Ayaan Ali's Nomad is accurate in its prescriptions that immigrant minorities should not be kid-gloved with concessions as they assimilate into the cultures of their adopted homes. That they should be given the freedom to practice their faith but not political and legal rights that is uncommon to any citizen is a good suggestion. Migrants will be expected to learn English in English speaking countries, they will go through the legal system and will abide by every law of the land prescribed for all freedoms, equality, justice and peace. In that sense, teaching of Arabic by a Western state spending tax payers money adds no economic value to the migrants. So also democratic countries cannot have a family law based on religion. The essential foundations of liberal democracies - equality, justice, fairness and individual liberties - should be preserved.Where Ali goes wrong is in characterizing the behaviour of her family as a representation of Islam entirely. It is true, that the restrictive tribal constraints Islam places on individuals, families and societies at large have consequences. In actual fact circumstances of war, a dysfunctional family, tradition, elements of poverty, nomadic status and refugee flight breeds the kind of discord, behaviour and outbursts of human emotion that Ali describes in her book. But these can take place with or without the help of a closed belief system like Islam that does not open itself for scrutiny. Irrespective of religion, many African and Asian cultures embrace espouse traditional and tribal values. The concept of shame and family honor though not as violent and condescending as Nomad describes it is not exclusive to Islam. In many cultures the male child is superior. There are implicit and explicit codes of conduct for girls to avoid shaming the family. In my conservative South Indian culture many of these values are still practiced. Domestic tension is not uncommon with regard to choices made in marriage, public code of conduct for younger men and women, respect of the elders, family honor and so on. There are instances where faith is dragged to justify the need for these prescribed social norms.
What makes Ali's circumstances explosive is the combination of tribal values, lack of education among women, polygamy, a war obsessed father, and the clutches of a medieval religion that thrives on narrow mindedness. What amazes me is that Ali's father, having read in Rome and the United states, could successfully insulate himself from being influenced by a progressive worldview. This ability to shut off the West but for a few material input is prevalent in many migrant communities not just Somali Muslims.
Ali's blanket espousal of western values as the right approach to life gets me on the wrong foot. It is true that individual freedoms, a characteristic trait of Western thinking, leads to deterministic outcomes and lends purpose to life. I for one believe extreme individualism and freedom of expression can lead to "tribalism" of a different kind - with the only exception that this time it favours the minorities and not the majority as we have seen in the debate on sexual orientation of individuals in the West. By the same token, these new minorities within the Western societies also need not be given concessions politically, legally or socially that is uncommon to any citizen. In another plane altogether western individualism has limited scope for familial obligations to care for aged parents. If Ali was raised in western society, the urge to support her family financially and the inner conflicts of self-doubt as regards to her obligation to her family would not even have occurred. The other thing that fascinated me most was the endorsement that this book receives from Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens - two renowned atheists. These endorsements at best can be termed opportunistic as both men have no solutions to offer other than to denounce religion altogether as they see religion as the source of all evil including what Ali describes in her book. Even if the characterization of Islam's violence in the book is true, it can never justify the countless murders of millions in the name of godlessness whether it was perpetrated by Uganda's Idi Amin, Neo Nazis of Germany, Pol Pot of Cambodia, the Italian Fascists or the Stalinists in Russia - many of whom were atheists like Dawkins and Hitchens. I see Ali's suggestion of engaging moderate Christian churches for their role in the assimilation of minorities in Western democracies as a good one. Their warmth and acceptance of immigrants as they are within these congregations, even if for evangelistic reasons, is to be lauded. These communes have provided immigrants with tools such as English lessons, emotional support for families and sometimes even material support during times of adjustment and that has smoothened the transition for many immigrants irrespective of their faith.
Over all entire book is a good read. Ali’s courage in opening up a pandora’s box risking her own life is to be lauded.
