Charming Burqa!
Technology can ultimately beat the Talibanism!
Photo by Markus Kison
“CharmingBurka” is a project by Markus Kison, at the Berlin University of the Arts, Germany.
Project description:
The Charming Burka deals with Freud’s idea that all clothes can be positioned between appeal and shame. The Burka was chosen, because it is often perceived in the west as a symbol of repression. A digital layer was added so that women can decide for themselves where they want to position themselves virtually. The Burka sends an image, chosen by the wearer, via Bluetooth technology. Every person next to her can receive her picture via mobile phone and see the women’s self-determined identity. In the artists interpretation the virtual appeals can not be gathered by the laws of the Koran and so the Charming Burka fulfills the desire of living a more western life, which some Muslim women have today.
Therefore the Burka is equipped with bluetooth antenna/micro-controller and uses the OBEX protocol, already working with most mobile phones.Although the “Charming Burka” is positioned in the context of religion, this project should be seen as a research towards the future possibilities of everyday clothing to own a digital layer and transmit additional information about its wearer. It questions which information people would choose to send. For example this might also be an image of their “Second Life” avatar.
A novel way to achieve self-expression breaking through the fundamentalist veil!
Bravo Wikipedia!
Wikipedia, the free on-line encyclopedia, contributed by netizens and the most accessed information resource on the web, has stood firm in retaining the 25th century illustration of Muhammed, in spite of an on-line petition by Islamic zealots.
Here is the report from the Digital Journal:
A group of Muslims have started a petition against Wikipedia because on the Muhammed entry page, there is a 15th century illustration in a copy of a manuscript by Al-BÄ«rÅ«nÄ«, depicting Muhammad preaching the Qur’Än in Mecca.
The petition can be found here and it states:
“In Islam pictures or Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and other holly figures are not allowed, but on wikipedia they has published some pictures that are showing not only a body with white face but an image that has a complete face.. that is even not allowed by SHITAT fact of Islam.
i request all my brothers and sisters to sign this petition so we can tell wikipedia to remove them.”
The petition lists the URI of the impugned image. Ironically the image of Muhammed, depiction of which they are protesting against, is appearing on the protest page itself!!
Another interesting fact is that not all signatories of the petition support the call for the removal of the image!
And the Wikipedia authors have put their foot down firmly and have refused to remove the image. Here is their clearly-stated stand on this issue:-
Wikipedia recognizes that there are cultural traditions among some Muslim groups that prohibit depictions of Muhammad and other prophets and that some Muslims are offended when those traditions are violated. However, the prohibitions are not universal among Muslim communities, particularly with the Shi’a who, while prohibiting the images, are less strict about it. Since Wikipedia is an encyclopedia with the goal of representing all topics from a neutral point of view, Wikipedia is not censored for the benefit of any particular group. So long as they are relevant to the article and do not violate any of Wikipedia’s existing policies, nor the law of the U.S. state of Florida, where Wikipedia’s servers are hosted, no content or images will be removed from Wikipedia because people find them objectionable or offensive. (see also Wikipedia:Content disclaimer)
The traditional reason given for the Islamic prohibitions on images of prophets is to prevent the images from becoming objects of worship as a form of idolatry, where the image becomes more important than the subject it represents. However, Wikipedia uses the images of Muhammad as examples of how Muhammad has been depicted by various Islamic sects through history and not in a religious context. Therefore, there are no concerns that the presence of the images on the articles will result in the practice of idolatry among Muslims.
I wish to ask these protesters, “Why didn’t you voice your protests when the goods and goddesses worshiped by the millions of Hindus were obscenely depicted by M.F Hussain, the renowned painter. You can view the way he has debased the Gods here. Is it not defamatory and blasphemous? Why this kind of double standards? Why not this Hussain show Muhammed in such obnoxious postures? Simple! He would have to run for his life fearing an imminent fatwa!
Stone age Islamic Deobandi fatwa
India’s most influential Muslim seminary, the 141-year-old Dar-ul-Uloom in Deoband, Uttar Pradesh, has issued a fatwa (edict) forbidding Muslim women from conceiving through artificial means. This effectively means that modern medical techniques like in-vitro fertilisation, surrogate motherhood and artificial insemination are not allowed, according to the seminary “It is not right to masturbate in order to get children by artificial insemination…,” said the fatwa.
One of their concerns is that women would have to disrobe in front of male doctors for the procedure to be carried out. Mufti Imran, a high-ranking Dar-ul-Uloom official, said: “A woman whose husband is not able to give children is not permitted to use any other means. The fatwa also bans infertile women from allowing others to bear their babies.” The fatwa has raised a storm of controversy within the community While it has found support in some sections, several maulanas themselves as well as doctors and prominent personalities have opposed it. All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) member Khalid Rashid was among those who supported the edict. “A child should be created naturally,” he said. “If Allah has not given a child, He has not given the right to get one through artificial means either”
The Doobandi Dar-ul-UIoom has so far issued seven lakh fatwas since its creation on issues like use of western toilots, sexual relationship, personal hygione, and several other nitty-gritties.
Here are some sample Fatwas:- Read more
A fresh look at Gandhi and Jinna
Here is a different point of view, far removed from what has been drummed into our ears over the whole generation!
- Jinna was earlier a proponent of Nationalism. He was a supporter of Lokamanya Tilak and even accepted Namdar Gokhale as his Guru.
- Jinna wanted to bring the muslims into the modern mainstream society minus their fundamentalist ideology. For the same he took the lead in Lucknow pact of 1916.
- In 1920 Jinna was the only Nationalist Muslim who opposed the Khilafat Movement
- Gandhi did not give the leadership of Muslim League to Jinna who was senior to even Gandhi himself; instead he made Mohammed Ali
- Jinna who was angered therefore demanded Pakistan in 1940.
I don’t know how much of it is true, but nevertheless it makes an interesting reading.
A detailed essay on this subject and on why Mohandas Gandhi was killed can be found here.
Is Sufism any different from fundamentalist Islam?
“No”, avers David Frawly in his book, Awaken Bharatha : A call for India’s rebirth.
He dispels many myths and misconceptions about Sufism in his well-written book. The gullible Hindus of India tend to be too credulous about the bona-fides of Sufi mystics as moderating influence on Islam. But unfortunately this is not true. Islamists of any hue cannot change their basic tenets like annihilation of infidels and spreading of pan-Islamism.
You may read excerpts from his book in this web site.
The following excerpt from Wikipedia page on Sufism vividly exposes the real colour of Sufism! Read more
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About Me
I am S.K!
Ok, what's the big deal, you may ask! But you may miss a good deal if you do not dwell deep into this web site, specially hand-crafted for you. But what about me, the person? Wait, I am not good at making things up. If you stumble upon a good-sounding résumé, please pass it on to me!
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