Tuesday, June 14, 2005
A moderate Muslim speaks
Egyptian blogger Big Pharoah doesn't know whether to laugh or cry:
I couldn't stop laughing when I read Time's account of the Universal School in Bridgeview, Illinois. My fingers got swollen from typing the blog posts that foretold the changes I expect to occur in Egypt if the Muslim Brotherhood got powerful. Well, my torture is over now. If you want to know how a typical school will probably look like under a MB state, all what you need to do is visit Illinois! And in case you didn't know, Illinois is a state in the USA and not a rural village in southern Egypt.
Frankly speaking, I shouldn't be laughing really. I should be weeping because the Western mainstream media is telling the world that the only true faithful Muslims are those who wear the stupid cloth on their head (that was nonexistent 30 years ago) and separate boys and girls in schools. I should be weeping because Time magazine is showing us that only girls clad in black with no makeup on are the true Muslims who are struggling between their Islamic and their American identities. Meanwhile, those Muslims who disagree with the head veil, who think that Islam needs reform a la all major faiths, and who believe that we cannot live like our Muslim brethren did 1400 years ago are the "lesser Muslims" or the Muslims that are "out of the mainstream".
Well, actually, I shouldn't blame the western mainstream media. I should be blaming the fact that our Martin Luthers are persecuted and voiceless. They are so weak that their voices cannot be heard in the midst of the loud sound of Wahabism and MB ideology.
The Western media would do us a great service if it would explore and explain, in a systematic way, the practice of Islam in its current forms and the ideological conflicts inside that religion. Instead, it emphasizes the most oppressive aspects of that religion and then expresses shock if, God or Allah forbid, somebody says something judgmental like "I hope the world's second biggest religion does not actually require that women cover themselves from head to toe, because if it does the world is heading toward a new dark ages."
Via LGF.
9 Comments:
By 
TigerHawk, at
Tue Jun 14, 12:54:00 PM:
The Simple Life: Riyadh would definitely get a "record season" slot on my TiVo.
By Dymphna, at
Tue Jun 14, 01:12:00 PM:
Great picture. Reminds me of my grade school nuns taking a turn at the basket after school...
There's a brouhaha going on in Pakistan right now because a bunch of women ran a race in their burqas. The islamists don't like the idea of women running in public.
BTW, for the latest commonplace outrage against uppity women, here's my latest post:
The Pain is Etched in Her Face
Warning: it has a graphic picture. But sometimes, as with your post, the picture is necessary to make the point.
By 
, at
Mon Jul 02, 12:54:00 PM:
May I comment? Or ask a question? or both...
I would like to know... why is it that most of the time, when people think of or speak about a Muslim, they are talking about the woman that is covered from head to toe? What about men? They are Muslim too. Islam should not be seen as just women that wear no make-up and cover from head to toe. Islam is submission to the will of God. That has no time barriers. Meaning... Muslims do not judge how they should dress or live their lives by what the times are depicting. Muslims do as they are told to in the Qur'an and by following the examples of the Prophet Muhammad. If Muslim women are told to (by God) cover themselves and preserve their modesty, then how is it they have the right to say to God... "But, it's 2007, I don't have to obey you now! You are soooo old fashioned, God! Get with the times!"
Muslims do as they are instructed in an attempt to secure their future in the afterlife. No one wants to spend eternity in hell, so they work their entire lifetime (which is very short compared to the time of the afterlife) to ensure there is little to no chance of them ending up in the hellfire.
As if you haven't noticed, I'm Muslim. I'm woman. I cover. I'm proud. AND IT'S MY CHOICE TO!
any questions? e-mail me: happy2bemuslim@hotmail.com
By , at
Thu Nov 06, 06:41:00 AM:
We specialize in laptop battery,laptop AC adapters. All our products are brand new, with the excellent service from our laptop battery of customer service team.
the most convenient and cheap replacement battery online shop in uk. We specialize in laptop batteries,laptop AC adapters.
All our laptop AC adapters are brand new, with the excellent service from our customer service team.
the most convenient and cheap battery online shop in uk.
By , at
Thu Jan 01, 11:03:00 PM:
thats cool, dont think its stupid, its awesome.
By , at
Wed Jun 24, 01:10:00 PM:
I supposed a woman who chooses to cover herself, and thus deny men the opportunity to objectify her, is worst off than a woman who feels the need to objectify herself because in her society she is measured mostly by her level of physical beauty ?
I find this post to be insanely ridiculous.
By bernie, at
Mon Apr 19, 12:56:00 PM:
It's funny how Muslim women say it's their choice to cover or not, but in the countries that have Shariah law, they have no choice, those who do not cover are whipped by the morality police.
BTW, Tigerhawk, I linked to your article from How to differentiate Moderate Muslims from Extremists
By , at
Sat Dec 11, 10:20:00 PM:
I just wanted to say that i am a muslim woman that also wears the headscarf. I'd like to clarify here that i do it with my own will. If someone was oppressing me to do it, i would have taken it off long ago. I wear it because i believe that i am precious and since i am precious i must cover myself to avoid the degrading stares of men. Isn't this glorifying woman rather than oppressing them?
If you asked me, I'd say woman who wear "short shorts" (may as well call them underwear) and tank tops as everyday attire, are the oppressed ones. They dress only to attract men, displaying their beauty like it's worthless.
This is exactly what i avoid by wearing the headscarf.
If you having any questions: thedawaclub@yahoo.com
By , at
Sat Dec 11, 10:26:00 PM:
Oh and by the way... that "stupid cloth on the head" was actually existant THOUSANDS of years ago. It's kind of sad that you can't even get your facts straight and yet your judging?
And a cloth on your head may as well also be your hat... so maybe, just, maybe: the SUPPOSEDLY "stupid piece of cloth on your head (which was only introduced 30 years ago in your words) applies to YOUR winter hat.
hm?
