posted August 17, 2006 06:03 PM            

As we stood in the small kitchen, Abu Ali, the insurgent with the salt-and-pepper beard who had abducted me, proudly declared that his wife wanted to die.

"Um Ali wants to be a martyr. She wants to drive a car bomb!" he said, beaming.

Of course, she'd have to wait, since she was now four months pregnant. It is forbidden in Islam to kill a fetus at that age, he explained.

"Oh, OK, OK, oh wow," I said. I feigned confusion while I tried to think of what to say.

The chaos of dinner preparation swirled around us. The kitchen was typically Iraqi: a cramped space with thin metal countertops that have no cabinets beneath.

Someone had sewed a skirt for the countertop out of gaudy fabric, but one part had torn away. Next to the refrigerator was a giant freezer, covered all over with stickers advertising Maggi-brand soups.

Three children played around our feet – all progeny of the would-be bomber.

I was still unused to captivity, still learning the boundaries, both physical and mental, that my kidnappers had imposed. I didn't want to offend. But I was shocked at the talk of a mother's suicide; shocked that Um Ali would blush at her husband's praise of this plan.

"Oh, I didn't know women could be car bombers," was all I could muster.

Later I was told that this was the only way women could be part of the mujahideen. The men could have the glory of fighting in battle. Women got to blow themselves up.

Meanwhile, the big silver platters of food were ready. Men carried them out to the group of insurgents meeting behind the closed door of the sitting room. Based on their comments, this house seemed to be in western Baghdad or near
Abu Ghraib.

I talked with Um Ali and other women in the kitchen. Yes, I traveled back and forth between countries for my job, I said. They replied that it was wrong for them to work, that they left school at age 12 to learn to cook and keep house.

Then the dinner platters returned, with the food ravaged – rice everywhere, bones with the chicken chewed off, nothing left but scraps, really.

And the women sat and began to eat the scraps.

I couldn't believe it! After all the time they'd spent preparing the meal, they got leftovers.

But I sat down with them. And, as I would often do with women over the next three months, I ate from the remains of the communal stew.

****

From the Human Rights Watch website on Pakistan

Discriminatory laws combined with harmful customary laws and practices deny women their human rights in Pakistan. Pervasive institutional and judicial discrimination along with illegal detention and custodial violence make it nearly impossible to obtain justice for many women.

Women and girls in Pakistan confront astounding levels of violence. Domestic violence, including acid attacks and burnings by fire, has been estimated to occur in 80 percent of all households in the country, while hundreds of women and girls are murdered each year in the name of family “honor” by their relatives for allegedly transgressing cultural norms for female behavior.

Women activists fighting to promote respect for women’s human rights often come under attack themselves. Women leaders ranging from prominent human rights lawyers to elected village representatives face discrimination and assault. These women are often threatened and criticized for misguiding women from their Islamic values.

***

Then of course there is the well documented case of how women were treated in Afganistan under the Taliban.

***

From Amnesty International's Website about Women's Rights in Saudi Arabia

Women can not walk alone even in their own neighbourhood without the fear of being stopped, beaten or detained particularly by the religious police as suspected moral offenders. This is because there are more constraints placed on the behaviour of women than men. For instance they are not allowed to go anywhere, or leave the country without a male guardian (mahram) or his written consent.

Women in Saudi Arabia, like men, face torture, corporal judicial punishment such as flogging and execution after summary trials which do not meet the basic standards of fair trial. However, it is more harsh for women due to the discrimination which they are subjected to in society. When they come into contact with the criminal justice system, women are invariably interrogated by men. Having no previous contact with unrelated men, they are consequently vulnerable to being intimidated into giving confessions, which are used as a sole evidence for conviction and punishment.

Discrimination in law against women is not only limited to laws regulating the system of government and decision-making. For example, the Labour Code in Saudi Arabia contain direct and indirect discriminatory clauses against women. Gender segregation often means that women are limited to unequal facilities and opportunities

Statistics from the last few years show that women represent 55 per cent of university graduates. They own 40 per cent of private wealth, own 15,000 commercial establishments, yet can not publicly administer or be part of any dealings regarding their business. They must be represented by a male relative or a wakil shar'iy ( attorney).

"Violence in dealing with the wife in our Saudi society is a crime that no one likes to talk about and the harm continues because of that silence." Dr Abu Baker Ba Qadir, Professor of Sociology at King 'Abdul-'Aziz University in Jeddah quoted by Al-Majalla, issue No 1063, 25 June -1 July 2000.

****

More from Human Rights Watch

posted August 17, 2006 06:07 PM            

However, you did in another thread get very irate with Carma for stating cases where women are treated as property or second-class citizens in many Islamic run countries, and implied (hell you might have outright stated, I don't recall) that Carma was full of it.

Above are numerous examples of women's ill treatment under Islamic regimes. I would just be interested to hear your take on such things. Do you still deny that substandard treatment of women takes place in many of these countries?

posted August 17, 2006 09:01 PM            

I hope you don't mind, but I did copy and paste the Pakistan portion and post in on the "freedom of speech" thread for DD. I figured that way she would for see it...

Then again, she will most likely say that my post is an example of how offensive I like to be against Muslims and that is why I should be banned LOL....

posted August 18, 2006 01:01 AM              

Some facts about the abuse of women in the United States
by Sound Vision Staff Writer

Islam and Muslims have long been accused of mistreating women. Whether it is by Orientalists, or the "average Joe" or Josephine relying on the media barrage of awful stereotypes to formulate his or her opinion.

Muslim men are perceived as violent, cruel and barbaric towards women in general, but especially towards their own wives, daughters and sisters.

The fact is that such disgusting behavior does occur in the Muslim world, for many of the same reasons it occurs in the United States: a cycle of abuse in the family, socio-economic factors and jealousy.

However, what could be said to distinguish women's mistreatment in the Muslim world is the general lack of Islamic education amongst men and women about day-to-day matters, including the roles and rights of women.

Mistreatment and abuse of women, and wives in particular is condemned by Islam.

Consider the following Hadith narrated by Abu Huraira in Tirmidhi: the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said,"The one most perfect in his faith is he whose conduct is best and the best amongst you is he who behaves best towards his wife."

Now consider the following the statistics about how many women are treated in the United States, taken from the 1995 National Crime Victimization Survey of the U.S. Department of Justice and the National Domestic Violence Hotline Fact Sheet and Statistics

HOW MANY ABUSED
WOMEN ARE THERE IN THE U.S.?
Women age 12 or older annually sustained almost 5
million violent victimizations in 1992 and 1993.

Women and girls ages 12 and up annually reported about 500,000 rapes and sexual assaults, almost 500,000 robberies, and about 3.8 million assaults.

WHO ARE THE ABUSERS
In 29% of all violence against women by a lone offender, the perpetrator was an intimate (husband,ex-husband, boyfriend or ex-boyfriend).

Women annually reported about 500,000 rapes and sexual assaults Friends or acquaintances of the victims committed over half of these rapes or sexual assaults. Strangers were responsible for about 1 in 5.

HONOR KILLINGS IN AMERICA?
Of the 5328 women murdered in 1990, FBI data indicate that about half or more of them by a husband or boyfriend.

VIOLENCE AMONG COUPLES
A minimum of 16 % of American couples experienced an assault during the year they were asked about it, and about 40% of these involved severely violent acts, such as kicking, biting, punching, choking, and attacks with weapons.

A 1993 national poll found that 34% of adults in the United States report having witnessed a man beating his wife or girlfriend and that 14% of women report that a husband or boyfriend has been violent with them.

THE PHYSICAL DAMAGE
CAUSED TO WOMEN AND CHILDREN BY ABUSE
During the last decade, domestic violence has been identified as one of the major causes of emergency room visits by women.

From 20% to 30% of the women who are seen by emergency room physicians exhibit at least one or more symptoms of physical abuse.

10% of the victims were pregnant at the time of abuse.

10% reported that their children had also been abused by the batterer.

THE ECONOMIC FACTOR IN WOMEN'S ABUSE

*Women aged 19 to 29 and women in families with incomes below $10,000 were more likely than other women to be victims of violence by an intimate.

Sources: 1995 National Crime Victimization Survey of the U.S. Department of Justice. You can order this Special Report (NCJ-154348) "Violence Against Women: Estimates from the Redesigned Survey August 1995" by calling the Bureau of Justice Statistics Clearinghouse, 800-732-3277and the National Domestic Violence Hotline Fact Sheet and Statistics.

posted August 18, 2006 01:17 AM              

Abuse In America
4 million American women experience a serious assault by a partner during an average 12-month period. 1

On the average, more than three women are murdered by their husbands or boyfriends every day.2

92% of women say that reducing domestic violence and sexual assault should be at the top of any formal efforts taken on behalf of women today.3

1 out of 3 women around the world has been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused during her lifetime.4

1 in 5 female high school students reports being physically and/or sexually abused by a dating partner. Abused girls are significantly more likely to get involved in other risky behaviors. They are 4 to 6 times more likely to get pregnant and 8 to 9 times more likely to have tried to commit suicide.5

1 in 3 teens reports knowing a friend or peer who has been hit, punched, slapped, choked or physically hurt by his/her partner.6

Women of all races are equally vulnerable to violence by an intimate partner.7

37% of all women who sought care in hospital emergency rooms for violence–related injuries were injured by a current or former spouse, boyfriend or girlfriend.8

Some estimates say almost 1 million incidents of violence occur against a current or former spouse, boyfriend or girlfriend per year. 9

For 30% of women who experience abuse, the first incident occurs during pregnancy.10

As many as 324,000 women each year experience intimate partner violence during their pregnancy. 11

Violence against women costs companies $72.8 million annually due to lost productivity.12

74% of employed battered women were harrassed by their partner while they were at work.13

posted August 18, 2006 01:18 AM              

In 2004, there were 209,880 victims of rape, attempted rape or sexual assaults according to the 2004 National Crime Victimization Survey (pdf).

Of the average annual 204,370 victims in 2003-2004, about 65,510 were victims of completed rape, 43,440 were victims of attempted rape, and 95,420 were victims of sexual assault.

Because of the methodology of the National Crime Victimization Survey, these figures do not include victims 12 or younger. While there are no reliable annual surveys of sexual assaults on children, (pdf) the Justice Department has estimated that one of six victims are under age 12.

posted August 18, 2006 01:28 AM            

Women in the US have had a tough climb uphill ... fighting tooth and nail for equal rights, respect and more. And we're still not finished. I think that is one reason why a lot of women from the US are shocked and appalled that so many women all over the world are still treated so horribly.

There are reasons this thread was only referring to women in Arab or Islamic countries ... and I'm sure if you peruse the other threads around here you'll see why. But please don't misunderstand and think that people here think that abuse towards women only occurs in these countries and nowhere else.

posted August 18, 2006 02:30 AM              

all the "muslim" nations today arent even united; they have their own political propoganda. Hezbollah might have been a religious group when it started out but now its a political entity which engages mostly in welfare projects otherwise aligns itself with syria and shia defense strategies in the south (heavily shia). similarly syria is arab nationalist, jordan and egypt are
'westernized arab nations', saudi is wahabi, and so forth. no one cares about the other they have no unified platform: and so to say that they all go by islam would be totally incorrect. what is islam ? they all have different versions , and each version has a diff view on womens rights.

the fact that at this moment they all resent america is true. it is this resentment which unifies them, not islam.

islam treats women very well...if it is interpreted correctly. people try to impose their pre existing chauvinistic cultures on islam and read into the text that which is not there. in the same way that buddhism has been used to say that women are unevolved (past life) forms of men; in hinduism that man is the 'god' of woman; in christianity that a woman is the 'property' of man. its no different.

the reason for these abuses stems from the illiterate masses who are poor and violent. they have been oppressed by their government and do not understand women are a blessing in islam.

if you look at the governments of these countries, particularly pakistan, the cities have been ahead of america and the west in development of womens rights. we had a female prime minister...dont forget. i already posted five or six times regarding this.

in the rural areas these kinds of things happen on a daily basis... in urban areas its unheard of.

some countries its more rampant--like afghanistan and saudi (once again modern day twisted wahabism, a brand of chauvinism, not islam, because abdul wahab was a philosopher and poet not a political activist). in others (pakistan, and egypt or lebanon for instance) the female population outnumbers the men in college, government and so forth. to say that 80 % of paki households suffer from such abuse would just be wrong; its an estimate and a very poor one at that. having lived in pak/kashmir for ten years i would be able to tell u its absolutely false and northern pak in fact has several matriarchal societies, for example the one which my mother belongs to.

Love
SG

posted August 18, 2006 08:32 AM              

Eleanore you said,

quote:

---

There are reasons this thread was only referring to women in Arab or Islamic countries ... and I'm sure if you peruse the other threads around here you'll see why. But please don't misunderstand and think that people here think that abuse towards women only occurs in these countries and nowhere else.

---

posted August 18, 2006 11:22 AM            

******

SecretGardenAgain
Thanks for your input. I really appreciate you taking the time to make a post like.

******

DayDreamer

Um ... did you even read Isis' second post?

quote:

---

Daydreamer - I realize that not every muslim man nor every muslim run county treats women horribly, so let's just get that right out of the way.
However, you did in another thread get very irate with Carma for stating cases where women are treated as property or second-class citizens in many Islamic run countries, and implied (hell you might have outright stated, I don't recall) that Carma was full of it.

Above are numerous examples of women's ill treatment under Islamic regimes. I would just be interested to hear your take on such things. Do you still deny that substandard treatment of women takes place in many of these countries?

I don't assume you support the substandard treatment of women under the guise of Islam, however denial of it's existence, or glossing over it with excuses is to me tantamount to an implicit, if unstated, endorsment of it.

---

That's pretty much what I was referring to. Isis made a whole other thread about it here because this was brought up in other thread(s) but the actual issue was either ignored or glossed over.

posted August 18, 2006 02:07 PM            

First, what we would consider a teenager is raped repeatedly by a man 3 times her age.

Then, she is the one sentenced to death for "her" crime and he is slapped on the wrist.

This is the system of justice the Islamic terrorist radicals want to give...by force..to the rest of the world.

Further, these are the people the radical left wants the US and other western nations to sit down with and have a reasonable discussion about ironing out our differences.

When pigs fly....perhaps.

Execution of a teenage girl

A television documentary team has pieced together details surrounding the case of a 16-year-old girl, executed two years ago in Iran.

Atefah Sahaaleh: wrongly described as being 22 years old

On 15 August, 2004, Atefah Sahaaleh was hanged in a public square in the Iranian city of Neka.

Her death sentence was imposed for "crimes against chastity".

The state-run newspaper accused her of adultery and described her as 22 years old.

But she was not married - and she was just 16.

Sharia Law

In terms of the number of people executed by the state in 2004, Iran is estimated to be second only to China.

In the year of Atefah's death, at least 159 people were executed in accordance with the Islamic law of the country, based on the Sharia code.

Since the revolution, Sharia law has been Iran's highest legal authority.

Alongside murder and drug smuggling, sex outside marriage is also a capital crime.

As a signatory of the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights, Iran has promised not to execute anyone under the age of 18.

But the clerical courts do not answer to parliament. They abide by their religious supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, making it virtually impossible for human rights campaigners to call them to account.

Code of behaviour

At the time of Atefah's execution in Neka, journalist Asieh Amini heard rumours the girl was just 16 years old and so began to ask questions.

To teach others a lesson, Atefah's execution was held in public

"When I met with the family," says Asieh, "they showed me a copy of her birth certificate, and a copy of her death certificate. Both of them show she was born in 1988. This gave me legitimate grounds to investigate the case."

So why was such a young girl executed? And how could she have been accused of adultery when she was not even married?

Disturbed by the death of her mother when she was only four or five years old, and her distraught father's subsequent drug addiction, Atefah had a difficult childhood.

She was also left to care for her elderly grandparents, but they are said to have shown her no affection.

In a town like Neka, heavily under the control of religious authorities, Atefah - often seen wandering around on her own - was conspicuous.

It was just a matter of time before she came to the attention of the "moral police", a branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, whose job it is to enforce the Islamic code of behaviour on Iran's streets.

Secret relationship

Being stopped or arrested by the moral police is a fact of life for many Iranian teenagers.

Previously arrested for attending a party and being alone in a car with a boy, Atefah received her first sentence for "crimes against chastity" when she was just 13.

Although the exact nature of the crime is unknown, she spent a short time in prison and received 100 lashes.

Atefah was soon caught in a downward spiral of arrest and abuse

When she returned to her home town, she told those close to her that lashes were not the only things she had to endure in prison. She described abuse by the moral police guards.

Soon after her release, Atefah became involved in an abusive relationship with a man three times her age.

Former revolutionary guard, 51-year-old Ali Darabi - a married man with children - raped her several times.

She kept the relationship a secret from both her family and the authorities.

Atefah was soon caught in a downward spiral of arrest and abuse.

Local petition

Circumstances surrounding Atefah's fourth and final arrest were unusual.

The moral police said the locals had submitted a petition, describing her as a "source of immorality" and a "terrible influence on local schoolgirls".

But there were no signatures on the petition - only those of the arresting guards.

Men's word is accepted much more clearly and much more easily than women

Mohammad Hoshi,
Iranian lawyer and exile

Three days after her arrest, Atefah was in a court and tried under Sharia law.

The judge was the powerful Haji Rezai, head of the judiciary in Neka.

No court transcript is available from Atefah's trial, but it is known that for the first time, Atefah confessed to the secret of her sexual abuse by Ali Darabi.

However, the age of sexual consent for girls under Sharia law - within the confines of marriage - is nine , and furthermore, rape is very hard to prove in an Iranian court.

"Men's word is accepted much more clearly and much more easily than women," according to Iranian lawyer and exile Mohammad Hoshi.

"They can say: 'You know she encouraged me' or 'She didn't wear proper dress'."

Court of appeal

She was my love, my heart... I did everything for her, everything I could

Atefah's father

When Atefah realised her case was hopeless, she shouted back at the judge and threw off her veil in protest.

It was a fatal outburst.

She was sentenced to execution by hanging, while Darabi got just 95 lashes.

Shortly before the execution, but unbeknown to her family, documents that went to the Supreme Court of Appeal described Atefah as 22.

"Neither the judge nor even Atefah's court appointed lawyer did anything to find out her true age," says her father.

And a witness claims: "The judge just looked at her body, because of the developed physique... and declared her as 22."

Judge Haji Rezai took Atefah's documents to the Supreme Court himself.

And at six o'clock on the morning of her execution he put the noose around her neck, before she was hoisted on a crane to her death.

Pain and death

During the making of the documentary about Atefah's death the production team telephoned Judge Haji Rezai to ask him about the case, but he refused to comment.

The human rights organisation Amnesty International says it is concerned that executions are becoming more common again under President Mahmoud Ahmedinajad, who advocates a return to the pure values of the revolution.

The judiciary have never admitted there was any mishandling of Atefah's case.

For Atefah's father the pain of her death remains raw. "She was my love, my heart... I did everything for her, everything I could," he says.

He did not get the chance to say goodbye.

posted August 18, 2006 02:48 PM              

Sure, women have always fallen prey to the abuses of men, sexually and otherwise, because men overpower women phycially, and just so happen to worship their members...So, men with no integrity or moral conscience will take advantage of their physical dominance for self-serving gratification, and this bleeds over into all areas of life, not just sexual exploitation. Women have always had to deal with that. It's not what's right or wrong, it's who's bigger and stronger and can therefore do whatever the hell they please.

But, as we evolved as a society (men & women alike), we came to the realization that it's not ok for men to behave this way, toward our daughters, our sisters, our mothers, ourselves. Men who love the women in their lives agreed that this was not acceptable.

By and large, men run the big political machine in society, so the majority of the men have to be on board with this realization before it anything will be done to counter it.

So, therefore, it's up to Muslim men to put a stop to the abusive discriminations and horrors that the females they love are being subjected to, and world wide exposure to these crimes and practices is the first step.

posted August 19, 2006 07:02 AM              

A mentally disabled teenage girl faces the death penalty in Iran, after being sold into prostitution by her own mother: Mentally-ill girl who was sold for sex faces death penalty in Iran.

A teenage girl with a mental age of eight is facing the death penalty for prostitution in Iran. The trial comes only four months after the hanging of another mentally ill girl for sex before marriage in a case that has prompted a human rights lawyer to prepare a charge of wrongful execution against the presiding judge.

The girl, known as Leyla M, is in prison while the Supreme Court decides on her “acts contrary to chastity”, among the most serious charges under Iranian law. Under the penal code, girls as young as nine and boys as young as 15 can be executed.

In an interview on a Persian-language website, the 19-year-old says she was forced into prostitution by her mother at the age of eight. Amnesty International refers to reports that say she was repeatedly raped, bore her first child aged nine and was passed from pimp to pimp before having another three children.

She told the website: “The first time I was taken to a man’s house by my mum I was eight. It was a horrible night and I cried a lot but then my mum came the next day and took me home. She bought me chocolate and cheese curls.”

Iranian press reports say Leyla was charged with controlling a brothel, having sex with blood relatives and bearing an illegitimate child. Amnesty says the court refused to admit social workers’ evidence of her young mental age and convicted her on the basis of confessions.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/fr/1197899/posts

and not just women!
Gay Teens Executed in Iran: Disturbing Pictures
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/7/22/102249/246

posted August 19, 2006 07:11 AM              

As a world, how can we call ourselves human and alllow this????

In Practice Today
The countries in which modern secular, Christian, or Jewish viewpoints hold sway do not allow any form of stoning.

The legal punishment of stoning is, nonetheless, still a sentence for certain activities deemed criminal in some (but not all) of the Islamic countries governed by Sharia law [1], including Iran[2][3], Nigeria[4][5], Saudi Arabia[citation needed], Sudan[6], Afghanistan[7], and the United Arab Emirates [8].

[edit]
Iran
Capital punishment in Iran is legal, and can be executed in a number of ways including Stoning.
In April 2002[9], the Iranian newspaper Entekhab reported that a woman called Ferdows B had been sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment, to be followed by death by stoning. Another woman who received a similar sentence was stoned to death in May 2001, after eight years in Tehran's Evin Prison. She had been convicted of adultery and corruption on earth.

In December 2005, Iran Focus reported on the sentencing of a woman to stoning in Varamin by a court in Tehran[10]. In the same report, Iran Focus reported the sentencing to stoning of a man for armed robbery and murder in Nowshahr[10].
In June 2006, according to Iran Focus, a report about the stoning to death in May 2005 in Mashad of Mahboubeh Mohammadi, a teacher, and her sister's husband, both convicted of murdering Mahboubeh's husband, circulated on Persian-language websites.[11]. The stoning was allegedly carried out in the middle of the night in a cemetery.

In early July 2006, a report by ADN Kronos International[12] about the sentencing of Malak Ghorbany in Urmia to stoning for adultery started circulating widely in the internet[13] along with a petition against the sentence[14].

According to Amnesty International, Article 104 of the Iranian penal code states, with reference to the penalty for adultery: ...the stones should not be too large so that the person dies on being hit by one or two of them; they should not be so small either that they could not be defined as stones. Amnesty argues that this is clear evidence that "the punishment of stoning is designed to cause the victim grievous pain before death".[9]

In Iran, the convicted person to be killed is wrapped in a sheet and buried; male convicts are buried from the waist down, female convicts are buried deeper to prevent the breasts from becoming exposed. The crowd then pelts the victim with stones small enough so that one cannot cause death by itself.

posted August 19, 2006 07:19 AM              

By Azam Kamguian
Islamic Sharia law should be opposed by everyone who believes in universal human rights, women's civil rights and individual freedom, freedom of expression, freedom of religion and belief and freedom from religion. Islamic law developed in the first few centuries of Islam and incorporated Middle Eastern pre - Islamic misogynist and tribal customs and traditions. Shari'a developed not only from the Koran and the Sunna but also through juristic reasoning and interpretation and hence different sects. We may ask how a law whose elements were first laid down over a 1000 years ago can be relevant in the 21st century. The Sharia only reflects the social and economic conditions of the time of Abbasid and has grown out of touch with all the human's social, economic, cultural and moral developments. The principles of the Sharia are inimical to human's moral progress and civilised values.

Islam is an all-encompassing religion that controls and has opinion on everything from the dowry to the periods of women, from the amputation of limbs of thief to the stoning of adulterers, from food to the creation of the World. No detail of daily life escapes its attention. It interferes in anything and everything. The Islamic law tries to legalise for every single aspect of an individual's life, the individual is not at liberty to think or decide for himself, he has but to accept Allah's ruling as interpreted infallibly by the doctors of law.

Islamic law forcefully opposes free thought, freedom of expression and freedom of action. Accusations of impurity, of apostasy is waiting to silence any voice of dissent. Suppression and injustice shapes the lives of all free minded people above all atheists, who are deprive of all freedom. One is borne Muslim, and one is forced to stay Muslim to the end of their life. Islamic law denies the rights of women and non- - Muslim religious minorities. Non -believers are shown no tolerance: death or conversion. Jews and Christians are treated as second - class citizens.

In countries which have proclaimed an Islamic state, such as Iran, the Sudan, Pakistan, some states in Northern Nigeria, and Afghanistan under the Taliban, we can already see the pernicious effects of the Sharia: the stoning to death of women exercising their right to personal freedom; random accusations of blasphemy - carrying a mandatory death penalty - being used to settle personal grudges, public hangings for apostasy, real or alleged, and many other cruelties.

A fundamental aspect of Islam is that the will of god should be followed. Thus it is god and not the people that decide how things are to be. In an open and free society, people lay the boundaries of powers of organs of state, that is, the people dictate the powers that state is to have over them and the people through their elected organs and representatives decide the laws. The situation is quite different under Islamic states or where Islamic law acts as an important part of the legal system. Examples are Saudi Arabia where the Koran has been declared to be the constitution and no laws contrary to it can be passed. Other examples are Iran, the Sudan, Afghanistan under the Taliban, and many other Middle Eastern countries where Islamic law has a considerable influence on the legal system. This is clearly not acceptable and is denying the people the right to determine the governance of their countries.

The Sharia & Human Rights

Human rights and the Sharia are definitely and irremediably irreconcilable and antagonistic. Oppression, massacres, intimidation, lack of freedom, ferocious censorship are the undeniable facts of all countries designated Islamic. Human rights are desirable to ensure a certain standard of living for people across the globe. It is often alleged that Human rights constitutes a means of enforcing western ideals on others who might not believe in them. It is not acceptable to let governments and authorities away with many of the abuses by using cultural relativism as an excuse. We cannot let cultural relativism becomes the last refuge of repression. To accept religion as a justification for human rights abuses is to discriminate against the abused and to send the message that they are un-deserving of human rights protection.

Perhaps the most unsavoury aspect of Islamic law from human rights perspective is the punishments doled out. Islamic law regulates individual morality, being opposed with sexual morality. From flogging to stoning to death of individuals. Sexuality and sexual behaviour is a realm that Islam has strict rule on. Adultery is strictly forbidden and harshly punished. The punishment is execution, death by stoning or flogging. Homosexuality is also forbidden and punishable by Islamic law. To add to the inhumane nature of executions, in majority of countries under Islamic states, these executions are carried out in front of crowds of people.

The Sharia & Women's Rights

In the Koran and according to the Sharia, women are considered inferior to men, and they have less rights and responsibilities. As regards testimony in the court of law and inheritance, a woman is counted as half a man, equally in regard to marriage and divorce, her position is less advantageous that that of the man, her husband has the legal, moral and religious duty to beat her. She does not have the right to choose her husband, her clothing, her place of residence, and to travel. A very young legal age of marriage ranging from 9 in Iran to 13, 15 and 17 (in Tunisia) is also another aspect of Sharia. This is according to the way Muhammad the prophet of Islam married Aisha a 9 - year old girl when he was 43. The four orthodox law schools plus shi'i mainly differed on points important to women. In all schools marriage is a contract according to which husband should perform sexually and provide materially for the wife. The wife must have sex whenever husband wishes. A man can easily divorce a woman by pronouncing it three times. Polygamy up to four wives was permitted, in shi'i sect, temporary marriage is allowed where man can have access to unlimited number of women. The practice is known as Mot'a or Sigheh. According to Islamic law men were permitted concubines and female slaves. Islamic law and the Koran permit men to beat their wives if they disobey.

Another discriminatory rule is that in many Muslim inhabited countries a woman is not allowed to marry a non-Muslim whereas men are allowed to marry non-Muslims. With the object of protecting morality and preventing sexual anarchy women are expected to cover their whole bodies bar their faces and their hands up to their wrists. Islamic law is totally against dress freedom. This is obviously a huge infringement on the personal development of women, not allowing them to develop sexually and as people. It is inhumane to imprison women behind veils when it is men, who according to Islam and Islamic law cannot be trusted to control themselves.

Once again, in order to protect morality it is dictated that women cannot be in contact with men to whom they are not related without the presence of some male relative. The segregation of sexes in this way makes it very difficult for women to leave their houses and participate in society in any way at all. Islamic law in this way completely prevents women from taking part in society and keeps them locked up, isolated and unable to reach their potential. Women deserve to be treated as human beings and for this reason alone Islamic rule and Islamic law which are completely misogynist must be opposed.

The Sharia & Discrimination against non- Muslims

In addition to the imposition of Islamic morality on non-Muslims, Sharia law dictates that there should not be equality between Muslims and non-Muslims. Under strict Sharia law only Muslims can be full citizens of a Muslim state. Many of Islamic states shamelessly discriminate against non-Muslims. In Saudi Arabia and in Kuwait being Muslim is a precondition of naturalisation. A person who believes in a scriptural religion, such as Christianity or Judaism will have limited rights in an Islamic state; they cannot participate in public life or hold positions of authority over Muslims. Anyone else is deemed to be an unbeliever and is not permitted to reside permanently in an Islamic state. In addition, the Koran only recognises People of the Book as religious communities. Others are pagans. Pagans must be eliminated.

In many Islamic states, non-Muslims men are not allowed to marry Muslim women and in criminal prosecutions non-Muslims are given harsher punishments than Muslims. Crimes against Muslims are often punished more severely than crimes against others. In many countries the testimony of a non-Muslim in court s not equal to that of a Muslim.

Freedom of religion does not just mean freedom to hold a faith but also the freedom to change one's religion or belief. Apostasy is when a Muslim advocates the rejection of Islamic beliefs or announces his own rejection of Islam by word or by act. That is when a Muslim abandons his or her faith. Apostates face the most ferocious violence, often are punished to death. This discrimination is clearly contrary to freedom of belief and religion and the principle that religion should be a private affair of individual. The use of any and especially such violent coercion in matters of faith is completely unacceptable.

Believing in religion should be voluntary and as a private matter, otherwise people who practice a religion are not doing so of their own convictions but rather because of the sanctions that will be imposed on them if they don't. When the law gets involved, religion is no longer between the individual and what or whom they believe, as it should be.

The Sharia & Freedom of Expression

Under the Sharia and where Islam oppresses, writers, thinkers, philosophers, activists, artists are all deprived of their freedom of expression. Islamic regimes are notorious for suppressing freedom of expression. Often, as the government aligns itself so closely with Islam any critics of the government are accused and charged with vague charges of heresy and insulting Islam. Under Islamic law people are deprived of drinking, playing music, reading literature on philosophy, sexuality, and arts.

For the human rights abuses sanctioned by, the discrimination institutionalised in, the autonomy deprived by, the lifestyle choices deprived by and the human dignity eroded by Islamic Law, this barbaric inhumane law should be opposed.

In the west, even in countries which have a sizeable Muslim minority, any idea that the Sharia could have any sway should be strongly opposed since it conflicts with many basic human values, such as equality before the law, that punishments should be commensurate with the crime, and that law must be based on the will of the people.

Islamophobia & Racism

The problem for us in the west is how to oppose these violations of human rights without being accused of neo-colonialism and racism, and of failing to respect different cultures. There is a key - point here, that human rights are vested in the individual, not the group. As soon as rights are accorded to any group rather than to individuals it creates the possibility for conflict that only between the group and those outside it, but between the group and its own members. Any group, which denies the right of its members to leave, is in contravention of one of the most fundamental principles of human rights. It is clearly one of the reasons for the growth of Islam over the past century that becoming a Muslim is a one way street. Whether by birth or conversion (historically likely to have been a forced conversion and an imposed phenomenon) once you are a Muslim the only way out - under the Sharia - is death.

Apologists for Islam often claim that this sort of argument is based on a misunderstanding of Islam, the religion of peace. Apologists will quote this sura rather than that to prove their point. But like the Christian Bible, of course, the Koran has arguments to support every possible point of view. The only answer to this is to show by actual examples the reality of what is happening in countries that have fallen under the sway of the Sharia. It is also frequently claimed that critics of Islam are guilty of a) racism, and b) Islamophobia. Since we are discussing religion and not race, the first argument fails. Certainly in the west there is a high degree of correlation between race and religion. The Muslims in Britain, for example, tend to be of Middle Eastern origin. Nevertheless, it is perfectly feasible to love the believer but hate the belief. Human beings are worthy of respect but not all beliefs must be respected. Attempts to make Islamophobia a crime are thinly disguised attempt to equate anti-Islamic arguments with racism. It is essential to distinguish criticism of Islam both from fear of Islam and from fear, hatred or contempt for Muslims. But often, moral criticism of Islamic practices or criticising the Islamic religion is dismissed as Islamophobic.

When Islam really does promote violence by advocating jihad to achieve world domination, when it really does say that men should beat women and that the testimony of a woman in court is worth half that of a man and that followers of Islam should not befriend Jews or Christians, then why not having fear to it? Why not criticising it?

The world is a battleground of social movements and ideas. It took people in the west over 400 years of often-bloody struggle to gain the right to criticise Christianity. Even now, that right is still not fully recognised. In Britain, for example, there is still a law against blasphemy, and many Islamic clerics have argued that it should be extended to cover Islam as well. It should be scrapped. But once we are prevented from expressing our point of view in the market place of ideas: then we are on the slippery slope back to the dark ages.

Of all the existing ideologies and religions, Islam remains the greatest danger for humanity, as it has not been caged by progressive forces and because of the terrorising power of political Islam and the close ties of states and the establishment Islam.

We must recognise that our society is far larger, diverse and complex than the small primitive tribal society in Arabia, 1400 years ago, from which Islam emerged. It is time to abandon the idea that anyone in the region should live under Sharia. More than ever before, people need a secular state that respects freedom from and of religion, and human rights founded on the principle that power belongs to the people. This means rejecting the claims by orthodox Islamic scholars that, in an Islamic state, sovereignty belongs to the representative of Allah or Islamic justice. It is crucial to oppose the Islamic Sharia law and to subordinate Islam to secularism and secular states.

Adapted from a speech given by Azam Kamguian at a discussion panel & debate on 10 October 2002, organised by University Philosophical Society of Trinity College, Dublin - Ireland.

posted August 21, 2006 01:11 AM              

Mulsems are locked in the 7th century, and they're not allowed to move forward under this law. If you cannot evolve as a society, you're already dead.

posted August 21, 2006 09:03 AM              

A transformation similiar, oddly enough, to the phenomena experienced by a small and seemingly inconsequential Semetic tribe we call the Jews and a bunch of nearly Neanderthal Germanic/Celtic tribes, surrounded by the indecipherable rubble of Rome, but also intrusted with the gift of Christianity.