Ujjal Dosanjh is a Big Fat....
Unfortunately, writing essays for school is still more important than spending time writing posts on here, but I apologize anyway for not addressing this issue earlier.
Yesterday, all day, the story of the Akal Takht's actions in Punjab dominated Canadian news coverage. Why? I really don't know. The hukamnama or 'edict' only forbids SSM in Sikh Gurdvaras. It didn't forbid, for instance, a United Church minister from conducting marriage in any way that he or she wanted. Of course it didn't - the Sikh clergy in Amritsar only has jurisdiction over Sikhs, and they could care less about anybody else's choices in this matter. The same thing goes for the Vatican in Rome. Catholic Cathedrals will not carry out Same-Sex marriages, but I don't know how or why Catholics would be concerned by Same-Sex marriages taking place in a Synagogue or a Mosque (hypothetically). I don't imagine that they would be.
There really is so much miscommunication and misunderstanding when it comes to the issue of SSM. For so many religious communities, the simple mention of 'gays' provokes the most emotionally charged response against anything that might seem "pro-gay". Yes - the Jathedaar of the Akal Takht did call for all Sikh MPs to vote against the SSM legislation, but I highly doubt that he was explained the difference between civil and religious marriage. According to Sikh theology, the Jathedaar is not "like the pope" as was said by most media outlets, he's actually just like any other human being, prone to the same faults and errors in judgment - however, it is true that he is the supreme political and religious authority for Sikhs throughout the world. I wouldn't be surprised if he was given the impression that Sikh gurdvaras would be compelled or even forced to carry out Same-Sex Marriages if the legislation passes sometime this year. Sikh scripture makes no mention of gays, and it'd only be guess work in trying to understand the "Sikh position" on the issue, but for a general discussion on Sikhs and Gays, I would suggest this link to anyone who's interested.
Simply put, I don't care if the legislation passes or fails. I don't think its significant in anyway. I don't think it'll impact gay lifestyle in any significant form, nor do I think that its really necessary for gay relationships to be called 'marriages' - civily or religiously.
ANYWAYS, back to the title of my post. Ujjal Dosanjh is a fool. However, his words yesterday were part of a deeper anti-religious bias that is so evident in public life. Not only is it now important for public officials to separate their faith from their duties (which is a good thing!) it's also now important for those officials to not be religious at all - even in their private life. That's the sentiment that Ujjal was expressing yesterday with these comments:
I mean, Prime Minister Martin and Prime Minister Chretien both were Catholics, the Vatican didn't have an impact on them. And therefore no other religious institution would have an impact on anybody else.
He also went on to say that the hukamnama (or edict) "will absolutely not have any impact whatsoever". Why would it not have an impact? Why is it important for Sikhs or Catholics to ignore their religious authorities? Ujjal has a past as a hardline communist and that past is still with him. People like him might pretend to have respect for religious authority but deep down inside they despise religion, which is their right, I suppose.
At the very least, Paul Martin attempts to convey a sense that he's double-minded about the issue - that he does have doubts - that the words of the Catholic hierarchy do mean SOMETHING to him. He tries to present the image that he has a duty as a Prime Minister ahead of his duty as a faithful Catholic. Which is fine by me. Ujjal on the other hand, makes no effort to even PRETEND to respect religious faith or authority. So why do they call him a Sikh then? Ujjal's remarks clearly define him as an atheist - he could be described as a "Punjabi MP" or something to that affect, but he's definitely not a "Sikh MP" any more than Svend Robinson was a "Christian MP".
Yesterday, all day, the story of the Akal Takht's actions in Punjab dominated Canadian news coverage. Why? I really don't know. The hukamnama or 'edict' only forbids SSM in Sikh Gurdvaras. It didn't forbid, for instance, a United Church minister from conducting marriage in any way that he or she wanted. Of course it didn't - the Sikh clergy in Amritsar only has jurisdiction over Sikhs, and they could care less about anybody else's choices in this matter. The same thing goes for the Vatican in Rome. Catholic Cathedrals will not carry out Same-Sex marriages, but I don't know how or why Catholics would be concerned by Same-Sex marriages taking place in a Synagogue or a Mosque (hypothetically). I don't imagine that they would be.
There really is so much miscommunication and misunderstanding when it comes to the issue of SSM. For so many religious communities, the simple mention of 'gays' provokes the most emotionally charged response against anything that might seem "pro-gay". Yes - the Jathedaar of the Akal Takht did call for all Sikh MPs to vote against the SSM legislation, but I highly doubt that he was explained the difference between civil and religious marriage. According to Sikh theology, the Jathedaar is not "like the pope" as was said by most media outlets, he's actually just like any other human being, prone to the same faults and errors in judgment - however, it is true that he is the supreme political and religious authority for Sikhs throughout the world. I wouldn't be surprised if he was given the impression that Sikh gurdvaras would be compelled or even forced to carry out Same-Sex Marriages if the legislation passes sometime this year. Sikh scripture makes no mention of gays, and it'd only be guess work in trying to understand the "Sikh position" on the issue, but for a general discussion on Sikhs and Gays, I would suggest this link to anyone who's interested.
Simply put, I don't care if the legislation passes or fails. I don't think its significant in anyway. I don't think it'll impact gay lifestyle in any significant form, nor do I think that its really necessary for gay relationships to be called 'marriages' - civily or religiously.
ANYWAYS, back to the title of my post. Ujjal Dosanjh is a fool. However, his words yesterday were part of a deeper anti-religious bias that is so evident in public life. Not only is it now important for public officials to separate their faith from their duties (which is a good thing!) it's also now important for those officials to not be religious at all - even in their private life. That's the sentiment that Ujjal was expressing yesterday with these comments:
I mean, Prime Minister Martin and Prime Minister Chretien both were Catholics, the Vatican didn't have an impact on them. And therefore no other religious institution would have an impact on anybody else.
He also went on to say that the hukamnama (or edict) "will absolutely not have any impact whatsoever". Why would it not have an impact? Why is it important for Sikhs or Catholics to ignore their religious authorities? Ujjal has a past as a hardline communist and that past is still with him. People like him might pretend to have respect for religious authority but deep down inside they despise religion, which is their right, I suppose.
At the very least, Paul Martin attempts to convey a sense that he's double-minded about the issue - that he does have doubts - that the words of the Catholic hierarchy do mean SOMETHING to him. He tries to present the image that he has a duty as a Prime Minister ahead of his duty as a faithful Catholic. Which is fine by me. Ujjal on the other hand, makes no effort to even PRETEND to respect religious faith or authority. So why do they call him a Sikh then? Ujjal's remarks clearly define him as an atheist - he could be described as a "Punjabi MP" or something to that affect, but he's definitely not a "Sikh MP" any more than Svend Robinson was a "Christian MP".
posted by Japnaam Singh at
12:56 AM
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