"Allah is our objective. The Prophet is our leader. The Qur'an is our law. Jihad is our way. Dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope." -- motto of the Muslim Brotherhood
"Nobel Peace Prize goes to women's rights activists," by Bjoern H. Amland and Karl Ritter for the Associated Press, October 7 (thanks to Northern Virginiastan):
[...] The 10 million kronor ($1.5 million) award was split three ways between Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, women's rights activist Leymah Gbowee from the same African country and democracy activist Tawakkul Karman of Yemen — the first Arab woman to win the prize.The chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee told The Associated Press that Karman's award should be seen as a signal that both women and Islam have important roles to play in the uprisings known as the Arab Spring, the wave of anti-authoritarian revolts that have challenged rulers across the Arab world.
"The Arab Spring cannot be successful without including the women in it," Jagland said.
He said Karman, 32, belongs to a Muslim movement with links to the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist group "which in the West is perceived as a threat to democracy." He added that "I don't believe that. There are many signals that that kind of movement can be an important part of the solution."
Yemen is an extremely conservative society but a feature of the revolt there has been a prominent role for women who turned out for protests in large numbers....
Remember: for AP, you're a "conservative" if you want Sharia, and a "conservative" if you oppose Sharia. For the mainstream media, it has come to this level of analysis: you're a "liberal" if you're someone they like, and a "conservative" if you're someone they dislike.
The Jawa Report has an interesting take on this gal:
http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/209666.php
I am most certain now that Karman will condemn Hamas and Hezbollah for their refusal to recognize Israel as a sovereign nation and the constant terror campaign against its citizens.
I feel so relieved now that they (Norwegian Nobel Committee) got the peace prize right this time.
***ick***
The Nobel Peace Prize committee continues its delusional journey in awarding the prize to a Muslim Brotherhood 32 year old member as it did when our POTUS was selected for the same. These people excel in selecting non-achievers for the award. Just remember Mahatma Gandhi, a man of peace by any standard, was never selected for the award.
Seriously Robert, I have personally known this woman since 2005 and maybe you should read the post I put up at Jawa and my place before automatically slamming her.
http://mypetjawa.mu.nu/archives/209666.php
http://armiesofliberation.com/archives/2011/10/07/yemens-activist-tawwakol-karman-wins-nobel-peace-prize/
Maybe read the letter she wrote to the American people in 2005 expressing nothing but warmth and condolences after katrina, or her article in 2006, denouncing violence during the cartoon controversy-written in Arabic and published in many papers at great risk to herself- before denouncing her.
She protested for freedom of speech for two years straight before the protests broke out, and joined with Yemeni civil society in the demand for the persecution of the murderer of the Jewish rabbi in Yemen. Seriously Rob, do a little homework.
Regarding Islah, its called the opposition Islamic Reform Party, not the Muslim Brotherhood. Yes there are hard line aged leaders who trashed her for her years' long work for civil rights in Yemen, and she is a ground breaker as a woman as well, but the party also includes many, many reformists and activists challenging the stagnant leadership and its conceptualizations. If anything we should support those who move the party in this way.
The prize is actually a great victory for the progressive forces in Yemen, for the Yemeni women who claim an equal place and for the eight month revolution by millions of Yemeni youth calling for a civil (non-military, non-theocratic) state in Yemen.
Please re-consider your take on the prize. thanks Jane
Rob, Maybe that's a crankier tone on my part than warranted, and maybe you didn't slam her personally now that I read your post again, but its a good thing for the world; the Nobel Committee made a good choice this year, better than last year.
Listen to young Yemeni activist/blogger Afrah Nasser for a take on the prize and what it means (first link): http://sverigesradio.se/sida/artikel.aspx?programid=4188&artikel=4736125
And an article by Tawakkol from this year
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/apr/08/revolution-saleh-yemen-peace-historic?CMP=twt_gu
in the Guardian about the Yemeni revolution.
Why is she in Islah? What kind of "reform" do they really want when they sheltered Al-Alwaki?
http://www.longwarjournal.org/threat-matrix/archives/2011/10/anwar_al_awlaki_shelter_in_hom.php
As for Islah's political issues which they support, please see this link:
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Yemen-protests-lack-grassr-by-Jeb-Boone-110130-806.html
"Of Islah's most notable legislative achievements in Yemen is the indefinite postponement of adopting a law to set a legal age for marriage. Following the stories of several child brides, the parliament tasked itself with drafting a law to set a firm legal marriage age to protect the rights of Yemeni girls. Many Islah party members cite the Prophet Muhammad's marriage to six-year-old Aisha and waiting a short period of time to consummate the marriage as an appropriate guide."
She may want more rights for women in Islam, but how does she want to reform Islam? She doesn't say. All she is is an anti-Yemeni regime protester. She has no real say in what Islah represents. She even presents Al Qaeda as a bogeyman, something fictitious, to which her country shouldn't worry about. I think that this quote from the article you supplied says volumes.
"We cannot let the bogeyman of al-Qaida and extremism be used to stall historic change in our country; Saleh invokes this threat in an attempt to cling to power, as if he is the only one capable of bringing stability and tackling terrorism. It would be foolish to believe his lies."
She is being awarded this prize because she is a muslim feminist, whatever that is, about as rare as a Black President of the United States. The Nobel Peace Prize committee should be sacked and the awarding of the prize should be turned over to the Swedes and taken away from the Anti-Semites in Oslo, Norway.
1) there's second article that I posted last night in addition to the Ahram one you reference that says Awlaki was sheltered by the ruling GPC (Saleh's party) before he went to al jawf
2) one of Islahs most important accomplishments is forging an alliance with the Yemeni Socialist Party as well as the Shiite parties to form the Joint Meeting Parties an opposition alliance. The marriage ban is supported by traditional and tribal members of parliament including the GPC; the woman's quota was talked up (and later squashed) by Saleh
3) you try to hang Islah positions on her and then say she has no say in Islah's positions.
4) she is 100% right that the Saleh regime uses AQ as a bogey man: the Saleh regime is actually paying AQ operatives to foment unrest in Abyan, and 16 AQAP who escaped from prison are hiding in one of the presidential palaces according to the Sheikh of Shieks in Yemen (on FRance 24). Saleh has been a long time AQ enabler, with dozens of releases, escapes and potentially false flag operations to his credit. Saleh hypes the AQ threat in order to gain funds and political support from the US.
Why the drive to vilify this woman with random scraps out of context that you accumulated from google? Maybe the Nobel Committee has a political agenda, that's clear but taking it out on this wonderful activist is unfair.
Any article that says Yemeni protesters lack grass roots support isnt worth reading when millions spontaneously poured on to the streets and into the squares including tribesmen, teens and women, not just in the capital but in every city and 17 provinces, and then stayed there despite repetitive sniper fire, artillery, bombing and a variety of other horrendous acts of state violence--for eight months. they've only gotten stronger because they want an end to the dictatorship and a civil state.
Jane,
Thank you for you information on Tawakkul Karman. She sounds like a special person, very brave. She took off her hijab to make the point that Islam does not demand that women wear it. Of course, all the photos of her show her wearing a headscarf.
I think there is a general question here, what is the destination of awarding a Muslim in a traditional society a Nobel prize? Is she going to be able to shed enough of the vicious Muslim laws and traditions against women and non-Muslims that she really effects a change? Certainly, it takes a special nerve just for a woman to become a leader in a society like Yemen.
This is coming from a profound position of ignorance regarding Yemeni politics, but here it goes:
When there is a Muslim uprising against a Muslim ruler, it is invariably (duh) because he is unpopular. He is fascistic, oppressive, murderous, financially corrupt...nothing that strikes at anyone's sense of what they want in a leader.
Sometimes they do it themselves, ala Yemen, and sometimes others step in: Iran, Iraq, etc.
The cry I hear most from Muslims who detest the existing leaders of just even a year ago, Qadaffi, Mubarak, Saleh, Assad, etc. is that they are corrupt. The corruption seems to be the thing that galls them the most (individual behavior notwithstanding of course!).
I have come to learn that it doesn't really mean what we think it means (nod to Inigo Montoya). To me, corruption is taking or giving remuneration for getting around the system. But to the Muslims who describe what they detest about these rulers, is that they don't implement the sharia properly. They're not good Muslims. They usurp for themselves what should rightfully be Allah's or a shura council or a caliph's spot. They define House of Saud as "corrupt."
Islam is getting such a bad rap in the world because the leaders who rule the Muslim countries, being "corrupt," aren't giving Islam a chance to shine as the perfect system for societal organization, which somewhere, someday, it will be.
There are two or more groups who want these tyrants overthrown: liberal live-and-let-live reformers or fallen away-but-don't-care Muslims, and those who want the right kind of Islam, surely more just and peace-filled than the current regime.
It appears to me that she is in the second category, with sympathy for the first category. She has no problem with fighting for women to not have to wear the sack, but of course they should have to cover their hair...where's the modesty, right? And who wouldn't want freedom of the press? I mean, if you have the "perfect sharia" in your government, you can have a free press because if someone insults Mohammad, why there's a handy sharia law for that very thing. Got our fitna rules all ready.
She can protest because she is on the side of the angels: she is not the one creating fitna, Saleh is, and she'd like him to be gone so the better Islam, the perfect one, that one that really treats women great and is chock full of human rights can come to the fore. A woman alone has no power, so I can see why she is in the party. In a society like Yemen, you can afford no more than one opposition party or your strength is too weak. So it has to be a really, really big tent.
She is speaking up, and we should admire it. I would never, ever, though, want to live under the legislation she would allow in the new Yemeni order. Like less-burnt cookies.
Hi Jane
Im still not convinced about the intentions of this "democracy" activist Tawakkul Karman of Yemen.
One wonders if she is mainly concerned about overthrowing the Yemeni government (like most Islamists) and not so much about promoting true freedom and human rights.
I guess time will tell. It will be interesting to see what she does after a revolution if it happens. No doubt that the new Islamic government that takes over will continue to violate human rights but will Ms Karman continue to campaign for human rights, i have my doubts.
To be fair Ms Karman is working in a very difficult environment where speaking out can be a death sentence. So maybe she is some kind of a reformer even a minor one. We all hope so anyway.
She like other women leaders in Egypt and Afghanistan both running for presidency, are exceptional individuals who despite their religion and culture over which they have no control, are able to think critically and independently, giving hope to true albeit slow reform from within.
Wow, Jane.
You seem terribly eager, and that was a whole lot of stuff to go through without mentioning Shectman, so I'll just ask you now:
Are you a Muslim?
Winoceros wrote:
There are two or more groups who want these tyrants overthrown: liberal live-and-let-live reformers or fallen away-but-don't-care Muslims, and those who want the right kind of Islam, surely more just and peace-filled than the current regime.
It appears to me that she is in the second category...
..............................
I believe you are correct, Winoceros. Here she is on women's rights:
"Q: Can women ever be fully free in a Muslim society?
A: Yes, if we have democratic regimes. Women were free in older times when the Islamic nation was strong. There are so many examples in history, not more than a thousand years ago, when Muslim women were leaders, scientists, professionals, and so on. It is all about justice, and justice can be attained through having the rulers accountable to their people."
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/10/09/tawakul-karman-interview-nobel-peace-prize-could-help-arab-spring.html
Of course, this is just rot. Islam was even more oppressive overall a thousand years ago, because there were fewer brakes on it.
I would *love* to believe—as Jane Novak appears to—that Tawakul Karman is simply a freedom fighter for womens' rights, but I have my doubts.
If there is a theme that repeats when I discuss Islamic governmental and individual behavior with Muslims, it is that Islam is great, it's just that these governments, academics, mullahs, corporatists, imams, school adminstrators, ad nauseum, who are doing it wrong. They're corrupt!
But it would be just perfect and peaceful if we could just get rid of these corrupticrats and tyrants. Then everything would be better.
Utopians live everywhere.
Thats so funny, no I'm a Roman Catholic.
Today Al Zindani's son called Karman and all Nobel winners "Zionist collaborators" who encourage the unveiling of women and the prize is part of a plot hatched on Muslims to weaken them, and women should stay at home and guard their dignity.