Us Is Them

I'm back.  And it looks like I've got some catching up to do.

In the past two weeks, Nancy Pelosi has moved to the center of a systematic, creative and vivid visual rebuttal of the Bush Administration.  Although some will debate the efficacy and ethics of Congressional politics in foreign affairs, Pelosi and the Democrats are taking maximum advantage -- finally! -- of Bush's lack of a policy and his refusal to engage in the Mid-East.

With all the kvetching about Nancy Pelosi's trip to the region, I will try and dedicate a separate post to Pelosi in Saudi Arabia and Syria.  For now, though, I thought I'd highlight a powerful dimension of the trip that hasn't drawn as much attention.

I expect this trip, and these shots, will bring accusations that newly-elected Representative Keith Ellison is a political pawn.  After a year of repetitive and throughly phony snapshots of Condi Rice with a who's who of Middle East power players, however, these images viscerally confront the Administration's poison paradigm of "us" versus "them."

What shot do you like better: Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, with his wife and Pelosi in from of the Israeli Foreign Ministry?  Ellison and Pelosi with Peres?  Or, Ellison in front of the Jaffa Gate, the western-most entrance to the Old City, and the one closest to the Christian, Armenian and Jewish Quarters?

(image 1: Kevin Frayer/AP.  Jerusalem, Sunday, April 1, 2007. image 2: AP.  Jaffa, Israel.  March 31, 2007.  image 3: Kevin Frayer/AP. Jerusalem.  March 31, 2007.  Via YahooNews)

Comments

[NoContest]

I'm not comfortable with Ellison on parade. It feels like appeasment and provocation at the same time. Not only to radical nationals in the Middle East, but imagine how inflamatory this is to the Christian Nation back home. I really don't understand the dynamic, and I'm looking forward to your separate post on Pelosi in Saudi Arabia. This is getting complex. But welcome home, this topic selection is an example of why BagNewsNotes has become one of my top 5 bookmarked sites. Cutting edge.

[margaret]

The picture in the middle is splendid. It says that Muslims (and women)[oh, I forgot; the Muslim is also black] have a powerful voice in American government, and that they can stand, as "equals" with Peres. Too bad it wasn't Olmert, as he is the one who really needs to get the message of unifying Jews and Muslims. I might also say that it sends a similar message to the Muslim nations in the region.

As for the commenter above: everyone is "on parade" in this World Theatre. That's the reason for these pictures being taken. They are meant to deliver icons for the politically illiterate. In this case? Talking to leaders of countries in conflict can be a large part of foreign relations: we don't have to shoot everybody we have an argument with. This is not Texas in the 19th Century.

[Kitt]

This is getting complex.

....Ellison on parade.

I don't think so.

Way to bring 'religion' into the picture. So we have a picture of Pelosi (Catholic), Ellison (Muslim), Peres (Jewish) - and? Why is it important to point out Ellison being Muslim - again. I would imagine the relevance isn't prominent. (Ellison BTW was raised Catholic, converting to Islam at 19.)

I was thinking this morning about something I'd read on the freeper boards about Pelosi being stupid & crossing herself when visiting some religious place while in Syria - highlighting their own ignorance about that particular religious place (Muslim) that held within it a 'relic'(Christian), as well as the fact that there are those within Syria who are Christians.

Truth be told, none of the picture speak to me or spark interest.

Here's Rep Ted Lantos (D-CA) talking about their trip to Syria & the misrepresentations by the Bush administration.

[Mad_nVT]

Thank you, Bagman for making me pay attention. I like the first photo for the portraiture, the second photo for the significance.

I knew that a Muslim had been elected to Congress, and that he had been rudely abused for his religion, but then lost track.

Photos above bring it back, and a read of Wikipedia is helpful. I hope that Rep Ellison survives the sudden exposure to being "on parade."

Rep. Virgil Goode of Virginia said that Ellison's decision to use the Quran for the photo-op re-enactment of Congressional Swearing-in was a threat to "the values and beliefs traditional to the United States of America".

Boy Howdy, that is really ugly.

The Quran that Ellison used was once owned by Thomas Jefferson.

Welcome to Congress, Mr. Ellison, and thank God that you are there.

[MonsieurGonzo]

all three of these images are interesting, BAGman, but personally i find the middle one to be the most telling, bizarre. i mean, Mr. Ellison's image (not the man ~ but his image) is... what? if not an incredibly cynical substitute for “the missing muslim” in general, and...

...the conceit of He, an actual Leader of an actual Palestinian State, in particular.

iow, if you are a Palestinian in particular, or a muslim in general ~ this is just unjust ~ a simply hideous, maddening image; propaganda that denies your existence with a prop.

since the existence of Palestinians and their State is denied ~ so, too must be their leader : here Ms. Pelosi stands between them, as if she has just brokered some kind of Agreement (!) yet, despite what The Image says, we know that in reality Mr. Ellison is not their Head of State, nor even a representative of them; ie., here indeed, BAGman: US Is Them, thus.

[ummabdulla]

Skip this if you don't want a religious lesson...

Kitt: "something I'd read on the freeper boards about Pelosi being stupid & crossing herself when visiting some religious place while in Syria - highlighting their own ignorance about that particular religious place (Muslim) that held within it a 'relic' (Christian), as well as the fact that there are those within Syria who are Christians."

Probably Umayyad Mosque, a very old and famous mosque, which she visited, as do most tourists. Inside it is St. John the Baptist's shrine, said to contain his head. (John the Baptist is known as the Prophet Yahya in Islam.) The previous Pope visited and prayed there, which was supposedly the first time that a Pope visited a mosque. Muslims believe that when Jesus (the Prophet Iesa) returns to earth, it will be here at the Umayyad Mosque.

You're right... There is a significant Christian minority in Syria, and you can visit Christian villages around Damascus where people still speak Aramaic, the language of Jesus, and where there are some very early Christian churches from a time when Christians were persecuted. (I saw one that was literally built on the side of a cliff so that it couldn't be seen by anyone coming up the mountain, or even standing near the top.) Many of the Christians who have fled Iraq in the past few years have gone to Syria, where they feel comfortable.

[tina]

Well, I know very little about Keith Ellison. He may end up demonstrating that elected Muslim officials can be good bridge builders and we do need such people at this time. He should certainly not be called upon to "explain" his religion in public or make excuses for it, like he was called upon to do when an interviewer asked him to "prove that he wasn't a terrorist".

Yes, and I want every avowedly conservative Christian in elected office to prove that (s)he's not out to find some back-door way to subvert our constitution by undermining the separation of church and state. I think that's by far the more pertinent question in these times.

However what interests me is, how do Muslims perceive Mr. Ellison? If we weren't told (constantly) that he is a Muslim, we'd never know; he's practically moving about incognito, so to speak. He didn't change his name, as is customary (although he may have a Muslim name he doesn't use; some converts do). Is his wife Muslim? If so, she doesn't wear hijab, another deeply divisive point. How observant is he? Does he excuse himself from the floor of Congress to pray at the prescribed times (I'm betting not)? He dresses 100% Western; I've never seen him with even a cap. I'm not going to mention the lack of a beard, you have to be pretty radicalized to care about that. But I'm curious. When you convert to Islam you are supposed to be readily identifiable to other Muslims as one of them.

So, how do other Muslims feel about him, given that he is not exactly on his deen in the usual way? Is this something they criticize in private and would this reduce his effectiveness/authority with this community? I mean obviously a lot of Somalian immigrants voted for him, but still....

Since I'm no longer involved in this faith, this is something I haven't heard about. From the fishbowl of my old masajid, they would have been happy at the idea of a Muslim in Congress but just on surface examination would have probably considered Ellison a sellout.

[jtfromBC]

Include Olmert with Peres on Pelosi's left add Mahoud Abbas and Ismail Haniyeh on Ellison right, then forty years of Israel/USA kabuki dancing would cease.
What a photo that would be, for me and millions of other me's.
Now its back to my afternoon geriatric nap.

[marc sobel]

I like the use of the word "Tantrum" and the video with "Calm Down, Take a Breath"

[Gasho]

I don't know anything about Ellison, save what is written here, but I'd like to comment on the first photo, where Ellison's wife (Kim) is looking at Pelosi.

Just from reading the faces of the two women, I get the impression that Pelosi is doing the hard work and feeling the strain (causally, this could just be a gust of wind or blowing sand that is making her face contract, but I'm reading it as stress). She's not only going to the Middle East, she's taking a muslim Congressman and talking to some of the key players in the unstable region. WOW. That's hard work.

..And the look on Kim's face is telling me that same story from another angle. She's looking at Pelosi with a joyful astonishment. In her head, she might be saying, "You've got guts, woman. Way to go". This woman's visual commentary on a strong political woman is very interesting. We have a lot of women in the US, and last I heard, they are free to vote (independently of their husbands).

By the way, Wikipedia is an amazing source of info - Here is a snippet which sheds a little light on the Ellison's faith (the kids sound Muslim, but Kim is not.. could answer some of your questions, Tina):

"As of 2006, Ellison and his wife Kim, a high school mathematics teacher, have four children born between 1989 and 1997. They are a daughter, Amirah; and three sons, Jeremiah, Elijah, and Isaiah. Kim is not a Muslim, but their four children have been raised in that faith." - Wikipedia.

[lowly grunt]

The first picture makes me feel comfortable. It reminds me of when I was a kid and went through a bout of illness and as I began to feel better, my mom would sit on the edge of the bed and smile at me. Her relief in my convalescence and her steady presence was balm for my soul. I see that in the smiles and warmth of the two women in the picture.

I am hoping that we are nearing the end of our own national illness.

[peco]

OMG! All effort for peace is comfort and true. Pelosi wants only the best for all. Believe it is so if only for the children.

[ummabdulla]

Ellison's wife has that politician's wife's gaze of admiration, but - in this photo at least - it seems to be directed at Pelosi, not at her husband.