Thanks.
Salam.

I used to ask my students (ages 18-50) if they remembered Amman before globalization brought the burger joints here. They did remember. I asked them if they’d rather have a falafel sandwich (super-sized!) or a McDonald’s burger. Most responded, “falafel.”

You can’t miss what you don’t know. Sadly, now Jordanians are said to be the most overweight citizens in the MidEast.

http://isaacschrodinger.typepa.....l#comments

“You have just made a fool of yourself Isaac.

Obviously liberals like you are lost in a cul-de-sac of your own self righteousness, and are unable to see irony or perhaps you are unfamiliar with the English language.

The author was quite obviously being ironic.”

Another comment on Indo to follow up Bint-Yayat’s observations … and what I think may be a clarification.

(Note: the following refers to Bandung – I have no idea about Jakarta and frankly, never want to know.)

It is abolutely true that the fast food industry is scrupulously “officially” halal – that is, these places are very keen on being MUI (Majelis Ulama Indonesia) endorsed, but it doesn’t follow that almost everywhere else is not in fact halal. For the vast mjority of Indonesians – i.e. the poor – a “dining out” experience is a 30 second walk to the nearest little warong murah (i.e. el-cheapo food stall with el-cheapo plastic chairs and plates, a tarp for a ‘roof’, and cooking equipment that hasn’t been cleaned properly, well, ever).

Almost every single one of these hundreds of thousands of establishments is almost inescapably halal by default. Although there is no sanctioning by the MUI, people very often have “do it yourself” halal meat: the bismillahs are done in backyard chicken coops across the country every day; as Indonesian Christians know, pork is a “special order” item; and alcohol simply isn’t on the menu at these places.

As far as I can tell, people only really worry about whether something is MUI-endorsed when it is a “manufactured” or imported product – for everything else, one just assumes it is halal (and there is no-way you can or should ask … unless your objective is to offend the warung-owner and embarrass your friends with your impertinence).

Final amusing aside. When Kentucky Fried Chicken set up in Indo, the less popular coat tail-rider Californian Fried Chicken followed soon after. When Kentucky changed to KFC, yes, Californian rebranded itself CFC. Ahhh, love it.

Ditto the above (E. Mariyani’s comment). I’d further argue that for many Indonesian Muslims today, “dining” at a McDonalds joint has passed the mere symbolism of material affluence and modernism; it’s become a necessity for those eating out (either by choice or circumstance).

As bizarre as it may seem, it’s actually Western fast food joints like McDonalds and Pizza Hut that have become the beacon of Indonesia’s halal eating movement. To date, they are the only eateries that would go at length in responding to the ever-increasing concerns of Muslim consumers by cooperating with our Majelis ‘Ulama via MUI’s halal certification scheme.

Being barred from an endless list of glorious, undoubtedly healthier (yet dubious, nonetheless) local food is actually a pain for the nation’s expanding adherents of the halal diet. Even more so in a predominantly Muslim country like Indonesia. Yet another addition to the country’s jam-packed list of ironies.

Interestingly, McDonald’s was being ripped apart by KFC until they changed their menu to suit the cultural mores: viz. rice and chilli sauce. In Indo, if there is no rice on your plate, then you simply aren’t eating a meal … at best, it’s a snack … and when it’s a snack involving bread, then it’s a slightly bizarre snack at that.

Also, when I was there at least, the Maccas’ TV ads were quite religiously over the top. The attempt to emphasise the fact that it was halal meant the ads looked more like advertisements for Islam and salat than for burgers. (In fact, from the ads, you would never know that burgers were the staple product.)

I was not trying to say that the mosque functions as an undercover church, which it clearly does not, but rather it appears architecturally very similar to a cathedral, it is not intimate, it is large and makes the individual feel small, and it is dark. Although I prayed there as often as possible, I could not overcome this feeling.

I was intrigued not find that Sheikh hamza yusuf had exactly the same impression, but I was astonished when only last week a Hindu architect whose interest is Islamic architecture, said that the feeling that he got inside that place was that it was very odd, and he also felt that it did not feel like a Mosque.

It also has a laser beam from the minaret that is pointing to Mecca, an addition (straight from the kinglet) that appears to have all the kitsch style that comes when royalty and despotism are combined.