Challenging culture

IN March this year a 16-year-old Moroccan girl, Amina Filali, committed suicide after reportedly being forced by a judge’s ruling to marry her rapist. Subjected to further abuse following the marriage, she killed herself.

‘Article 475 of the Moroccan Penal Code allows for the “kidnapper” of a minor to marry his victim to escape prosecution,’ news reports stated. ‘It has been used to justify a traditional practice of making a rapist marry his victim to preserve the honour of the woman’s family.’

For years, activists in that country have been calling for the cancellation of this particular article. ‘Amina was triply violated,’ said one, ‘by her rapist, by tradition and by the Moroccan law.’

It may be an extreme case, but this girl’s plight highlights the effect traditional practices can have on the pursuit of justice.

Jesus And Justice – a study by the Army’s International Social Justice Commission – looks at three ways Jesus confronted unjust traditional practices and attitudes of his day: by rejecting racism, by dignifying ‘second-class’ citizens and by putting his own reputation at risk.

Racism frequently rears its ugly head in British society, with some football players and fans as well as police officers recently under scrutiny for racist behaviour. In New Testament times, it was Samaritans who were the focus of such attitudes. So, when Jesus encountered a woman of that race by Jacob’s well (see John 4:1–42), both she and he were aware of the cultural rules.

Jesus, however, ignored convention by asking the woman for a drink. She, understandably, was as mystified by this as the disciples were when they returned from town. The end result of the exchange, though, was a woman no longer excluded from society. She was still the talk of the town – but instead of being rejected, her testimony was listened to and acted upon.

To consider: The disciples didn’t always get where Jesus was coming from. Would the Samaritan woman have been as open and honest with Jesus if his disciples had been present from the start?

Samaritans were again centre stage when Jesus told the story of the man attacked en route from Jerusalem to Jericho. In the parable of the good Samaritan (Luke 10:25–37) a member of an ‘inferior’ caste was lauded for his superior behaviour.

In a society where religious leaders were part of the upper classes and Samaritans were second-class citizens, Jesus turned the status quo upside down and reminded his listeners that God loves more than one ethnic group. He chooses all to follow him. As Jesus And Justice puts it: ‘Jesus was a cultural disrupter.’

To consider: What cultural restraints made the priest and the Levite in the parable of the good Samaritan walk on by? What, in Salvation Army culture, might cause us to fail to act on behalf of others?

And so we come to the issue of reputation. While we might not be surprised that Jesus spoke out about racism and the class system, what about the thought of him spending time with certain other ‘undesirables’ such as tax collectors and prostitutes? (See Matthew 9:9–13 and Luke 7:36–50.)

Tax officials in those days were often extortionists, collecting money in order to line their own pockets and those of the Roman occupying power. Prostitution was forbidden, with the stoning of guilty parties condoned. As far as the religious leaders were concerned, by associating with such members of society, Jesus had crossed the line of cultural decency.

His reputation seemingly was in tatters, but more important to him was the change in the lives of the ‘undesirables’ with whom he mixed. Matthew left his tax booth to follow Jesus; the woman who poured ointment on his feet was praised for her actions and her sins were forgiven.

To consider: Who are social pariahs today? Unethical bankers? Corrupt police? Those who incite riots? What would it mean for Salvationists to be ‘cultural disrupters’ in 2012?

When it came to challenging discriminating cultural practices, Jesus ‘lived right and righted wrongs’, says Jesus And Justice. Whatever kind of cultural injustice we confront – racism, class intolerance, reputation or, as in Amina Filali’s case, preservation of ‘honour’ – God calls us to do the same.

• Major Ruthven is Editor-in-Chief and Publishing Secretary, THQ