Clive Hamilton telling it like it us on child sexualisation in Australia.

Last night I sat down and watched the best show on television to come along, bar none: The Secret Millionaire, a British show now available on cable telly in Australia. By the end of the show I was bawling my eyes out, feeling hopeful about humanity, and determined to do something myself.

The Secret Millionaire follows a ten-day journey of self-made millionaires going back to visit their humble roots. Under-cover, they seek out deserving recipients and reward them with charitable donations that make real differences in the lives of others.

The looks of incredulity, shock, gratitude and overwhelming soggy tear-filled happiness in this reality-fly-on-the-wall doco series makes Big Brother look like pornography compared to a masterpiece of artwork. Whereas Big Brother is all about the voyeurism and self-masturbation of narcissistic individuals displaying their nastiness and greed to aspire to become B-grade celebs with fifteen minutes of fame, The Secret Millionaire shows the best of the human spirit: empathy, humility, sharing, compassion, and real people making real differences in the lives of other people. It’s not just the millionaires who are sharing the humanitarian spotlight, the people they seek out are likewise selflessly generous people but often themselves struggling to make ends meet.

May the God of us all, reward these people for their generosity and for being the best of what it means to be human!

There’s a bit of a storm in a teacup brewing downunder over some comments made by a couple of Muslim blokes hoping that polygyny might be made legal in Australia. My first reaction was “be patient and wait until gay marriage is legalised, then there’s no problems with polygyny.” But apparently it’s got more than a few people’s knickers in knots.

I used to belong to the “polygyny is outrageous” camp, and I remember my ears going red and my cheeks puffing out when someone suggested that there might be a credible argument made for it in modern times. But, after coming to know a few women in polygynous families, I started to have a more relaxed attitude. Not all of those relationships have been hunky-dory all of the time, but I figure if they want to and can make it work - who am I to say no. Consenting adults and all that. I have to confess it now seems strange to me that we live in a permissive society that says “take as many mistresses as you like, but just don’t do the honorable thing by them and support them and the children you have with them.”

Anyway I got asked to do a piece for the local rag on the topic, so here you go.

I was reflecting on all of this my leaving-Baha’i experience with Abu Yasmin, and I think perhaps electing me to (two) LSAs so young was probably a mistake. I was pretty much a naive young ‘youth’ when I was first elected to an LSA and not really ready for the realities of bureaucratic politics (which are found in every organisation, Baha’is included). I may not have lost my faith if I had been older. Although from a Muslim theological point of view, everything about this was destined for me by God.

I think what I do find hard, being an apostate from one religion and a convert to another, is that unlike most converts to Islam who come from Judeo-Christian backgrounds, there is no legitimate place for my Baha’i experience that I can incorporate into my Muslimness. I do struggle with that from time to time. Oh I have my own theories about what I think Mirza Husayn ‘Ali Nuri et. al. were trying to achieve in their societies - but it’s not like I can toodle around like an ex-Christian convert saying “We Muslims believe in Jesus too”.

I think that’s also part of the reason why I tend to talk about the Baha’is and the Baha’i Faith on this blog - it gives me a way to come to grips with my own religious journey. The other thing is, most of my immediate relatives are Baha’is, and I grew up with life-long Baha’i friends who I treasure and adore, so I still have a part of me that will forever be connected to the Baha’i faith, even though I am a Muslim. (It’s also why I mostly don’t tell them about this blog, apologies to my Baha’i friends who DO know about it, and must cringe whenever I go on one of my jags… I mean you Barney!)

BTW folks, I WAS CONFIRMED - yipptideee. I had my confirmation meeting (basically my supervisors and some other academics getting together to have a yak about my research and whether or not I am fit to continue) and with the promise of my cleaning up my bibliography, providing them with a proper chapter outline, and a paragraph here and there explaining why my chapter one has nothing to do with the research I am doing now (hardy har) I am being permitted to keep going with the doctorate and inshallah have it finished by April next year. Thank you for all of you who made du’as for me - I definitely needed them ‘coz I was more than a mite nervous.