Haroon Siddiqui Speech

Just read this. Interesting.

Three things come to mind:

1. I find it interesting that Mr. Siddiqui has to qualify his statements with the idea that he is not the follow of the Aga Khan, even though he is in front of a “progressive” audience, where being an Ismaili, or Ithna'ashari, or Sunni shouldn't matter.
2. He critiques the term “extermist” but speaks to a group called “progressive,” which continues to reassert the binary, although from a different direction.
3. He begins talking about how aware Muslims around the world are of prison abuses. I don't dispute this, but I wonder how the information gets disseminated. If the majority of the Arab Muslim world, for example, is illiterate, then they count on the TV, radio, and word of mouth. If the violation of basic human rights had not been committed under the orders of George Bush, could a rumor, like the one of the Sepoy Uprising, continue to filter through the general population? Would it serve as a useful recruiting tool?

Technorati Tags: Aga Khan, Ismailis, Progressive Muslims

Comments

[Leila]

If sect didn't matter so much, then why would he feel the need to qualify that he is or isn't something in particular? Is it in fact a way to say "I'm not one of them?"