Longtime Jihad Watch reader DC Watson considers women's rights in Islam:
How the women of Islam are treated continue to be a heated topic. What exactly are their rights, and their actual roles?All we know is what we know. Since the controversy over the treatment of women inside the Islamic faith continues, perhaps the most effective approach toward the truth can best be delivered in the form of the attached links to information. These links provide data that can answer questions that are often danced around by those who feel that they are required to hide the truth from their neighbors, coworkers, and in general, the societies in which they live.
Sadly, critics of Islam risk their own wellbeing when they openly challenge the ways of this religion. For example, Theo Van Gogh, a Dutch filmmaker had produced a documentary about this very issue titled “Submission,” which was critical of domestic abuse of Muslim women. On the morning of November 2, 2004, while riding his bike to work in Amsterdam, Holland, Van Gogh was murdered. He was shot, stabbed, and nearly decapitated by a Muslim male threatening Jihad in a five-page letter, written in Arabic, which he fastened to Van Gogh’s chest with a large knife. Did Van Gogh deserve to have his life ended for producing a short film that happened to be critical of the “religion of peace”?
http://www.city-journal.org/html/eon_11_15_04td.html
Since this particular filmmaker will obviously be unavailable to continue the exposure of how Muslim women are treated by their male counterparts, will anyone pick up where he left off? The issue of Islamic women must be brought to center stage. The examples to follow represent certain facts about women in Islam. Draw your own conclusions and form your own opinions.
Mogadishu, Somalia, October 1993: American troops find themselves in a citywide gun battle with members of the militia loyal to General Muhammad Farah Aideed. During the fighting, women were used by the militia as human shields: they were placed between American troops and the militia.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/ambush/
http://www.hrw.org/reports/1994/WR94/Africa-08.htm
Darfur, Sudan, February 2003-present: The Sudanese Arab militia, the Janjaweed, has committed numerous rapes of women between ages 8 and 80 — some in public. The Janjaweed has also resorted to breaking bones and torturing their victims so that they cannot flee to avoid being raped.
http://www.dailystar.com/dailystar/relatedarticles/30650.php
http://www.jihadwatch.org/dhimmiwatch/archives/002584.php
Women’s rights under Islamic law (Sharia):
In Sharia court, a man’s testimony is equal to that of two women.
A man’s inheritance is equal to twice the amount of a women’s inheritance. The reason given for this is that the man has to provide for his family.
Sometimes, with regard to rape cases, an alleged rapist is found not guilty because his involvement cannot be proven. But if an unmarried woman becomes pregnant, she can be assumed to be guilty of extramarital sexual activity and can be executed. If she claims that she was raped and is unable to prove her case, then she will probably receive severe punishment, because she would be presumed guilty of making a false accusation.
http://www.religioustolerance.org/isl_adul2.htm
Compensation for the murder of a woman is equal to half of the compensation for the murder of a man.
Fathers may marry off their daughters as young as age 9, even if the mother disapproves of the marriage.
Muslim women are forbidden to marry outside the Islamic faith. Muslim men are permitted to marry outside the Islamic faith, as well as marry Muslim women, and may marry up to four wives.
Qur’an: “Men have superiority over women because God has made the one superior to the other, and because men spend their wealth to maintain them. Good women are obedient. They guard their unseen parts because God has guarded them. As for those among you who fear disobedience, admonish them and send them to beds apart, and beat them.” — Sura 4:34
Related issues: Stoning: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoning
Honor Killings: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honor_killing
While the Bible also contains violent commands, Christianity and Judaism have refrained from taking them at face value, as society and their understanding of their scriptures have changed over the past 2500 years. But literalism still dominates Islam. While some Muslim nations, notably Turkey, have abandoned the Sharia in favor of a European based legal system, other Islamic nations maintain, in whole or part, Islamic law based on the Qur’an — which Muslims consider to be the word of Allah — and the Sunnah — the words and actions of the Islamic prophet.
Only time will tell us whether the rights of women under Islamic law will change, or ever equal the rights of men. But there can be no doubt that there is not even a semblance of equality now, and this inequality is deeply rooted in Islam.
Here is an Amnesty International report (and action) on the rape and enslavement of women by the Janjaweed militias in Darfur:
"Stop Janjawid Abuses of Women in Darfur, Sudan"
http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/action/index.asp?step=2&item=11400
As I recall, there were reports that the Janjawid women actually cheered on the rapists with songs of praise urging them on.
How do the usual apologist suspects 'splain away this phenom?
You recall correctly, wd52. The Janjaweed women are apparently as animalistic as the men.
Completely and utterly brainwashed is more like it, Mike.
I don't recall any accounts of Serbian women urging their men on when Milosovitch's forces were pillaging Muslim villages to quell the KLA's Islamist activities (i.e.: the Serbs actually had a bit of a grievance). The Janjawid want only to use the Darfurians' land to graze their cattle.
Yup, and Khartoum, China and France want the oil underneath.
Islam's contempt of women should be reason enough for any thinking person to reject it.
It seems to me that Arab women should be a primary source of reform from within Islam. They seem to have the most to gain.
f.g.
OK, I think this web page can only be the abortion of three posibles groups of persons:
-Jewish fundamentalist
-Christian fundamentalist
-Neonazi xenophobic paranoid fascist.
And I find funny how you think that any one whit some repsect for Muslims victims is an evil person, including catholic Michel Saba and buddhist Richard Gere. I supose that for you, Muslim palestinian children murdered are just evil terrorist eliminated. And the thousans of Muslim women and girls raped by Christian fanatics serbs are just "evil bitches that deserve it".
Any way, what you write about Muslims is the same that I, or any one else, may write about Christians. Ku Klux Klan, Christian Moronites murdering and raping palestinian refugees in Shabra and Chatila, Lebanon 1982. Sex scandals of padephilia en Catholic and Protestant churches, North Ireland Conflict, and so on.
And, I may also say that what you say about Muslims is the same that Nazis say about Jews and Crhistian fundies says about Pagans and Masons, theres no diference, any. And if you don´t believe me, just search in nazi and christian fundie pages.
I supose that xenophobic, paranoid, neonazi, fascista freaks are just clichés.
OK, I think this web page can only be the abortion of three posibles groups of persons:
-Jewish fundamentalist
-Christian fundamentalist
-Neonazi xenophobic paranoid fascist.
posted by spockdg
You're wrong on all counts! We're just ordinary people who love freedom and hate Islam. By the way, Islam is the embodiment of fascism and Hitler is one of the Islamic world's greatest heroes. So why do you call us fascists? We didn't write the filthy Qur'an or any of Islam's collection of unholy canonical texts. We didn't codify Islamic law or ask for fanatical muslims to invade our lands and attempt to impose their medieval detritus on us.
Nobody has anything to fear from Christian fundamentalists. They don't go around slitting throats and beheading those who disagree with them. Islam is a blood-thirsty death cult that should be banned in the the civilized world.
spockdg-
As an agnostic, I worry less about those with relatively no "numbers" (a few million, at best, as opposed to a billion, plus), and no actual power, than I do about the Mind Doom Cult of radical, on-the-march, intolerant, terroristic radical Islam.
The neo-Nazis can be laughed at as the dregs of a dead Wotan cult, with maybe a few thousand loser 'members' worldwide. Big threat.
Jewish ultra-Orthodoxia is also a minute, non-proseltyzing speck in the global gene pool, and those evil Hassidim aren't posting a lot of goyim beheadings on their websites, last time I looked.
And while some crank Christian fundamentalists are as zapped in the noggin as the manic Muslim nutjobs, they are morally-hamstrung and conceptually-hampered by having a 'Prince of Peace' at the core of their faith, however much they try ignore him and to return to the Old Testament God of Vengeance (Blake's 'Old Nobodaddy').
The compassionate example of a self-sacrificing Christ shames them, eventually.
Islam has no such humane restraints, dogmatically or intellectually. No "turn the other cheek", but "strike at their neck" (VIZ: beheadings).
No Spinoza or Kant or William James or Karl Barth or Albert Schweitzer as leavening for its bloodthirsty, freedom-loathing creed.
Just a Mind Doom cult of global theocratic Absolutist despotism.
I'll take my chances with the 'Sermon on the Mount' folks and those who have the 'Songs of Solomon' over the guy who preaches to 'deceive the infidels until you can kill or enslave them'. (Too many Koranac suras [verses] to bother noting, so look them up yourself...)
Just put: "Koran sura kill infidels war jihad"
in your search engine -and see what happens.
Most troublingly, what you fail to notice is-
(And what the current problem IS-)
they STILL believe it. To the DEATH.
Yours. Mine. And all who don't bow to them.
The neo-Nazis WISH they had that kind of reach.
But alas, that great friend of the Muslims, Adolf Shicklegruber, put a pistol in his mouth and went bye-bye.
May those who love him follow. Soon.
Inshallah.
profitsbeard
dont think i could have said it better myself
spockdg
I am also an agnostic and I definitely don't come under any of your three simplistic stereotypical groups that you think anyone who says anything anti-Islam has to be from. Much like Susanp, I am just a freedom loving inhabitant of this wondrous planet we all live on and I abhor anything that represents a real threat to our world being a just and peaceful place that everyone can enjoy regardless of their beliefs.
Both sides can use history and quotes from holy books to form an argument or to get across a point of view, but the problem with that is that it all happened in the past. Now I’m not saying that we cant learn from history, or use it to draw parallels to what is happening today but in the end we can only really form a truly modern viewpoint from seeing what is happening RIGHT NOW, to our generation.
By this I mean that actions will always speak louder than words. Now from what I read in the paper and see on TV the world is currently facing a serious problem from Islamic fundamentalists, not Jewish, Christian, Atheist, Neo-Nazi or Anarchist fundamentalists. As profitsbeard pointed out, there may be some problems with the latter groups I described but not on any scale that would worry anyone or merit any concerted action against them.
Unfortunately this is not the case with Islam.
The western media as a whole seems to be very reluctant to discuss the problem, loath to print stories that might seem to be religiously intolerant, and to some extremes write articles that appear apologetic towards the source of these problems. With all this in mind the fact that nearly everyday now I will read/watch a story somewhere in the numerous varied sources of media I access, of problems with Islamic fundamentalism. This seems to indicate quite clearly to me that there is a problem in this world with the rise of Islamic fundamentalism, that and the 1st WTC bombing, the embassy bombings in Africa, the US Cole incident, Daniel Pearls beheading, Van Goughs murder in Holland, Coptic Christian slayings in New Jersey just to mention a few. Am I just finding these stories I want from sources I know will have them just to further my own opinion? The answer is no. This is from day to day mainstream media (all forms) and that fact itself should show you there is a serious problem.
So spockdg, ask yourself this and make sure you answer the question truthfully (if you can). Is there right now, in this current moment in History, really a world wide problem with Christian, Jewish, neo-Nazi fundamentalism or is there a world wide problem with Islamic fundamentalism. I'm pretty sure what your answer will be and if so then you can keep on deluding yourself to what is happening all around you or you can finally let go of your hatred and embrace what is plain to see......the truth.
Facts are facts. Deal with it Spock.