Testing Societal Tolerance: "Murder In Amsterdam" By Ian Buruma

Murder In Amsterdam: Liberal Europe, Islam, and The Limits of Tolerance by Ian Buruma, Penguin, 2006. 

On November 2, 2004, Theo Van Gogh, controversial filmmaker and relative of painter Vincent Van Gogh, was brutally murdered on an Amsterdam sidewalk by Mohammed Bouyeri. The killer was offended by the film "Submission," a critical depiction of women under Islam written by Ayaan Hirsi Ali, an outspoken opponent of political Islam who was also threatened. This shocking event tested the attitudes of the Dutch, previously known for their tolerance, as well as the country's immigrant Muslims.

Considering a variety of perspectives, Buruma examines the career of right-wing, anti-immigrant politician Pim Fortuyn, murdered by a fellow Dutchman, who found the Dutch "far too tolerant of intolerance." He also speaks to Paul Scheffer, a former progressive journalist who turned against multiculturalism, stating that the cultural gap was too great between the Dutch natives and bearded Moroccans in a street market near his home. 

Buruma treats Islamic fundamentalist youth like Bouyeri with insight. Caught between their immigrant village culture and the temptations and rejections of modern, cosmopolitan Western society, and also embarrassed by fathers who have trouble coping with Dutch life, they retreat into a closed world of the like-minded, entertaining ideas of destruction and martyrdom.

Buruma also speaks to those who don't necessarily subscribe to an inevitable clash of civilizations. Amsterdam councillor Ahmed Aboutaleb promotes the integration of his fellow Muslims and speaks out against violent religious views. For this Aboutaleb is labeled a collaborator and heretic by the fundamendalists, but he bravely pleads his case, to the point of taking schoolchildren to visit Auschwitz on National Remembrance Day and demonstrating against Theo Van Gogh's murder.

There's also Job Cohen, mayor of Amsterdam, whose mother experienced the Nazi occupation as a Jew. Cohen stressed, in a famous 2002 lecture, the importance of mutual respect and tolerance for opinions and habits that Westerners neither share nor approve. He also called for the integration of Muslims through their faith itself, "the only anchor they have when they enter Dutch society." 

Buruma gives incisive support to the mayor's thesis and leaves the reader with a point of view that calls for reconciliation instead of conflict: "It is precisely to avoid this notion of Kulturkampf, or 'clash of civilizations,' that Cohen wants to reach an accommodation with the Muslims in this city... Attacking religion cannot be the answer, for the real threat to a mixed society will come when the mainstream of non-revolutionary Muslims has lost all hope of feeling at home."

"Here And Elsewhere" at The New Museum

The New Museum's exhibit  "Here And Elsewhere" is a survey of the work over 40 contemporary Arab artists. This expansive show takes up all five floors of the museum with works in varied media that reflect the complexity, diversity and turmoil of the Middle East. Jamal Penjweny's "Saddam Is Here" photo series (above) presents Iraqis holding up masks of Saddam Hussein, suggesting the lasting influence of the former dictator. Hrair Sarkissian's photos depict public squares in Damascus, Syria, where criminals were hung prior to the current civil war. In Lamia Joreige’s “Objects of War” videos, interviewees speak of the conflicts that have engulfed Lebanon for years. Videos by Bouchra Khalili show hands tracing lines from the Middle East to Europe on maps as undocumented immigrants speak of their complicated quests to find new livelihoods and escape the instability back home. The artists present a provocative, multi-layered, human perspective on the Middle East that makes a more profound impression than the pundits and headlines to which we're constantly exposed. 

"Here And Elsewhere" continues through September 28, 2015, at the New Museum, 235 Bowery, NYC, 212-219-1222, www.newmuseum.org  

“Folk City: New York and the Folk Music Revival” at the Museum of the City of New York

This outstanding exhibit focuses on the folk music explosion that took place in Greenwich Village during the 1950s and 1960s. The artists who made an impact during that creative ferment are represented: Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs, Dave Van Ronk, Judy Colllins, The Weavers, Joan Baez, Richie Havens, and Pete Seeger, as well as their predecessors, including Lead Belly, Odetta and Josh White. The show is replete with fascinating artifacts, including Bob Dylan’s penciled lyrics for four songs; concert posters; editions of folk-oriented periodicals, such as “Sing Out!”; the original sign from Gerdes Folk City, a Village club; and films and recordings of concert performances. Historical currents are evident in conservative publications and hearings that targeted folk music as part of the “red menace.” While mainstream acts such as the Kingston Trio were apolitical, folk came to reflect the civil rights and anti-war movements of the 1960s. The music’s transformation into folk rock signaled the eclipse of folk as the decade progressed. “Folk City” captures a time when folk music played a central role in social change and cultural transformation. “Folk City: New York and the Folk Music Revival” continues through January 10, 2016, at the Museum of the City of New York, 1220 Fifth Avenue (at 103rd St.), NYC, 212-534-1672, mcny.org

The Beatles: Masterful Biography of the Legendary Band

The Beatles: The Biography by Bob Spitz. 983 pp. Back Bay Books

The Beatles is so vivid that reading it is like living through the entire history of the band once again. While much of the group’s story is well known, Bob Spitz fills in the details surrounding the world’s most legendary rock band.

 The book leads the reader to draw certain conclusions, including how vital Brian Epstein was to the Beatles’ success. He came upon them when they were a raucous band covering American rock ‘n’ roll in grungy English and German clubs. Epstein refined their image, as they traded in their black leather jackets for suits. He was an indefatigable promoter and visionary and an equally careless dealmaker who let the band’s finances fall into disarray. 

Spitz captures the madness of the group’s tours, in which they were constantly chased by frenzied adolescent girls and couldn’t hear themselves sing. They finally got to the point where they decided not to tour anymore, becoming strictly a studio band – and they became masters of the studio, known for polished songs, outstanding production, and innovative sounds. In this regard, the contributions of producer George Martin were invaluable.

 The Beatles lasted little more than a decade, splitting apart due to personality differences and monetary squabbles. Lennon, the most psychically complex of all, took too much LSD and, eventually, heroin. The more practical and showbiz-oriented McCartney took over as leader of the band, provoking Lennon’s resentment. When Lennon fell in love with Yoko Ono and brought her to the band’s recording sessions, he in turn sparked resentment amongst the others. Yoko, while not necessarily breaking up the group, is depicted as a divisive force particularly pitted against McCartney, whom she saw as a competitor for influence over Lennon. George Harrison, who always felt overshadowed by Lennon and McCartney, also resented the latter’s instructions about how to play his guitar leads. Seeking financial independence, the Beatles formed Apple, a music, media and fashion conglomeration. That was a carelessly run entity, resulting in further financial squabbles and lawsuits.

 Despite personal and monetary complications, the Beatles remain the most influential band in rock history. They actually were two bands in one, as their rock and pop period gave way to an imaginative, psychedelic period. While Lennon and McCartney wrote their songs individually, they also depended upon each other to refine them. Meanwhile, Harrison emerged from under their shadows as a songwriter and exerted an Indian influence through the sitar. Ringo Starr, sometimes maligned in an era of flashy rock drummers, provided unique patterns, especially in the later period. Bob Spitz masterfully captures the creative collaboration of this foursome and the ways they evolved with and influenced contemporary culture.