Empowering Islamic Women

The most glaring example of media bias can be seen in the lack of attention given to abuses of women in the Islamic world. There are literally thousands of horrible examples every year. With the exception of the Internet, these stories are rarely heard. I wonder why. With all the mainstream media outlets heavily staffed by educated and liberated women, why do these abuses go unreported. Except for terrorism, the abuse of Muslim women is the number one reason to strongly oppose Islam at every turn.

Last week, we finally heard the story of the Saudi woman who was kidnapped and brutally raped by seven men. She was given 200 lashes for going out in public unaccompanied by a male family member! The only reason this story made it to the western press was that there were appeals to high courts in Saudi Arabia and even some Muslim men became outraged. (On a side note, I find it strange that it takes this level of abuse to outrage a few Muslim men, but cartoons in a Danish newspaper can turn the whole Islamic world into a riotous mob.)

The fact is that women in the Muslim world are completely subject to their fathers and later, their husbands. They have no self-determination at all. Their husbands are permitted to beat them into submission. They are not allowed to leave their homes without male supervision. They have no part in the political process. In short, they are treated much like women were treated 1,000 years ago.

Theo Van Gogh, a Dutch film maker, produced a documentary film entitled, "Submission". It chronicled the abuses of Muslim women in Europe. Even in the most liberal part of the world, these women were subjected to brutality and lifelong incarceration by their husbands. For exposing this, Van Gogh was brutally executed on a busy street by a Muslim man. A letter was attached to his body predicting chaos in America, Europe, and Holland.

And Muslim men carry these attitudes toward women with them to the United States. My wife had a business deal with a Muslim man a couple of years ago. He refused to shake her hand and would barely speak directly to her. He was offended that, in order to complete the deal, he had to treat a woman as his equal.

A few of the more modern Islamic countries allow women a basic education and the best and brightest are allowed to pursue higher education at university. But for the most part, women are property. They have no opportunity to choose a career or, in many cases, to choose their own husband. And women who speak out or push for reform are not simply shouted down or prohibited from speaking. They are frequently murdered.

Halima Ahmed Hussein al-Juburi was a proponent of women's rights in Iraq. Ten men broke into her home and shot her in front of her three children. This is just one of many examples of women murdered for simply pushing for mild reforms in Islamic law and custom.

If George Bush and future presidents want to have an impact on the Islamic world, they would be best served to support the rights of women and their inclusion in the political process. (Not that kingdoms and brutal dictatorships have much of a political process) And Bush's family is quite friendly with the Saudi Royal Family, one of the worst of the offenders. Surely he has some influence with these tyrants.

Women balance men. They encourage talking when men only think about fighting. Something tells me that women could have a profound influence in the Israel-Palestine conflict. For fifty years, Israel has been making concessions to the Palestinians, hoping for peace. But the Palestinians have yet to make one genuine gesture or keep one peace treaty. Why? Israeli women are an influential part of the political process. Palestinian women are not. Enough said.

If you doubt the extent of the problem, please click on the link above entitled "Muslim Questions and Answers". It is a web site created by Muslim theologians to answer questions on Islamic law for Muslims. Just peruse a few rulings on women.