Louise wrote:
But there are Muslims and Muslims, too. Some Muslims interpret the Koran
in
a very strict and literalistic way; some don't. Bosnian Muslims live a
much
different lifestyle to Afghan Muslims and Saudi Arabians, and all of
these
live much different lifestyles to Cat Stevens. But none of them are any
less
Muslims, and if any one of these objected to the portrayal of their religion, you can't just say "Oh, but the others aren't objecting, so
it's
OK."
But to continue this analogy, since Muslims cannot agree amongst themselves what their religion entails, then isn't whatever I write going to be considered wrong by somebody? And since I cannot write about it at all without causing someone to object, should that take away my right to write it?
No, definitely not! But it does say to me that if you're going to write about Muslims, you should learn a bit about what the different groups are, and make sure that the descriptions you've got for them are right for the group you're writing about. Or to make the decision to throw all that information to one side, if you feel the story justifies it. But you should have the information to begin with.
What I meant is that it's a very different
thing to share your house and life with a man than with a woman, and some
of
these differences are really very subtle.
And on this subject I haven't enough knowledge to comment
But there are ways of finding out if you want to...
Shane
"Well I think we can say we're in business..." --Servalan
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--- Shane Little wrote: >
But to continue this analogy, since Muslims cannot
agree amongst themselves
what their religion entails, then isn't whatever I
write going to be
considered wrong by somebody? And since I cannot
write about it at all
without causing someone to object, should that take
away my right to write
it?
No, definitely not! But it does say to me that if you're going to write about Muslims, you should learn a bit about what the different groups are, and make sure that the descriptions you've got for them are right for the group you're writing about. Or to make the decision to throw all that information to one side, if you feel the story justifies it. But you should have the information to begin with.
An analogy might be drawn as follows. Supposing someone writes a story in which the crew encounter a group of Khomenist Muslims. A non-Khomenist Muslim might say - well they're not my kind of Muslim - but that isn't ground for offence. Now imagine the same story but instead of Khomenists, the Muslims are Amagons who are given a superficial Muslim coloration by the use of colourful oaths "By the prophet's beard, bring me the head of Kerr Avon or I will flay you alive !" I think a Muslim might have grounds for objecting to this sort of thing. Finally, imagine that a large body of literature exists in which these pseudo-Muslims regularly appear... Hence, I think, the reasons for Shane's disquiet.
Stephen.
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Shane wrote:
No, definitely not! But it does say to me that if you're going to write about Muslims, you should learn a bit about what the different groups are, and make sure that the descriptions you've got for them are right for the group you're writing about. Or to make the decision to throw all that information to one side, if you feel the story justifies it. But you should have the information to begin with.
Or, to quote Harlan Ellison, "everyone is entitled to an *informed* opinion."
But, alas, fiction often isn't written that way. "Write what you know" remains one of the best maxims for an author, but some authors stretch beyond the personal experiences into imaginative and speculative areas. When they do that, they'll get some things wrong. Whether it's the details on a space ship, how it feels to break a leg, or the nuances of a religion or relationship they've never encountered, it'll happen.
For some readers, this is unacceptable. For others, it's ok. For others still, they don't even notice. It's just a numbers game.
steve
-
Shane Little -
Stephen Date -
Steve Kilbane