Download PPT

Using every kind of human knowledge
AGAINST INFRAHUMANIZATION
AIR – 2010
Annual International Retreat | 8 – 12 April
Thanks to our sister organization
(Cape Town – Tulbagh - South Africa)
Ludovic Lotfi Mohamed Zahed, 32 y.o. – born in
North Africa (Algeria), grew up in Paris – Muslim
since I was born (Teenager - 5 years studying Quran ;
Adult- 7 years of questioning : is it possible to be gay AND
Muslim how !?)
-
Master of psychology, awarded from l’Ecole
Normale Superieure in cognitive neuropsychology
(scientific measures, mechanisms and processes underlying our
thoughts)
-
-
9 years – small sized company, HRM
Founded several organizations…
(first young PWHIV French organization)
black sexual minorities) –
–
(TDMES) –
(African &
(homosexuels musulmans de France)
2
http://www.homosexuels-musulmans.org/gay_muslims.html
-
http://www.homosexuels-musulmans.org/gay_muslims.html
A – Infrahumanization, theoretically
B – Infrahumanizing sexual minorities
C – Educate and purify our Human dignity
D – Is Islam a homophobic religion by nature ?
CONCLUSION : Islam is a living, breathing, humanist religion !
3
http://www.homosexuels-musulmans.org/gay_muslims.html
A - THEORETICALY
4
That social phenomenon is
tacitly held by an unconscious
belief that one’s in-group is
more human than an
out-group
5
http://www.homosexuels-musulmans.org/gay_muslims.html
SOCIAL PHENOMENON
Produced by an individual or a
group of individuals ; here is the
“recipe” to ostracize someone without
feeling guilty about it…
(doesn’t mean they are not guilty !)
6
http://www.homosexuels-musulmans.org/gay_muslims.html
UNCONTROLABLE
Infrahumanization is a basic,
instinctive reaction ;
endangered groups reinforce
their group frontiers; scapegoats
to catharsis in-group fears !
7
http://www.homosexuels-musulmans.org/gay_muslims.html
ANIMAL INSTINCT
-
Endorsed by a majority, against a minority
Being more numerous helps to thing you are right
-
Denial of Humanity
-
Robust scientific proofs
(“they have no true human
emotions” - “they are beasts” - “they have no human
faith” - “it is not a sin to hurt them”...)
The more participants infrahumanize the out-group
member the less likely they were to help.
8
http://www.homosexuels-musulmans.org/gay_muslims.html
NO emotions, NO faith
“Denial of humanness associated with
extreme intergroup violence such as
genocide”
(Leyens & al.)
[1] Leyens & al. (2009). “From infra-humanization to discrimination: The mediation of symbolic
threat needs egalitarian norms”. Journal of experimental social psychology; 45-2, p.336-344.
9
http://www.homosexuels-musulmans.org/gay_muslims.html
MORTAL SOCIAL ILLUSION
(personnal reflexion, no true or faulse answer…)
10
http://www.homosexuels-musulmans.org/gay_muslims.html
B - INFRAHUMANIZING
sexual minorities
(“homosexuality” - scientific term invented during
the 18th c. ; 1974 - homosexuals are not
perverses DSMIV)
11
http://www.homosexuels-musulmans.org/gay_muslims.html
1 – Is it possible those that we
categorize today as homosexuals
did not exist among Arab tribes of
the 7th century !? How could it be
possible ?
- 'A'isha reported that a eunuch [mukhannath] used
to come to the wives of Allah's Apostle ASWS /
- We used to fight [in battle] together with the
Prophet, peace be upon him. There were no
women with us. We said: O Messenger, may we
treat some as eunuchs “ hadith from Ibn Mas’ud, alBukhari /
- « innee rajulun shaabbun wa ana akhaafu 'alaa
nafsee al-'anata wa laa ajidu ma atazawwaju bihi annisaa'a” /
12
http://www.homosexuels-musulmans.org/gay_muslims.html
2 - How comes they never wants to
talk about those other scriptural
sources ?
(like Leyens & al. said that violence, sometimes
could genocide an entire population
: Nazis,
apartheid, sexual minorities… scapegoat !)
13
http://www.homosexuels-musulmans.org/gay_muslims.html
3 – Why is it so important for them insist
on homosexuality, as “one of the most
sensitive issues facing Muslims living in
the West, particularly in Europe” ?
(“The regulation of male and female sexuality by
Muslim law does not obey to moral concerns,
preservation of any hypothetical "natural order“ or
even to the perpetuation of the human species, but
to the preservation of the social order“, M.
Mezziane )
14
http://www.homosexuels-musulmans.org/gay_muslims.html
4 – Is the most important think to find out
wether homosexuality was condemned or
not at the 7th century !?
(Tarbiyah – Tasfiyah : long term, peacefull strategy
against religious violence ; change the cognitive
representation of what a Muslim could be, long term
changing the society itself)
15
http://www.homosexuels-musulmans.org/gay_muslims.html
5 – what could be the best possible
answer to thwart these unconscious,
uncontrollable psychological
mechanisms underlying a social
infrahumanization processes?
http://www.homosexuels-musulmans.org/gay_muslims.html
C - EDUCATE & PURIFY
our human dignity
16
entire
surat
dedicated
to
The executioner need infrahumanization to
violate the victim’s human dignity
Infrahumanization makes the victim suffering,
it certainly alienates the executioner
17
http://www.homosexuels-musulmans.org/gay_muslims.html
“Rahma”, an
empathy
Imam Hendricks : defending S.Minorities
human dignity is what we LGBT do
Politic has nothing to do with Islam !
18
http://www.homosexuels-musulmans.org/gay_muslims.html
Simple solution : Deprive them from there
power on us, TOGETHER unified !
“O People of the Scripture. Come to an agreement
between us and you : that we shall worship none but
Allah, and that we shall ascribe no partners unto Him,
and that none of us shall take others for lords beside
Allah . And if they turn away , then say : Bear witness
that we are muslimun ( = in peace)” (Quran : 3-64)
We also shall be here and know, witness
about how brothers and sisters treat us…
19
http://www.homosexuels-musulmans.org/gay_muslims.html
Shall we never forget Allah wisdom :
Continue pointing at stigma, & discrimination,
fight prejudices
18th century European doctors were wrong, direct indirect violence
Neither Islam nor LGBT have anything to
win from direct nor indirect violence !!!
[2] http://www.kinseyinstitute.org/
[3] American Psychiatric Association - DSMIV: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual :
http://www.psych.org/mainmenu/research/dsmiv/dsmivtr.aspx
[4] Amnesty international report : http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/POL30/003/2008/en/d77ce647-4cd3-11dd-bca2bb9d43f3e059/pol300032008eng.pdf
20
http://www.homosexuels-musulmans.org/gay_muslims.html
Peaceful dialogue to educate, purify ourselves,
others representation
Non
hegemonic,
dogmatic,
Universal
Human Dignity
(educate all Muslims, us
and them; purify
our/their cognitive
representations about
being LGBT
Stigma,
discriminations
Violence
Peace and
Knowledge
Challenging
extremismS !
Against Muslims,
& LGBT Muslims
21
http://www.homosexuels-musulmans.org/gay_muslims.html
‫التسفية و التربية‬
D - ISLAM AND HOMOPHOBIA
22
http://www.homosexuels-musulmans.org/gay_muslims.html
forget
our
prophet’s
“Learn that every Muslim is a brother to every
Muslim and that the Muslims constitute one
brotherhood. Nothing shall be legitimate to a
Muslim which belongs to a fellow Muslim
unless it was given freely and willingly. Do
not, therefore, do injustice to yourselves.”
(many other hadiths and Quran’s verse about jurisdictional right / wrong : collected
anyway 200 years after our prophet’s death ASWS))
What could be more important for a free willing
Muslim than his/her human dignity !?
23
http://www.homosexuels-musulmans.org/gay_muslims.html
We shall never
wisdom ASWS :
-
Social fairness
-
Human rights and dignity
Arabo-Islamic civilization used to be
a symbol of enlighten tolerance !
24
http://www.homosexuels-musulmans.org/gay_muslims.html
Hammurabi's Babylonian Coda – Moses
Tablets - Quran …
-
“Rules” are confounded with traditions
-
Traditions change from one spatiotemporal
context to another
We have to
humanism !
embrace
the
(Scott Siraj al-Aqq – “Homosexuality and Islam”, 2010)
25
Islamic
http://www.homosexuels-musulmans.org/gay_muslims.html
Religion is not about rules, but about
secularized humanism…
-
We have no choice but to see the truth : Religion
claims to come from the Universal our Lord
-
Imams and philosophers for human rights, against
homophobia (imam T. Oubrou)
-
Modern humanist representation added to the Islamic
theological corpus (A. Bidar)
Our brain is a machine creating different representation
of what we call “reality”. We have been given the
freedom to choose which reality we want to live in !
26
http://www.homosexuels-musulmans.org/gay_muslims.html
That is a global renewal that Islam needs, LGBT Muslims
are at the forefront of it, and infrahumanization has no
place in such Islamic humanism …
“And when thy Lord said unto the angels : Lo! I am
about to place a successor (khalifat) in the earth (…).
And He taught Adam all the names, then showed them
to the angels, saying : Inform me of the names of these,
if ye are truthful (…).
He said : O Adam! Inform them of their names , and
when he had informed them of their names , He said :
Did I not tell you that I know the secret of the heavens
and the earth?” (Quran : 2-30;33)
27
http://www.homosexuels-musulmans.org/gay_muslims.html
That is what seems to be said in the Quran, that our
knowledge made us creators, successors of our
Lord on earth with his permission to do so; and
that knowledge is by nature linked to our human
nature, based on our intrinsic DIFFERENCES !
“O mankind! Lo! We have created you male and
female , and have made nations and tribes that ye
may know one another . Lo! the noblest of you , in
the sight of Allah , is the best in conduct . Lo! Allah
is Knower , Aware” (Quran : 49-13)
DIFERRENCE, is not tolerate only… It ought to be
the corner stone of our identity representation,
of our humanity !
It is the reason why our Lord DWA created the
humankind for : so we’d better try to understand
how to accept and live with those differences.
28
http://www.homosexuels-musulmans.org/gay_muslims.html
Knowledge is what made us better than angels, we
have been created to learn !
It is also said :
29
http://www.homosexuels-musulmans.org/gay_muslims.html
No need to be Muslim to be have homophobic representations
-
-
Islam means “peace” : we have to be in peace with our Islamic traditional inheritage,
with Sunna and Quran (extremists are not…)
-
LGBT are at the forefront of a wider reform needed for all Muslims (the first suffering
from Islam in-group fears)
-
DIFFERENCE is the corner stone of humanity,
we’d better learn to live with it
The only enlighten strategy : peaceful tarbiyah, tasfiyah ;
there is some Islamic reform that could only be upgraded by LGBTQI !
-
Islam is a living religion (“spiritus” means breathe !) :
Muslims and humanly dignified all together, we stand !
-
the “Ruh” of our Lord Allah DWA is within all of us, we are not “infrahumans”, we are
true Muslims contributing to a reform nobody else could endeavor !
-
-
HERE AND NOW, we are changing the World; that is even more than challenging extremism, it is
reinventing our faith knowing that conjectural political issues shall pass, our faith in Allah shall last forever
(sourate Al-Rahman : “koulou man aalayha fan…”)
30
http://www.homosexuels-musulmans.org/gay_muslims.html
Infrahumanization is an in-group phenomenon based on fears
and intrinsic, basic, animal instincts; made to reinforce in-group boundaries
-
Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth . The similitude of His light is as a niche wherein is a lamp . The
lamp is in a glass . The glass is as it were a shining star . ( This lamp is ) kindled from a blessed tree , an olive
neither of the East nor of the West , whose oil would almost glow forth ( of itself ) though no fire touched it .
Light upon light , Allah guideth unto His light whom He will . And Allah speaketh to mankind in allegories ,
for Allah is knower of all things.
( This lamp is found ) in houses which Allah hath allowed to be exalted and that His name shall be remembered
therein . Therein do offer praise to Him at morn and evening. Men whom neither merchandise nor sale
beguileth from remembrance of Allah and constancy in prayer and paying to the poor their due ; who fear a
day when hearts and eyeballs will be overturned ;
That Allah may reward them with the best of what they did , and increase reward for them of His bounty . Allah
giveth blessings without stint to whom He will.
(Al-Ghazali, “the Niche of Light” - Quran : 24-35;38)
‫اللة اعلم‬
31
http://www.homosexuels-musulmans.org/gay_muslims.html
Allah is our Light : even extremism is not powerful enough to block our Lord’s
Light !
[2] http://www.kinseyinstitute.org/
[3] American Psychiatric Assocaition - DSMIV: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual :
http://www.psych.org/mainmenu/research/dsmiv/dsmivtr.aspx
[4] Amnesty international report : http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/POL30/003/2008/en/d77ce6474cd3-11dd-bca2-bb9d43f3e059/pol300032008eng.pdf
M. Hendricks answer to T. Ramadan’s article entitled “Islam and homosexuality” :
http://theinnercircle.org.za/?p=1497
Hegemonic masculinity : http://history.anu.edu.au/files/documents/Connell&Mess_HegemonicMasc.pdf
A. Bidar (2008). « L'islam sans soumission: pour un existentialisme musulman », p.36. Albin Michel, Paris
S.S.A. Kugle (2010). “homosexuality and Islam”. Oneworld Publications; Oxford, England.
M. Al-Ghazali (1981). « Le Tabernacle des lumières », traduction de Roger Deladrière. Editions du Seuil,
Paris.
I. Ibn-Kathir (2007). « As-Sira : la biographie du prophète Mohammed, les débuts de l’islam », traduction de
Messaoud Boudjenoun. Editions Universel, Paris.
F. Lenoir (2008). “Petit traité de l’histoire des religions”. Plon, Paris.
32
http://www.homosexuels-musulmans.org/gay_muslims.html
[1] Leyens & al. (2009). “From infra-humanization to discrimination: The mediation of symbolic threat needs
egalitarian norms”. Journal of experimental social psychology; 45-2, p.336-344.
33
http://www.homosexuels-musulmans.org/gay_muslims.html