The Swiss minaret vote - oppressive or acceptable?

The news that a referendum in Switzerland has banned minarets from being constructed in the country will spark debate around the globe.

A minaret I understand is a tall spire structure distinctive to Islam culture, and in modern contexts is usually built onto mosques as a symbol of the religion. The vote is seen by some groups as an indication that anti-Islam feeling is present and Switzerland, and is indeed present, and spreading, throughout continental Europe, but is this really the case?

I must admit, when I first heard of this story through word of mouth, I got the impression that these minarets were everywhere, and that they were of fairly substantial size and prominence.

There are four in the entire country.

During my ignorant phase, I thought to myself that this vote could only be a good thing. Surely if these minarets are everywhere, in a mainly Christian country, the minority were beginning to take hold? Now that I have all the facts, I find this story bordering on the disturbing.

I'm a person that supports expression of religion, but I also think that in any given country, the majority religion should get preference in the way it displays itself, etc. If there were minarets on every second corner of Dublin, I'll admit I'd be slightly outraged, even though I'm not a hugely religious person. Let's put that into perspective. Would you really expect, in a Muslim country, to build a Christian Church with the symbol of the cross on top of it without causing mass uproar? I wouldn't bet on it.

In a presumably more tolerant west, we allow places of worship for all religions, and rightly so, but if they start to take prominence from the country's religion, that doesn't really sit right with me for whatever reason.

However, I digress. Let me repeat what I said above about the minarets in Switzerland. There are four in the entire country. Four. And they are, from what I've seen, rather humble in size. This vote really starts to stink of oppression on closer inspection. I can't find a possible way to justify this vote that isn't a dressing up of blatant oppression. I may sound like a hypocrite but there's distinct differences between what I condone in ways of national religion superiority and what the Swiss public is after doing. If there were minarets dotting the skyline, then yes, I feel they would be justified in reaching this decision. But there are FOUR in the whole country. This is nitpicking and pettiness, nothing more.

Muslims may not be entirely tolerant of our cultures though, even as they live in them. I've heard of an Irish woman on a bus in Dublin city, saying "God bless me" after she had sneezed, and being promptly told by a Muslim woman sitting across from her that she had been offended by her use of the word "God". If this is widespread it should be addressed, although there is very little we can do.

Except stop regressing and lead by example in the way of tolerance perhaps?

Music wears many masks.....

What does music mean to you? Why do you listen to music? I'd say ask yourself these questions and you'll find much deeper answers than you'd bargained for.

I got to thinking about this the other day while listening to my own cauldron of sonic bliss (Ipod, I know, poor metaphor) on the way home from college. When the goosebumps started to hit for the umpteenth time over the course of that long walk, I realised that is the reason exactly that I listen to music. Nothing beats the conclusion of a massive period of build up into an explosive climax, and the resultant shivers down the backbone. Whether this be achieved through listening to Scandinavian extreme metal, 90's grunge, techno or plain ol' folk rock, this build up and climax can be found all across the board in music.

For me, the ability of an artist lies not in the technical mastery of their chosen instrument, but with a genuine composing talent. Someone who can deliver moments of musical bliss with the simplest of chord progressions or riffs is a true talent in my eyes, something which no fast-fingered, virtuoso musician will ever really achieve. To put what I mean in simpler language, it's music that grabs you by the gonads, no matter how passively you may have been listening to it. When you're walking down the street, with music playing merely as a backgrounf thing, and a song that is so powerful/beautiful/intense rips you out of yourself to make you think "Wow, that was unbelieveable" is true music in my eyes.

Of course I don't base all of my music taste on this, and I doubt many people actually do. Some music has its merits on simply making you smile with its upbeat tempo and catchy riffs/whatever. Some songs drown themselves in complication that you can't help but listen to to attempt to decipher what f-in time signature it's in. And, speaking in terms of the general public, a song can simply make you just want to get up and thrash around the place. There are a whole variety of other reasons I'd wager aswell.

I hope what I've managed to convey (poorly, I concede) is that music affects all of us, albeit in drastically different ways. We all have our own particular tastes to conform to what we expect music to deliver. But all of it is, I think, essential to modern life. I've yet to meet someone that simply just doesn't like music. Some people stick purely to chart music and don't pursue it further, others pride themselves in having the rarest of albums from the rarest of bands. It's odd in the way that a general liking of music can unite us all, yet when we even begin to get into specifics, it divides us, sometimes drastically. But I can guarantee you one thing - music can get all of us talking. Even if for different reasons.

Irish Pride

I could use this post to give out hell about the complete injustice the Republic of Ireland football team experienced last night at the hands (literally) of the French. Yet I doubt on one blog it will do any good, and I've vented my frustration sufficiently enough for today anyway.

No, what I want to mention is just how bloody well the boys in green played last night. The performance was nothing short of inspirational. After a year of dodgey performances, we finally got it right and produced a breathtaking display. We passed the ball with conviction and accuracy, we had imagination in our play, we defended doggedly and admirably. There was literally nothing more we could have asked from the players-not mentioning the chances that went begging, but that shouldn't detract from a wonderful shift.

And all this is what made defeat so hard to swallow. Scenes at the end of the Irish players openly crying touched the hearts of every Irish person with even the faintest interest in the sport. They thoroughly deserve to be enjoying a summer in South Africa for all the hard work they put in, but they're not due a huge injustice.

To the players: well done lads, all of you can hold your heads high in pride, because for the length of a full game you made the whole nation believe. You've shown us that we can expect big performances, and that you won't wilt in the face of, on paper at least, superior opposition. Take time to get over the disappointment, and come back ready for Euro 2012 with the same attitude and we can really make an attempt to storm Europe.

Lads, ye were inspiring.

Love Ulster?

Donal McIntyre's programme on the Love Ulster riots in Dublin a few years ago brought the whole fiasco fresh into my head.....and even after all this time, the whole scenario baffles me.

I suppose we have to start this questioning process with the motivations of the Gardaí and the government for inviting the marchers down here in the first place. Surely someone would have seen the potential for the events that unfolded? People still remember the treatment shown to Catholics in Northern Ireland over the last few decades, and while I am not for a minute saying that Protestants did not suffer also, that is a moot point in this case.

It's essentially the equivalent of a person from the Republic going up North, walking into a largely Protestant area and waving about a tricolour proudly. That thought itself beggars belief, and only the most suicidal or most idiotic would try that. The same logic can be applied to a Protestant group parading through Dublin, but in this case for some unbelievable reason, it simply wasn't. Surely the marchers also should have anticipated the hostile reception they were to get?

The size of the Garda presence on the day actually proves that someone somewhere did anticipate violence, yet the numbers weren't enough to quell it. If violence was anticipated, then why was the parade allowed to go ahead?

The behaviour exhibited by people that took part in the riot was indeed deplorable, but from my perspective unsuprising. I am not in any way condoning the violence, but if my young teenage mind (at the time) could see the inevitablility of it, why couldn't our government, or our police force?

Because of our history, this Love Ulster parade was never, and probably will never be (at least for the forseeable future) possible. It's a slightly painful fact but it's true, and I hope people have learned their lesson from last time so the events of last time never are seen again in the streets of Dublin, or anywhere in Ireland.

Democracy is......Democracy is......

....the bane of my existence at this moment in time. Who knew a seemingly simple concept could have so many connotations and meanings depending on what moment in time you're talking about. I have to discuss its shortcomings and superiority over other forms of government for a politics assignment.

Which brings me to my next point. When was I ever taught during second level education to "discuss"? Sure, discuss was a buzz word in every Leaving Cert question in a lot of subjects, but it never actually meant for you to actually give your opinion on something. It was just a basis for you to spew out facts while maintaining a facade of personal control over what you're writing.

But now, discuss MEANS discuss. There aren't any solid facts I can really fall back on. My God, I have to express an OPINION. There really has been no preparation for this whatsoever. While I'm revelling in my freedom to say whatever the hell I want, it's a little daunting. From 6th year history essays, consulting one book, one chapter, even one page for the facts, I have a whole feckin' library to choose from.

Another absolutely irrelevant, useless rant.

The Fury

I'd like to open my first ever post with a horribly one sided depiction of my personality. I am angry. I'm very angry. And what exactly has me angry? Well I'm none too sure. Is it the British public? Is it Simon Cowell? Is it Louis Walsh? Or is it even with the Grimes twins themselves?

Please don't get me wrong, my life doesn't focus on celebrity culture or Saturday night television or pop music, but an injustice when I see it affects me, no matter how trivial. If Simon Cowell had the best interests of his brainchild competition at heart, he would have thrown the Grimes twins out the door at the first opportunity.

Fair play to the lads for making it this far, entertaining us with their dodgey routines that you just HAVE to watch, but it's all about singing, which they hopefully know is their weak point in comparison to all the rest of the contestants.

I shall cut this post roughly around here, for fear of being labelled a crazed fanatic of the show. The adjective in some sense is probably correct though in this case....