It is estimated by the UN that there are 5,000 "honor killings" of Muslim women each year, which are perpetrated by family members - grandfathers, fathers, uncles, husbands, brothers - and that go largely unpunished. This number does not take into account the related "quaint" practice of mutilating women's faces and bodies, also common throughout the Muslim world. And let there be no mistake: "Honor killings" have been exported to the U.S., Canada and Western Europe by immigrant Muslim families. Above is a picture of Amina Said, 18, and her sister Sarah Said, 17, who were brutally murdered by their father in Irving, Texas in 2008. If you have the stomach for more, learn about the 2009 decapitation of Aasiya Z. Hassan, below, by her husband, the founder of Bridges TV in Buffalo, New York, which sought to portray Muslims in a more positive light. Now hold onto your thoughts for just a moment.
In response to my prior blog entry "JG Caesarea Middle East IQ Test, Question No. 4: 'What Do Maureen Dowd and Ross Douthat Have in Common?'", I received a comment, sent by "anonymous", which:
- labeled me a "typical American right wing clown";Obviously this angry person didn't take the time to scroll down and discover my opposition to U.S. involvement in Afghanistan. (Does this place me to the left of Obama?) Also, if this angry person had bothered to read further, he/she would have discovered that I am pro-choice, as reflected in a previous response to Ross Douthat. Right? Left? Meaningless to me. If I could choose, I would label myself a radical moderate, i.e. an oxymoron, who much prefers the company of dogs to most, but not all, politicians (there have been several persons in government who were extremely kind to me over the course of my lifetime).
- said that I hate Muslims;
- stated that Saudi Arabia and Iran are the "FRINGE" of the Muslim world
- stated that of Indonesia, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, "only Pakistan has serious issues with Islamists";
- stated that "Indonesia has its problems with Islamists, but most Muslims there are devout but non-violent";
- stated "the United States is in rapid decline because of people like you, Jeffrey Grossman."
I hate Muslims? I know and have worked with many Muslims, and I don't think you will find anyone who has ever detected any hatred coming from me.
Saudi Arabia and Iran comprise the "fringe" of the Muslim world? If so, where do you place the despotic regimes of Libya, Sudan, Yemen, Syria and Egypt?
Of Indonesia, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, "only Pakistan has serious problems with Islamists"? Peculiar. Although willing to discount the Jakarta and Bali bombings in Indonesia ("The Bali bombers and their ilk are no different than Timothy McVeigh and co. in the U.S."), this angry person obviously chooses not to remember the Mumbai, India terror attack in late 2008 which resulted in the deaths of 179 people.
Indonesia has few problems with Islamists? On April 19 Indonesia’s Constitutional Court ruled that a 45-year-old law banning religious blasphemy was constitutional and that persons found guilty of "heresy" could be sentenced to up to five years in prison. No problems with Muslim extremists in Indonesia? Yeah, right.
The United States is in decline because of me? And here I always thought that America's current problems stem from Obama's inane decision to escalate U.S. involvement in Afghanistan, combined with financial abuses which have also gone unremedied by the Obama administration.
But in case you didn't notice, the angry person's comment ignored my reference to "honor killings". Is this because it has become politically correct to paper over such phenomena in the hope of ultimately bridging cultural differences, in much the same way that Obama is currently reaching out to the world's tyrannies?
As I noted above, some 5,000 Muslim women each year fall victim to "honor killings", yet 5,000 is just a number. It is easy for us to shrug off numbers, but there can be no ignoring the horror of individual incidents, so allow me to acquaint you with yet another such instance which occurred earlier this year in "moderate" Turkey:
"The father and grandfather of a teenage girl buried alive for talking to boys have been arrested and are being held for trial, authorities in Turkey say.
The two men were detained after an informant told police that the missing 16-year-old girl had been the victim of an honor killing, The Guardian newspaper in London reported Friday.
Medine Mimi's body was found in sitting position in a 6 1/2 foot deep hole under a chicken pen outside her family's home in Turkey's southeastern province of Adiyam in December.
The coroner said a post-mortem examination found a large amount of soil in her lungs and stomach, indicating that she had been buried alive and suffered a slow and agonizing death, The Times of London reports."
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/International/2010/02/05/Details-of-honor-killing-shocks-Turkey/UPI-13441265385117/
In short, I don't hate Muslims; however, I believe strongly in women's rights and abhor the practice of "honor killings", which the angry person who responded to my blog chose to ignore. Moreover, I believe that Obama must honor his promise to recognize Armenian Genocide. I also believe that Obama has an obligation, for example, to recognize Iran's horrifying persecution of its Baha'is. Nothing whatsoever comes from sweeping these problems under the rug - Turkish, Persian or otherwise. As stated many years ago by Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis, “Sunlight is the best disinfectant.”
Hi, Jeffrey
ReplyDeleteThe Angry Anonymous responded to you statement that Iran and Syria are not a radical fringe of the Muslim world.
Neither he, not I realized that by "radical" you mean practice of honor killings and nothing else. Now, from this post, it became clear for me that you have nothing else against Islam.
One does not need to be Angry Anonymous to object that honor killings are not prescribed by Islam itself, rather it is a time honored tradition in tribal societies, which practice Islam. So, honor killings and Islam coincide by place, but one does not cause another.
Now, if Islam is cleared from responsibility for honor killings, are you ready to state that Islam is not radical, and peaceful religion?
You try to convince Angry Anonymous that you do not hate Muslims. Hate is the only feeling he understands. So, he would not believe you anyway.
You forgot to mention, that Angry Anonymous suspected you of being a Jew! He does not like jokes and Jews. It does not mean that we shall be ashamed to joke and be Jewish.
Hi Marina,
ReplyDeleteIslam has existed for some 1,400 years. Consider how violently European nations behaved in the name of Christ 1,400 years after Christianity came into existence. Consider, for that matter, how Christian Europe behaved some 70 years ago. Consider also biblical accounts of Joshua's conquest of Canaan.
I am hoping that the aggression displayed by Muslim nations will mellow over the years, although this will probably not occur during our lifetimes.
Meanwhile, there are many Muslims I know who care deeply about their families - including their daughters - and are distressed by the state sponsored terrorism of Iran, Syria and Libya.
Have you ever traveled to Kazakhstan? On my visits to this Muslim country, I have only encountered kindness, and everyone whom I met there knew that I am Jewish and Israeli.
I acknowledge and confront the threat posed by radical Islam, which of course extends far beyond "honor killings", but there can be no future for any of us without finding common ground with Muslims who respect human rights in much the same way as we do.
Hi, Jeffery
ReplyDeleteI am reading the book everybody is talking about: "The strong horse" by Lee Smith. The journalist lived in Egypt and Lebanon for years, met plenty of people, and he studied Islam there. Unlike Dowd, he was not afraid to ask questions. He has a chapter about Islam. I think, you will find it interesting too.