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| Grasse, France (March 2012) |
I purposefully set up the photo with a subtle, but profound contrast. I am wearing a Nike shirt (thus the swoosh on my chest if you look closely) and have an ancient Palestinian-inspired headdress draped over my shoulders.
Welcome to the clash of world views and time periods, which also reflects the tension and divide between European (modern) cultures and Islam (a Pre-modern world view).
We do well to study and understand how the secular, Enlightenment-inspired European state collides with people from countries dominated by Islam - and a distinctly Middle Ages type of worldview. Granted, Islam is changing and morphing in Europe as people move from North African nations to France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and elsewhere. Nonetheless, it will continue to be a source of great tension and conflict for the coming generation in Europe.
Reminds me how Christ tenaciously builds His church. If we won't go to them with the Gospel, He'll bring them to us. Let us be faithful to preach.
ReplyDelete...article in the NRC over the weekend about a gay Muslim couple in the Parisian banlieue... a (white) French / North African and a (black) South African... they found an imam in SA to marry them but can't be open about their relationship outside their own front door, and the French govt won't grant them a registered partnership because it considers *one* of them to be already married... clash of civilizations / cultures, for sure.
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