PA daily columnist condemns violence carried out against Muslim women in the name of Islam
Op-ed by Hanan Bakir, regular columnist for Al-Hayat Al-Jadida
“The Charlie Hebdo commotion has subsided, and the discussion over free speech, its borders and criteria has been ignited… France has recognized its responsibility for marginalizing the refugees and failing to implement a wise policy for their integration into society. Will we [too] admit that we are responsible, to a certain degree, for the negative way in which we portray our Arab culture, without this being construed as self-flagellation?... We are living in the West, and we are witnessing sickening behavior, whether on the part of individuals or some of the clergy, and the host countries are not blind to what is happening and being said in Friday sermons and Islamist circles. Furthermore, their eyes look around, and there are many who volunteer to spy on their coreligionists – for money, not out of loyalty to those who satisfy their hunger and provide them a safe haven…
An Imam in Denmark announced that beating women is permitted and that it appears in the Quran. In response, the [Danish] Minister of Women and Children’s Affairs countered that Danish law punishes the beating of women and children, and that if he wishes to beat his wives, he should return to his country and beat them as he pleases!
I worked at two departments for the protection of women and children over a long period of time, and 85% of the beaten women at the institution’s centers came from our communities! I heard almost hallucinatory stories – and all this in the name of religion and tradition, alongside the unwillingness to assimilate and respect the culture of the [host] country.
In addition, some of the [Arab] nations barbarically and harmfully circumcise their daughters in the name of religion – which is a complete lie! (i.e., it is not part of Islam.) The state noticed this through the resulting illnesses and health problems among those young women, and forbade [female] circumcision. It also instituted inspections [of young women] after their return from visits to their countries of origin. Yet these people are never short of tricks: They take the woman ‘murderer’ to Norway in order to circumcise their daughters, even though public spaces such as the [public] transportation [system] are full of leaflets proclaiming that Norwegian law punishes female circumcision…
This is not self-flagellation, and let us not always lay the blame on others while considering ourselves free from error!”
“The Charlie Hebdo commotion has subsided, and the discussion over free speech, its borders and criteria has been ignited… France has recognized its responsibility for marginalizing the refugees and failing to implement a wise policy for their integration into society. Will we [too] admit that we are responsible, to a certain degree, for the negative way in which we portray our Arab culture, without this being construed as self-flagellation?... We are living in the West, and we are witnessing sickening behavior, whether on the part of individuals or some of the clergy, and the host countries are not blind to what is happening and being said in Friday sermons and Islamist circles. Furthermore, their eyes look around, and there are many who volunteer to spy on their coreligionists – for money, not out of loyalty to those who satisfy their hunger and provide them a safe haven…
An Imam in Denmark announced that beating women is permitted and that it appears in the Quran. In response, the [Danish] Minister of Women and Children’s Affairs countered that Danish law punishes the beating of women and children, and that if he wishes to beat his wives, he should return to his country and beat them as he pleases!
I worked at two departments for the protection of women and children over a long period of time, and 85% of the beaten women at the institution’s centers came from our communities! I heard almost hallucinatory stories – and all this in the name of religion and tradition, alongside the unwillingness to assimilate and respect the culture of the [host] country.
In addition, some of the [Arab] nations barbarically and harmfully circumcise their daughters in the name of religion – which is a complete lie! (i.e., it is not part of Islam.) The state noticed this through the resulting illnesses and health problems among those young women, and forbade [female] circumcision. It also instituted inspections [of young women] after their return from visits to their countries of origin. Yet these people are never short of tricks: They take the woman ‘murderer’ to Norway in order to circumcise their daughters, even though public spaces such as the [public] transportation [system] are full of leaflets proclaiming that Norwegian law punishes female circumcision…
This is not self-flagellation, and let us not always lay the blame on others while considering ourselves free from error!”