Islam and Tolerance

Yesterday's announcement that Israeli tennis player Shahar Peer has been denied a visa by the United Arab Emirates to play in the Dubai Tennis Championships is distressing news. Because officials refused to explain themselves, one can only assume this is a religious/political statement caused either by the recent Israeli invasion of Gaza or by the simple fact of Peer's citizenship.

Despite the loud claims of Islamic apologists that it is a sweet faith of love and tolerance, here's another example of its intolerance, inflexibility and medieval mentality. One would think that a country like the UAE which likes to think of itself as modern, sophisticated and worldly would hesitate to ban players from a tournament based solely on religion. Yet they did it, the moderates obviously trumped by more conservative, religious elements in the government.

Wanting desperately to believe that Islamic fundamentalists are a distinct minority, I'm dismayed to find what I thought was level-headed, moderate Muslim country still involved in maintaining it's religious and political purity by barring a Jew with a tennis racket in her hand. I was unaware that the Qur’an had outlawed tennis rackets for Jews. I was also unaware how deep the xenophobia of Muslims when it comes to non-Muslims, whether they are athletes, cartoonists or religious critics.

Beyond confirming once again Islamic disdain for the rights of non-Muslims, this decision also demonstrates the hypocrisy of many Muslim countries. They want to be western, modern and cosmopolitan and they feel they deserve respect for leaving the past and moving into twenty-first century. But they refuse to be tolerant and respect the basic human rights of others who don't share their views. If you ain't on their religious bandwagon, you're riding the wrong bus and you can go to hell in hand basket as far as they're concerned. Not very modern at all. In fact, the very sort of thinking that started and propelled so many of the religious wars that have been waged against non-Muslims.

Why such intolerance? Too many Muslims world wide in too many countries to make sweeping generalizations, but a lack of education probably explains some of it. High levels of illiteracy and poverty combined with low levels of formal education for millions means that fear is strong and lowest common denominator controls the debate. The mullahs wield power by appealing to that lcd. They wave the Qur’an, scream about infidels and demand that sinners pay for their sins with blood. Wow. Not very modern.

Not very tolerant either. I was hoping the tennis players would en masse refuse to play unless Peer was given a visa but evidently $2,000,000 in prize money is enough prevent them from voting against intolerance by walking away. That too is sad but that's a whole other issue.

Valentine's Day

This is such a strange holiday (or is it an event?). Although millions (including me) present candy, flowers and gifts to the ones they love, it still seems to be a Hallmark event, one of those moments created by consumer capitalism where we all open our wallets in unison and SPEND.

Is that cynical? Perhaps. But it's hard to ignore the obvious. There's no reason why February 14 should be the day when I express my love and affection more extravagantly (and materially) than usual. So why do we do it? Cultural expectations, of course.

This results in the expression of a lot of artificial emotion that's pro forma and insincere. We go through the motions to avoid being seen as cold-hearted and insensitive, more interested in preserving our image than in expressing great feeling.

Yet many people (women, I'm afraid) get quite upset if Valentine's Day finds them without a lover/spouse or if that lover/spouse ignores the event or produces a gift that the recipient feels expresses an inadequate level of feeling. I'm stunned that so many otherwise intelligent people are so easily consoled and mollified by the expression of manufactured emotion.

Of course, all this "heavy thinking" ignores the simple joy of the holiday when children go off to Walmart or Walgreens, buy the package of Valenitines and then go to school in a trembling state of excitement to find out who admires them from a distance and if the one who caught their eye will appreciate such attention. And then of course, the candy. Great stuff, till you hit puberty when the air goes out of the balloon and Valentine's Day becomes serious business.

Regardless, happy V day! It's a mid-winter pause that refreshes--sometimes.

News Flash: America Is Resistant to Change

CNN International news anchor Monita Rajpal made the comment the other day that Americans are very resistant to change. She sighted as proof "the long time it took them to elect a black man as president."

I almost fell off my chair. I think we're the people most open to change on the planet. Change is part of the national character. We're all immigrants or the descendants of immigrants, easily the biggest change an individual can make in his or her life.

We also have changed our country and the planet, building great cities where none existed and transforming an agricultural nation to an urban powerhouse.

We ended slavery, fighting a civil war to accomplish it, and reshaped our world. We change presidents and governor and congresses regularly and without bloodshed.

We also created, developed and are the driving force behind the internet that shapes modern life for people around the world.

That isn't to say all Americans are whirlwinds of transformation. Most of us are creatures of habit and comfortable with the familiar but that's true of all people. The British cling to the Pound Sterling, the Nigerians cling to tribal loyalties that have torn their country apart (Biafra is more than a memory) and the Chinese cling to a shadow of communism, providing the population with the illusion of continuity while providing the government with the tools to suppress individual freedom.

I don't see Americans as more resistant to change than other peoples. In fact I think we're more comfortable with change than anyone else and Obama's election proves it.

So why did Rajpal say what she did? Maybe she spoke off the top of her head without thinking (after all, she is a news dweeb). Maybe she's biased against Americans and really means it. Or maybe she knows something I don't--but I think she's simply wrong.

Roger Federer and Dreams Destroyed

Rafael Nadal beat Roger Federer last weekend for the championship of the Australian Open. Afterwards as he was thanking the sponsors for his second place check of $650,000, Federer broke down and began weeping. “This is just killing me,” he said, clearly devastated by his loss which prevented him from tying Pete Sampras’s record of 14 Grand Slam Championships.

Clearly Nadal, five years younger, is in his head. The only way to prove his championship mettle is to work through his Nadal jinx and beat him a couple times in Grand Slam events. Federer is still a young man and in his prime. He should be able to play Nadal even up if he can get his head straight.

But what I found fascinating is Federer displaying such weakness in the face of an opponent. One of the unwritten laws of championship competition is to never show weakness. Respect for the opponent is one thing, tears and weakness another, akin to cowardice and fear.

It seems to be he was overwhelmed by frustration at his inability to assert his will against this dangerous and talented opponent. Like all of us, Roger has his dreams. He has great tennis ability, has worked hard to develop that ability and feels that he should be able to claim the prize he aspires to: the Sampras’ record.

Unfortunately, like happens to many, his dreams seems to have exceeded his skills and he’s now finds himself unable to reach his goal. Is that what’s killing him—that he can’t fulfill his dreams? Or is he weeping at the realization that he‘s not someone special but instead is like so many of us who’ve found our dreams smashed on the rocks of reality? Or is he simply enraged at this punk kid of twenty-two who’s blocking the door to his future?

I don’t have answers but these are interesting questions, as is what Federer’s experience reveals about all this dreaming business. Pop culture has almost made it a mantra that if you have a dream and work at achieving it, you’ll be successful. My experience in my own life and watching others has proven just the opposite. Many people who dream work very hard to make those dreams come true but fail utterly. Look at the thousands who audition annually for American Idol only to find Simon scoffing at their dreams and telling them to go home.

Yet pop culture has got people believing that the dream alone is a guarantee of success. I think that’s wrong and that American society needs to develop a more complex, nuanced view that’s closer to reality. Living in a dream state’s not a good thing, unless you’re Snow White, and the world is far too dangerous for any of us to be lost in a fantasy world.