I was scanning the British newspaper headlines and it is pretty clear that majority of people-judging from the newspapers, are not happy to see their government spend tax dollars to welcome a religious leader in a secular country.

A quote by Peter Tatchell – a human rights campaigner makes lot of sense. He says

"We object to the British government honoring him with a state visit — we do not think he deserves it," Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, spokesman of the Protest the Pope group, told CNN. "We also object to the fact that this visit has been funded by the taxpayer at the public expense. We do not as a country fund visits by the Grand Mufti of Mecca, or the Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, so why should the pope’s visit receive privileged…"

 

 Why indeed should the Pope be any more special than Mecca’s Mufti or Jerusalem’s Rabbi? Is it because Britain is a majority Christian nation? If that is the logic-majority religion gets special privilege then the whole idea of freedom of religion and democracy is defeated.

 Religion, I have always believed is a bad influence on democracy and freedom. If Britain and any other nation who considers itself democratic continues to accord special privileges to a religious group then slowly and surely its democratic values and civil freedom will erode.

Bhumika Ghimire

Ayan Hirsi Ali’s life story reads like a fast paced political thriller.Coming from a conservative Muslim family, Ali suffered gender discrimination and violence of worst kind-female genital mutilation. But she managed to stay strong and turned her life around.

 Quite a positive story. But unfurtunately, her powerful voice is going wasted. She is siding up with the neocons and has turned into a professional anti-Islam(not anti-radical Islam or anti-fundamentalist) talking head.

Her life story and its positive energy can be a powerful message against the radical and fundamentalists who abuse their faith and their fellow beings. Instead Ayan Hirsi Ali is now a neocon, anti-Islam, pro-war talking head.

What a tragedy!

Bhumika Ghimire

Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin  are the true peddlers of hate and lies. Beck accused President Obama of hating white culture and white people, while he was socking racial and religious fear among people.

Beck’s Islamophobia is out of control. He made it pretty clear that only Christians are real Americans and that a non Christian should not be allowed to be president. That is why he keeps on raising doubts about President Obama’s faith and background.

 Glenn Beck exploits people’s fear and reservations to gain political mileage. He is a hate monger.

And now, to make it worse, the Beck circus has found a new clown. The airhead from Alaska-Sarah Palin.

Palin’s depth and understanding of world issues is well documented. She is shallow and hollow enough to believe that "I can see Russia from my house" qualifies her to be a President. Now she is also into the Islamophobia brigade, furthering the radical Evangelical view of a Christian America.

If Beck-Palin 2012 becomes a reality, I guess entire towns and cities will migrate up to Canada to escape and wait for the apocalypse to play out.

Bhumika Ghimire

Iraq is still a violent, war torn nation, as proven by steady stream of violence and insurgent attacks. United States is ending its combat mission in the country this month(August 2010). This will leave a huge security hole in the country. I am not advocating that US stay in the country indefinitely; but the least Nepali government can do is read the papers and make common sense decision.

After the US troops pull out,the insurgent activity is definately going to go up. In the long run the Iraqis themselves will take care of the situation, but that is not going to happen today, tomorrow or even next year.

 Until then lives of these hard working people should not be treated as spare goods. Nepal should reinstate its ban and keep its people from seeking employment in dangerous Iraq.

Bhumika Ghimire

• Gulf oil tragedy: President Obama did not handle the oil spill and BP properly. He did give a great speech on the incident, but then the action did not match his words. Okay, I am not saying that he should have been in the Gulf water in a wet suit, but he could have done something closer to that.
• The economy: How long is he going to blame Bush for the economy? He has to start making progress because blaming Bush and the Republicans isn’t going to work anymore.
• The mosque controversy: Did he have to inject himself into this vile debate? The right wingers are abusing Ground Zero mosque concerns to spread hate against Muslims, and the President’s speech on the issue just gave them more fuel. He should have kept his mouth shut on this issue.

And now President Obama is going on a 10-day vacation to Martha’s Vineyard. Not the right time to relax. Get back to work, Mr. President!

Bhumika Ghimire

I am not saying that Lord Shiva’s devotees are irrational, but there are plenty who use and abuse God and religion. For example, during the month of Shrawan, large numbers of married Nepali women and young girls fast every Monday. Their desire? The married ones pray for their husbands’ long life and the single ones ask the lord for a good husband.

What on Earth? Is God a businessman or an egomaniac who is pleased by you not eating on a certain day and will grant your wishes? And, also, what is it about Hindu women fasting and praying for their husbands’ long life? In no other religion women are forced to beg for their partners’ long life, and yes, the husbands are completely absolved of this duty. It is the female who begs, not the man.

This is religion- and culture-sanctioned discrimination. Very much accepted and prevalent in Nepal and also in India. Drives me nuts.

Some will attack my observation because I am an atheist and supposedly bound to attack anything remotely connected to God or religion. Bonkers! I am criticizing this practice because this is just so ridiculous and stupid. In the 21st century, women are intellectually infantilized and reduced to begging in front of God.

When are we, Nepali women, going to grow up?

Bhumika Ghimire

Why should the female teacher hide herself? Just because she is a woman, she has no right to  appear in public? I don’t know the purpose of education these students are getting. They can’t respect a woman, and I don’t know what kind of stuff they are learning at this "Islamic University."

Another aspect of this burqa controversy is growing Islamic fundamentalism in sections of Indian society previously thought to be liberal. I came across a very interesting blog post, two years old but very relevant, on this issue.

Nita at A Wide Angle View of India says that:

"I found several bits of information on this subject on the net, and one was a few years old. It says that the study was conducted by the University of Calicut, and the survey “that the number of Muslim women who were purdah in the five districts of the Malabar region increased from 3.5 per cent in 1990 to 32.5 per cent in 2000.” Another article is about five months old and it confirmed this trend. It quotes a survey which says that the percentage of burqa-clad women has increased from 10 to 30 percent in the recent past in Kerala. This in spite of the fact that Muslim clerics themselves are not unanimous on the practice of Muslim women covering the whole body."

Kerala is India’s most literate state, and women form a large section of the student and working populations. 

So this trend is definetely worth noting. Even in educated, liberal societies, women are "choosing" the burqa. I am saying "choosing" because there is no way to say for sure that it is indeed their choice.

Why this shift toward traditionalism and religious fundamentalism?

India is a global economic and diplomatic powerhouse now. With a growing Western presence and influence in India, some parts of the society are feeling as if their values and traditions are under attack.

I think that is the reason why students there feel that only a burqa-wearing teacher can represent their values.

Sad to see that instead of embracing multicultural ideas and learning from different cultures, these students are choosing to retreat. This  also raises questions about the kind of education they are getting in this university. It is telling that other professors have not come forward to support this female teacher who refuses to wear a burqa.

Bhumika Ghimire

Ground Zero is where hundreds died-killed mercilessly by terrorists . They called themselves Islamic warriors-dragging Islam into their war with the United States. No matter how much we try to seperate Islam and all the other Muslims from these terrorists,the public psyche and the emotions of the victims’ families has an image of the day the carnage happened; I bet they will not be able to accept a mosque at Ground Zero. A Ground Zero mosque would be a symbol of hurt and pain, it would serve no purpose.

Also, what is with all the fuss about who is funding the mosque. Why the lack of transparency? If those behind the idea of mosque at Ground Zero don’t want the public to know who is funding the project, what are they going hide from us in the future?

Build a mosque, any number of mosques anywhere in America, but leave Ground Zero alone. Keep religion, war, politics off from that sacred ground.

Bhumika Ghimire

Unfortunately, these workers face very harsh working conditions in the Middle East. Some are victimized by the employers—denied pay and medical attention—and the women are often sexually and physically abused.

In 2008, in an article for Suite101.com, I had the opportunity to go deeper into why foreign laborers—especially women—are so horribly treated in the Middle East (particularly Saudi Arabia):

"Dr. Ali Alyami, Executive Director of The Center for Democracy and Human Rights in Saudi Arabia, a Washington D.C.-based organization, said during an interview that Saudi Arabia has no legal framework or social system to ensure that migrant laborers are treated equally and protected from various forms of abuse. A recently updated labor law does not provide enough rights and protection to the migrant laborers.

He also pointed out the horrible living and working conditions for migrant laborers. Saudi society, which itself is repressed and deprived of basic rights we enjoy in the Western world, is unable to treat the workers with respect.

Dr. Alyami added that women who come to the Kingdom to work as maids are especially vulnerable to abuse. They are doubly victimized—as a woman and as a foreign laborer."

But the workers continue to flock to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and other Gulf countries. Nepali government, at this point, seems completely paralyzed to take strong steps to ensure safety of these workers.  Nepal depends heavily on the remittance sent home by these workers, so the government does not want to rock the boat and jeopardize an already fragile economy. But at what cost?

For more on the migrant workers in the Middle East, you can check out this excellent blog, Migrant Rights.

Bhumika Ghimire

You think I am just an angry, unemployed liberal venting out? Trust me, millions think like me. More will join after the scale of Wall Street excess and arrogance becomes public knowledge.

The Wall Street Journal says "Finance-Bill Proposal Worries Banks":

"A proposal gaining ground on Capitol Hill to force banks to spin off their derivatives-trading operations would represent a severe blow to one of Wall Street's most profitable businesses.

Banks took in about $20 billion in revenues in 2009 on trading of derivatives, according to industry estimates of the size of the market for financial contracts tied to other assets, such as oil or mortgages."

Oh gee…how can the government force the banks to let go of billions in profit in the name of regulation and financial safety? After all, Wall Street is above the law (it has always been that way).

Now if this does not get your attention, you would be happy to know that Wall Street has its blood brothers working in Washington to kill any financial regulation bill…some of those brothers are Republican senators and Congress people.

And thus the saga of Wall Street supremacy over Main Street continues.

Bhumika Ghimire

Extremist groups are taking rightful grievances against the government and President Obama to a new level by threatening elected local officials. 

The Associated Press says

"The FBI is warning police across the country that an anti-government group's call to remove governors from office could provoke violence by others.

A group that calls itself the Guardians of the Free Republics wants to "restore America" by peacefully dismantling parts of the government, according to its Web site.

As of Wednesday, more than 30 governors had received letters saying if they don't leave office within three days they will be removed, according to an internal intelligence note by the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security…"

There were many who cautioned against the way anti-Obama sentiments were getting racially charged and turning violent, and this was just after he was elected. But then, their concerns were brushed aside. Now, the situation is truly scary.

This group, Guardians of the Free Republics, is an extremist fringe group. According to their website, it is clear that they see Obama's government and his election as "illegitimate" although do not explain why they believe so.

Homeland Security cautioned against the rising threat of domestic terrorism by lunatic groups like these last year. If you remember, the DHS Secretary was criticized for that report. Well, she was right. Sadly.

Bhumika Ghimire