Urdu, My Love Song PDF

## Barakat! (20 years is enough!) - Campaign of the Algerian women's associations demanding the definitive abolition of the two-decades-old family code. - Opposition to wearing the Islamic head scarf, even if there are differing opinions about the law banning it from schools in France. - Violence o...

## Barakat! (20 years is enough!) - Campaign of the Algerian women's associations demanding the definitive abolition of the two-decades-old family code. - Opposition to wearing the Islamic head scarf, even if there are differing opinions about the law banning it from schools in France. - Violence or even death inflicted on female friends or family members because they refused to wear the scarf. - Argue that the current enthusiasm for the head scarf [among some Muslims] in France was stimulated by discrimination suffered by immigrant-children, but that this cannot be considered the real cause of the desire to wear it; nor can memories of a North African lifestyle explain it. - Behind this so-called 'choice' demanded by a certain number of girls is the promotion of a political Islamic society based on a militant ideology which aims to promote actively values to which we do not subscribe. ## Stopping Homophobia - For Islamic fundamentalists (as for all machos and fundamentalists), 'being a man' means having power over women, including sexual power. - They believe any man who favors equality of the sexes is potentially subhuman, or 'queer.' - This way of thinking has proliferated since the rise of political Islamism. - One of the organizers of the demonstration on Saturday, January 17, 2004, in favor of the head scarf declared that 'It is scandalous that those who claim to be shocked by the head scarf are not shocked by homosexuality.' - He believes that a virtuous society hides women behind head scarves or puts homosexuals behind bars, something we have already seen happen in Egypt. - They believe that recognition of the existence of homosexuality and the freedom for homosexuals to live their own lives as they wish represent undeniable progress. - As long as an individual-heterosexual or homosexual-does not break the laws protecting minors, each person's sexual choices are his or her own business and do not concern the state in any way. ## Fighting Anti-Semitism - Condemn the anti-Semitic statements made recently in speeches in the name of Islam. - Jews have become a target: 'They have everything and we have nothing,' was something that was heard in the demonstration on January 17. - The Israel-Palestine conflict is used by fundamentalist movements as a means of promoting the most disturbing forms of anti-Semitism. - Despite their opposition to the current policies of the Israeli government, they refuse to feed primitive images of the 'Jew.' - A real, historical conflict between two peoples should not be exploited. - They recognize Israel's right to exist, a right recognized by the PLO congress in Algiers in 1988 and the Arab League summit meeting in Beirut in 2002. - Committed to the Palestinian people and in support of their right to found a state and to be liberated from occupation. ## Living Secularism - Islam has not received sufficient recognition in France. - There is a lack of places to pray. - There are not enough chaplaincies nor enough cemeteries. - Young French people, the sons and daughters of Muslim immigrants, are still held back socially and suffer discrimination. - All monitoring bodies recognize this. - 'French-style' secularism has lost a great deal of value in the eyes of these young people. - Two possibilities lie before them: - Rediscover the strength of a real, living secularism; that is, political action on behalf of their rights and to demand the social gains fought for by their fathers and mothers-who belonged to social classes, cultures, peoples, and nations before they belonged to Islam. - See themselves in an imaginary, virtual 'umma' [Islamic community-EDs.] that no longer corresponds to reality, and then masquerade in republican or tiers-mondistes (third-worldist) rags. This only ends up securing unequal, repressive, and intolerant societies. - They believe this latter path cannot be theirs. ## Urdu, My Love Song - This extract tells a story of a daughter who reflects on the impact of her father's background on her life and experience. - Her father was a biochemist, a Fulbright scholar from the Indian Subcontinent, who always wore a three-piece suit and taught her the Urdu word "Shukria." - He used the word 'please' (meaning 'yes') and 'thank you' (meaning 'no') in a way that confused her, and she had challenges understanding how to use the words appropriately. - The story contrasts her father's world with that of her neighbor, Mr. McNabb, a true "Southerner" with an entirely different way of life and language. - Her father was an unconventional man, with a love for storytelling and a deep knowledge of Urdu, and he exposed his family to a wide range of experiences. - The writer struggles to understand and learn Urdu, and later comes to realize that she's an outsider to the world of her father and his culture. - The story ends on a poignant note, as the author reflects on her father’s death and the enduring legacy of his cultural heritage. ## Majlis of the 'Others' - This continues the narrative, exploring the protagonist's experience of being a child of immigrants in a mostly white community. - She was sent to Sunday school at the Robertsville Baptist Church, but struggled to fit in. - During the Sunday School class, she pretended to speak Urdu to fit in, but is overwhelmed by the weight of her deception. - She tries to reconnect to Urdu, but ultimately struggles to find her place and is left with a feeling of being an outsider. - She reflects on the experience of wearing a sari, and how it represents her desire to connect with her cultural heritage. - The story underscores the protagonist's ongoing struggle to negotiate her identity as a child of immigrants, living in a world that often doesn't understand or accept her. ## The Allegory of the Cave - This section features a summary of the Allegory of the Cave by Plato, a famous dialogue that discusses the nature of reality and knowledge. - The allegory depicts prisoners who are chained and forced to stare at shadows on a cave wall, believing these shadows to be reality. - One prisoner is released and eventually sees the truth, but struggles to convince the others who remain in the cave. - The allegory illustrates the difficulty of escaping illusion and embracing true knowledge.