I mentioned that I was adding a feature in which I'll explore common misconceptions. In honor of this I thought I would give an example of how I plan NOT to do this.Above is a picture of a modern pamphlet (2004) that we have here for some reason. If you could read backwards (you can blame Photo Booth for that) and in Russian, you would see that it is titled something like "The misconceptions that you have about Christianity." As far as I can tell, it is a Russian-language outreach to the local Muslim populace. I honestly can't make any assessment as to the quality of the material inside but judging the proverbial book by the cover doesn't inspire confidence.
Presumably the artwork is depicting a native Russian/Ukrainian/Cossack and a Muslim (Tatar or some other similar people group). It starts out positively in it's presentation by acknowledging that the Christian - Muslim issues in this area are longstanding. Then it just goes off the rails. The Cossack character stands upright and proud, handsome in his traditional garb. On the other hand, the Muslim stands somewhat hunched; almost cowed; his clothes more peasant and plain; a gut to emphasize his physical limitations. His skin is darker (not necessarily accurate from my experience), his nose large and "Semitic" for some reason. It is every bit the stereotype; in how Slavs traditionally view Muslims and in how Muslims assume that they are viewed. Despite the fact that it looks like a scene from Lord of the Rings, this could be a very accurate presentation of an actual meeting between a Cossack and a Tatar, but why use is as cover art for a pamphlet designed to break down the barriers of preconceived notions?
Not really sure why I decided to share this but, hey, it was what I was thinking about today...
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Hee, hee. A scene from Lord of the Rings. It is an interesting depiction of how racial stereotypes still turn up today.
ReplyDeleteUm... don't judge the book by its cover, anyone? You wrote four paragraphs of what you were thinking about that day based on the picture you saw on the pamphlet!
ReplyDeleteOh, and by the way, this picture on the cover look like an old painting from long long ago... Maybe the publishers chose it just because it had both the 'Christian' and the 'Muslim' on it.
--Anonymous Coward
I don't mean to be harsh, but I really think you should read the pamphlet before making any assumptions about the publishers' view on Islam or non-Slavic people in general.
Though I seriously doubt A.C. will check back in to view my response, I feel the need to address his/her points anyway. First, I must say that I appreciate you taking the time to comment and the moniker... very funny.
ReplyDeleteOK, I acknowledge at the end of my 2nd paragraph that I am somewhat ignorantly judging a book by it's cover. To be more accurate, I am not judging the book at all but rather the cover itself. It is absolutely not harsh to encourage me to read the material before coming to a conclusion, but notice that I make no judgement about the content and admit that it may well be excellent. My main point can be distilled into one sentence:
If one's goal is to convince a Muslim in the Russian-speaking world that their unflattering preconceived notions about Christianity/Christendom are incorrect, it may be self-defeating to use cover art - even an old historical print - which seems to reinforce the notion that Slavic Christians see Muslims as dumpy, gnome-like simpletons.
Also, as you may probably have guessed, my very basic Russian skills would make reading this pamphlet a year-long exercise.
Once again, if you come back to this post, A.C., thanks for reading and for the dialogue.