© Opinions the other press e Kali thurber e = opinionsubmit@hotmail.com October 22, 2003 Balin, REET, Bisel The art of bathroom graffiti is deterio- rating. In the 70s graffiti was rampant and flourishing as a form of art that was free of the limits publishing companies would force upon it. Since freedom of speech at that time still remained a topic of conversation rather than an enforced part of our Charter of Rights, graffiti was one of the few avenues where artists could freely express their ideas. Graffiti was found everywhere— across buildings, on the sidewalks, over rooftops, and perhaps most important- ly—in the bathroom. Consider the possibilities. An artistic message scrawled on the bathroom stall door forces its occupiers to read and gives them time to comprehend what the artist intended. The bathroom stall also allows a level of privacy for the reader that might even prompt them to respond. Graffiti then becomes an interactive form of art, where an unspo- ken bond is created between the readers and the artists themselves. What other art form allows for, and even encour- ages, adjustments and responses from the reader? In this sense bathroom graf- fiti has a hand in changing and some- times instilling social values, since it is actually done by the average person. And, because it is the only truly uncen- sored form of artistic expression—it could even be considered the voice of the people. But what has happened to bathroom graffiti now? The artistic revelations that occurred decades ago, through this art, is not what is found in bathroom stalls today. These days there are count- less writers who simply need to be reminded of their own existence, and happily write so-and-so was here at so- and-so time. These scribblings hold no entertainment value, and put a consid- erable amount of shame to the art. Or worse yet, advertisers have recently become aware of the greatness of the bathroom space, and have started cov- ering our stalls with ads for beer, cars, and tampons. Bathroom graffiti used to be written to express adverse political messages like this old one: Don’t think, follow! Don’t talk, shoot! It’s the American way. Recently the strongest political state- ment I have seen in the stalls was: Go Campbell Go! Make ’em work! This was found at a job find center. Ok, that one is actually not too bad. But where has the true passion for bathroom graf- fiti gone? Lately most of the scribblings I've seen have been over-used quotes from random famous people, or the typical, Sam loves Julie. Quoting other peoples’ words is fine, as long as you make your own contri- bution to the piece. My mother dug up a graffito (singular for graffiti) that she had recorded from her hippy days. The now famous quote, God is Dead— Nietzche, had appeared in a pub stall in Montreal. However, it was not left as the simple restatement of someone else’s work. Another graffitist wrote underneath, Nietzche is Dead—God. And as was inevitable, this graffito appeared underneath that one, God is Nietzche—Dead. This is the kind of bathroom graffiti that inspires and offers humour to its readers. Has this generations’ use of the bathroom stalls dwindled because free- dom of speech and press is now com- monplace? I refuse to believe that our freedom is so great that we no longer have a need for this soon-to-be-forgot- ten art form. It is illegal, however, so I am definitely not suggesting that more people cover the bathrooms with graffi- ti...exactly. However, if we do intend to bring this art form back to life, as I propose we do, we must take responsibility for its impact on the reader. We must decide to actually offer a message with some relevance to society at large. We should be spreading our wisdom, and shunning the overabundance of unorig- inal clichés. But not in Douglas College of course, that would be bad. Islam: the Myth of Evil Munir Amlani David Lam Coordinator There has been much chatter on the subject of Islam. Across this country, and all over the western world, the topic of Islam has been talked about in every context—usually bad. A recent, rather casual mention of “Islamo- Fascist terrorism” in J.J. McCullough’s article (the Other Press, issue three of this semester, Sept 24, 2003) is only a small indication of the ignorant gossip and speculation that has been spawned by media-coined catch phrases for the last two-and-a-half decades, such as Islamic fundamentalism. But the unfor- tunate reality is that most people I have spoken to know very little about the religion itself or its beliefs. Nor do most know of the practical aspects of being a Muslim, such as the day-to-day lives of the hundreds of thousands of Muslims that live, work, and indeed, go to school amoung us. One student from Douglas College said to me, “I don't really care about the Islamics, I’m only worried about those Muslims...” Well, for starters, let’s discuss some clean, cold facts: a Muslim is a person who believes in Islam. This means that while “Islam” refers to the religion, “Muslim” refers to the individual. Secondly, there are, approximately one billion Muslims in the world right now. That is one-sixth of the world’s popula- tion, or roughly equivalent to the pop- ulation of China or India. In addition, it is generally accepted by the interna- tional academic community that Islam is the fastest growing religion in the Page 6 world. Finally, Muslims live in coun- tries all over the world, not just in the Middle East. I, personally, know Muslims in Brazil, Portugal, France, Switzerland, China, and Russia, not to mention Canada and the US. Being Muslim, I have found that very few non-Muslims are aware of these facts. Even fewer still are aware that Islam is a religion of peace. Many of the one billion Muslims on the planet are unjustly oppressed. A small number of them have chosen to combat their oppressors with violence. These com- batants are usually known as freedom fighters, not terrorists. In addition, there is a tiny minority who, by the world’s definition, are indeed terrorists. They target unsuspecting, innocent bystanders, and are usually brutal and callus. But they are only acting out of desperation. Since I personally find it difficult to justify any kind of violence (my religion has taught me kindness and tolerance), I am not making excus- es for terrorism. I do, however, have something to say about the motives assigned to those violent acts. They are not “fundamentalist” or “fascist.” They are socio-political movements of rebel- lion against their oppressors. Consider the meaning of the word “fundamentalism.” It encompasses the thought process that “everyone who does not share my ideals must be killed.” “Fascism” isn’t very different, as it predicates self-superiority, as in Nazi Germany. The notions that there are e http://www.otherpress.ca such movements in Islam seem rather absurd to me, as I have been a Muslim my entire life and have never come across any such ideologies from other Muslims, the religious community at large, or local Muslim subcultures. Of course, I could not speak for the entire Muslim population of a billion—I’m sure there is a Muslim out there, some- where, who is fascist. But to conclude that the violence in the Middle East is due to fundamentalism or fascism is purely ridiculous, and indicates either ignorance or propaganda, or possibly both. The matter that concerns me most is the casualness with which these labels are assigned and used. It is as though they are accepted facts rather than asser- tions that require proof and justifica- tion. Most Muslims around the world feel for the plight of the oppressed. Most of them support a_ political change, but usually, this support is quite peaceful. Most Muslims that I know offer a prayer every night for the nameless and faceless. For the most part, Muslims all over the world try their best to live out the ideals of Islam: to provide care and nurture for their families and fellow man. Most never forget what greedy politicians with too much power are capable of, as many have family still at their mercy. No mat- ter which side of the world a Muslim lives, there is an expression: “we all eat the same bread, and face God on Judgement Day.” It is with this humili- ty that the Muslims of the world find solace in their faith, and not with an ideology of superiority. It is true that individual Muslims have committed some horrible atroci- ties. Some have even manipulated the religion to try to gain support for these actions. There are ways to deliberately misinterpret any religion and manipu- late its meaning in order to control those who will follow. This is a sad fact, but not unique to Islam. The KKK, once quite strong in the US south, used religion to manipulate followers to commit heinous atrocities, such as cross-burnings and massacres of fellow human beings. Thankfully, it never became the stereotype of what Christianity stood for. Islam deserves the same consideration. Over the last twenty years that I have lived on this continent, I have been sug- gested many times to use an alias instead of my true name, so that my religion can remain anonymous. There was a time when I seriously considered this. Today, I believe that it is my responsibility to ensure that my friends and colleagues are fully aware of my religious beliefs. Not only as a matter of pride for myself, but also as a matter of knowledge for them. I want them to know what a real-life Muslim is like. The peers and strangers whose respect I have earned over the last few years, I hope I have earned it because of the person that I am, for I am proud to be Muslim.