Fatwa: When Religion Meets the Modern World

Problem 1: According to Islam, unmarried men and women cannot work together. In fact, the only males women are supposed to keep company with are their relatives.

Problem 2: Modernization in Muslim nations means men and women need to work together to advance their countries and stay competitive with the rest of the world.

The Solution (according to some representative of Egypt’s religious authorities): Women must breastfeed their male coworkers five times, thus making them relatives.

You’re thinking this must be a joke. Sadly no – I nearly dropped my coffee when I read Michael Slackman’s article on Egypt’s fatwa’s in the New York Times yesterday morning. Slackman goes on to report that while some Muslims are uncomfortable with these two fatwas, or religious edicts based on Islamic principles, many Muslims count on the fatwas to help them navigate the modern world with their religious integrity intact. People seek fatwas for everything from marriage and divorce to buying products, although no one issued a fatwa is held to it – they may seek alternate counsel or ignore it all together. Despite that, there are agencies authorized by Egypt’s government to issue fatwas, and there are a host of other sources, like internet sites and television shows. And really, those asking for fatwas want to be told what to do – they need to reconcile their beliefs with their actual lives.

The fatwa I’ve sited above has caused great controversy in Egypt, and although this need to reconcile faith and modernity may seem laughable to Westerners, let’s not forget the recent controversy in the US over a single line in the Pledge of Allegiance, nor who won that argument. At the heart of this conflict is a much deeper issue, one that involves all peoples – how much should religious rules and values formed thousands of year ago be allowed define our modern lives?

I believe everyone has a right to their own beliefs, insofar as they don’t harm others in pursuit of these beliefs, but I also think that some of the old ideas just don’t hold sway anymore, and maybe never should have. Let’s face it – a lot of religions aren’t very friendly to women, but we know women are not inherently subservient to men, or more evil, or more wayward, etc. I am confident that most people recognize the difference between good and evil regardless of their religion, and act accordingly, and those who don’t probably wouldn’t be helped by religion. I hope that as we grow as human beings people will start to make their own decisions, rather than turn to religion as a guide. But it looks like that day is a long, long way off.

BlogHers Act

BlogHer is trying to harness the power of women on the internet. They are asking women bloggers to identify two different things:

1. Choose a global issue as BlogHer's hot-button issue of the year.

My choice? Well...it is a tough one. On the one hand, I'd like to see folks address issues of global poverty and workers' conditions all over the world -- shouldn't all trade be "fair trade"? Like Leslie Morgan Steiner of the Washington Post blog On Balance, I'd also like to see women's rights improve globally. One way to address this issue might be through the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Many countries have not ratified this document because it would require them to treat women as human rather than second-class citizens. While I'm not sure that universal ratification would materially change things for women in other countries, I do think it is an important first step in changing attitudes.

2. Election '08 -- what four issues would you like to see presidential candidates address?

*How to end the war in Iraq and rebuild our tarnished reputation abroad.

*ERA now. It's back, we need it. I want my rights as a woman to be protected in the constitution. I do not believe in any of this "universal he" crap. You know, I heard that in the '70's French feminists got their rights enshrined in the constitution by buying billboards that said "Fifty percent of men are women". So women would have to risk being drafted. In my mind that is a tiny price to pay.

*Big money in politics and the two party system. I know it will never happen, but I would like to see the US change to a multi-party system because I think it will decrease the effect of lobbiests on the government. I think our current system is corrupt because it doesn't serve all of the people, like a democracy should -- instead it serves corporations.

*Health Care. Preferably universal.

What do you all want? Post here!

The Pool

Here it is, the Fringe Pool! After reviewing publication dates and writers' backgrounds, I compiled this list from suggestions tendered by the Fringe staff, several Emerson Professors, and my mother's book club. Folks often suggested several books by one author, so I chose a single work as necessary. Got suggestions for additional books? Put 'em in the comments!

Happy reading.


*Allison, Dorothy. Bastard Out of Carolina (Plume: 1993)
* Barrett, Andrea. Middle Kingdom (1991)
*Bloom, Amy. Away (2007)
*Burton, Gabrielle. Heartbreak Hotel (1985)
* Chang, Samantha. Inheritance (2004)
* Cisernos, Sandra. Caramelo (2002)
* Cliff, Michelle. Free Enterprise (1993)
* Cunningham, Michael. The Hours (1999)
* Divakaruni, Chitra. The Mistress of Spices (1997)
*Desai, Anita. Fasting, Feasting (1999)
*Desai, Kiran. The Inheritance of Loss (2006)
*Ducornet, Rikki. The Fountains of Neptune (1989)
*Eugenides, Jeffrey. Middlesex. (2002)
*Fremont, Helen. After Long Silence (1999)
*Gilbert, Elizabeth. Eat, Pray, Love (2006)
*Holmes, A.M. The End of Alice (1996)
* Hosseini, Khaled. The Kite Runner (2003)
*Jen, Gish. Typical American (1991)
*Jones, Gayl. Corregidora (1987)
*Karr, Mary. The Liar's Club (1995)
*Kincaid, Jamaica. Autobiography of My Mother (1995)
*Kingsolver, Barbara. The Poisonwood Bible (1998)
*Kingston, Maxine Hong. The Fifth Book of Peace (2004)
*Krauss, Nicole. The History of Love (2005)
*Lahiri,Jumpa. The Namesake (2003)
*Lee, Chang-rae. Native Speaker (1995)
*Lee, Don. Country of Origin (2004)
*Lewis, Heather. Notice (2004)
*Livesey, Margot. Eva Moves the Furniture (2002)
*Mason, Bobbie Ann. In Country (1985)
*McBride, James. The Color of Water (1996)
*McLarin, Kim. Jump at the Sun (2006)
*Momaday, Scott. The Ancient Child (1989)
*Naylor, Gloria. Mama Day (1988)
*Patchett, Ann. The Magician's Assistant (1994).
*Powell, Patricia. The Pagoda (1998)
*Sapphire. Push (1996)
*Shields, Carol. The Stone Diaries (1993)
*Silber, Joan. Ideas of Heaven (2004)
*Smiley, Jane. A Thousand Acres (1991)
*Smith, Zadie. White Teeth (2000)
*Tan, Amy. The Joy Luck Club (1989)
*Tyler, Ann. Ladder of Years (1995)
*Walker, Alice. The Color Purple (1982)
*Wideman, John Edgar. Two Cities (1998)
* Williams, Joy. The Quick and the Dead (2000)
*Yamanaka, Lois-Ann. Wild Meat and the Bully Burgers (1996).

Every Kiss Begins with Slavery

My boyfriend and I recently became engaged, and now we are preparing to purchase an engagement ring for me. (Who knew I'd want one so badly?) The only problem is that we don't want to begin our marriage by feeding the bloody and violent diamond trade.

John Ruskin said it best about glass beads in The Stones of Venice:

"The men who chop up the rods sit at their work all day, their hands vibrating with a perpetual and exquisitely timed palsy, and the beads dropping beneath their vibration like hail. Neither they, nor the men who draw out the rods or fuse the fragments, have the smallest occasion for the use of any single human faculty; and every young lady, therefore, who buys glass beads is engaged in the slave trade, and in a much more cruel one than that which we have so long endeavoured to put down."

Diamonds, I'm sure you'll be glad to hear, are much worse. But as with many things, there are degrees of badness.

Conflict Diamonds.

Since the movie release of Blood Diamond last year, awareness of conflict diamonds has risen in the US.

* Conflict diamonds come from mines controlled or seized by rebel groups in various countries. These groups use the profits from the stones to buy guns, foment rebellion, genocide, etc. As you can imagine, labor conditions for those mining these stones are the thirteenth circle of hell.

* In 2000, a bunch of diamond retailers got together and formed the Kimberly Process which is supposed to prevent diamonds from militia groups from being sold. However, the folks over at Amnesty International say this process is full of loopholes, like the fact that there's no independent oversight and that the process is entirely voluntary. The upshot is there's no way to know if a diamond is conflict-free.

Diamond Labor Conditions

Just because a diamond isn't a conflict diamond, doesn't mean it's slave-labor free.

* It is impossible to know if your gem was cut by child laborers. Also, many diamond mines have horrible conditions of labor.

Canadian Diamonds

Canada has recently begun mining diamonds. These diamonds are the only ones and the world that you can be certain are slavery-free. All Canadian diamonds come with certificates of authenticity naming the mine of origin from the Canadian government, and many have serial numbers or maple leafs lasered on to the diamond.

Here are some vendors of Canadian Diamonds:

Polar Bear Diamonds
Canadian Arctic Diamonds

These diamonds are available at many stores in the US, and I intend to ask for them specifically. If you're interested in other gemstones, you might try Fair Trade Gems.

Concerned about gold and platinum, which are even less regulated that diamonds? There is only one place to go -- Brilliant Earth, which offers Fair-Trade EVERYTHING.

I don't what kind of ring I will get, but armed with my research, I hope that I will be starting off my married life with a kiss, and not by participating in the slave trade.

Best 25 Novels of the Last 25 Years, Fringe-Style

Remember the New York Times list of the top twenty five books of the last twenty five years? I decried it for being racist, sexist, and a few other ists in this blog post.

Well, I've never been one to criticize without taking action. I am pleased to announce that we here at Fringe have decided to make our own list of the Best 25 Novels of the Last 25 Years. However, the rules for voting are a bit complicated. Because we think that the NYT's oversight of minority writers resulted from lack of awareness of these writers rather than aggressive racism/sexism,(although the list of judges was a little over 25% women, pretty pitiful) our methodology is aimed at overcoming this hurdle.

Here is how it will work:

*Fringe staffers will create a Pool of recent novels, written solely by writers who are non-white, non-male, non-straight, or some combination thereof. Look for an unofficial version of the Pool on the blog in the next few weeks. The official Pool will appear in our August issue.

*In order to vote for Fringe's Best 25 Novels of the Last 25 Years, you have to read at least two books from the Pool. For each additional book you read, you are able to cast an additional vote, up to a maximum of five votes.

*Each individual may only cast one ballot (containing up to five votes), scout's honor. When voting, you will be required to list the books you have read from the Pool, scout's honor. If you choose, you may cast some or all of your votes for books that do not appear in the Pool. You may vote for up to five different books, or you may allot all of your votes to one book.

*Because we are competing with the NYT list, we wanted to make it fair by adopting some of their base guidelines. All books appearing in the Pool or on the final List must meet these criteria:

a) have an original publication date of 1982 or later
b) be originally written in English
c) have an author who is either an American citizen or who has resided in America for the bulk of their writing career.
d) only novels are eligible here.

I think that about covers the read tape (get it?). Stay tuned for more details and the unofficial pool.

Summer Reading!

Remember those summers you spent trekking your little pink backpack to the public library in town, filling it with as many Sweet Valley High books as you could carry, and then reading those books like it was your one and only summer job? Okay, so the details may vary, but I can bet that everyone did their share of summer reading as a kid. Whether it was the table full of classics on the 10th grade reading list (Ugh, Lord of the Flies, again?!) or just a breezy beach read, there's something about sitting in the sun with a good paperback in hand that puts me in the mood for more.

So, I'm giving all of you my brief list thus far--with the hope that you will send me some of your favorite summer reads as well. That's how it works people.

Special Topics In Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl

Not only does this novel have one of the coolest websites I've seen yet, but it is by far one of the most entertaining, beautifully written, and articulately crafted books I've read in a very long time. The story will have you guessing from start to finish--and even at the end you'll feel the need to flip back to page 1 and start again.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

Yes, it's on my list. Deal with it. No, I won't be waiting in line for my copy at midnight on July 21, but I stand firm in my support of Harry and his adventures based on the fact that since Potter's first appearance in 1997 J.K. Rowling has gotten millions of children reading. Plus, this type of book defines summer reading. The last installment in the Potter saga is sure to be quick, fast-paced, dramatic and heartwrenching til the end.

The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway

I'm in serious Hemingway phase right now, so if you want a classic choose one from the master. I have nightly dreams of Paris, sitting in cafes, and drinking from one of those wine sacks the characters all carry around. If you want something that won't disappoint--this one is a sure thing.

On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan

McEwan's latest, which comes out TODAY, is the first in a long string of summer reads that are apparently... bringing virginity back? Read a short excerpt and decide for yourself.

Happy Reading!

In memory of Sarah Hannah

Emerson poetry professor Sarah Hannah took her own life on May 23rd. The Boston Globe wrote a beautiful obituary, highlighting Dr. Hannah's life and work. Tupelo Press of Dorset, Vt., has moved up publication of her new book, Inflorescence, from November to September, and Jeffrey Levine promises that Tupelo Press will hold a memorial for Sarah at Poet’s House in September when her new book comes out. "I will invite the entire writing community to come and read from her book, and to read tributes or poems in homage," says Levine.

Local poet Douglas Holder wrote a heartfelt blog post in his Boston Area Small Press and Poetry Scene blog, where he said "I sent her an email last week. I was told that she killed herself last week. She was only in her early 40’s. I know her high school teacher. She seemed so happy. Her star was rising. She had been through a divorce. She had everything to live for. I have only clichés. I am sorry. I have worked at McLean Hospital for 25 years, but I am not immune to this. May she rest in peace."

In times like these, it is impossible not to look at your own life with a new perspective. Take a moment to focus on the good stuff, to appreciate the relative happiness you might take for granted. Kiss your lover, call your mother, write, eat a good meal, connect with an old friend...do whatever you need to do to feel alive, appreciated, loved, and important.