A while back I wrote about a video of a Muslim cleric who gave a lecture on the proper way to beat a woman. And of course we were recently reminded of the true tragedy of spousal abuse with this film of a man actually beating his wife.
Well, thanks to Adi again we have this follow up lecture from another muslim “holy” man explaining with amazingly twisted logic why women do indeed need to be beaten.
I love the way he makes claims about how many domestic disturbance calls there are in “infidel” countries – as if that makes it OK. Besides, when he’s talking about all the beatings in the US, I wonder how many are muslim? Obviously those wouldn’t even count!
So let me get this straight … when you get an electric car you get a manual, and when you get a wife you get the Koran. So like … the wife is basically a glorified car, an object you can treat however you want. I think this guy is reading his Koran a bit selectively. Bleh.
Urbanist:
Yes, woman is like an object or merchandise. I would like to invite you to watch those two saudi chicks:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=0ytiXRyc0qk
I watched that video 10 times, every time I watch it, I feel like crying or laughing. And, every time I watch another video after it, which is:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=YhZnsqBJ1_w
The other video shot in Gaza! Let you guys watch and have fun.
I nearly fell out of my chair watching those women try to eat spaghetti with that mask on their face! Terrible, and hilarious at the same time!
John
Well, to start off, I appreciate your curiosity about Islam, John. I’ve had a quick look on the other article about beating women, but didn’t have time to read everything, but I’d love to add a few remarks:
So the fact that you have some law in the States that forbids beating women does not change the fact that there are American wives beaten every day. And no, not all of them are married to Muslim men, I strongly believe so.
So whatever the deity you guys are worshiping, whatever your standards of good and justice are, please do concentrate on knowing our similarities rather than focusing on our differences. You’ll find out that we are living differently, but we just are the same.
That’s not a mask, it’s a veil. And let’s put that aside please, for it has not relevance in your topic.
As for the second video Adi, you’d better be crying. I don’t see anything funny about that video. When you are in a city like Ghaza, with bombings and dead/injured people all around, I don’t expect you to walk calmly, or take the time to park the ambulance properly before picking up the person injured.
I don’t see why these videos were brought up in this topic, but they show that that commentator doesn’t seem to have a clue of what’s being discussed here.
I might be back to answer more of your questions that were left in the comments of the other article.
Peace!
Are comments moderated here? Or my comment got somehow lost?
I tried to add more interesting videos, probably they are not quite related but I just wanted to share them. Thus, this is not because I have no clue about the topic as you claimed.
Anyway, thank you for all your opinions. Even though, i am not convinced of most of it as I lived in the middle east for 20 years before living in both France and the great America. As such, I know precisely women rights in the west and east.
Thanks,
You know, I can see how it’s a different culture, that perhaps as an outsider, I’m just not able to grasp their reasonings.. but if you don’t mind the plug, it reminds me too much of this:
http://www.theginblog.com/2007/10/artist-chains-up-dog-until-it-dies-is-this-art-or-animal-abuse/
Neither argument or “justification” really makes me say “ok, well that makes sense – carry on!”.. And both are equally as sad, especially since the women in these cultures don’t have the ability to up and leave or demand rights =/
Lalla,
Your comment was not moderated, so I’m concerned about the question. This leaves me to believe that you were unable to see your comment immediately after you left it? Could you let me know if you’re able to see these now? I’ve got some top-secret stuff in development on the blog here, and want to ensure this is not a bug.
Thanks,
John
John, I can’t see my comments (original comment, and check-up comment that is), nor the ones that followed me on this page, but I received the notifications (3). I only see the first 3 comments here, Urbanist’s, Adi’s and yours.
I just sent you an email to the address the notifications are sent from (webmaster@…), but I got a failure delivery.
You can see my email, so write to me if you want me to resend that message to you.
Like Adi, I very much appreciate the time and effort you have taken to respond on behalf of Muslim women. I hope you will also permit me to respond to some of your comments without taking offense.
You said:
Lalla, I’m sorry but this is not a defensible position, and it has nothing to do with cultural comparisons. I cite Quran verse 4:34:
This passage is not in question, and the justification is absurd. I pose this question to you, if there was a Muslim woman who had a PHd and earned 10 times as much as her husband, would she have authority over him because she is superior to him and spending her wealth to maintain him?
You said:
I don’t understand this comment. What do you really think you could do? Are you not going to prepare my dinner? Are you not going to do my laundry? Are you not going to look after my children? Are you going to withhold sex from me?
If you and I were married, and I have the absolute right to control you and indeed physically or emotionally torture you, I can promise you would not be able to “treat” me any way other than the manner in which I wished. You would be physically scared of me, you’d have no legal, religious or social recourse, and this would cause you to submit to my every whim. All you need do is watch that other video I referenced to see what happens when a woman is terrified of her husband.
People, married or not, should do things for one another because they want to. Not because they have to. Beatings are a form of coersion and they remove free will.
You proposed:
I’m sorry Lalla, but here you are 100% wrong. In my heart I am 100% gender neutral. I evaluate each individual person’s value on this planet according to the same set of values. But I find it interesting to understand that in your heart you cannot comprehend that men exist who actually believe this. It is not “just talk”, it is truth. Having said that, I would LOVE to better understand the “semantics” you perceive to be masking my perception of reality. In other words I welcome you to convince me that I am indeed wrong.
Hmmm… perhaps we should do an article together in which you take the position that women are not equal and I take the position that women are equal. That would be a fascinating and stimulating conversation! But I digress…
You commented:
I worship no deity. As a result of making that public statement does it diminish your respect for me? I ascribe to the belief that humanity is precious in it’s own right and does not require a supreme being to instill morality and fairness. In your mind did you just label me an “infidel”? Be honest! If so, you do not actually believe that you and I are the same.
Having said that, I do truly believe we are all the same. Men, Women, Christians, Muslims, Hindi, ad infinitum.
Finally, you postured:
Au contraire! I believe it is a symptom of the larger problem. You may label it whatever you like, but what I see is a mechanism instituted to control women. I think of it the following way:
Now, back to the equality issue. Let’s say for a second that I am a handsome man (OK, I know that I’m not… but can we pretend? :-)). If you and I were sitting down over a cup of coffee why should you get the pleasure of seeing my attractiveness, and I not get the same benefit? In other words, what right do women have to stare at and fantasize about attractive men and why don’t men have the same rights?
Anyway, thank you for sparking a healthy debate. This is the reason I run my blog and I really enjoy the rare occasions when a reader challenges me and gets me to thinking.
Take care,
John
PS – This may be the longest comment I’ve ever written on my blog. :-)