Society

14 November 2016 15 November 2016

Religion Displayed in the Media

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I am not a Muslim. I am a Christian. Thus – for obvious reasons – I do not know the intimate details about having a religious affiliation to Islam as I do as to Christianity. However, I do have an education in the study of religion and I do read the newspapers and follow steadily in the news. And I do see the different profiles we, talking from a Danish point of view, are fed up with about Islam and how we are being told how to think about Muslims.

I find that society today tends to point a little too much on the Muslims as terrorists, radicals and dangerous. So, when Pope Francis stood up and refused to point his finger at fellow Muslims in relation to the murder of a Roman Catholic Priest in June, I find that he pointed towards a general flaw in our society. I found his comments relevant. Because, I know some politicians wants me to believe that everyone who affiliate with Islam is dangerous, because Islam is a violent religion – but the thing is, I have met a lot of muslims that acted and believed in peaceful co-existens between Muslims and Jews in Israels-Palestine. So why is it we cannot have the same main idea in Europe? Why is it that Muslims should be to blame for a violent culture, when Europe was the one that have destroyed tribes and cultures in the Middle East and Africa historically? What about all the crusades that took it to be their mission to take back Jerusalem? Then, haven’t Christianity been a violent religion too?

I do not believe that religion is to blame for war. I believe we as selfish, discriminating human beings are to blame – and I believe we sometimes use religion as a way to authorise war. But I also think that we sometimes use religion to authorise a certain view on a group of people who doesn’t necessarily have a violent world view. Sometimes I can’t help but wonder if this view that the media and the politicians often feeds us with is the very reason that some Muslims do implement a violent world view as the only way to make us respect them.

But don’t we all have the right to be respected as we are beyond violence?

17 October 2016 26 May 2018

Accepting the “other” worldview?

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A new radio-program on my favourite radio-station made me wonder whether or not it is really that bad to have created an “us” as opposed to everyone else? When is it actually problematic to have created an in-group, an “us”? The host often argued against refugees and had a rather narrow minded and sceptical view on people who are of another descent than “pure danish” – people who have mixed their original descent with the Danish culture.

I have always argued against the creation of in-groups, cliques or groups like this. I find that they tend to try to set a standard for the rest to follow, which demeans other people who does not necessarily follow the rules of such a group – back to the school milieu, so to speak. But, the thing is, that we cannot avoid creating an “us”. To be Danish is different from being Swedish or Norwegian. We create societies bound together by culture, language, politics, religion and so forth. No matter how we look at it, the way we collect and unify the different aspects of our society will stand in opposition to other societies and how they have bound the different aspects together.

Once, I was at a wedding, which to me have become the perfect example of this fact. While the groom was of Danish descent, the bride was Muslim. It was a wedding with different cultural elements, where the guests at some aspects did not know what was going on and regarding other aspects were a part of the “club” that knew! These two people getting married, was creating an “us”.

To me, the difference is whether a society compares itself with another in a demeaning way. Thus, creating an “us” as opposed to “them”. The fact that we have different cultures, comes from different societies, does not mean that we cannot behave and be polite towards one another. It does not mean that we in Denmark cannot help the refugees that flows into the country. It does not mean that we cannot help those people who suffer from war, by help recreating and reconquer their, “us”. In the end, everyone deserves to be a part of an “us”.

The problem with this constellation is when “us” and “them” becomes “us” versus “them”. When different groups compares, there may in some situations be created an unhealthy environment where one group presents itself as superior compared to the other.

Being a fellow citizen is not just about being apart of a group, but accepting the differences between the different groups living in and outside one’s society. Being a part of one group is not the problem – we all are apart of specific groups, whether we like it or not. The problem is when one group finds themselves superior towards another group.

05 September 2016 05 September 2016

The Effects of Terror?

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Originally posted at Figmentsofimaginations.blogspot.dk, April 8th 2016.

These days the Danish government is yet again making cutbacks regarding radicalised young people. The reason why it is yet again a part of the media as well as a part of the Government’s awareness is due to a resent police response the Danish Security and Intelligence Service made where some young people were arrested and charged within the so-called ‘Danish terror-paragraph’.

It is rather common that radicalisation in a context such as this makes the media overflow with articles that hints fear and begins a sense of hostility among the Danish people. I must admit that the anger regarding the rather one-sided cover of the so-called “muslim radical” which makes it seem that all muslims are radical may overflow my judgement and make my arguments in this respect rather generalised. However, the medias eternal cover of radicalisation in more or less direct connection with Islam and muslims. It makes me so furious that it is the action of a few people that may have an affect of how the Danish people regard the rest of the Danes who confess to Islam and are actually well integrated and participate in the Danish society and pay their taxes.

On one hand, I understand that it’s within the government’s interest to show the Danish people that it takes action against possible terror-threats. In a time like these where Europe seem more of a terror-target than ever, it would on one hand seem ‘too laid-back’ if the government did not react. On the other hand, I find the reaction more a overreaction than a reaction to possible threats. The fact that the Danish Security and Intelligence Service (PET) actually manages to do the job they exists to do, makes me wonder why we need another government “over”-reaction. PET have done a rather good job in the prevention of terror in Denmark – a thing that is rather difficult to prevent. I believe that the only reaction government intervention will create is that the media attention will yet again make muslims the villains and it will create even more hostility among the Danish people. Thus, the growing hostility will result in a Danish people who will to a lesser degree help the war-inflicted people, who really need our help. For instance, I argue that the demand for a complete closure of our borders is a reaction to the growing hostility that is in Denmark. Thus, we will shut out people who have experienced trauma, war and terror in ways we will never be able to understand.

If the government instead let the authorities they have implemented work the way they are ment to, I would respect the government if they react in a rather respectful way towards this Danish system. It would possibly create more peace and instead of letting the fear cloud the judgement of the Danish people. It might make room for more compassion.

Even though, many Danish people have worked against the Danish government’s view of the refugees who have more than ever escaped to Europe, the fact that a refugee-hostile party as the Danish People Party who have gained more support than ever shows me that there is a great deal of fear and hostility that needs to be dealt with in Denmark.

We keep saying to each other that fear and a limitation of our everyday life is what terror wants to create. Even though we keep telling ourselves and each other that it’s important to live life as we would and not be affected by the terror. Maybe, terror is slowly creeping into our conscience and have slowly affected the way we think about the world and the way we react towards people who truly needs our help. Or the way we react towards the diversity that obviously exists in our society.

Showing compassion and helping other are indeed a more difficult road towards destroying terror and what it creates among the people affected by it. But I believe that the long and difficult road is the better road to take than fighting with the same means and tools as the “enemy” does. Have we, the rich part of the world forgotten that our previous actions hostile and mean actions may have had a role in creating the anger, hostility and the “us” and “them”-mentality that terror springs from? Maybe it is time to react differently than we usually have done since a war on terror obviously haven’t worked?