tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36009958.post2829120064477314893..comments2023-11-09T14:15:40.111+02:00Comments on Fatima and Ahmed's Son: Woolies Facing Wrath Over Hot Cross BunsRidwanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16758153484699728802noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36009958.post-30436412022931211612012-04-23T10:29:26.504+02:002012-04-23T10:29:26.504+02:00It is great to hear from you Z. It has been a whil...It is great to hear from you Z. It has been a while has it not, and I trust you are well.<br /><br />I am stumped on the halal sticker and the mini storm that was stoked inside the SA media.<br /><br />In the end most folks I came across thought it an absolute non-issue.<br /><br />A few very narrow minded folks followed their bigotry and well we had a storm in a teacup.<br /><br />Peace to you,<br />RidwanRidwanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16758153484699728802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36009958.post-30472878158000193952012-04-23T08:49:36.772+02:002012-04-23T08:49:36.772+02:00I am missing something. What is wrong with a halal...I am missing something. What is wrong with a halal sticker on a hot cross bun if it in fact is halal? What if I want to have hot cross buns in mixed company, wouldn´t it be convenient to know they were halal?Zhttp://profacero.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36009958.post-14908248192796222092012-04-05T12:23:20.880+02:002012-04-05T12:23:20.880+02:00Thanks for your comment Fas.
I think you are righ...Thanks for your comment Fas.<br /><br />I think you are right for asking folks to be more thoughtful about our complexity.<br /><br />This hot cross buns saga may however been overplayed in the media, no?<br /><br />Very few folks in my daily interactions even knew it was an issue - and almost no-one even thought it a reasonable concern.<br /><br />Thanks again for looking in.<br /><br />Peace,<br />ridwanRidwanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16758153484699728802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36009958.post-70507558881738955952012-04-05T11:37:05.845+02:002012-04-05T11:37:05.845+02:00people - esp in Cape Town...whether they Christian...people - esp in Cape Town...whether they Christian or Muslim should go and look up who their ancestors are...becoz 99% of them WILL find that they are not a "pure blood" Muslim or Christian infact they will find that they are made up of ancestors from all over the world. Chill already!Fashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11660502309227158984noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36009958.post-24444073776674307502012-03-31T16:58:01.885+02:002012-03-31T16:58:01.885+02:00I think the notion of group coherence is somewhat ...I think the notion of group coherence is somewhat more complex and related to changing interests that cut across constructed boundaries; individual and group identities are never static and almost never homogeneous in any context. <br /><br />Even the fall of apartheid left a significant section of whites in the cold as the white elite cut a new deal. <br /><br />I have no problem with like minded folks wanting to share commonalities.<br /><br />I do however worry about constructed differences that are presupposed on a history of domination and inequality.<br /><br />I would hazard a guess that the vast majority of Christians do not see the halal certification as an issue.<br /><br />The same is true for Muslims who would choose to eat a hot cross bun.<br /><br />Both groups are derived from Abrahamic roots and have a lot more in common than some of those calling foul would want to know.<br /><br />But I suspect that the complaints that have been raised are one part based on religious conviction and two parts based on a global time where Islamophobia is the current.<br /><br />How then would Christians in South Africa be group conscious when a significant part of their reaction in this case is drawn from the currents of Islamophobia.<br /><br />Still, it is significant to note that those who object are not even a sizable minority and some leading Christian leaders have been quick to call this whole affair nonsense.<br /><br />But this issue is also a storm in a teacup.<br /><br />I bet there are Christians and Muslims and Hindus and Atheists who have never heard of a hot cross bun - I know in the US it does not exist and it is not even remotely reflective of Christianity.<br /><br />I think in South Africa we need to talk directly to one another and not via small issues like hot cross buns.<br /><br />I think the fact that a Muslim or anyone else can enjoy a hot cross but with Christian friends (and family in a lot of cases) speaks greatly to the generosity and inclusiveness of Christianity.<br /><br />Now if there was a law that forced Christians to certify the wafers used in church as a symbol of Christ then that would be oppressive.<br /><br />In this case the reaction is just bigoted and simplistic in its misunderstanding.<br /><br />But I think you are right that there are a whole lot of folks who will not even pay too much mind to this episode.<br /><br />Maybe moving on is as you suggest a way of "attempting to construct something new" and hopefully not divisive.<br /><br />I'm down with that - living in harmony and respect, that is.<br /><br />Peace,<br />RidwanRidwanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16758153484699728802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36009958.post-18553898196760116292012-03-31T13:28:08.296+02:002012-03-31T13:28:08.296+02:00Apartheid was enforced, whereas this separation is...Apartheid was enforced, whereas this separation is clearly happening by free will. No one is getting oppressed, the worst that will happen to any one cluster of people is being left to their own devices. All through our history it seems one group of people have migrated while another stayed behind, and I suspect that pattern will continue.<br /><br />As for woolworthington's, I feel what they represent is far worse than this incident alone, but they have chosen to make the incident available for demonstration. So if you know about their buns, you have to make a choice whether to continue to subsidize their operation or not (if you did), and so one group is separated. There's another separation entirely in which one group simply chooses not to know about such things.<br /><br />Out of all these separations, I suspect at least two groups will cluster, in which one stays under the authoritarian method of doing things (coca cola™, obama™, etc), and the other goes on to attempt to construct something new.Pstoniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06927310295417291978noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36009958.post-37976719463168297192012-03-30T18:59:57.211+02:002012-03-30T18:59:57.211+02:00Thanks for your comment Pstonie.
I don't thi...Thanks for your comment Pstonie. <br /><br />I don't think we would have been any more smarter here in the delusional rainbow if separation (apartheid) continued.<br /><br />In fact one is almost compelled to see the fallout over a halal certification on hot cross buns (which is not in essence a Christian symbol and not nearly universally accepted as such even now)as a result of separation.<br /><br />I think Darwin's premise was that the smarter among our species would have figured out how to evolve beyond such nonsense - the survival of the fittest no doubt.<br /><br />That said I agree with you that folks should have the right to voice their disagreement in this matter - at the very least it makes for funny stories.<br /><br />Woolworths could of course care less about the stupidity at play here - they merely caved in and took the middle road by pandering to excesses of the challenged among us.<br /><br />In fact, their decision to withhold halal certification on some hot cross buns looks a lot like their decision to continue stocking unprofitable Christian magazines after a call for a boycott by some Christians.<br /><br />Well there is one distinct difference and that is that you cannot buy Muslim/Jewish/Atheist/Hindu magazines at Woolies.<br /><br />But happily for Woolies none of the non-Christians have to date seen this omission as an attack on their beliefs - which says a lot for living in harmony with difference (diversity).<br /><br />Peace.<br /><br />RidwanRidwanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16758153484699728802noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36009958.post-53567174648770739552012-03-30T13:54:02.467+02:002012-03-30T13:54:02.467+02:00Darwin (and Mike Judge) missed a trick, I would sa...Darwin (and Mike Judge) missed a trick, I would say. Diversification of species in evolution happens by separation.<br /><br />If people want to get worked up over buns, that's their business and that of their police state. I'm glad woolworthington's is getting it, though.Pstoniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06927310295417291978noreply@blogger.com