One of the mantras of the "diversity" movement in America and the West is that all cultures are equal. The basic idea is that each culture is an adaptation to a particular environment. Therefore no culture is inherently preferable to another. The political significance of this is that all cultures are equally deserving of respect. The goal of education becomes one of inculcating in young people a respect for all the cultures of the world. By learning that our own culture is not superior, we also become less racist and bigoted toward other cultures.
This doctrine of cultural equality--or more precisely cultural relativism--sounds good when we are considering the quaint folkways of other cultures.
Undergraduates at Yale write papers noting "Who is to say that the Western practice of inventing new technologies is superior to the kangaroo-tracking techniques of the Australian aborigines?" Meanwhile the best students at Stanford can be heard opining that "Shakespeare may have had a rich and supple vocabulary, but let's remember that Eskimos have twenty seven words for 'snow.'"
Then comes a report like the one in Canada about the Muslim father who killed his sixteen-year-old daughter because she didn't want to wear a headscarf. Now it should be noted that the Koran does not mandate that Muslims wear the veil or hijab. These head coverings, however, have come to symbolize modesty in the Islamic world. And Muslim immigrants often bring with them their cultural expectations when they come to America.
Apparently the daughter, Aqsa Parvez, could not convince her parents that her head should be uncovered. She would wear Muslim dress out of the house and then change when she was out of her parents' sight. Perhaps this deception was discovered. Apparently the father Muhammad Parvez was enraged. According to police, he beat the girl so badly that she succumbed to injuries and died. Now the father is charged with murder and the older brother is charged with obstructing police.
I'm waiting to hear from the liberal champions of diversity on this one. Will they say, "Sure, we may not approve of beating one's daughter to death over a headscarf but let's remember that in other cultures they see it very differently. Why should we impose our parochial Western morality on others?" In Canada there may be judges crazy enough to let the murderer walk free. In the United States, I suspect we won't hear too much of this. The reason is that the American brand of cultural relativism is basically a fraud. It's a device to undermine and attack Western institutions and practices. Yet cultural relativism is quietly abandoned when it produces results that liberals don't like.
Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 26)
1. ...and Andrea Yates drowned her 5 children.
Ryan Anderson at 9:09AM on Dec 12th 2007
2. This really is idiotic. If I knew better, I would stop reading Dinesh's blog. Every day they seem less well thought out.
First off, cultural relativism NEVER justifies murder. This father is a monster, and all culturues have monsters. That's why we have jails.
I'm all for trying to understand someone else's (Dinesh's) point of view, but I am truly baffled that anyone would make such a leap of logic.
It's almost like he's run out of steam with the attack on Atheists (not to mention how bad his miscalculation was with yesterdays blog), and now he's searching desperately for another institution that he can compare unfavorably to Christianity.
Ryan Anderson at 9:31AM on Dec 12th 2007
3. i am not sure what this blog is really about. the murder of the young woman was wrong. the way her family lives their lives is not necessarily wrong. is dinesh saying "be like me or else"? if so, or else what? i just don't get what he's spewing.
dorothy at 9:46AM on Dec 12th 2007
4. Sounds like D'idiot is really stretching. Like all liberals condone murder. Please. Is this because a GodNazi whack-job got angry at his church in Colorado and went on a Christain Hunt? Gotta draw attention away from those nutty church NRA types. huh, Dd?
Tim at 9:46AM on Dec 12th 2007
5. Is using one case of an insane Muslim really indicative of any pattern of cultural representation? With all that is going on in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia, why use one anecdotal headline that could just have easily emerged from the US to make your case against multiculturalism?
jacob at 9:54AM on Dec 12th 2007
6. I'm not sure that Western culture that has largely succeeded in commodifying and exploiting the sexuality of women is any more superior than Islam in this regard.
randy at 9:53AM on Dec 12th 2007
7. Do you enjoy sounding like a completely ignorant buffoon? Do you actually think about the words you put down before you write them or do you just write anything that comes into your head? A word of advice, next time think BEFORE you speak.
sasha at 10:03AM on Dec 12th 2007
8. DD; "Sure, we may not approve of beating one's daughter to death over a headscarf but let's remember that in other cultures they see it very differently"
Doesn't it say in the bible that people should be stoned etc.? Isn't it DD's moral guidlines that are a little off the wall? Seems like he has subscribed to secular moral values.
a born atheist at 10:02AM on Dec 12th 2007
9. So, DD is not only an agnostic but he believes in relative secular moral values. Unless of course he is approving such behavior, he doesn't make his stand very clear, but then he never does.
a born atheist at 10:07AM on Dec 12th 2007
10. Cultures are not equal, and can never be equal. The reason, however, isn't inspite of cultural relativism but because of cultural relativism. We all think of our own culture as preferable, be it an "American" culture, a "Christian" culture, or a "Nevadan" culture, or a "Lesbian" culture. We are raised to believe in the strengths of our culture, and usually are immersed within it. It takes a great deal to change this point of view.
What Dinesh fails to do is to set a criteria for how cultures should be considered inferior and superior. This is far more telling than saying "Christian culture is good and Muslim culture is bad." By setting a criteria we show our own moral and ethical compass.
So here is my own personal moral criteria. How often does a culture resort to and excuse violence? How often does a culture express hate and intolerance. How often does a culture express a willingness to help strangers? How willing is a culture to invest in social prosperity? How does said culture regard personal rights and expression? How often does a culture employ a scapegoat or theological justification?
The more a culture employs violence and hate, the more inferior it is in my eyes. The more it invests in social well being, such as the Scandinavians and Japanese, then the more superior I regard it. Thus I can look at my own culture by the same criteria and see its strengths and its need for improvement. This is far more effective then to simply say "The muslim culture embraced by this man is bad."
So Dinesh, I'm afraid that this is one liberal who will not be rising to your bait. Yes, he has the freedom to believe whatever he wants to believe, but the second he acted to commit a violent crime then his belief became moot. The law does not care if God, Jesus, Allah, or Satan told you to do it. And if you do commit a crime then you will be held responsible for it. I can only hope, as I am a liberal, that he will recieve rehabilitation and gain a more tolerant worldview from his experiance.
Somber at 10:10AM on Dec 12th 2007
11. Hey, when you blog most every day it's not easy to come up with Pulitzer prize material. Bottom line is many people enjoy Dinesh's blog or they wouldn't read it let alone post a comment.
dungal1 at 2:24PM on Dec 12th 2007
12. I agree that not all cultures are equal and any culture that imposes the views of one group on another is not a just culture, unless of course the views have to do with issues of life. If one group wants to kill members of another group and the culture imposes its views that this will not be tolerated than of course this is just "right over wrong". I think common sense and conscience at the very least can guide the majority on this issue. As for this issue, well I don't believe that Dinesh is saying "All Muslims agree and champion this monster" I think any rational individual can easily distinguish between this "Murderer" and the people of Islamic faith. This guy is an extremist, it would be much like a Christian who would kill his daughter for wearing pants because he views it as a violation of his interpretation of the Bible's position that woman should not dress like men. All Christians would agree that that person is a whacko and an extremist, however if asked if the Father has a right to dictate how his daughter should adhere to the faith of the family, most Christians would answer yes. I think this is what Dinesh is argueing, that even though most Muslims would not say they support the actions of the father they would not go against his feelings towards his daughter for not covering her hair. Whether or not this is wrong, to want your daughter to cover her hair in a culture where it is not required I don't know. However I do believe this, there are matters of faith that should never be comprimised, absolutes, and there are issues that most people would agree God probably couldn't care less about. Perhaps the Father and many fathers of Muslim women are concerned about the slippery slope that could lead to comprimising on the "Absolutes". I do know this the idea of murdering someone, even over the absolutes is outrageous and should not be condoned by anyone. Any culture that would allow this or turn a blind eye to it lacks faith in the God they profess to believe in to handle the situation for Himself. God doesn't need anyone to kill for Him to get a point across in regards to matters of living out your faith. It is a personal thing between the individual and God.
H.C. Lora at 10:14AM on Dec 12th 2007
13. Cultural Relativism - stimulating topic today...
I think his endgame is to prove that we need moral absolutes and that Christianity is the only path to that end. Are there moral absolutes? Great question, but I can only give my opinion that the Golden Rule is the place to start. Muslim Sharia law and christians (with the lowercase c) go against this.
Mokele-Mbembe at 10:20AM on Dec 12th 2007
14. Well said Somber. I also agree that all cultures are not equal. But I think they all have something to offer - and they all have relics from the past that need to be discarded. Western Culture is no exception.
Ryan Anderson at 10:23AM on Dec 12th 2007
15. But what is a 'moral absolute'. I don't think they can exist. "Thou shalt not kill". Sounds great, I like it, but it is not an absolute. There are legitimate exceptions so it can not be called an absolute.
"Thou shalt not steal" Again, even in the bible exceptions are made. Not an absolute.
What am I missing?
a born atheist at 10:26AM on Dec 12th 2007