INTERculture: The Journal - Current Issues

Issue No. 157

THE LANGUAGES OF THE “WE”
The four articles presented in this issue attempts to raise people’s awareness of the fact that the meaning of community, community living, and community action can be understood very differently in Quebec and elsewhere around the world. To what extent does the individuation of our identity and social cohesion, particularly in the Western World, affects community actions in contemporary Quebec? What can these different conceptions of community and community action offer us in order to respond to contemporary socio-political and ecological issues? Is there any notion other than “public culture” that can help us conceive community living differently in Quebec?

Different discourses, different alternative models of construction of identity and community regeneration around the world are presented here. These reflections invite humans to “take care” of the earth by opening up to the diversity of life forms at the same time to the diversity of cultures, languages, religions and philosophies in the human world.

The Communitarian Obsession: Toward a Re-evaluation of Identity Politics, by Jean-François Lessard

The Oaxaca Commune and Mexico's Autonomous Movements, by Gustavo Esteva

Embedding Communities in Ecologies: Emergent Proprieties of Biological, Linguistic and Cultural Diversities, by Pramod Parajulil

Awakening to Community and its Regeneration in an Intercultural Spirit , by Robert Vachon

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Issue No. 156

PONDERING OVER PLURALISTIC QUEBEC
What is left of reasonable accommodations after the recent uproar? Are they part of an outdated discussion or the remnants of a flash in the pan? Of course there was the Bouchard-Taylor Com-mission’s official report. But what else… what if the issue of reasonable accommodation both originates and ends somewhere beyond the narrow political, judicial, and media contexts that recently characterised the subject in Québec?

In this issue, Interculture aims to give voice once again to the multiple diversity of Québec through some pertinent memorandums. Indeed, though they were all submitted at the time of the Commission, the reports were not widely known – how many people read only the official re-port? The content of these memorandums, all related to one aspect or another of the reasonable accommodation question, will undoubtedly catch the reader’s attention as it did ours. We intend to fuel both critical thinking and action by publishing them here.

By way of introduction, Gilles Bibeau presents a clarifying contextualization of the reasonable accommodation question explaining that reasonable accommodations do not constitute the first discourse of intrinsic diversity or multiple reality in Québec. This helps to come to terms with the pluralist experiences and the quest for identity from both within and outside of Québec today.

This is followed by the Université de Montréal’s Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies’ memorandum in its entirety. If there is one defining aspect of diversity that makes the strongest mark on cultural differences, it is surely religion. In Québec, we are sometimes tempted to over-simplify, as we oppose an artificial Québec that is supposedly homogenous and entirely Catholic against multiple others from recent immigration. Beyond this indispensable terminological exer-cise, the authors put their finger on a brilliant illustration of the unfinished nature of the relation-ship with the Other through religion: the Muslim headscarf in Québec. Here as well, we are in-vited to go beyond risky ideological simplifications that fundamentally maintain the opposition between republican secularity of modern Quebec and the feared return of religion on the public stage.

Next, in the same spirit, we present the Islam, Pluralism, and Globalization Chair’s report that takes up the issue of identity denial. Because it is frequently fueled by ideology, identity denial clashes runs counter to the very idea of pluralism.
Finally, the Intercultural Institute of Montréal intends, from the start, to transgress the limited nature of the Commission’s approach of dealing with diversity in order to go deeper. Beyond the necessary social contract between citizens, there are deep human ties, rooted in the pluralism of reality itself. Beyond reasonable accommodations, we find friendly intercultural dialogue and comprehension on a daily basis between people from different backgrounds, different religions, and different cultures. Québec, rich from its intrinsic diversity, is profoundly intercultural and as such, has always transcended the different objective intellectual framework, and even the differ-ent projects for a pluralist society that we have had in the past.

The pleasure of difference: Why would Quebec deprive itself, by Gilles Bibeau

Welcoming religious diversity in open secularity, by the Faculty of Theology and the Sciences of Religions. Université de Montréal

Concerted adjustements and reasonable accommodations, by the Canada Research Chair - Islam, Pluralism and Globalization. Faculty of Theology. Université de Montréal

A pluralistic Quebec in the light of an intercultural practice, by the Intercultural Institute of Montreal

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Issue No. 155

FAIR TRADE: TOWARDS AN INTERCULTURAL REGENERATION OF COMMUNITIES
Parallel to the phenomenon of the social responsabilization of enterprises, we have been witnessing for a number of years now a boom in the practices of Fair Trade.

In this issue of InterCulture we are presenting some unexplored intercultural dimensions of Fair Trade from the point of view of the bio-cultural regeneration it does or may induce both in the South and in the North.

THE POTENTIAL OF FAIR TRADE FOR BIO-CULTURAL REGENERATION OF MARGINALIZED GOUPS IN THE SOUTH.
By Frédérique Apffel-Marglin

FAIR TRADE ISSUES FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF BIO-CULTURAL REGENERATION IN EUROPE.
By Bruno Amoroso

FAIR TRADE: FROM SYMPATHY TO POLYPHONY. AN INTERVIEW WITH MR JEAN-FRÉDÉRIC LEMAY.
By Emongo Lomomba

BUILDING INTERCULTURAL BRIDGES: CHOCOSOL HORIZONTAL TRADERS EXPLORING THE STEPPING STONES BEYOND THE FAIR TRADE MODEL.
By Michael Sacco

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Issue No. 154

PLURALISM, HERE AND ELSEWHERE
This issue of InterCulture presents the diverse reality of pluralism in different parts of the world. The current issue results from the Symposium «Pluralism, Here and Elsewhere» that was organized jointly by the Intercultural Institute of Montreal and the CRIIDAQ (Centre de recherche interdisciplinaire sur la diversité au Québec) on May 30-31, 2007, in Montreal.

The main objective of the Symposium was to explore, from an intercultural perspective, the question of pluralism in different societies. Too often we have a tendency to think that pluralism is a unique characteristic of modern western societies. Thus other societies must follow the same path progression, based on the democratic political system and values promoting human rights, all within the framework of the Nation-State. However, since the dawn of time, all human societies and cultures have had to deal with diversity, and to develop knowledge and pluralistic practices to foster co-existence.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE COLLOQUIUM PLURALISM, HERE AND ELSEWHERE
By Kalpana Das

QUEBEC, A LAND OF HOSPITALITY OR A LAND OF REEFS?
By Jacques Lacoursière

“REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION” IN 17TH CENTURY IROQUOIAN NATIONS
By Michael Kanentase Rice

THE UMMA, GUARANTOR OF DIVERSITY? PLURALISM IN ISLAM: FROM SPIRITUAL BOND TO POLITICO-JURIDICAL CONNECTIONS
By Zakaria Rhani

RE-THINKING CONVIVIALITY IN QUEBEC
By Yara El-Ghadban

ONCE UPON A TIME THERE WAS THE SPIDER WEB... COMMENTS ON SOME VIRTUES OF THE KNOT IN NTU AFRICA
By Lomomba Emongo

RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY IN CHINESE TRADITION. WAYS OF THINKING AND PRACTICAL SOLUTIONS
By Anna Ghiglione

IIM’S MEMORANDUM TO THE BOUCHARD-TAYLOR COMMISSION

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Issue No. 153

INTERCULTURAL MEDIATION ?
Since the 1980’s, there is a new practice for the management of diversity and the integration of immigrants which has emerged, namely intercultural mediation, particularly in the spheres of justice and social and health services. In some European countries, particularly in France, this practice has become more prevalent and different models are being proposed. The practice of intercultural mediation has emerged out of the acute needs felt by the public service institutions in the face of cultural differences. The cultural difference is perceived to be a factor that can affect the good functioning of these institutions as well as is considered to be a serious obstacle for the professionals to do their jobs.

In publishing this issue of InterCulture on the topic of Intercultural mediation, we have limited ourselves to presenting different ‘ models ’ of and approaches to ‘ intercultural mediation ’ that are being developed in order to meet the needs of institutions as mentioned above. But it is important to note that our concern here is not just the needs of the institutions but the society as a whole. They represent the culture of a universalized system of modernity. In the context of society in general, which is becoming radically diverse, there is much more that remains to be said on the subject and we need to go beyond the integrationist perspective of mediation of conflicts between the culture of the State and its institutions and the cultures of diverse peoples in a given society.

INTERCULTURAL MEDIATORS: BRIDGES OF IDENTITIES
By Margalit Cohen-Emerique

CULTURAL INTERMEDIATION
By Étienne Le Roy

MEDIATION AS DIALOGICAL DIALOGUE BETWEEN THE ORDERINGS OF SOCIAL REGULATION
By Étienne Le Roy

THE INTERCULTURAL PROMISE OF MEDIATION
By Jordi Agustí-Panareda

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Issue No. 152

IDENTITY AND RELIGIOUS PLURALISM
This issue is trying here to answer the following questions: What happens to religious identity when the latter is confronted by the challenge represented by religious pluralism? Can we be inspired by many religious traditions? Can we live at the same time within many religious traditions? What are the challenges that religous pluralism offers to the different religious traditions of mankind?

RELIGIOUS IDENTITY AND PLURALISM
by Raimon Panikkar

ITINERARY AND TESTIMONY OF DR. JACQUES MABIT, PHYSICIAN AND SHAMAN
a conversation with Frédérique Appfel-Marglin

THE RELIGIOUS PLURALISM OF AN HASSIDIC RABBI ZALMAN SCHACHTER SHALOMI
excerpts from his talks by Robert Vachon

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Issue No. 151

LISTENING TO OTHER ISLAMS
This issue wishes to be a first illustrative introduction to vernacular, popular islam, beyond populist Islam, the Islam of sovereignist , supremacist orthodoxy, and of dogmatic closures. We limit ourselves here to a few regions of the world like Pakistan, Black Africa, Maghreb. We hope to introduce to what we dare call the “islam of the heart”, of the marabout, the brotherhoods, of the worship of saints; islams that are supple in contrast to hard orthodoxies and fundamentalisms of all sorts.
There is therefore an islamic pluralism that goes beyond the confessional plurality of ommeyadic and abassidic Islam, of Sunnite and Chiite Islam and its varieties: Malikite, Khadjarite, etc. There is in fact a Semitic, Arabic, Greek, Maghrebian, Persian, Indian, Black African and Indonesian islam, in short, an intercultural, interconfessional, interreligious islam. Let us go even further: there is theistic, humanistic and cosmic islam and what we could call a cosmotheandric islam, and which cannot avoid the dialogue between Allah, Yahweh, God, Shiva nor between the divine the human and the cosmic.

THE ZIKRIS OF PAKISTAN
by Durré Ahmed

THE BARK, THE FLESH, THE SEED. ISLAM SPOKEN AND LIVED BY A WEST-AFRICAN MYSTIC, TIERNO BOKAR. NARRATED BY HAMBATE BA AND MARCEL CADAIRE
Presented by Emongo Lomomba et Marc Vallée

THE ADEQUACY OF CONTEMPORARY ISLAM TO THE POLITICAL, SOCIAL, AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF NORTHERN AFRICA
by Mohammed Arkoun

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Issue No. 150

REVISITING FEMINISM: CULTURAL TRAJECTORIES
Women’s liberation movements and modernist feminist movements of today, are framed within the evolutionist paradigm of “traditional-modern” and are marked by the historical processes of western societies and their perceptions of women’s reality. Feminism based on a developmentalist philosophy and on programs to improve women’s situation continue to reinscribe the image of woman as victim. Religio-cultural aspects of “women in development programs” when taken in consideration at all, are viewed as obstacles to the process of modernization and to the liberation of women based on the freedom of choice of the individual.
This issue of InterCulture is an attempt to reverse the reductionist trend of viewing women as victims that too often undermines women’s understanding of self . Such a trend also causes the destruction of the fabric of communities in different geo-cultural regions of the world.

DEVELOPMENTALIST FEMINISM AND NEOCOLONIALISM
IN ANDEAN COMMUNITIES
by Frédérique Appfel Marglin and Loyda Sánchez

GAIA MANDALA: AN ECO-THEALOGICAL VISION OF THE
INDIC SHAKTI TRADITION
by Neela Bhattacharya Saxena

WOMEN’S EXPERIENCE OF ORAL ISLAM: PERSONAL RECOLLECTION
by Leila Ahmed

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Issue No. 148

THE DIVERSITY OF EDUCATIONAL CULTURES
by Grimaldo Rengifo VASQUEZ and Lomomba EMONGO
"Deconstructing the globalized model of education that is geared to sustaining Nation States and their development; regenerating systems of education of local communities in tune with their cultural and natural environment, thus sustaining the good livelihood of these communities."

In Living with the Earth. Cross-cultural perspectives on sustainable development: indigenous and alternative practices. Montreal, IIM, 1992.

This Interculture issue on Educational Cultures aims at a cultural disarmament with regard to the hegemonic globalization of modern, Western schooling, without necessarily rejecting everything that comes under the notion of schooling.

One of the priorities at IIM is the acknowledgment and regeneration of mankind’s diverse educational cultures in an intercultural spirit, and this within all and each of the peoples and of their cultures. The following articles by Grimaldo Rengifo and Lomomba Emongo, on the Andean-Amazonian and Ntu educational cultures respectively, manifest clearly and undoubtedly that the modern educational culture of schooling has no monopoly on learning and transmission and is not always the most adequate way to insure the good livelihood of communities throughout the world.

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Issues No. 147 and No. 149

THE TERRORISM OF MONEY ( Cross-cultural Perspectives )
by Derek RASMUSSEN, Robert K. THOMAS and Robert VACHON.
It seems to us that while there is so much talk today, especially since 9/11/01, about terrorism and anti-terrorism, there isn’t enough talk about the «terrorism of money» which is at the core of our daily lives and relationships, whether in relation to peoples of the world or with regard to the Cosmos and to Reality and Life itself. Terrorism of money, which, by the way, is probably not without a link to the cause of the 9/11/01 terrorist event.

We are therefore inviting our readers in the issue and in an upcoming one, to meditate and research/action with us on this taboo topic, considered in the intercultural light of the life-wisdoms of mankind.

The difficult task ahead of us in these issues, is first to unmask the taboo topic of how the paneconomic ideology has us in its grip and is invading our lives to the point that we and Reality itself are under its tyranny and dictatorship to such a degree that we can even speak of our being enslaved to it, and that we can speak of its destructiveness as being deadly.

Secondly, our task is to try to answer the question “ how can we survive its death-dealing impact and devastation? An answer not easy to spell out and even less so to put into practice in the present context.

The problem of poverty cannot be solved by money, because «the problem is not poverty, it is riches» says the Iranian Majid Rahnema.

We are continuing in the Issue no. 149 a personal meditation on the terrorism of money. We do this not by taking up a war against money, but by seeking first of all to unmask money’s pretension to be the way of salvation, the new universal religion, the principal solution to the day’s problems (as many seem to believe more and more strongly). This essay is also a meditation-action on the existing and possible intercultural alternatives (throughout the world), with regard to what could be called the “monetary apocalypse” which seems to be invading the whole. Our approach in this issue is one of gradual deepening of these alternatives.

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Issue No. 145

WORLDVIEWS IN COLLISION: The Challenge of Genetic Engineering
by Scott EASTHAM
It is time to open up the dialogue on genetic engineering, an issue which may soon prove to be ultimate for humankind, as well as for the many other species with whom we share the biosphere. Left to its own devices, Western culture simply cannot stop itself from adopting techniques which may threaten irreversible damage to nature and culture alike. Only an intercultural perspective, grounded in an openness to insights from other worldviews, offers any hope of a corrective.

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Issues No. 143, No. 144 and No. 146

“Beyond the religion and culture of Human Rights the Nation-State, and the Rule of Law A Chronicle/Testimony of IIM's research-Action 1970-2002 with supporting documentation”, by Robert VACHON.
The following three issues of INTERCULTURE are a chronicle / testimony of the Intercultural Institute of Montreal's research-action since 1970, on a theme to which we could have given many other titles. The question we are asking is: "must people have rights in order to be respecful of peoples?"; "Are there and must there exist universal criteria by which we can judge everything under the sun?" Or: are there among peoples of the world, other basic notions (of the social order and the good life) besides those of human rights and Nation State, Rule of Law, and which are as valuable as the latter? Which and what are they? How is it that one never hears about them as existing contemporary values? Our chronicle focuses on the three main areas of our research-action: Native Peoples, the Indic culture, the Black African culture, but with an emphasis on Native Peoples of North America.

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Issue No. 142

“The Hindu and Haitian youth of Montreal speak... about their community, identity, marginality and help seeking strategies” by Lomomba Emongo, Kalpana Das and Gilles Bibeau.
This issue presents some results from two research/action projects carried out by the IIM; the first one seeks to understand the cultural ways in which Hindu youth solve their problems as immigrants while the second seeks to understand the dynamics that are at play among the Black youth from Haiti who happen to be marginal. This issue gives an account of how these youngsters perceive the four recurring themes present in the two research/action projects.

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Issue No. 141

“At the Threshold of the African Soul, the Fulani-Minianka Way; a village voice”, by Yaya Diallo.
The author attempts to draw a cultural profile of his tradition as received and still lived by him. His references are not taken from books but stem from the village where he was born and raised. He cautions us from the start: recourse to writing in order to transmit what one knows is a procedure which is foreign to his tradition, where one proceeds orally, through gestures, stories, proverbs, etc. This issue is an adventure in intercultural communication. The reader is therefore also invited to try to modify his own habitual ways and to allow himself to be led at the threshold of the African soul and of its sacred mystery according to the Fulani-Minianka way as presented by Yaya DIALLO.

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