A shameful story from Afghanistan. From the TimesOnline, with thanks to JE:
SHE risked torture, imprisonment, perhaps even death to study literature and write poetry in secret under the Taliban. Last week, when she should have been celebrating the success of her first book, Nadia Anjuman, was beaten to death in Herat, apparently murdered by her husband.The 25-year-old Afghan had garnered wide praise in literary circles for the book Gule Dudi — Dark Flower — and was at work on a second volume.
Friends say her family was furious, believing that the publication of poetry by a woman about love and beauty had brought shame on it.
“She was a great poet and intellectual but, like so many Afghan women, she had to follow orders from her husband,” said Nahid Baqi, her best friend at Herat University.
Farid Ahmad Majid Mia, 29, Anjuman’s husband, is in police custody after confessing to having slapped her during a row. But he denies murder and claims that his wife committed suicide. The couple had a six-month-old son.
The death of the young writer has shocked a city which prides itself on its artistic heritage. It has also raised uncomfortable questions about how much the position of women in Afghanistan has improved since the fall of the Taliban to American-led forces four years ago.
Yes, indeed.
A shameful story indeed. Very sad news.
This paragraph baffles me though:
The death of the young writer has shocked a city which prides itself on its artistic heritage. It has also raised uncomfortable questions about how much the position of women in Afghanistan has improved since the fall of the Taliban to American-led forces four years ago.
You can't undo in a few years what's been there for centuries...
At least Asma bint Marwen was murdered by one of Mohammed's hitmen.
I don't always realise how lucky I am that my husband supports the reading and study I do here and elsewhere.
But is it luck? Or was it the hard work of generations of ancestors who built a different society. Their hard work, my luck to inherit it.
Pray for her child.
Their hard work, my luck to inherit it
I should have added my/our duty to preserve it and pass on to our children and theirs
GW/
Asma bint Marwen was killed by Muhammad. He ordered her killing. He said he wanted to be rid of this mother of five children who mocked him in verse so one of this stooges knifed her to death. Mo thanked him after
All Muslims are ordained to emulate the life of Muhammad so this brutal act is no surprise. To those who know Islam. Those who know Muhammad's heinous biography. Who would want to emulate such an awful life? Muslims are delusional enough to name this the most perfect life ever lived. A worthy example for all mankind in all times and places. The Arabian sun has to burn down very hard on their heads to buy into such malarkey.
Also, don't forget these other bits from the article, which are good indications of what OBL's utopian caliphate, Taliban style, will be like for women.
"Herat, in particular, has seen a number of women burn themselves to death rather than succumb to forced marriages."
“Life for women under the Taliban was no more than being cows in sheds,” she said.
Her poetry alluded to an acute sense of confinement. “I am caged in this corner, full of melancholy and sorrow,” she wrote in one “ghazal”, or lyrical poem, adding: “My wings are closed and I cannot fly.” It concludes: “I am an Afghan woman and must wail.”
Gee, I bet all the female OBL supporters can't wait. You just don't get this kind of liberation in the decadent west.
Links on Free Speech in Islam
http://answering-islam.org/Authors/Arlandson/free_speech.htm
http://answering-islam.org/Authors/Arlandson/dead_poets.htm
Excerpts from the TimesOnline article (by Christina Lamb):
1.
"“Anjuman’s movements were being limited by her
husband, her friends believe. She had been invited to a ceremony celebrating the return to Herat of Amir Jan Sabouri, an Afghan singer, but failed to attend.
Her poetry alluded to an acute sense of confinement. “I am caged in this corner, full of melancholy and sorrow,” she wrote in one “ghazal”, or lyrical poem, adding: “My
wings are closed and I cannot fly.” It concludes: “I am an Afghan woman and must wail.”"
2.
"I [journalist Christina Lamb] was taken to meet some of these women by Ahmed Said Haghighi, president of the [secret] Literary Circle, in December 2001, only days after the Taliban had fled. One of them, Leila, said that she stayed up till the early hours doing calculus because she so feared that her brain would atrophy. “Life for women under the Taliban was no more than being cows in sheds,” she said."
3.
"Many women [recently] were allowed to stand in parliamentary elections in September, the results of which were being finalised yesterday. One of the most surprising results announced earlier in the count was in Herat, where Fauzia Gailani, a female aerobics instructor, topped the polls. The 32-year-old mother of six said she was outraged by
Anjuman’s death and was compiling a list of such
cases. “In Islam no one has the right to hit their wife,”[***Note] she said. “We hope the government will take action and stop crimes like this.”"
***Note. Regarding this last statement, we know that Islam does permit husbands to beat their wives (Koran, 4:34), but Galiani may be wiser, for her own safety, to say that Islam doesn't allow the hitting.
May God bless this woman, born into islamic slavery and murdered by a muslim (not a Jew or a Christian or a Hindu).
Western women, thank God we are free; thank the generations before us that allowed us to be free; and NEVER allow this slavery to take our daughters.
Educate yourselves and your children ... learn the true meaning if islam (slavery for women) and teach your children the trueth.
Freedom is not free ... but it is worth it for our daughters ... God bless them.
If women ran the world, there would be no wars and there would be no islam.
Speaking of women in islam, I admire greatly Zainab Bint al-Harith. An UNBELIEVABLY brave soul, gutsy, and clever. Here's her story:
"When Khaybar was conquered, and the people felt secure, ZAINAB BINT AL-HARITH, Salam Ibn Mishkam's wife, went about asking which part of the lamb was Muhammad's favorite to eat. People told her, "It is the front leg, for it is the best part and the farthest from harm." So she took a lamb, slaughtered it, and cut it up. Then she took a deadly poison that kills instantly and poisoned the lamb, putting more poison in the leg and shoulder. When the sun set, Muhammad led the people in the evening prayer. When he finished he wanted to go, but she was sitting at his feet. He asked her, and she said, "O Abu al-Qasim, here is a gift I have for you." Muhammad ordered some of his friends to take it from her, and it was put before him in the presence of his friends, among whom was Bishr Ibn al-Bara' Ibn Ma'rur. Muhammad said, "Come near and be seated." Muhammad took the leg and ate, too. When Muhammad had swallowed his bite, Bishr swallowed his, and the rest of the people ate of it. Muhammad said, "Raise your hands; this leg and this shoulder tell me they are poisoned." Bishr said, "By the One who honored you, I FOUND THE SAME IN MY MORSEL, BUT NOTHING KEPT ME FROM SPITTING IT OUT except that I would spoil the pleasure of your food. When you ate that which was in your mouth, I did not desire my own soul more than yours, and wished that you had not swallowed it." (One opinion has it that) Bishr died then and there. A part of the lamb was thrown to a dog, and the dog died. Another opinion says that (Bishr's) color turned black and his pain lasted two years, after which he died. It was also said that Muhammad took a bite of the lamb, chewed it, and spit it out, whereas Bihr swallowed his morsel. Then Muhammad sent for this Jewess and asked her, "Have you poisoned this lamb?" She said, "You have acquired certain powers with which you judge those who are not loyal to you. YOU KILLED MY FATHER, MY UNCLE AND MY BROTHER. . . So I said, "IF HE IS A KING, THEN I WOULD BE RELIEVING US OF HIM, and IF HE IS A PROPHET, HE WILL BE ABLE TO PERCEIVE.'"
[Ed. note: he didn't perceive any more than Bishr, who was definitively NOT a prophet. Frankly, this counts as "did not perceive". - Geoff]
"It was said that he pardoned her, while others say he commanded her to be put to death and crucified. [Seems a bit more likely - Geoff] When Muhammad fell ill just before his death, he said to Aisha, "Aisha, I still feel the effect of the poisoned food I ate; this is the time of my demise by that poison." When Bishr's sister entered his room during the time of his last sickness, he said to her, "This is the time of my demise by the meal I ate with your brother in Khaybar." (Abdallha Abd Al-Fadi, Is The Koran Infallible, pp. 378-381, quoting Al-Baidawi)."
I think Zainab Bint al-Harith is indeed a terrific role model for all women, including those trapped in islam. She couldn't strike back with weapons, so she repaid Mohammed's evil as best she could.
You really have to admire that. Zainab, wherever you are - I admire you.
____________________________________________________
BTW, this from another website: Zainab, daughter of Jahsh was initially married to his adopted son Zayed. Put one day the prophet 'beheld in a loose undress, the beauty of Zainab, and burst forth into an ejaculation of devotion and desire. The servile, or grateful, freeman understood the hint, and yielded without hesitation to the love of the benefactor'. Zayed divorced Zainab so that Mohammed could marry her.
Besides being hilariously funny ("burst forth into an ejaculation" LOL), this account of Mohammed basically does not support the position that he was any kind of prophet, but rather just a lecherous, covetous old fart.
And I should know, and did know, because I'm
Prophet Geoff [bbuh]
PS: Different Zainab, of course.
Geoff
Nadia Anjuman, was beaten to death in Herat, apparently murdered by her husband.
But he denies murder and claims that his wife committed suicide.
She beat herself to death? He will probably get off, a woman is nothing to them.
What a tragic story, from a country that the USA has "liberated," and then has paid billions of dollars to bankroll a country called the "Islamic Republic of Afghanistan." Nadia Anjuman should be recognized for her works by an international literary organization. The conditions under which she produced her work should also be highlighted. Also, Muslim women's groups, or someone like the Nobel Peace Prize winner from Iran, Dr. Sharin Elberdi (sp?) should speak out in protest of the senseless and violent death of this young writer. These things probably won't happen, but they should.
What an atrocity! I've heard from an Afghan visiting here in the United States how much better Afghanistan is now, since the "liberation from the Taliban." Now this horrible murder of a brave woman!
Are we hearing about this murder on the news? About the six-month-old baby, now without a mother? NO!!!
This is such sad news that I can't go on commenting right now.
How does 'bringing Democracy" to Islama-town cure anything when their tradition of acting on every unrestrained murderous impulse is imbedded in their wretched little hearts? Once again
beauty, and art struggling to exist is ground out by a dirty sandal clad heel.
Another Poem from a Muslim Woman
http://knowislam.info/drupal/happymarriage
Happy Marriage
My life, like a sandbar,
has been taken over by a monster of a man
who wants my body under his control
so that, if he wishes,
he can spit in my face,
slap me on the cheek,
pinch my rear; so that, if he wishes,
he can rob me of the clothes,
take my naked beauty in his grip;
so that, if he wishes.
he can chain my feet,
with no qualms whatsoever whip me,
chop off my hands, my fingers,
sprinkle salt in the open wound,
throw ground-up black pepper in my eyes,
with a dagger can slash my thigh,
can string me up and hang me.
His goal: to control my heart
so that I would love him;
in my lonely house at night
sleepless, full of anxiety,
clutching at the window grille,
I would wait for him and sob;
tears rolling down, I would bake homemade bread,
would drink, as if they were ambrosia,
the filthy liquids of his oleaginous body
so that, loving him, I would melt like wax,
not turning my eyes toward any other man.
I would give proof of my chastity all my life.
So that, loving him,
on some moonlit night
I would commit suicide
in a fit of ecstasy.
Taslima Nasrin
But he denies murder and claims that his wife committed suicide.
She beat herself to death?
Some years ago I came across a man who murdered his wife by strangling her with the belt of her dressing gown then claimed that she had committed suicide by hanging herself. When challenged about where she had suspended herself from, and what had happened to the knot he could not answer. Hence the life sentence. That sort of man is so arrogant towards their family they forget other people will be objective. Even, I hope, in Afghanistan.
Some ask if Afghanistan is a better place for women since the Taliban were removed from power.
The answer is, in my opinion, yes. Women, under Taliban rule, were, in addition to misogynistic tribal laws and customs, subjected to strict, government mandated sharia law.
While the current government is less than authoratative, I believe government enforcement of sharia laws has been reduced.
And though we'll never know how many Afghan women have been spared the public soccer field punishments meted out by the 'Seekers', the removal of that government must surely count as some improvement.
"So that, loving him,
on some moonlit night
I would commit suicide
in a fit of ecstasy."
She is also talking about Muhammad and Islam itself -- a cancerous pathology -- a social and spiritual A.I.D.S virus -- working on the defenses of the target victim until those defenses collapse and the disease takes over. It is then that the opportunistic infections run rampant, only to start again on someone new, someone else, someone who has not yet been infected and then surrendered...
I don't know if Muslims even have souls -- their ideology seems to rob them of the very things that make us human... consciences -- morals based on truths -- true honor -- not some pseudo-variety based on shame and fear and retaliation and hatred -- Muslims seem to lack good and pure things in direct proportion to their fealty towards Islam... The more Islamic, the more amoral and feral they become...
For Nadia,
How fragile the freedom
of the mohammedan woman,
depending solely upon the mood,
and the mind of the Afghan man
who was taught by his holy texts
there is no equality between the sexes,
who has tradition on his side to stem
any tide of justice for her death.*
How sad her life, her search
for beauty and love is over.
She was a dark flower,
a bud beginning to blossom
in the parched desert sand,
plucked by the barbarous hand
of an ignorant mohammedan man.
* From sirah and the hadiths of muslim:
"The Death of a Poetess"
[I996] There was a poetess (Asma bint Marwan in Medina) who wrote a poem condeming Mohammed and his new religion. Mohammed said, "Who will rid me of Marwan's daughter?" One of his followers heard him and on that very night went to the poetess' home and killed her.
[M239] The assassin was able to do the work in the dark as the woman slept. Her other children lay in the room but her babe lay on her breast. The stealthy assassin removed the chld and drove the knife into her with such force that he pined her to the bed.
[I996] In the morning he(the assassin) went to Mohammed and told him. Mohammed said, "You have helped Allah and his Apostle. When asked about the consequences, Mohammed said, "Two goats won't butt their heads together over this."
[M239] Mohammed turned to the people in the mosque and said, "If you wish to see a man who has assisted Allah and his Prophet, look ye here."
PRCS,
Eliyahu has posted some information on verse 5:32 at the end of that Nov. 8 thread, "Fitzgerald: Shearing Time Again."
What!? No screams of outrage from any of the Mohammedan trolls (KT, MOhammed, Ryan, he_man, et al) who frequent this site? No protests of how this is not the true face of Islam or how her murderer could not possibly be a Muslim? No attempts to defend her murderer by saying how they misunderstood the Quran or the example that was set by Mohammed? Her ghost points the finger of accusation on these Muslim cowards.
Arch,
Thanks. I'll look that up.
Reading this article was incredibly sad. How can any person, after hearing of such a thing, support such a religion.
I was ashamed as a man, that a member of my sex had killed this woman. How can any "so called" moderate muslim go to a mosque and pray?
How is it possible for any member of Islam not to feel the deepest shame?
Islam kills.
I suspect that the intellectual, cultural and scientific decline of Islam and the Arab world began when they killed all people who disagreed with religious orthodoxy.
Muslims really are primitive and barbaric people. They still have slavery, for gods sake!
Hmm, don't know what you are talking about care to elucidate and provide some links.
Last I looked females like Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Orianna Fallaci (leftists both) were against not only OBL but Islamism.
and then there is RAWA, ever hear of it? The Revolutionary Association of Women in Afghanistan, who were stalked, persecuted and murdered by the Taliban for educating women and bringing to the attention of the west the oppression and violence of the Taliban, and they are still persecuted by the Hamid Kharzai regime (whose influence does not extend beyond Kabul). Oh by the way they are "Marxists" so I hear, leftist anti Islamist women, whom Foreign Correspondent Eric Margolis chastised because their plaints and pleas to the west would (this was before 9-11) result in an invasion of Afghanistan.
There are of course some turncoat women, who have taken up the Hijab in what seems to be a "fad" or rebellion against their Christian parents.
That sounds like Margolis. Head in the sand, as always. Bad anti-islamists! You want freedom? Bad! Bad! Now go blame Israel! Go on!
Geoff
Women aren't killed by government religious police in a soccer stadium. Changing the underlying culture which leads to governments like that could take generations.
Geoff, you crack me up!
This story makes me want to run right out and start dating Moslem men. Let's see, I could then:
1) start wearing stinky, uncomfortable table cloths,
2) give up a business I started and worked my backside off to build and make flourish,
3) surrender my very Catholic children to a religion that will turn my daughters into slaves and my son into a drooling, psycho zombie,
4) probably get slapped around by some guy because I usually say what I think, and, worst of all,
5) NOT BE ABLE TO PUT UP MY CHRISTMAS LIGHTS IN TWO WEEKS AFTER THANKSGIVING!!!
Yeah, sign me up.
"Nariz: Last I looked females like Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Orianna Fallaci (leftists both) were against not only OBL but Islamism."
It is no secret that Bin Laden greatly admired the Taliban system of government. You don't really disagree with me on this do you?
Also, I didn't write that Hirsi Ali and Orianna Fallaci (leftists both) were OBL supporters. I said "female OBL supporters" want taliban world, not women in general, leftists and Ayaan Hirsi Ali. I thought that the meaning of what I typed looks very straight forward and obvious.
"Friends say her family was furious, believing that the publication of poetry by a woman about love and beauty had brought shame on it. "
Islam is anti-love and anti-beauty.
Poetess: You are gifted. Your last poem was one of your best, sad but beautiful. You make the thankless task of anti-jihad more enjoyable :) Please continue posting your poems at every oppurtunity.
PRCS, you asked me a question regarding the non-reporting or the unequal enforcement of laws when a perpetrator of FGM happens to be muslim.
Did you see my answer?
ashlee72, your post seemed straightforward and obvious to me. Don't let whatshisname bother you. He gets confused sometimes.
Texan,
No, sir.
Could you direct me to that, please?
I'm always skeptical when public safety or medical personnel claim to have been 'directed' to ignore criminal activity.
"ashlee72,
your post seemed straightforward and obvious to me. Don't let whatshisname bother you. He gets confused sometimes."
Posted by Texan.
Me too.
Isabella, you are indeed deen in the eyes of the Prophet.
(bows)
Prophet Geoff
To Geoff,
Thank you sweetie!