MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR.

Luke 2:14 from the American Standard Version Bible:

Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace among men in whom he is well pleased

King James says this:

Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, good will toward men

Yes, we need to play our part to receive God's pleasure and gift.

Keeping Up With Muslim Wedding Traditions

Here is more evidence that Muslims have no intention of really integrating into Western culture.

The recent wedding of a young Muslim South Asian newscaster from New Jersey was depicted as "a fusion" of cultures. In reality, there is not much "fusion about it.

I know this isn't an Ontario story, but the New Jersey story was the one I could find with the most detail about young married, or soon-to-be married Muslim couples.

Still, regarding Ontario, the writer and creator of Little Mosque on the Prairie, Zarqa Nawaz, has talked about her husband and family life. She recounts her husband "supporting" her career as a filmmaker by relocating from Saskatchewan to Toronto, as though he made special sacrifices. But, her husband is a doctor, and unlikely not to find work anywhere, given the shortages. So, moving to Toronto from Saskatchewan to follow his new filmmaker wife's career wasn't such a risky move. In the end, as it happens, they had to return to Saskatchewan because...it didn't suit the husband's career plans. Doctors from out of Ontario have to wait three years before gaining residency. So much for the "feminist" woman full of career moves with the supportive modern Muslim husband. Of course, her TV series is also a heavily subsidized CBC affair, where her real entrepreneurship and creativity is not important. I'm sure it is her "female and Muslim" attributes that gave her the show.

Back to New Jersey.

Syma and Aamer are American-born well-established Muslims. Syma is both Pakistani and Indian. Her now-husband Aamer is Indian. Syma has a semi-glamorous life as a fashion model and a newscaster at News 12, and Aamer is an attorney. They met through a chat line, and dated for a year before they became engaged. Such a long dating period is frowned upon, but this outgoing, rule-breaking couple did it anyway.

Other rules they broke?

- Syma wore an off-white wedding dress (actually it looks more like a sari to me) instead of the traditional red one.
- Syma decided to have the henna-painting ceremony - the mehndi - before the wedding ceremony - the nikah. (Unfortunately, we are having to learn new vocabulary as well)
- There were bridesmaids whose saris matched the wedding sari and other decor
- Although the couple had a traditional nikah (yes that would be wedding) ceremony, they gave each other rings, as per Western traditions
- The bride and groom also followed other Western wedding traditions such walking down the "aisle", cutting of the cake, throwing of the bouquet (but not the garter!) and having the first dance as a married couple (couples apparently don't dance in Muslim wedding ceremonies).

But, more detail shows this is just really fluff.

They got married under strict Muslim tenets, reciting words from the Koran. And Syma's mother had the last say in almost all the big decisions, including having the wedding venue in a formal, large hall with hundreds of guests unlike the few dozen Syma was planning. Large communities are ways in which such groups keep their bonds strong. One small detail, which sounds quaint: the wedding cake had a mosque dome, a crescent and a star as the cake topper.

When push comes to shove, the "fusion" parts of Muslim weddings, and married couples, is in the artificial and unimportant ones - well, some might relinquish a little more. But, the essentials of the weddings are all there, and no real tradition is broken.

Even the Western rites are submerged and integrated into the Muslim/non-Western ones, and not the other way round.

Eid at the Ex

Part of a poster for the Eid festivals at the CNE, showing the
Queen Elizabeth Building designated for prayers

[Click here to see a bigger and complete version of the poster.]

December 8th was the big Eid Al-Adha festivities.

This time, instead of the Rogers Center, Muslims used another well-known Toronto landmark to hold their celebrations: the Canadian National Exhibition (the CNE). This isn't the first time that these celebrations took place in the CNE, but the organizers promised that it would be bigger and better this time, expecting up to 15,000 people from around the Toronto area.

The CNE becomes a giant fairground for two weeks in August as it hails in Labor Day and the end of summer. This event is simply known as "The Ex". The theme song "Let's go to the Ex" is sweet music to thousands of young children, who have been celebrating the end of summer with carnival rides, hot dogs and cotton candy for decades.

The grounds started off as an agricultural fair, which later branched off into the August fair ground. The rest of the year, the many buildings are used for smaller trade shows, exhibitions and athletic demonstrations.

Other multicultural events also take place there, like the Chinese New Year.

But the Muslim Eid celebrations are the biggest yet. They also made extensive use of the Ex's facilities, including rides for children, and the Queen Elizabeth Building for prayers.

Various Toronto institutions set up a food drive, co-sponsored by the CBC and Little Mosque on the Prairie's. The show's caste (many of whom are non-Muslim) also attended to meet their "fans" and to help with the food drive.

Toronto and Ontario officials, including John Tory, leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party, and Ontario's Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Mike Colle were in attendance.

Here's how the Muslim Association of Canada describes the event:

MAC envisions Muslims as a community in Canada that is an essential, integral and vibrant part of this society yet maintaining its religious attributes and values. In aiming to integrate the Muslim identity into the Canadian social fabric, MAC has dedicated itself to events such the Eid Festivals. The Muslim community represents 10% of the GTA population and continues to grow each year. Given Eid is a very important celebration for Muslims, establishing a united gathering that represents such a multicultural community directly strengthens the Ontario heritage. This celebration is unique compared to most other events in the GTA; the events gather a diverse attendance that directly reflects the cultural mosaic of Ontario.

A nice contradiction, on the one hand advocating the multicultural nature of the Canadian society, on the other hand maintaining a Muslim exclusivity. But, this is common. Muslims will use the multicultural fabric to establish themselves, their families and their religion while excluding everyone else.

No Religion=Islam Convert

I was doing some research on Islam the other day, and needed to consult some books. I went to the Ryerson University Library, which is right in the middle of finals, so a little crowded.

Still, I went past the lady stacking books, and got to the section I needed only to find someone taking up the whole area. I waited a while, and then decided to ask the person if I could just get to the books I wanted. I realized then that she was an Indian-looking girl, holding a book simply titled "Islam", and since I felt I had already done the introductions, I asked her if she was doing a term paper on this.

No, she said, she is learning about Islam for herself.

Why, I persisted.

Because she has to teach it to her boyfriend who wants to convert.

What religion is her boyfriend, I wanted to know.

No religion, she said. Then, that he was actually a Hindu, but doesn't practice. And now wants to convert to Islam.

Oh, he's Indian, I said. But he was actually from Trinidad (large Indian population there), and her family comes from Pakistan. I wanted to ask her more, especially why her family wasn't helping her with the instructions, but time was pressing.

From no religion, to Islam. That is quite a step. Unfortunately, it isn't the first time I've heard this. I know of two weddings that have taken place recently between Muslims and supposed Christians.

Those Brampton 18 must be some role models. Promising more fun and adventure (and risk and danger) than a "no religion" can possibly provide.