From: rhinoceros (rhinoceros@freemail.gr)
Date: Wed Nov 26 2003 - 10:57:48 MST
[kharin]
In the past, one thing we've discussed is the relation of materialism to fundamentalism (i.e. is there one); this article suggests some interesting dynamics on that front.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/3234180.stm
As the festival of Eid al-Fitr marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan, Islamic scholars in Bangladesh are warning against the commercialisation of the biggest date in the Muslim calendar.
They are particularly concerned that materialism seems to be ousting the mosque as main focus in the lives of middle-class urbanites.
"The end of the period of fasting, called Ramadan, is supposed to be celebrated quietly during Eid by giving presents within the family and by giving to the poor," said Professor M Shamser Ali, one of the country's foremost experts in Islam.
"Instead some middle class people are turning this holy ceremony into a shoppers' frenzy, spending frightening amounts of money on clothes and other accessories that they don't need," said Professor Ali.
"It is not just in the shops where there is greed. In restaurants too there is gluttony on a monstrous scale."
<snip>
[rhinoceros]
I think this article confirms that what we often called fundamentalism is not immune to the market, neither is it immune to any other aspects of life. It is not an idiotic article, as someone hastened to say. If you think of it, you can get some insight by noticing how people try to reconcile their beliefs with the driving forces of real life, and they even do it in an active way.
In other news (somehow unrelated to the above), there was an article on "freecycling" in Salon:
From each according to his junk, to each according to her need
Need a pile of dirt? Got a pile of dirt? It's Christmas every day in the new world of freecycling.
http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2003/11/25/freecycle/index_np.html
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