<![CDATA[Jezebel: muslim]]> http://tags.gawker.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/jezebel.com.png <![CDATA[Jezebel: muslim]]> http://jezebel.com/tag/muslim http://jezebel.com/tag/muslim <![CDATA[Muslim Madness! Myths Surrounding Sharia]]> One of our tipsters sent a disturbing email she received as a forward, which apparently warns against the impending destruction of the West. I spoke to Fatemeh Fakhraie, editor of Muslimah Media Watch in hopes of sorting it all out.

Here's what the email actually says:

Joys of Muslim Women
by Nonie Darwish ( http://en..wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonie_Darwish )

In the Muslim faith a Muslim man can marry a child as young as 1 year old and have sexual intimacy with this child. Consummating the marriage by 9.
The dowry is given to the family in exchange for the woman (who becomes his slave) and for the purchase of the private parts of the woman, to use her as a toy.
Even though a woman is abused she can not obtain a divorce.
To prove rape, the woman must have (4) male witnesses.
Often after a woman has been raped, she is returned to her family and the family must return the dowry. The family has the right to execute her (an honor killing) to restore the honor of the family. Husbands can beat their wives 'at will' and he does not have to say why he has beaten her.
The husband is permitted to have (4 wives) and a temporary wife for an hour (prostitute) at his discretion.
The Shariah Muslim law controls the private as well as the public life of the woman.
In the West World ( America ) Muslim men are starting to demand Shariah Law so the wife can not obtain a divorce and he can have full and complete control of her. It is amazing and alarming how many of our sisters and daughters attending American Universities are now marrying Muslim men and submitting themselves and their children unsuspectingly to the Shariah law.
By passing this on, enlightened American women may avoid becoming a slave under Shariah Law.

Learn More.... Read: Cruel and Usual Punishment just released in most bookstores.
Ripping the West in Two...
Author and lecturer Nonie Darwish says the goal of radical Islamists is to impose Shariah law on the world, ripping Western law and liberty in two.

She recently authored the book, Cruel and Usual Punishment: The Terrifying Global Implications of Islamic Law.

Darwish was born in Cairo and spent her childhood in Egypt and Gaza before emigrating to America in 1978, When she was eight years old, her father died while leading covert attacks on Israel He was a high- ranking Egyptian military officer stationed with his family in Gaza.

When he died, he was considered a "shahid," a martyr for jihad. His posthumous status earned Nonie and her family an elevated position in Muslim society.

But Darwish developed a skeptical eye at an early age. She questioned her own Muslim culture and upbringing. She converted to Christianity after hearing a Christian preacher on television.

In her latest book, Darwish warns about creeping sharia law - what it is, what it means, and how it is manifested in Islamic countries.

For the West, she says radical Islamists are working to impose sharia on the world. If that happens, Western civilization will be destroyed.

In twenty years there will be enough Muslim voters in the U.S. to elect the President! I think everyone in the U.S. should be required to read this, but with the ACLU, there is no way this will be widely publicized, unless each of us sends it on!

]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5340317&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Muslim-Owned Shop Bans Women Wearing Veils]]> A jewelry store in Glasgow says customers cannot wear anything covering their faces, following a robbery by men disguised as Muslim women. Veil-wearing women, however, can schedule an appointment with a female staffer. [The Telegraph]

]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5231006&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Murder Of Muslim-American Woman Sparks Media Frenzy]]> Sometime last week, Aasiya Hassan, 37, filed for divorce. Several days later, she was dead. On Thursday, her husband, Muzzammil Hassan, went to the police and told them where they could find the body.

Judging from massive amount of tips we've gotten over the past week on this, most of you probably know how this story goes: Mrs. Hassan had been beheaded in a horrific, alleged "honor killing" by her husband, who owned a television station devoted to dispelling stereotypes about Muslims. She was found in the offices of the television network they had both worked to build.

Despite the tips, we held off on writing or posting about this story for several reasons. First, of all, we did not want to add to the growing pile of crap that has been written about it. The media portrayal of Mrs. Hassan and her husband has made us (and some of our tipsters) uncomfortable: The speculation over whether this was an "honor killing", the awkward way in which people have dealt with a clearly terrible crime committed by an obviously unhinged man, and the lamentations over the "brutal irony" of Mr. Hassan's occupation have all made this crime more about the religion of the perpetrator than the experience of the victim. For some, it has even come down to a feminist vs. Muslim debate.

At this point, we don't want to speculate over what happened to Mrs. Hassan, or even why. She was brutally murdered at the hands of her husband, and this is a tragedy. But the reality is that many women are killed by their partners, just as many women suffer from domestic violence. However, while we've made Rihanna the poster girl for speaking out against domestic violence, we hesitate to make this into a poster-case for "honor killing." While we care about Rihanna because she is already, independently famous, we (and by "we" I mean the media and our society, not necessarily the Jezebel editors or readers) care about Mrs. Hassan's death for other reasons. We care because of the manner of her death, but more importantly, we care because he was Muslim.

In a particularly awful article from CBS News - which begins, "The crime drips with brutal irony" - "acquaintances" speculate on just how "Muslim" Mr. Hassan really was:

Acquaintances said Mo Hassan was not overtly religious - co-workers did not see him pray, for instance. But he seemed to adhere to many traditional practices.

Nancy Sanders, the television station's news director for 2 1/2 years, remembers him asking her to move her feet during her job interview so he would not see her legs. She was wearing a skirt and stockings.

He also would not let women enter his office unless his wife was there, and he blocked the station from airing a story about the first Muslim woman to win the title of Miss England in 2005, Sanders said.

And although Mr. Hassan had two children from a previous marriage, The Buffalo News focuses on the stigma against divorce in Muslim communities as a possible motive for the crime:

Nadia Shahram, a matrimonial lawyer in Williamsville, said that some Muslim men consider divorce a dishonor on their family.

A teacher of family law and Islam at the University at Buffalo Law School, Shahram said that "fanatical" Muslims believe "honor killing" is justified for bringing dishonor on a family.

While it has not been determined whether Aasiya Hassan's death had anything to do with fanatical beliefs, the community should address the attitudes that make divorce particularly difficult for many Muslim families, Shahram said.

And certainly this has been hard for Muslim families. But Marcia Pappas, New York state president of the National Organization for Women has placed the blame entirely on his faith: "This was apparently a terroristic version of honor killing, a murder rooted in cultural notions about women's subordination to men....Too many Muslim men are using their religious beliefs to justify violence against women." Although this may be true, there is no way of knowing Mr. Hassan's motives. Pappas may be right, but there is also a possibility that Mr. Hassan was just unhinged and violent. The New York Times addresses this view point:

The gruesome death of Ms. Hassan prompted outrage from Muslim leaders after suggestions that it had been some kind of "honor killing" based on religious or cultural beliefs.

Dr. Sawsan Tabbaa, a Muslim community leader who teaches orthodontia at the State University at Buffalo, said, "This is not an honor killing, no way."

Dr. Tabbaa added, "It has nothing to do with his faith."

However, the question of whether or not Mr. Hassan's faith played a role in her murder has acted as a screen for the bigger issue of violence against women. In a collection of responses about the story on Muslimah Media Watch, Imam Mohamed Hagmagid Ali, Vice-President of The Islamic Society of North America writes:

This is a wake up call to all of us, that violence against women is real and can not be ignored. It must be addressed collectively by every member of our community. Several times each day in America, a woman is abused or assaulted. Domestic violence is a behavior that knows no boundaries of religion, race, ethnicity, or social status. Domestic violence occurs in every community. The Muslim community is not exempt from this issue. We, the Muslim community, need to take a strong stand against domestic violence. Unfortunately, some of us ignore such problems in our community, wanting to think that it does not occur among Muslims or we downgrade its seriousness.

The most important thing to take away here is that domestic violence "knows no bounds," it is not related to a single religion or group. It happens to pop stars and civilians alike.

Possibility Of 'Honor Killing' Mulled In Orchard Park Slaying [The Buffalo News]
Upstate New York Man Charged With Beheading His Estranged Wife [New York Times]
Brutal Irony In New York Woman's Beheading [CBS News]
A Collection of Responses Concerning The Murder Of Aasiya Hassan[Muslimah Media Watch]

]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5155635&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Is Hijab Tourism Educational Or Offensive?]]> Hailey Woldt is part of an anthropological project, led by American University Islamic studies professor Akbar Ahmed, to document what it is to be Muslim in America after September 11th. Her assignment: wear an abaya.

Luckily for everyone's sanity, she -unlike Danielle Crittenden at the Huffington Post - isn't doing it to try to make some large statement about women's oppression or to show off her own ignorance. She and her co-workers are doing it as part of a large documentary and book project, "to discuss American identity, Muslim identity, and find out how well this country upholds its ideals in a post-September 11 world." Woldt, in fact, is wearing it to try to see if Americans are as racist as we think we are.

The project itself sounds really interesting, from interviews with a variety of Muslim-Americans from all walks of life with roots in many different countries. So, I hate to bash the project as a whole or suggest that someone like Woldt shouldn't be doing it. But the one problem with playing dress-up in traditional Muslim garb as an obviously-white woman to expose prejudice is that prejudice against Muslims and assumptions about Muslim women are also deeply rooted in race.

Woldt isn't going to get looks or questions the same way an Arabic Muslim woman or an African Muslim woman would because she's white and, with that, comes a basic assumption that she's choosing to wear a garment for reasons that are her own. I mean, no one is going around arguing that the U.S. government needs to free Hasidic Jewish women from the confines of their wigs and modest clothing, right? No one is trying to get Mennonite or Amish women to free themselves from patriarchal religious structures that have them clothed in bonnets and long pioneer-woman type dresses (in some cases). No one is trying to get nuns to ditch their habits or their vows of chastity. And, yet, there is a very basic assumption that, for the (mostly) brown women who wear hijabs, abayas or niqabs for religious reasons, that they must be freed from the yokes of their oppressors — even in this country. Because, of course, if they knew they could choose, of course they wouldn't.

Which is, of course, not to say that some women aren't forced to dress more modestly than they might otherwise choose. It doesn't mean that no women are harassed - here or abroad - for their clothing choices, be they modest or immodest. But what is does mean is that you can stick me in an abaya and send me down South and far fewer people would look askance at me because I'm a white woman wearing it - and because people will assume that it's my choice and not someone else's.

Muslim In America: A 'Voyage Of Discovery' [CNN]
Related: The Veil Does Not a Prison Make [Muslimah Media Watch]

]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5150744&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Mufti Wants Men & Women To Pray Together • Lori Drew Case Not Dismissed]]> • The Mufti of Australia wants to allow men and women to pray together in the country's mosques—a tradition which he says is a cultural, not religious, requirement dictated by the Koran. • A new super scientific survey from Australia claims that female drivers become more frazzled by rain than men. • A woman in England was given a suspended jail sentence for concealing the birth of her possibly stillborn child, whom she claims she unknowingly gave birth to while on the toilet. • An English couple with the last name of Strange suspect that their leather settee is haunted. •

• About 414 women waited in the cold outside the Apollo Theater in New York on Saturday in hopes of getting the role of Effie White for the upcoming national tour of the musical Dreamgirls. • Vivid, a student magazine at Cambridge University has sparked a controversy after printing a picture of a topless female undergrad in a recent issue. • A new study reveals that neurotic people are bothered more by uncertainty than bad news. • Campaigners of a pro-Cesarean and pain relief childbirth group in England had a meeting today with the chair of the Commons Health Select Committee to warn against ignoring "women's choice" while pandering to natural childbirth lobbyists. • A Los Angeles judge put off a decision on dismissing the case against Lori Drew today and asked for Drew's defense team to open its case. • Jump Start, a shelter for teenage mothers in Tacoma, Washington will be closing in mid-December due to lack of funds. • A 106-year-old woman discovered that she had been celebrating her birthday on the wrong day for years but still decided to celebrate on that wrong date. • A new federal investigative report into Michael Vick's dogfighting operation reveals that the athlete was directly involved in the hanging and drowning of "underperforming" pit bulls. • The Brazilian police are currently investigating 1,000 women suspected of having abortions, which are illegal in Brazil. 150 women have already been charged. • More than 400,000 women in England have had their handbags stolen from cars in the past 12 months. • Amazon.com is offering 19 best-selling products that won't require tools to open in order to deal with frustrating packaging on holiday gifts. • A cafeteria and playground aide at an elementary school in New Jersey is causing an uproar after the community learned that she used to be a porn star. • The Medina Collective in Toronto offers university-level courses to women of color about sexuality, gender, the media and hip hop culture. • Menopause isn't just for women anymore; now men can get in on the fun.•

]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5098103&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[ Via Jill at Feministe comes the sad news...]]> Via Jill at Feministe comes the sad news that the Chinese government is attempting to force a woman to end her pregnancy very late in her second trimester to comply with China's one-child law. Jill points out that groups like the UN Population Fund — a target of the conservative, anti-abortion Mexico City Policy that de-funds family planning groups that talk about abortion abroad — "have been successful in lowering the rate of forcible and coerced abortion" but they are stymied by their efforts in China to allow women the choice to carry a pregnancy by the supposedly pro-life policies of the United States that eliminates their funding. Oh, the smell of hypocrisy in the evening. [Feministe]

]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5091208&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[ When Robin Yassin-Kassab met his wife Rana...]]> When Robin Yassin-Kassab met his wife Rana in Syria, where half of the women wore the hijab, he thought she shared his liberal values because she did not cover her head. But five years into their marriage Rana decided to start wearing the hijab, against her husband's wishes. "What really bothered me was people thinking Rana wore it because I forced her to," says Robin. Rana says before she began wearing the scarf, "I had not realized how much I had used the way I looked to get me places, be it in a job interview or at a party." She credits wearing the headscarf with making her develop her personality, and says that over time her husband has, "realized that this is what I want and he's given me the freedom to do it." [The Guardian]

]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5075047&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Mahbooba Ahadgar Still Not In Italy, Probably Not In The Olympics]]> A couple weeks ago we weighed in on the story of Mahbooba Ahadgar, the third woman from Afghanistan to ever qualify for the Olympics. She disappeared from an Olympic training facility in Italy on July 4th and many people worried that the extremists who had been threatening her for weeks might have finally gotten their way. Well, there's good news and bad news. Mahbooba's alive, but her harassers might yet be getting their way.

Mahbooba's recently sought asylum in Norway because of the harassment directed at her and her family because of her audacity to train as an athlete and represent her country. Her father was beaten and jailed by the police multiple times and her family had taken to moving around to avoid the inevitable harassment and what they worries would be even worse violence. When Mahbooba realized that even her move to Italy to train wouldn't protect her or her family if she actually competed in the Olympics, she fled to the Scandinavian country and decided not to compete in the Games for the sake of everyone's safety.

In a sick twist of fate, the Afghan Olympic Committee is now threatening to use the corrupt police department that jailed her family for allowing her to compete in the Olympics to jail her family if she doesn't compete in the Olympics. So much for the Olympic spirit!

Dispatches From Afghanistan Sam: The Fastest Girl in Kabul [Mental Floss]

]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5030469&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Missing In Sports, And Italy: Mahbooba Ahadgar]]> Mahbooba Ahadgar is a runner from Afghanistan, the third Afghan woman ever to qualify for the Olympics and the only one scheduled to compete this year. I say "scheduled to compete" because nobody really knows where she is right now, or even if she's safe.

Mahbooba has chosen to compete in a full track suit and a headscarf, in keeping with her Muslim faith, but that didn't stop Muslim extremists from targeting her with their hatred. She had to get a new SIM card for her phone when they found her number and used it to make death threats and taunt her. Last Friday, she disappeared from a training facility in Italy. Although some are claiming it might be a bid for asylum and there are conflicting news reports as to whether her passport is missing (along with her luggage), people who know her say her love for her country and her family make an asylum bid unlikely.

Ahadgar Winning the Women's Race [IOC and picture courtesy of NOC Afghan]
Where Is The Afghan Female Runner? [Time]
Missing: Only Aspiring Female Afghan To Run In Beijing Games [The Times]

]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5023436&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Islamic authorities in Kota Bharu, a city...]]> Islamic authorities in Kota Bharu, a city in northern Malaysia, have distributed pamphlets urging women to forsake bright makeup and high heels to avoid being raped. The authorities (mocked by Malaysian liberals as "Taliban lite") justify their actions by saying they are simply making suggestions for women who want to lead a "100% Islamic" way of life. However, women who want to follow the suggestion against high heels but still want to channel their inner Carrie Bradshaws can do so as long as they pad their heels to mute the sound. Bright red lipstick is still strongly discouraged, because it is so Fall/Winter 2007. [Guardian]

]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5019140&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Please Send Lawyers, Daniel Craig and Money]]>

  • The French Muslim non-virgin whose wants the annulment her husband wants because she isn't one is probably not going to get it because of the feminist uproar. One step for feminists, I guess, right in the midst of her pain. [BBC]
  • Speaking of steps, Congress has come up with a system to give retroactive immunity to phone companies that illegally tapped your phones at the behest of the Administration without looking like they're giving retroactive immunity to phone companies that illegally tapped your phones at the behest of the Administration. And you thought politicians weren't creative. [Washington Post]
  • And, in case you thought your job sucked, it turns out that when you work for Congressman Don Young, you also work for his wife and she's crazy. Also,
    If you’re being chased by armed police man [sic], don’t try to escape into a metro station," is part of their intern advice package. It's good advice. [The Hill]
]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5018118&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[ Juashaunna Kelly is the fastest girl in...]]> Juashaunna Kelly is the fastest girl in all of D.C. The track star, and observant Muslim, however, was banned from a meet on Saturday because of her uniform, a custom-made creation that covers her head, torso, arms, and legs in accordance with Islam's modesty laws. And though Kelly has competed in the uniform before, the director of the meet said it stood in violation of National Federation of State High School Associations. Says Juashaunna's mother Sarah: "First, they said she had to take her hood off. Then, they said she can't have anything with logos displayed. Then, they said she had to turn it inside out. When I told them that there weren't any logos on it, they said she had to put a plain white T-shirt on over it." Says us: This is bullshit — let the young woman run. [MSNBC]

]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=345931&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[14-Year-Old Girl's Bracelet Gets Her Kicked Out Of School]]> In the UK, a 14-year old girl has been tossed out of school for wearing a bracelet. Thing is, she's Sikh. And the bracelet, a Kara, is a part of her faith. Her school says the bangle stands in violation of their dress code, which prevents not only the wearing of jewelry, but also the wearing of any accessories that would announce one's religion. (Earlier this year, a Muslim student was denied the right to wear her head scarf and a Christian student, was told by England's high court that she didn't have the right to wear a ring that served as a token of her chastity pledge.)

So here are some questions: Is this right? Banning jewelry? And does a "chastity" ring belong in the same category as a head scarf or a Kara? Because a chastity ring isn't a part of actual religious practice. And how is it that non-Christians are always being sent the message that their customs and faith are, literally, unacceptable? Does preventing the wearing of "symbols of faith" does make for religious equality? And what do you think would happen if this girl — or her parents — took this issue to court?

Sikh Schoolgirl Excluded From School For Wearing Bangle [Guardian]
Sikh Pupil Excluded Over Bangle [BBC]

]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=320050&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[The Terrorists Win Again On TheKnot.com]]> Poor goldenshell84. She's marrying a man of mysterious "Middle Eastern descent" and her rich parents won't pay for the wedding, even though she lives in Manhattan and it's sooooo expensive. So naturally, she consults the good citizens on The Knot message boards. And they so totally understand her plight:

ootmother2:well, there are a good number of terrorists hiding in NYC. Does he drive a cab?
Funny you should mention terrorism, ootmom, because we're sort of starting to understand it!

The full predicament, from goldenshell84

hi everyone, i am seriously going to have the worst wedding ever and i'm really upset about everything that is happening. i have been living with my boyfriend for about a year now and we are planning to get engaged this summer and married next summer. unfortunately, my parents are threatening (and i really think they mean it) to cut me off/not support wedding/have no contact with me because they really do not like him (for a variety of reasons, mainly b/c he is middle eastern and 5.5 yrs older).

And then, Ootmother2's racist-but-not-racist-because-I'm-not-a-racist-but-I'm-on TheKnot-so-actually-I-am reply:
I live in manhattan. NYC weddings are VERY expensive. Aside from that, how old are you and how old is your FI? Maybe I can help here if I know more details

To which goldenshell84 could only say: finally someone who gets me!
oootmother: i am about to turn 24 and he is 29. i would be 25 before we got married. keep in mind my mom got married at 22! i think its more about the middle eastern thing than the age thing, to be honest. he is also muslim, and my mom continues to refer to him as a terrorist. i could not make this up! ....he was born and raised in the us and is not a practicing muslim; neither are his parents. he also does NOT drive a taxi! haha he has a great job in banking.

Sounds like a winner! Ootmother2 is officially no longer so compassionate!

golden, why don't you try the NEY (not yet engaged)board. The ladies there are super helpful and know how to handle this type of situation! j/k about the cab, hope you got the joke

A "joke"! Janice was not so amused!

Janice12543: "well, there are a good number of terrorists hiding in NYC. Does he drive a cab?" Wow what a racist remark. My fiance is half Egyptian, and I am proud of it. NOT EVERYONE THAT IS OF MIDDLE EASTERN DECENT IS A TERRORIST! I Can't believe you even said that.

SnoopyLuv: Janice, calm down, for real. My grandfather is Jordanian and recieved alot of harrasment after the attacks. Neither he nor my family members let it effect them in such a way. People say stupid things, get over it.

IrishBrideND: Janice...it was said sarcastically.

zoebean45: Don't waste your time explaining things to Janice. Trust me on this.

Janice12543: Maybe it was a joke, but it isn't something to joke about.

ootmother2: Janice, get over yourself!

Janice12543: Wow what a reponse. BRAVO. You were wrong and now you have nothing to say but get over yourself.

megani: Janice, why dont you go eat something... like your hand. Then we don't have to read your crap anymore.

Janice12543: ott you area racist. Call me dumb all you want. I really don't give a fuckkkk. You are the worst kind of person there is.

At which point goldenshell84 defends her bitchy bridezillaren:

the other day at work i called myself a spaz and someone got really offended because apparently using the word spaz is rude toward epileptic people (?). bottom line, i'm sure you didn't mean that in a rude way, but i could see how a lot of people would get extremely offended by it. it's sad that there is this kind of prejudice about middle eastern people in our country that we are so quick to assume someone is saying something rude or being prejudicial.

But the last word is all ootmomma's

ootmother2: goldenshell is going to be very surprised to see that her post was hijacked.

]]> http://jezebel.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=270225&view=rss&microfeed=true