Dhimmitude and willful ignorance at King's University College. "At a 'Catholic' college, the writing's on the wall: This Is Not 'Folkloric Islamic Calligraphy.' It's A Symbol Of Muslim Power," by Barbara Kay in the National Post (thanks to T.):
King's University College, an affiliate of the University of Western Ontario, treasures its 2007 Race Relations Award from the City of London, Ont. It's proof that the Catholic liberal arts college's unusually vigorous efforts to encourage multicultural diversity on campus are working to plan.Although it is still "proudly and fiercely Catholic" (in the words of King's principal Gerald Killan), the college has already allocated at least two prayer rooms for its growing population of Muslim students. That's perhaps column fodder for another day. Today's concerns King's recent acquisition, with funds provided by donors in the Muslim community, of a vivid green neon artwork of Islamic provenance entitled Kian. It presently occupies a very public space on King's exterior wall and -- according to one's ideological perspective -- either adorns or insults the College's mission.
Kian's creator, Jamalie Hassan, is a third-generation Lebanese-Canadian. She designed the calligraphic installation specifically for King's public face. Hassan says "kian" translates as, depending on whether you see it through a Persian, Arabic or Celtic lens, "benevolent monarch," "soul or essence," or "ancient soul." The King's Web site http://uwo.ca/kings/news/stories/2007-KIAN.html furnishes details of the artist's project concept, including a high-minded quote from the late Arab-American cultural pundit, Edward Said, from whom Hassan takes her philosophical inspiration.
If one accepts Hassan's version of the Kian's provenance and symbolism -- and King's wholeheartedly did: Principal Killan described it to me as "folkloric Islamic calligraphy" -- the installation presents as a charming cultural bridge, aesthetically linking East to West, Islam to Catholicism and ancient kings to modern King's (University College).
But principal Killan's explanation is problematic. The claims that religious symbols may be "folkloric" reflects a decidedly Western trope. Muslims cherish their dogmas far more than modern Christians do. Indeed, Islam has no "folklore," only religious tradition. According to Islamic scholars I spoke with, Hassan has been disingenuous in her description of her creation's origins, and King's willfully naive in accepting and displaying it.
For the last 10 years, retired King's psychology professor Heinz Klatt has devoted himself to the study of Islam. He was shocked by the appearance of Kian on the King's wall, because he recognized it immediately as a tughra with the word "kian" superimposed on it.
The tughra, Klatt explains, is essentially a sultan's signature: It "contains the name of the sultan, his filiation and a programmatic statement. 'It is a powerful Muslim statement of dominance over Christianity, symbolizing Islamic triumphalism, imperialism [and] expansionism.'" He compares Hassan's calligraphic conflation of the word "kian" and the tughra with the word "peace" superimposed on the hammer and sickle.
Gordon Nickel, assistant professor of Intercultural Studies at Trinity Western University in British Columbia., concurs with Klatt on the installation's provenance: "[The design's] resemblance to the tughra-- and to nothing else, really --is clear." He wonders why the artist does not refer to the tughra in her commentary. The tughra, he adds, is particularly associated with strongmen, such as Suleyman the Magnificent and subsequent Ottoman sultans who menaced Europe for centuries.
Read it all.
Robert, somehow a space sneaked into the original link, here's a corrected one:
http://uwo.ca/kings/news/stories/2007-KIAN.html
It is normal for street gangs to tag their territory to warn off rival gangs,It is usually with spray paint and not mollycoddled as some kind of highly evolved art.
It looks like a limp phallic symbol to me.
But, it continually amazes me how Christians will bend over backwards to appease muslims while the muslims do nothing to stop the slaughter of Christians (and others!) worldwide.
If that government funded muslim school in NYC does get to continue - ALL people's should make sure they put a room, with a cross in it, for other students. There should be 'dress as a Christian week (take off the turbans and tents)', and each child should read the Bible too - in order to promote tolerance - and also to justify the government paying to advance a 'religion' that is intolerant of others.
A "fiercely Catholic" college has prayer rooms for the peaceful ones? Doesn't sound too fierce to me. Contrast that to a "fiercely Islamic" college, which wouldn't have any infidels in it at all.
Multiculturalism is merely a vehicle for an alien "culture" to inject itself into various aspects of life until it drowns out all others. And guess which "culture" excels at that sort of thing?
I would follow the green sign....to the money. How much money have individual Muslims and Muslim organizations donated to this 'proudly and fiercely Catholic' college, beyond the cost of that one piece of artwork? Of course, there are plenty of 'multi-culturalists' at any given university that will support all things non-Western and non-Christian, gladly and for free. But, large donations go a long way in the pursuit and support of things such as this insulting and demeaning piece of 'art.' BTW, does anyone know when the foot washing basins will be installed and when the dean of instruction will assign instructors to 'women-only' (read Muslim women only) classes at King's University College?
Muslim dominance over Christianity? Sounds about right to me.
Yes, they are marking their territory the way an animal urinates on his. These Catholic colleges have so much to draw on, historically and cuturally, that this makes one wonder how these things happen.
I think maryrose answered your question, CapitalistGig.
It's the money. Saudi Arabia pours millions of dollars into Western universities to introduce Islamic studies, Islamic culture, etc...
I wish the Catholic Church would cut off the Catholic affiliation from these schools.
All those Quranic verses are works of art simply because of the scrawling Arabic calligraphy that they're written in; but then, any pre-Islamic or non-Islamic Arabic compositions could then have been made works of art.
With the right fonts, anything and everything we write here should be certified works of art.
Tughra
Saracens are at the gates.
For those in Canada who want to write to King's principal, Prof. Killan, at gkillan@uwo.ca.
I am for multiculturalism everywhere around the world. Let us start by building churches in Saudi Arabia ;-)
Cool. How long before Georgetown University is sporting its tughra?
'It is a powerful Muslim statement of dominance over Christianity, symbolizing Islamic triumphalism, imperialism [and] expansionism.'"
..............................
I look at this and the two articles above--"USAID funding of Palestinian University with Terror Branches", and a comment posted to the article above that (about forced conversion of a Pakistani Christian) that claims (probably correctly) that the US Embassy staff in that country is largely Muslim supremesist.
What links these cases? It is that we *so want to believe*--to believe that Islam is peaceful, that schools everywhere are places of enlightenment and open inquery, that denizens of all countries want the best for their fellow citizens of all religions and will treat them fairly, that all art builds bridges between cultures.
I wish it were true, I really do. But it is not always the case, and it it extremely naive and dangerous to assume that it is.
"Today's concerns King's recent acquisition, with funds provided by donors in the Muslim community, of a vivid green neon artwork of Islamic provenance entitled Kian." -- from the article
The "art" was paid for by members of the Muslim community.
I bet the folks at the college trusted the artist (and other Muslim people who might have given their opinion on the "art") and would not have imagined that anyone would lie to them.
Famous last words:
"Why would they lie?"
"We all want the same thing."
All bow before the god of diversity in the church of multiculturalism.
Shouldn't it now be SULTAN'S COLLEGE?
Or CALIPH COLLEGE?
Wudu hits fan.
Now - I am a law abiding Christian matron.
But I recall that in Australia we had a group called BUGA-UP, once upon a time, who used to make creative alterations to billboards that they believed to be promoting bad stuff - eg. blatant sexism, or (in the days before cigarette advertising was banned) tobacco smoking.
Seems to me, given the meaning of this particular 'sign':
"He compares Hassan's calligraphic conflation of the word "kian" and the tughra with the word "peace" superimposed on the hammer and sickle."
that we have here a prime target for some creative vandalism.
Where is the Canadian equivalent of BUGA-UP that will send in a SWAT team of Catholic commandos to either 1. remove the sign altogether (to be discovered reposing in a suitably insulting location) 2. Drape a large banner over it, bearing a cross and (in exquisite Arabic calligraphy) the words 'Jesus is Lord!' 3. Turn it back to front or upside down? 4. Affix, above it, a similar neon symbol depicting a fish (the ICHTHUS symbol - Jesus Christ God's Son Saviour)?
If Klatt's reading of the symbolism is correct, we have here Islam in a nutshell - that its 'peace' is the peace of a ruthless conquering despotism, the 'peace' that obtains in a state of tyranny and slavery.
Hey: can we have a link to an image of this particular 'art work'?
dumbledoresarmy -- We have hate crime laws in Canada. Vandalizing the sign would be a win-win scenario for the wrong team.
The perpetrators, if caught, would be charged under the more severe hate crime laws. To punish the rest of us, there would be endless media reports about an increase in Islamaphobia and interviews featuring "victims".
I hope that people who are involved in the university will document the real meaning of the sign and do something within the law that might force a change or at least educate some people.
After going through the whole process, how could the university take down and return the piece without hurting the feelings of the Muslim community?
If it did, I imagine the university would still have a commissioned piece by this artist, though, especially if the people who paid for the "art" were also involved in hiring the artist and choosing the design.
Of course, not all of your suggestions would damage the sign. I like #2 a lot. I wonder if anyone could be charged with a hate crime for doing it?
Josephine - thanks for reminding me about the vandalism/ hate crime angle.
In which case the second of the options I posited would certainly be the safest for anyone wishing to register a protest. Here's hoping.
And anyone who DID drape a banner over the Islamic sigil that signifies Muslim power - a banner with a cross and, in Arabic calligraphy, 'Jesus is LORD' - if charged would have a perfect opportunity to explain, on the basis of Mr Klatt's analysis (perhaps he could be called as an 'expert witness'?), precisely why that seemingly innocent piece of Islamic 'art' is so shocking.
They could then explain that the Cross and the Confession were placed in order to counter the Islamic boast/threat; to declare that, contrary to the Islamic exaltation of divine (and divinised) tyranny and human slavery, Christianity exalts the Servant King who gives himself for the life of the world.
Matthew 20: 24 -28 - "Jesus called the disciples together and said, 'You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave - just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many".
The link has a similar artical and picture included. I just found out about this issue this morning. Saw the symbol last year and watched them put it up on the front side part of Wemple. I honestly thought too it was for some type of store or a new cafeteria sign.
I really don't know anything about kian's but if it really means what the prof says it means, I have a huge issue with that.
I agree that I think a lot of the time Christian morals and beliefs are treated as second rate to other cultural and spiritual groups and that bothers me. I'm glad that they are showing tolerance and acceptance in the way of prayer rooms, but putting a symbol that does not represent the university's foundation is bothersome.
Why even bother calling us a Christian/Catholic University if we're putting signs from other religions on our buildings?
I don't know if the link showed up so here it is again.
http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/archives/018037.php