Today was a bit chilly and windy, but I got together with some friends and played golf. Surprisingly, keeping a winter golf hat and gloves on kept me comfortable enough to play and I did reasonably well striking the ball. About an hour into the round, I got a call from home with a message that the BBC (yes, those people in London) wanted me to participate in a discussion panel at a Detroit radio station that would be linked up to their broadcast in England. Apparently, the BBC had gotten wind of my previous post which was also forwarded to the Detroit Free Press which publish an abbreviated version of it. Unfortunately, they only gave me a couple hours notice, so I had to pass on the opportunity.
The subject was the whole cultural conflict between the West and Muslim (read Arab) world as symbolized by the reaction to women wearing a veil during meetings and trials and other public events where a discussion or dialog was supposed to take place "face to face."
It seems trivial, on the surface, for a veil to cause so much concern. But apparently, the veil is striking a nerve in the West as a symbol of what seems to be irreconcilable differences between cultures. Unfortunately, what is perceived as Muslim culture is only the culture, religion and politics as practiced by some Muslims... but that point is a little too subtle for too many. Some is too many, it seems.
