have an inherent right, it is vital that we not only respect diversity, but also encourage it. In the words of the Director-General of UNESCO, "Today more than ever, we must redouble our vigilance. New forms of discrimination and exclusion are appearing which are poised to jeopardize the gains stemming from past efforts. We must renew our approaches and strategies in order to respond more effectively to these phenomena. In the face of these diverse forms of extremism, which are raising new barriers between individuals and between cultures, it is increasingly a matter of urgency to mobilize, together, against the destructive forces of racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia."
Elizabeth F. Rahman is a member of the Kawartha Muslim Association, Co-Chair of the Kawartha/Lakeshore Regional Multifaith Committee and a member of the Multifaith Network (Peterborough Region).
Posted by editor on June 7, 2004 02:55 PM