Restructuring Identity

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mariam, mary,miriam or maria .............

............ for someone who has purportedly written a scholarly, if meaningless, article on the silliness of emphasising differences and the joy of celebrating commonalities, you are rather quick to assert that mary is a ``great muslim name`` and how lucky you are to have it ................ okay, so mariam is an arabic version of mary, but what makes you so lucky - are you an arab?....... and if you are not an arab then why are you so proud of your silly name?........... if anything, given the history of mary the copt, mary magdalene, the ``virgin`` mary and mary queen of scots, you should be a little ashamed - these are not women that nice girls should associate with ! ............... if i were you, i would change my name to krista or carly - it is more american and will help you to overcome your identity crisis ..................

........ and, oh by the way, when you reply to the other honorable interactors on chowk please address them by name so that we know who is at the receiving end of your canting whine and selfrighteous wrath ...... ................ also, there is no point being in the kitchen if you can`t take the heat ..........if you can`t handle guys like shamsul, ispahani, gujjubania and jay then stick to your knitting and crochet and let real women like nooralain and saminashah handle the female agenda before rosie o`donell runs away with it .............

mariam. . .
i think your article was quite good and i am so inundated with `identity` right now, that i had wanted to avoid it for a little bit. it is unavoidable however.

about this: `Isnt the purpose of this website to discuss instead of digress into immaturity?`

please don`t take this as me defending such behavior but the purpose of this website has pretty much been destroyed. even those who think they know what it is, probably don`t! i don`t know how long you`ve been visiting this site, but unfortunately immaturity has become the hallmark of this place. those of us who still feel it is better than most other places to exchange and discuss ideas still come back, but some good people have left, and i hope that you don`t allow the jibes and comments of a few who thrive on being immature to make you leave as well.

regards.
n~

I am not a psychologist for you and even if I was, I wouldnt know how to help you. But please take the article as a cultural proposition to create dialogue. Not for you to rant and rave and then try to insult because not everyone agrees with you. (Shuka Allah for that)

However, I would appreciate it if you wouldn`t make fun of my name. It`s a great Muslim name and I am lucky to have it. Find some other way to vent your frustration. And take some responsibility for yourself instead you find the easiest way to blame and act cowardly.

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Alright. First thanks for encouraging me.

Now to respond, you bring up a very controversial issue of nature vs. nurture. Do people act the way they do because of environment or how they were born? I simply presented a viewpoint that is supported by history. People are extremely susceptible to those around them, whether right or wrong.

There was a study done where a room full of people had to tell on a piece of paper which line was the longest. Everyone in the room was told to say the wrong answer but one person wasnt told. It was to see if that one person would agree with the wrong answer or answer correctly a very simple question. 60% of the time the person gave into peer pressure.

I think if the majority of a group start to, let`s say, howl at the moon, then the few who thinks it`s weird will too. It is simple human nature to be a part of the group. The problem is when you start to abuse those who don`t agree with your group or beliefs.

Also, your facts about America are incomplete. If we are to have a proper discussion, you must explain how these facts came to be. Did you know that until about 70 years ago, it was still legal in America to kill a black man without reason? Can you imagine it being legal to kill someon simply because of their color? That could explain partly their at times violent and illegal actions over the last few decades as well as show a legal system that has taken years to finally acknowledge its mistakes and civil rights violations. White Americans feared blacks for so long and tried to repress.

PS.
I have read many interactions where people are either completely missing the point of my essay or worst, poking fun at it. I simply don`t understand what gives anyone the right to do so. Isnt the purpose of this website to discuss instead of digress into immaturity?

Shamsul- please stop. you are not as funny as you may think.

hellbound #25:

i like that.

Vertex,

``the only universal values are of currency and power``.............. i beg to disagree

............. as dinesh d`souza says, ``Western civilization is not distinguished by colonialism and slavery, but by its institutions of democracy, capitalism, and science. These institutions were developed because of a peculiar dynamism in Western civilization — a dynamism driven by the combination of Western philosophy and theology. And it is these institutions, I believe, that comprise the source of Western strength and explain the West`s long-standing dominance in the world. In keeping with this, and contrary to multiculturalist doctrine, America`s unparalleled power in the present is sustained far less by military force than by the force of its ideas and institutions``................

............. so it is not about currency and power, it is about ideas or, in the case of zulus and muslims, the lack of ideas ............

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mariam,

nice article, i would strongly encourage you to write more.

i mentioned couple of points in #24, what is your take on that...

gujjubania alias shamsul #30: I see the south Indian dirt bag gujjubania who pretends to be the islamist fanatic shamsul has crawled onto this board too.

Talk about identity crisis!!

Hamidm #37 discovering beef?? Jesus Christ!! The US is busy UNdiscovering beef, my friend. (Atkins was the last gasp of the beef nazis, just like the battle of the bulge was the last gasp of the jerry nazis). Eat fish instead (as a bonus, you get your temperature taken as well, given that it comes loaded with mercury).

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hamidm2,

``there are certain universal values which define civilized men and women``

Yarr, the only universal values are of currency and power. Everything else is infrastructure to support the status quo. Self-proclaimed `civilized` men and women are not averse to bombing the hell out of others for the sake of ``interests``. This is true if you come from Temple of Doom, the 7th Century, or New York.

chicago cubs fans do not have an identity problem ................

.......... you know, there are well meaning anthropologists out there who want to help the bushman maintain his identity by running around naked and being chased by a lion .............. oh, but he is so cute!........... but what if the lion catches him and eats him for dinner ?...........

............. this identity business is sheer nonsense propagated by green weenies and people who are in the business of selling indian style toilets, maswak, red dots for foreheads and heeng ............ there is no redeeming value in these things ............ who wants to squat on a hole in the ground or brush their teeth with a twig or put a silly red dot on their forehead or go around smelling like a kafir ?............ there are certain universal values which define civilized men and women, and these do not include acting like a seventh century bedouin or a character out of the temple of doom ............and as much as we might resent it, they happen to be primarily western values .............

............ as far as muticulturalism in america is concerned, the sooner we give up on bhaji and switch over to beef the better off we will be ...........there is no point in worshiping perfectly good steaks since it could lead to worse things like demands for muslim family laws and banishment of all pigs to mexico ................. suffering from an identity crisis?.......... become a chicago cubs fan - they are almost as hopeless as a muslim or a bushman about to be eaten by a lion ...............