matters large and small

sometimes i feel as though globalization is a two way process, a cylinder which operates in two directions, subterfuging us in and closer together while simultaneously pulling the world out from some center of common humanity and apart. in that state, matters of small and large are all relative and i sometimes wonder if those words have any meaning any more. anything trivial has the potential to be monumental and monstrosities sometimes go unnoticed as we focus on specks.

today i walked into the grocery store to discover tidy signs posted at the entrance, on the cheese shelves, where biscuits should be, all about, noting that danish and norwegian goods were being boycotted and would not be stocked. this boycott is in response to cartoons published in danish and norwegian newspapers that depicted the prophet muhammad. the depictions were less than flattering (muhammad wearing a turban shaped like a bomb complete with lit fuse, muhammad with his eyes blacked out, carrying a curved dagger and flanked by two women wearing burqas, muhammad with points from a crescent moon behind his head giving the appearance of horns), but the actual blasphemy was depicting muhammad at all. unlike faiths that are all about iconography, any depiction or representation of the prophet is haram and not just disrespectful, but really blasphemous. beyond blasphemous in a way. that's why, if you've ever seen the movie "the message" which tells the story of muhammad, the camera is muhammad, so in effect, the watcher is the prophet because everyone addresses the camera when addressing the prophet. it's actually a good movie that i'd recommend for a broad-strokes look at this man and his message, the beginnings of islam. but i digress.... the boycott began in saudi, and is sweeping across the gulf, with the backing of many imams and religious leaders across the region, so it was no real surprise to walk into my grocery store (which p.s. is french (carrefour)) and see those signs. as one of the first companies to boycott danish goods explained, this is a "boycott of Danish products until that country's largest daily apologizes for publishing 12 cartoons that mocked the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)." the danes and the norwegians (who re-published the offensive cartoons) see this as a free speech issue. muslims see this as deeply insulting, part of a "culture of islamophobia" in europe, and uncivilized behavior to engage in the name of freedom of expression. as the sec-gen of the world assembly of muslim youth put it, "mocking at the prophets (peace be upon them) is highly degrading and subverts the call for human values and freedom of faith advocated by the United Nations Charter." muslim danes are trying to bring the newspaper, which has already received death threats and other unseemly attacks, to the european court of human rights. the UN has asked the danish government to explain its stance on the issue. it's a sticky situation. all caused by twelve little pictures. is this big or small? feels tremendous here, but i haven't seen it at all in the international press. and seeing my french supermarket in qatar responding to images printed in scandanavia by joining a boycott that began in saudi arabia made this place feel very big and on the map for a moment.

because sometimes this place just feels so small. i feel this way especially as i increasingly realize how much everything here is owned by 5 people. i thought it was about 10, but really it's closer to 5. all the leading men of the royal family, who not only run the government, but own the hotels and the malls and restaurants and the stores and the gas companies. so the foreign minister owns the four seasons, its apartment and office towers, the ritz, a big stake in the main mall, a natural gas company or two, a couple of banks, transport companies, restaurants, other hotels, other malls, other office towers - you get the idea. overwhelming to realize sometimes. and then there are the moments when you realize how small and tribal this population is. a foreign friend was recently watching a movie with a qatari colleague and in the movie a young man was marrying his first cousin and she made some comment about how that was gross. to which the qatari colleague replied that he was marrying his cousin about a month..... oops. it's actually very, very common here. (my friend was still invited to her colleague's wedding despite her guffaw.)

in other big news, byran adams is returning to doha tomorrow to work a little of his "everything i do" magic over our rather divided, diverse doha society. i'm sure again his performance will be a chance for all of the various people caught in the crosswinds of this place, big and small, to stop being pulled in different directions and sway tearfully to the robin hood theme song. ahh, messy glorious globalization.

that's all for now, just wanted to share my supermarket moment. would be curious to hear what you think about the size of things when you have a break in your currents.... meanwhile, take good care.