I really didn't mean to ramble on

Recently I have been enjoying Amartya Sen's Identity and Violence, which eloquently argues against simplistic identity formations:

“Indeed, the world is increasingly seen, if only implicitly, as a federation of religions or civilizations, thereby ignoring all the other ways in which people see themselves. Underlying this line of thinking is the odd presumption that the people of the world can be uniquely categorized according to some singular and overarching system of partitioning.”

When we are involved with this kind of discourse we do damage not just to those we push away, but to ourselves. Fortunately, the reactionary pundits and politicians (the world over) who are proponents of this world view are not the only ones out there. Kabobfest has profiled many of those whose very existence refutes the overly simple world view, that Sen critiques so well, from poetry to rap to rock.

Personally, I am not a big of Led Zeppelin, but with the group's reunion tour upon us, Mark Levine and Salman Ahmed (both worth checking out for their respective works) offer an interesting take on the historic band, both for them personally and for music in general:

Led Zeppelin's self-described "tight but loose" musical philosophy had a special impact on us. In blues, rock, and jazz, the drummer and bassist's function is primarily to lay down a tight groove over which the front men can let loose. Rarely does the rhythm section have the space to take the music to a higher dimension.

But Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones and drummer John Bonham did just that. The interplay between all four musicians linked Zeppelin to the great chain of Sufi-inspired improvisers, from the Gnawa slaves of the Maghreb, across North Africa and the Middle East still to the Qawwali of North India.

It was this pedigree
that separated Led Zeppelin from the rest of the rock 'n roll universe, reminding those with the right ears of a time when the distinctions between East and West, Islam and Europe, were still fuzzy--often productively so. It's no wonder the band was signed by a Turkish music impresario, Ahmet Ertegun, in whose honor they are reuniting once more.

For some other thought provoking examples to think about:

* No matter what the Iranian government declares "obscene" (although I agree that 50 cent is at least lame, if not obscene) people will push open the cracks and when given the chance, raise their voices.

* We should remember that artists, the world over, are often taking a great risk by doing what they do. A great example is the fate of the Iraqi rock group, Acrassicauda, which is also a great case study for the plight of moderates in Iraq and their fates as refugees.

It is important to remember that although the arts are often some of the clearest ways to deconstruct the "us" vs. "them" mentality, there is ample evidence against this thesis in the way we live our daily lives.

Now let's be clear, I don't mean to say religion is unimportant. Christians and Yazidis sadly continue to be targeted in Iraq. It is this kind of senseless persecution that is leading to changes in the Arab Christian community as well (I always think about Jesus when I see BMX bikes). It is my fear that these kinds of changes will only lead to more rifts in the region, which is probably the least productive option. I keep hearing about "new" media savvy Muslim preachers, but I am still waiting to see how this movement shakes out before I get too excited.

It is a sad statement that, even not including the Palestinians, the Arab world is home to more than its share of stateless persons, even when the leaders of those stateless groups say really stupid things. Yet another sign that whether the constructed difference is based on religion, race or ideology, it is usually innocents who suffer the most.