Totem and Taboo
Following up last night’s musing on the riots in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The question was, why there and not elsewhere? Zack points interested parties to a cultural explanation from Chapati Mystery blogger sepoy – South Asian Muslims value the Quran as an object in a way that Middle Eastern and African Muslims don’t. This clicked with me because it jibed with a famous exchange among neighbors here on my own block years ago.
UPDATE: I should say that the Gates Principle (discussed in original item) still applies. I’ve spent some evening tonight with the Times of India site, and India itself seems to lack for riots. Why? Among other things, I’d argue, India’s Muslims feel much less hostility toward the US than a segment of Pakistan and Afghanistan’s do. So the South Asian totemic regard for the physical Quran is a cause, but not a sufficient one, for the rioting we do see.
Comment by Steve —
May 17, 2005 @ 9:16 pm
You horrible jouissance-denier. I need closure on that anecdote!
Comment by Ikram —
May 19, 2005 @ 9:48 am
Read David Frum on this issue (really!). Riots are political, and in South Asia, usually incited by a cynical or unsavoury politician. (More background on Imran Khan from Chapaty Mystery)