A few days back, my boyfriend (BF) confessed that he had been insensitive to people of another culture before. This was what happened:
BF approached a Malay satay stall and requested: "10 mutton, 10 chicken and 10 pork please".
The Muslim hawker replied with a frown, pointing to the Halal sign: "Excuse me Sir, we are Halal and do not serve pork!"
BF: “Oops, sorry!”
When the hawker served the food (10 mutton and 10 chicken satays) to BF and his friends, she shoved the plate onto the table in an annoyed manner.
BF approached a Malay satay stall and requested: "10 mutton, 10 chicken and 10 pork please".
The Muslim hawker replied with a frown, pointing to the Halal sign: "Excuse me Sir, we are Halal and do not serve pork!"
BF: “Oops, sorry!”
When the hawker served the food (10 mutton and 10 chicken satays) to BF and his friends, she shoved the plate onto the table in an annoyed manner.
‘Halal’ literally means permissible or lawful. It is widely known, especially in Singapore, that Muslims only consume Halal meat. For meat to be Halal, the animal has to be slaughtered in a Zibah ritual. In addition, Muslims are prohibited from consuming pork, alcohol, blood, meat dedicated to false gods, etc. These are stated in the Holy Qur'an as follows:
"Forbidden to you for (food) are: dead meat, blood and the flesh of the swine and that which hath been invoked the name other than Allah."
Holy Qur'an 5:4
BF explained that he was used to ordering pork satay as there are many satay stalls opened by non-Muslims nowadays and they do not have constraints in terms of the type of meat sold. However, he could have been more aware and sensitive towards the possible cultural constraints that different cultures are faced with. This is especially important in a multicultural country like Singapore. He ought to have performed self-analysis and increase awareness of his tendencies in order to avoid intercultural conflicts.
On the other hand, though it was understandable why the hawker was annoyed, she could have explained the issue to BF in a polite manner instead of showing her displeasure with a frown and through her other non-verbal cues.
On the other hand, though it was understandable why the hawker was annoyed, she could have explained the issue to BF in a polite manner instead of showing her displeasure with a frown and through her other non-verbal cues.
Through this incident, it is clear that in this global village that we live in today, intercultural issues are unavoidable. We have to face these differences in our everyday lives, from just buying food from a hawker stall to building relationships on a corporate level. Hence, it is important that we grasp the skills of being effective comunicators in an intercultural context.
Hereby, I shall end my post with this short clip illustrating the insensitivity of some towards cultural differences:
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4 comments:
I agree that in such a multi-racial society we must be careful about other people's culture and values as it might cause unnecessary intercultural conflicts.Your boyfriend must be careful about sensitive stuff like pork. Muslims cannot eat animals with hooves, namely pigs. It is also because they think that pigs are unclean. Therefore, it provoked the hawker who felt insulted. It is just a natural feeling, something which we cannot blame her for. I agree that the hawker should be more understanding towards your boyfriend and forgive his ignorance. Maybe he could have been more polite towards your boyfriend. I feel that intercultural conflict can be avoided if we are more aware and careful of what we say and do.
Hi Jia Hwa, this is an interesting conflict. I believe the hawker was annoyed because she thought your boyfriend was cheeky and purposely ordered pork satay when he knew that a Muslim stall would not sell pork.
When it comes down to religion, a mere spark can cause a severe disagreement. From my own experience, I know that some Muslims can be overly sensitive and defensive about their religion and culture. Perhaps this is because in a country where they are not the majority, it is easy to misunderstand that the other races look down on them and discriminate against their practices.
Of course this is not restricted to Islam alone. I know of Christians who get very offended when others ask them to hold joss sticks at traditional events. The underlying rule is that religion is a very taboo fault line and you should never step on it.
From this incident, we must remind ourselves that we should always communicate with people while taking into account their cultural and religious background. Be careful not to bring up sensitivities. If all the races and religions in Singapore observed this, there will forever be racial and religious harmony.
Hi Jia Hwa! I agree that in this ever changing global village, intercultural issues are inevitable. It all depends on how we handle these situations, whether we take everything to heart or whether we take things with a pinch of salt.
I do understand how the hawker felt and why she reacted that way. Perhaps it was not necessary for her to behave in a rude manner. Like what Gary had said, we can't really blame her for feeling that way. From personal experience, there are young people out there in our society who are always trying to be "funny". They would crack insensitive jokes about other races. Therefore the hawker might have thought that your BF was trying to be "funny" too.
Was your BF sincere with his apology? I believe that sincerity could have made a different in this situation. If the hawker sees that you are really sincere and didn't mean to be rude, perhaps he would not have been so negative about the whole issue.
Whatever the situation was, I guess living in a multicultural Singapore requires us to be more sensitive and accommodating to each other's cultural beliefs.
Hello Jia Hwa, this is really a case of sincere misunderstanding between your BF and the stall owner. I agree with you that being in Singapore, a society which encourages multiculturalism, we have to increase our cultural sensitivity and awareness to prevent unnecessary intercultural conflicts and misunderstandings. This is of utmost importance as we not only show our respect for other cultures, but through this mutual understanding, we also facilitate and develop better intercultural communication.
The YouTube video is a perfect example of intercultural insensitivity. The two Chinese customers might have found it amusing, but in my opinion, their actions were tasteless and damaging to the Indian stall owners. In this case, the joke might have just been directed at the Chinese customers themselves as it clearly shows their lack of maturity and respect for other cultures.
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