Religion

There have been multiple times in my life when I’ve made sure that I don’t have anything on my body that identifies me as a Jew.  For the months that I dated a very religious Russian I would never wear my Magen David, for example (they also called me “the Jew” when discussing me – not sure if they cared that I could hear them most times).  Ghana is one of those times, and I left all my Jewish jewelry at home.  It somewhat makes me feel disingenuous, because I’m personally very proud of my faith and my culture.  But it seems like an issue of safety – I don’t know how a Jew will be perceived in a foreign country.  I also never wore anything Jew-identifying while in France, and that was over 10 years ago when the antisemitism wasn't even as bad as it is now. 

Without those obvious clues to my religion, I “pass.”  Like a non-effeminate gay man who doesn’t announce his sexuality at every turn, or the light skinned mixed race woman, or a transgender person who is not automatically recognized as such.  And I realize that this is both a privilege, the ability to pass, and somewhat of a burden.  I feel like I’m lying by omission constantly.  I don’t look very phenotypically Jewish (read: Ashkenazic) because I’m only ½ genetically Jewish through my mother and my looks generally favor my father’s side of the family.  So I “pass.”  Perhaps if I wore my Magen David proudly nothing would happen to me.  Maybe I’d get a few “you killed Christ!” comments.  Maybe someone would try to throw things at me (that’s something that’s never happened, but you’d better believe I’ve gotten the verbal abuse before).  I don’t know.  I’m “out” as a Jew with my hosts and have never felt even a shred of antisemitism from them, or from anyone I work with.  And I like discussing the nuances of religion.  My college roommate, Natasha, and I had some wonderful conversations on the topic, and it was an area we found in common even though our personal lives (and cleanliness habits – sorry Natasha!) were very different.

One thing I have not seen here that I see in America is Islamophobia.  The other day when I was walking to get my lunch I was struck by a few school girls playing, one wearing a hijab and the other two not.   The normalcy of that tableau stood out to me, because perhaps in America that would be more taboo (perhaps depending on where in the country it was).  Here is something to add to the list of things that America could learn from Ghana.  To be clear, I do not want to romanticize or claim that there is zero islamophobia just because I’ve never seen any evidence of it – it just doesn’t seem to be something that is gripping a large part of the population like it does in America.  Perhaps this is in part because I’m living in a metropolitan area, and the rural areas are more prejudiced.   Again, I try to not romanticize, just report what I’ve seen and experienced. 

Walking around market circle, there are people sporadically preaching (very loudly) into speakers at the crowds.  For the most part they are men, though once I saw a woman preacher.   Usually they are preaching in Fante (or another local vernacular), however sometimes they will utter an English phrase such as “praise Jesus!” or something of that ilk.  The message never bothers me – I’ve been to enough Bluegrass Festivals to be desensitized to people preaching in my general direction – it’s the volume that can be somewhat overwhelming.  I don’t want to be rude when I cover my ears, but my hearing is very sensitive and I actively try to keep it that way for as long in my life as possible.  So I feel conflicted, I’m always self-conscious about standing out (especially since I already do as a tall white lady) and don’t want to be perceived as being upset at the message, when really I’m just trying to save my ears from being blasted.  I continue to be hyper-sensitive in terms of trying to not offend anyone.  And no, this isn’t because I am a proponent of “pc-culture” (whatever that is), but because I’m a stranger in a strange land and I don’t want my host country to feel like I’m putting them down in any way. 

Swinging back around to Judaism – I see lots of things that strike me as Jewish but are really Jewish phrases and symbols appropriated by various Christian communities here.  For example, the large Catholic cathedral that my host is a member of has a stained glass window – of a Magen David!!  So perhaps me wearing that symbol (the Star of David btw for those not used to the Hebrew phrase) would not have “outed” me as a Jew!  I also every day to and from work pass a sign for a local religious radio station that has “SHALOM!!” emblazoned on it, which was very jarring the first time I saw it.  Lastly, I see lots of signs using the Hebrew word for Lord (I cannot write it here, because Jews are commanded to not write out any of the names of G-d, and that is something that is very deeply ingrained in me.  So click the link if you want to know specifically what word I’m referencing).  This I find as upsetting, as much as I know that there is certainly no offence meant.  But it’s religious appropriation and not an appropriate word to be on a storefront.  It seems that Christians are fine with “Jesus” being used regularly in signage, but the Jewish names for Lord and G-d should not be, in my opinion.  I mean, I’m not going to go up to anybody and tell them this, I have some sense of tact (I hope!).  But it makes me cringe every time I see it.  I imagine this is what it feels like to Native Americans to see the revelers at Coachella wear sacred headdresses, or how a Hindu person might feel seeing someone appropriate the Bindi.   Jews are people of words, and take the 3^rd commandment very seriously: thou shalt not take the name of the lord in vain.  That kind of appropriation makes me sad every time I see it.  So “Shalom” all you’d like – but please kindly leave the name of my G-d out of your business signs.

I’ve had Paul Simon’s “Under African Skies” from the Graceland album stuck in my head, and it seems a fitting way to end this post ruminating on religion:

Joseph's face was black as night

The pale yellow moon shone in his eyes

His path was marked

By the stars in the Southern Hemisphere

And he walked his days

Under African skies