Jan 21, 2009

“The world watches and hopes” This editorial of the Guardian (London) coming a day after the inauguration of Barack Obama is an eloquent reflection on the historic significance of Obama’s Presidency. The Guardian uses some pretty powerful words to describe the event:

“The events of 20 January 2009 are the greatest celebration of a purely democratic achievement in human history.”

"The election of an African-American president marks the symbolic end of one of the most searing racial injustices in the western world."

…few will disagree. This is a worthy read

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/jan/21/barack-obama-inauguration

The world watches and hopes

1/21/2009 12:12:00 PM , , ,

As Obama is sworn in as President of the United States, there seems to be global expectation that all things will now pass away and behold, all things will be made new. Obama’s administration will no doubt mark a radical departure from the experiences of the Bush years but it would be a mistake to think that Obama can change all that is wrong with the America and the world.
Inheriting two wars and a global economic crisis, the expectations for Obama need to be more measured and realistic. If not, they can easily lead to a stultifying and demoralizing “aspirational gap.”

In talking about the aspirational gap, I am reminded of the stratospheric expectations that followed decolonizing in Africa and other parts of the colonized world. Many in these societies imagined that the end of colonialism would automatically usher an end to the political and economic challenges they faced under colonial rule. Nationalist politicians fanned these expectations. The nationalist leader and prime minister of independent Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah implored his countrymen and women: “Seek ye the political kingdom and all other things will be added unto thee.” This turned out not to be. The expectation and aspiration bar has been set so high that no matter what the first generation of post-colonial leaders did (and they in fact, did not do very much), it was near impossible to meet them. The aspirational gap could never be filled. I have the same fears for our expectations of the Obama administration. The Obama administrations enjoyed an unprecedented measure of domestic and international goodwill from those who genuinely hope it succeeds. But in so doing we must beware the aspirational gap!

Beware the Aspirational Gap

1/21/2009 10:48:00 AM , ,
The Hamilton Magazine asked a panel of scholars to reflect of the meaning of "Change." These are excerpts from my reflections. The full article makes for interesting reading.

“There’s an old Chinese proverb,” reflects Dr. Bonny Ibawoh. “Catch a fish for a man you fed him for one day in his life. Teach a man to fish, he can feed himself for a lifetime.” The Director of the Peace Studies Program and the Centre for Peace Studies at McMaster University, Ibawoh sees the maxim as loaded with meaning for humanitarian projects. “Maybe we want to continue catching fish because it feels good for us,” he adds. “That says a lot about the way we do things.” Pearson seems to agree, at least when this principle is applied to Hamilton’s Poverty Roundtable. “If you’re talking about an issue of poverty, those most affected by the conditions of poverty have to be heard as well as those in positions to effect change.”

.... Knitting his hands behind his head and leaning back in his chair, Ibawoh recalls one of his favourite experiences of change. Ibawoh grew up in a west-African society that practiced female circumcision – a practice that has garnered a lot of attention and concern from the global society – both for the way in which it was practiced and the long-term effects of the tradition. “A lot of NGOs came to tell people what they were doing was wrong and they gave it a name, ‘mutilation,’ without understanding that this wasn’t the society’s intention,” he says, shaking his head. “It was a rite of passage into womanhood.” While the NGOs were well-intentioned, the society felt demonized and pushed back. Then something happened. “Some NGOs decided to get the society on board. They began asking why the practice was done, what the reason was behind it.” Through discussion, the NGOs and the society were able to begin to work through the issue, finding other options that suited everyone – especially the women. It’s a good story that leads one to wonder if there is enough conversation happening around poverty – a conversation that values input from everyone. Of course, there are many sides to the argument, but according to Susan, as long as there is no place for her voice, or the voice of others like her in greater numbers, the answer is no.

Reflecting on the Meaning of Change

1/21/2009 10:02:00 AM ,

Dec 30, 2008



I would be the first to acknowledge that the Middle East crisis is a complex one that defies any easy solutions. I also think that all the parties involved (including those who should be mediating) share some blame for this lingering crisis. But the situation in Gaza playing out before our TV screens simply bugles the mind. Hundreds of innocent civilians, including woman and children killed in days of relentless bombing of this crowded city. The images are horrific and should jolt the conscience of right-thinking and peace loving people everywhere. How can the world watch while this happens? How can this be allowed to continue? It is time to stop the carnage in Gaza and find a lasting peace for the Middle East.

Gaza Burns while the World Watchs

12/30/2008 07:44:00 PM ,

Dec 21, 2008

Oscar Peterson & the bassists - You Look Good To Me


Classic jazz piano from the great Oscar Peterson who I had the honour of seeing live in concert. This is what great music sounds like – placid, serene and engaging. Enjoy.

Oscar Peterson - You Look Good to Me

12/21/2008 12:01:00 AM

Dec 18, 2008


Less than a colossus in frame
In it, locked a towering intellect
Born to perpetually search
Those hidden mysteries
That wouldn’t the ordinary mind perturb
Complex…less than plain
Magnanimous, almost to a fault
In the quest to know
Sporadically in conflict with destiny
But lives to triumph, the ultimate victor
Potentials stand conspicuous
To any mind that penetrates the apparent
An aura of domination
A charismatic spirit nearer good
What vignette can possibly go
Under the heading “Ohimai”
At day’s dawn
Perhaps the most appropriate
The oxymoron “compatibly domineering”
Yes, equally apt is “irrepressible”
For he who lives to triumph

--13 June 1990--

(Rest in Peace, Chris)

In Memoriam: Christopher Ohimai Afegbai

12/18/2008 01:55:00 PM

Dec 17, 2008

Obama's Quest for his African Roots

This is my favorite photo of Barack Obama. It was taken on his way to the village market in Kogelo, Kenya.

He tells in his autobiography “Dreams of my Father (a book I recommend to everyone), that he barely knew his Kenyan father and met him only once in his life. Yet, after graduating from Columbia University he went back to Kenya to visit his Kenyan family and spent several days in the village with his step grandmother, accompanying her to the village market, the farm and getting to know the extended family. He visited uncles and aunts, nephews and cousins, many of whom did not even know that their “brother” had fathered a son with a white woman while studying abroad. He visited the graves of his father and grandfather he never knew, where, overwhelmed with emotion he broke down and wept. Like a lost child he felt that he had finally connected with his ancestral roots. It is a story for the ages.

Columnist Joe Klein writing in Time magazine says that this book "may be the best-written memoir ever produced by an American politician." I agree.

Happy Holidays!

Obama's Quest for his African Roots

12/17/2008 10:22:00 PM , ,

Dec 16, 2008


Saudi Cleric Favours One-Eye Veil

A Muslim cleric in Saudi Arabia has called on women to wear a full veil, or niqab, that reveals only one eye. Sheikh Muhammad al-Habadan said showing both eyes encouraged women to use eye make-up to look seductive. The question of how much of her face a woman should cover is a controversial topic in many Muslim societies.

The niqab is more common in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf, but women in much of the Muslim Middle East wear a headscarf which covers only their hair. Sheikh Habadan, an ultra-conservative cleric who is said to have wide influence among religious Saudis, was answering questions on the Muslim satellite channel al-Majd.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7651231.stm

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This is an interesting story that raises several human rights questions. I posed some of these questions before my Human Rights class and it generated extensive debates among students. The comments posted on the course discussion forum were as always engaging and insightful.

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Posted by BONNY IBHAWOH (HISTORY_3XX3_X_T1_08) on Friday, October 3, 2008 10:03pm
Subject: Saudi cleric favours one-eye veil

This is another example of the “Universalism vs. Cultural relativism” debate we have been having in class. A Saudi cleric wants women to wear veils that show only one of their eyes. Cultural/religious expression or human rights violation?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7651231.stm

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Posted by xxxxxxx on Saturday, October 4, 2008 10:25am
Subject: Re: Saudi cleric favours one-eye veil
After I read this article, I went to other related articles posted and only after reading more I have come to the decision that this "one-eye veil" is both a religious expression but at the same time a human rights violation.

The niqab is very normal for people in the Middle East, along with the hijab. I believe that it is a religious expression because it is told to them in the Koran. What I don't understand is why they are deciding to change things now? It is at this changing point that I think this whole issue is a human right violation due to the fact that the Koran hasn't changed therefore implementing the "one-eye veil" and deeming it a religious expression just doesn't make sense to me.

So that's what I think...for now. thoughts anyone??

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Posted by xxxxxxxxxx on Saturday, October 4, 2008 12:12pm
Subject: Re: Saudi cleric favours one-eye veil
I also read one of the related articles on the site and it gave a lot more background information. I think it's hard to say whether this is a human rights violation mostly because it is difficult to make myself completely unbiased by the fact that I have grown up in Canada and have no idea what it would be like to live in an Islamic nation. In putting my own views aside, the one eyed veil seems to be a srtict adherance to the Koran, but does that make it something that EVERYONE must follow? in the related article I read it stated that many women choose a more contemorary view on covering up, and feel that the full veil is an old cutsom.

I think that it should be the woman's choice whether or not she wants to commit to the full veil or not. for example, here in Canada it is now legal for a woman to go topless. This just gives a woman the freedom to choose whether or not she wants to wear a shirt in ublic or not. I know that both of these situations are on completely opposite ends of the spectrum, but they are related in a way that human rights should be about a person's right to choose.

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Posted by xxxxxxxx on Monday, October 13, 2008 8:11pm
Subject: Re: Saudi cleric favours one-eye veil
The issue is not that woman are choosing a specific form of attire. It is essentially a personal choice that harms no one. The only problem I have is that woman are being made to think that it is their religious obligation. Their decisions are not based on an understanding that whatever this cleric is representing is essentially his personal extreme interpretation of the Qur’an and Hadith, but rather its being portrayed as what Allah wants women to do. Whereas the reality is that women during the Prophet Mohammed’s time; peace be upon him, we doctors, warriors, teachers…etc. all roles that could have been impossible to be done with one eye! In fact, the prophets wife were recognized by their faces, so even the veil with both eyes showing is not seem as an obligation by the majority of the Muslim clerics.

The problem is not what women are choosing to wear; it is the fact that they are being misled. So, if a woman knows that it is not a divine order from God that asks her to wear the veil and still chooses to wear it, then I would not consider the veil a violation of human rights. However, if she wears the veil because she thinks she “has” to, then that is a violation of human rights. Because if she was not made to think that this is the will of God she would not be wearing it.

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Posted by xxxxxxxxxx on Tuesday, October 14, 2008 11:03am
Subject: Re: Saudi cleric favours one-eye veil
I think this issue is about the woman's right to choose how she is to be submissive to Allah - whether it be modest dress, an hijab, a burka, or a one-eyed veil - and the infrastructure and support to hold sacred that right to choose. Now there will always be complications, a husband's family that is more conservative or extreme than the woman's upbringing - which would put pressure on her to decide their way - this will always happen..

However, in a society that endorses the right to choose and not be legally beholden to a certain interpretation, seems a step in the right direction - or separation of religion and state, and the freedom to choose the particular sect of Islam that expresses it's submission to Allah in ways that aligns with one own's thinking. This would protect women from the wims and re-interpretations of various imams and provide more stability.

But even the right to choose and the separation of religion and state is not a universally upheld idea...though, as Dr. Ibhowah says, if these things align with texts and scriptures that, in this case, Islam holds as truth, then this can be pointed out to this particular sect of Islam - using their own revered and upheld truths against their interpretation.

And if that fails...it is up to the muslim community, in particular those who uphold the basic rights of women to choose, to put pressure on them. The pressure must come from the greater muslim community...

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Posted by xxxxxxxx on Saturday, October 18, 2008 12:48pm
Subject: Re: Saudi cleric favours one-eye veil
I think that the wearing of a one-eye veil, or whatever else a Muslim woman wishes to wear in order to promote her piety and religious faith, is a culturally relative option and decision that does not infringe on said woman's human rights. However, I think that it ought to be her analysis of the Quran and Islam that brings her to that decision. Rather, the response that she gets from her religious and societal community in regards to her decision is where a human rights violation is possible and unacceptable.

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Posted by xxxxxxxxxx on Wednesday, October 29, 2008 6:01pm
Subject: Re: Saudi cleric favours one-eye veil

I agree completely with xxxxxx... if a woman feels that she "has" to wear the veil (esp. a one eyed one), then it is a human rights violation because she is in a way, being coerced to wear such attire, which would be very restricting. Taking into account the historical background of where these veils and such came from, and looking at the issue during the Prophet's time, we see that the religious call for the one-eyed veil is extreme and not necessarily needed to fulfill the demands of modesty required for Islam. Therefore, under no circumstances should any woman be forced to wear this type of covering (by force or subtle manipulation). If she understands that she does not "have" to wear it, but chooses to wear it, in a completely free decision, then that is her choice and she has a right to that. The problem is... how can we assure that this choice is her own, and not influenced by others?

One-Eye Veil: Cultural/religious expression or human rights violation?

12/16/2008 09:11:00 PM , , , ,

Nov 23, 2008

A moving rendition of "Lift every voice" at an Obama victory celebration in Washington on the night of the election.

Obama Election Victory Celebration

11/23/2008 12:16:00 AM , ,

Nov 8, 2008


Here is a moving letter I received from one of my former students a day after the election of Barack Obama. It is a reminder of the unique privilege and responsibilities that we have as educators to open minds and hearts. Obama's victory just made my job as a teacher of Africa, human rights and social justice a bit easier and a lot more rewarding. This, too, is Obama's gift.

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Dear Dr. Ibhawoh,

My name is ............, I was in some of your classes last year andthe year before that.

I just felt like writing to you about the election last night. I wokeup this morning wishing that I was going to get up and go to one ofyour lectures or to our diasporic seminar to experience this!

I'm very excited by Obama's election and I'm sure, regardless of yourpolitical opinions, you would be too from an historian's perspective. Ikeep thinking about how today's lecture would go if I were in myAmerican History class talking about the Civil Rights Movement, or if Iwas doing my presentation today on racial sentiments in America'sentertainment business... or any kind of experience other than mymundane job!

I'm done school now, but I'm CRAVING debate and discussion andenlightenment! I just wanted to let you know how much your classesinspired me and what an affect you had on my daily thoughts. Hope you have an exciting week of classes.

OBAMA'S GIFT

11/08/2008 11:31:00 AM , ,
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