Multiculturalism in Pakistan....
And, people think Canada and the US are bigoted...
A hundred-year-old Hindu temple in Karachi, known all over the city for its splendid architecture, has been turned into an auto repair shop. The department of Auqaf has, in fact, granted the management of the site to a private entity, which has turned it into a garage. For the secretary general of the Hindu Council of Sindh, "this is an unparalleled offence. A profanation dictated, in the best hypothesis, by ignorance".
Peter Jacob, executive secretary of the bishops' commission for justice and peace, explains to AsiaNews: “This is just the latest of many proofs of what we have been saying for some time: we don’t have rule of law in Pakistan. This is a limited case, but there are very many episodes of land and buildings stolen from the minorities, which have no way of defending themselves".
The Hindu Council has repeatedly asked the government for permission to maintain control of the temple, even offering payment, but has obtained no results. At the moment, the 14 buildings that made up the place of worship have become shops, and the courtyard that served for purification is used to store the cars that are waiting to be worked on.
posted by GayandRight @ 12:14 AM
1 Comments:
Of course Canada, the US, and other Western countries look like absolute paradises when compared to a country such as Pakistan. When you set the bar low enough, almost anything can come across as looking good if not great. All this does, however, is act as a distraction from the actual concerns there are in Western countries with regard to continuing racism and discrimination. I won't pretend to be an apologist for our current interpretation of multiculturalism, namely, cultural relativism, which to me is a dangerous approach to cultural difference that violates individual rights of speech.
However, what I will say is that we are a long way away from a philosophy in which a person is judged solely by their merit, and in which there is actual equality of opportunity (and not affirmative action or that delightfully empty euphemism "positive action" on the one side, or discrimination and prejudice on the other). Compared to most non-Western countries in the world we rank extremely well, but if we actually set a higher standard, based upon our fundamental liberal democratic principles, then there are questions as to whether or not there is much we can do to improve. It's a work in progress, we have not reached perfection. These comparisons you bring up merely distract us from that process of reflection of thought that more people should engage in.
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