One of the books in particular has been sitting on loan from one of my law professors, and has topped the "you should really try to read this book someday" list for over a year now. The book is titled "Progressive Muslims," edited by Omid Safi, and contains over a dozen individually written essays on a whole range of topics concerning Islam. Over the last several days I have finally put a dent in this collection of knowledge, and a portion of the 2nd essay entitled "In Search of Progressive Islam Beyond 9/11" by Farid Esack has really stuck out to me.
With it being the holiday season, the western concept of "Christmas" cannot be ignored. With consumerism and capitalism overflowing from window displays, television screens, and stereo speakers, I find myself growing increasingly tired of this holiday. Don't get me wrong, there are certain aspects of this time of year that will never grow old. A short-list of holiday related items that still bring me happiness:
- "A Charlie Brown Christmas," both the TV special and the brilliant musical composition of Vince Guaraldi
- "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation"
- "A Christmas Story"
- Christmas trees
- "Elf"
- Any and all food items that are delicious and seem to only appear this time of year
- Christmas specials of the following TV shows: Garfield, Rugrats, Family Matters, Rocko's Modern Life, Hey Arnold (seriously, why does someone always start cutting onions when Helga helps Arnold track down Mr. Hyunh's long lost daughter?!), Kennan and Kel, Ed Edd & Eddy
Anyway, you get the gist of it.
At this point I feel I must be honest. At no point in my life have I ever associated the feelings of joy that I derive from these things, or any other Christmas-related item, with the birth of Jesus Christ. Do I believe that Jesus Christ was born? Yup. Do I believe that he was a prophet of God? Yup. But I have never associated my affection for Christmas with his birth. Instead, my affection with Christmas has always been an association with all that I find to be beautiful in the world, which I would argue is mostly aligned with what Jesus taught to his disciples. Loving your family and friends, using human creativity to beautify the world around us, appreciating the natural beauty of God's work (the world looks so incredibly peaceful when it snows, makes me think of a world without human corruption, but that's another rant), and above all the over arching theme that we should give, that we should dedicate our time and our money to help improve the lot of those who are not as blessed as we are.
As I grow older and wiser I realize how this innocent perception of what Christmas should be, has become nothing but a commercial assault on the American public, preying on the consumerism of our culture. How companies that build their fortunes on the backs of the poorest in the world, turn around and use these messages of "loving thy neighbor" to convince you into not thinking about what country, and what person, had to suffer to put that product on the shelf in front of you. Christmas is still a religious holiday, but to what religion does it now belong? Does it belong to Christianty, or capitalism? This brings me to the essay I discussed earlier, which I will quote a portion of below:
Harvey Cox has detailed the way the remarkable similarities between the description of God and the Market as omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent. Here I want to briefly deal with the way we relate to the Market as God and to Market Capitalism as religion. Adherents of the Free Market see their lives driven to the worship of the One All-Powerful and Jealous God: Capital. Underpinned by its theology—economics—it has numerous huge temples in the form of shopping malls where people are increasingly being drawn to by deeply unfilled inner needs; for which the temple, church or mosque were earlier viewed as adequate. (“I shop to feel good”, “I go to the Mall to hang out”). The connectedness with both God and community provided by the temple has now been supplanted by the highly individualized and anonymous encounters between cashier and consumer. These temples of consumerism often display a determination to drive out all the smaller little corner churches propounding insignificant little heresies such as “the humanness of chatting to your own friendly butcher”. The major symbol of this religion, that “Golden Arches” of McDonalds, has driven out that other symbol of a now old-fashion religion, the crucifix of Christianity, as the most widely recognized symbol in the World. The arch is telling the crucifix: “The Lord, Your God is One; You shall have none others in my presence.”
Many who have remained nominal religionists find their lives rotating around the worship of Capital and like suicide bombers drive themselves to death as sacrificial lambs (or martyrs) at the altar of “success” in its service. “Shop till you drop” is a basic creed of faith. It is difficult to leave one’s home or switch on one’s TV without being confronted by its missionaries or having a pamphlet thrust in one’s hand (“Convert Now Or You Will Lose Out!” “Buy Now - The Sale Ends Today!”) So successful, however, have their missionary activities been that people restrain their annoyance at these intrusions to the Jehovah's Witnesses. The Religion of the Market also has an eschatology, even a theory of the “End of History”; Paradise awaits those who believe and hell those who reject or who fail - or have failure written in their destiny. ("The unemployed are just lazy", "The poor shall always be with us."). Images of the ideal of “the Glorious Lounge”, “The Perfect Toilet for you!”, “The BMW accompanied by your very own sex-bomb”, correspond to images of paradise presented by other religions that sometimes have their own sex-bombs, Houris - or a few - thrown in as an added incentive for martyrdom. While very few can ever hope to “possess” the ‘Houri’ accompanying the picture of the BMW, hope springs eternal.
The struggle against countries which choose an independent economic path is unashamedly described as a “crusade” with collateral damage ("There are no innocent victims in our crusade against Cuba. Their children dying under our sanctions are either the offspring of infidels so who cares. We are doing it for the Greater Good.”). Damnation awaits those who do not share the beliefs of its adherents. Belief is important; for believers will always fall short as practitioners. The vast majority of believers in the Market are destined to be failures simply because the market economy success can only come to a minority. Its paradise, after all is founded on an earth that has limited resources. This fundamentalism of the Market seeks to convert all other cultures in its image, utilizing them for consolidating the system. In the aftermath of 11th of September, several spokespersons for the USA, including Colin Powell, have linked ‘anti-terrorism’ to the adoption of “free trade” policies as the dual requirements of allies in the “you’re either with us or against us” doctrine of the Bush Administration. The Market is thus being openly presented as the only way with the assertion that outside its pale there is no salvation for the world, only hell-fire of destruction, or the limbo of ‘primitivism.’I do not intend to promote the idea that if you celebrate Christmas by going shopping and giving presents that you are somehow a bad person. I myself have purchased several presents to give to my family who still celebrate Christmas. I guess the whole point of this massive rant basically comes down to the phrase, "be sure to remember the reason for the season." Corporations have blurred the line between capitalism and Christianity so much that emotional desires such as doing good for others, which are rightfully associated with the Christian origins of the holiday, are now subconsciously linked to the desire to spend money, in order to make those around you happy. This idea has been created in our culture that if you don't buy the right gift, the right amount of gifts, that if what is under the tree isn't up to par, than you have failed. My own mother used to have anxiety attacks over making sure she bought me and my sisters the right gift, the right amount of gifts, that she would have enough money to give us a "good Christmas."
Christmas has gone from serving as a reminder of a feeling of community and responsibility to your neighbor, which should then be carried all throughout the year, to a one month worship of the Market, where we are told that we all must do our part to make sure it stays alive and strong. I would argue that the more time you spend reflecting on why Christmas should be important, the more you will realize that it is the same reason every single day should be just as important. And the more you realize that every single day is a chance to do good for others, to spend time with family, to reflect on how you can become a better person, the more you will purge yourself from this Market induced idea that it is only to Christmas that these feelings belong, and it is only through purchasing gifts that you can fulfill those needs.
As I start to purge myself of this subconsciously planted idea, I start to realize what I have always loved about Christmas: funny cartoons, relaxing music, pretty lights, and a season where the ideals of moral good are promoted widely. Even though I am Muslim, I like to believe that it is possible to take Christmas back from Capitalism, and return it to Christianity, where ideas of salvation through moral goodness can be promoted, instead of salvation through shopping sprees.
No comments:
Post a Comment