There are deep disagreements about the sources of moral authority, the nature of knowing, the ‘limits’ of science.
Author: Ophelia Benson
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Ziauddin Sardar on the Archbishop and Sharia
It is not just in the west that the sharia conjures up instant images of oppression and brutality.
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The Archbishop’s Message
Perhaps Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury thought his statement about Sharia Law would be received enthusiastically as well-intended and an effort to reduce racial tensions in the society. However, his proposal got him into trouble. He was attacked from right and left. Those who saw their “white Christian culture” under threat asked for his resignation. Women rights activists, secularists and such like attacked him for the negative effects of Sharia Law on human rights, particularly the disastrous effects of such a practice on women in so-called Muslim communities. In response to harsh criticism he tried to qualify his proposal by stating that he did not mean the whole Sharia Law, but only in family matters. He has just missed the point.
The status and rights of women in Islam is the Achilles’ heel of this religion, and I must add, ideology. Misogynism is the trade mark of Islam. The veil is its banner and gender apartheid its main pillar. Moreover, today a very active reactionary political movement has based its ideology on Islam, namely political Islam. Anywhere they gain power they first and foremost victimize women, strip them of all their rights, force them under the veil and segregate them in society. The same movement that laments lack of tolerance for Sharia law in western societies is terrorizing the population in societies under its rule to obey Sharia Law, observe the veil and gender apartheid and punishes the defiant by flogging, cutting their limbs and execution.
One main reason to oppose Sharia law is the way it treats women. Rowan Williams’ promise that he only means the family code of Sharia law is no comfort to any woman living under the threat of losing her rights, nor to any girl who is frightened by “honor violence,” forced marriage and veiling. In fact it only exposes his ignorance.
It may be argued that the Archbishop’s intention is to combat racism. Let us examine whether the Archbishop’s proposal is anti-racist. One might argue that he has taken Muslims’ demands and culture into consideration, particularly when Muslims are increasingly being stigmatized. This assumption is false. Historically, the fight against racism has meant fighting for equality, not for differentiating; equality before the law and in the social, economic and political spheres. Anti-racism has been about integration not segregation. The civil rights movement in America was not about creating a set of different laws for blacks, but treating blacks and whites equally. The essence of the long battle against racial apartheid in South Africa was to create one system and one law for all citizens, which treated them equally.
However, it is not only the Archbishop who espouses this upside-down approach to racial equality. This is a political trend. For this trend the meaning of anti-racism has changed from equality to differentiation, from integration to segregation. We owe this falsification to post modernism, which gave rise to cultural relativism and eventually giving such high socio-political status to the concept of multi culturalism in this deformed interpretation of it.
Some misguided section of the “intelligentsia,” academia and political institutions have played a significant role in defending these concepts as progressive, libertarian, egalitarian and anti-racist. Reactionary political forces, such as political Islam have been the only beneficiaries of this trend. For decades gross violations of human rights in societies under Islam were neglected and even justified by these mal-formulated theories. Only when these brutal practices made an inroad into western societies in the form of terrorism, particularly after September 11, some outcries began to be heard.
Multiculturalism is racism; cultural relativism is racism; this should be recognized once and for all. By defining different laws for different citizens on the basis of such arbitrary concepts such as culture or religion, we leave the lot of the weakest sections of that so-called “cultural community” to the mercy of the self-imposed leaders of that community. We deprive these weakest sections the protection of the law and society. Women under Islam are down trodden and deprived of any rights. Leaving them under Sharia law will only victimize them further.
There are many fallacies involved in such an approach. One which is seemingly very liberal is the assumption that members of the “Muslim communities” will voluntarily resort to Sharia law. If Muslim women or children had any choice or voice, they would tell the Archbishop, to keep these proposals to himself. The question of choice is non-existent in a hierarchical and deeply male chauvinist community. Allowing Sharia Law to be practiced will cut off the poor voiceless women from any protection and make life much more difficult for the young women who struggle with backward traditions at home.
Giving the Archbishop’s intention the benefit of the doubt is the best case scenario. The other, to my opinion most probable scenario is that he is cunningly trying to strengthen the grip of religion and religious institutions on the society as a whole. By assigning a stronger position to Islam in “Muslim Communities” he is trying to foster the position of the church and Christianity in the wider society. If one accepts the role of Islam and Islamic laws in one community, by the same token, they should accept the role of Christianity and Church of England in the larger community. His defence of Sharia Law is a clever step towards revitalizing the role of Church in the wider society.
And finally, as a veteran women’s rights activist and one who has suffered first hand under a brutal Islamic state, as an activist who has fought hard against Islam and political Islam for liberty and equality, I am very indignant by Rowan Williams’ proposal. We do not need to establish Sharia law in any form or shape. We need a secular, free society, free from racism, misogynism and inequality. We need to rid the society from religion and religious establishment, be it Muslim, Christian, Judaism or the like.
14 February, 2008
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It is not just in the west
Ziauddin Sardar sets the archbishop straight.
It is not just in the west, as the archbishop suggests, that the sharia is misunderstood, or where it conjures up instant images of oppression and brutality. It is also misunderstood by most Muslims in countries other than Britain, countries where it is seen as a total system of divine origin, and where it sometimes leads to oppression and brutality…The sharia needs to be reformed totally before it can be implemented anywhere – among the Muslim minorities in liberal democracies or in the Muslim-majority states. Giving the sharia as it stands legal sanction in Britain, even in limited areas, will replicate all the problems of gender inequality that it has produced in Muslim countries.
It would be nice if the archbishop could write that clearly and forthrightly (and succinctly).
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How’s that again?
I don’t understand this. I must (as so often) be missing something. Roger Scruton says we we owe to ‘the Christian legacy’ the idea that law is and ought to be a secular institution, then he says we owe it to Roman law, but he goes on saying it’s a Christian legacy.
[O]ne of the things that we owe to [the Christian] legacy is the idea that law is and ought to be a secular institution, whose authority is founded in human decisions and is independent of, and in an important respect takes precedence over, divine commands…The privatisation of religious law was clearly a part of Jesus’s mission…His striking pronouncement in the story of the tribute money, that we should render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and unto God what is God’s, has served for many centuries as authority for the view that, in public matters, it is human and not divine government that should be obeyed. This idea gained credibility through St Paul’s letters, influenced as they were by Roman law and by the knowledge that the early church enjoyed the protection of a developed system of law.
In other words there was an existing system of secular law which influenced Paul, and one catchy phrase is attributed to Jesus – and that makes secular law a Christian legacy? It looks to me much more like a Roman legacy (and an Athenian legacy before that). What am I missing?
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CNN on Tasneem Khalil
‘I’m going to tell my story again and again and again,’ Khalil told CNN. ‘It’s not only my story.’
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HRW Says Torture is Rampant in Bangladesh
Many of the people arrested under the emergency rules have been tortured to extract confessions.
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The Guardian on Tasneem Khalil
HRW accuses international community of ignoring Bangladesh’s clandestine detention and torture system.
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Cross-dressers in Sharia Court in Nigeria
‘Under Sharia law a man must dress like a man and woman must dress like a woman.’
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Dane Starts ‘Sorry, Mo’ Group on Facebook
‘That is why I apologise for being a Dane coming from Denmark,’ Anders explains.
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Protection Needed for Targets of Death Threats
Ayaan Hirsi Ali has appealed to the EU to create a fund to help protect people under threat.
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The Sound of Mullahs
Sung by a chorus of dancing mullahs:
SHARIA
She’s by a tree with young Ali
Her husband is away.
We see here there
And grab her hair, she knows she’s going to pay–
And poor Ali he had to flee his parents couldn’t bear
To see him stoned for doing what is natural…..
She doesn’t seem repentant,
So we choose the largest stones;
The Prophet calls it mercy
(plus they’re good for breaking bones)
And young Ali has joined us
As a witness on his own;
We’re going to make her pay for what seems natural….
—I’d like to say a word before we throw….
Then say it Mullah Ibrihim
–Sharia says ‘Aim low.’
(Chorus)
O, How do you solve a problem like sharia?
How can we make the heathen understand….
How do we make the devils know sharia–
Is coming your way and soon will rule your land!
Oh great is the wisdom found in our sharia
Such wisdom cannot be equaled on the earth–
But how do we make you stay,
And listen to what we say–
Why do you spurn our Prophet and our God?
Oh how can we make you learn to love sharia–
Why does it always have to end in blood?
(Recitative)
When I read it I get chills
Paradisaical thrills
Emanate from every page my eyes do scan.
Full of justice full of love,
Full of vengeance from above,
It can only have been written by a man!
Just as fair as fair can be
Plain for everyone to see
Tit for tat and quid pro quo and eyes for eyes!
It ‘s amazing how it rings–
Allah’s wrath to all it brings
Swords on fire smiting liars for their lies!
It is truthful, it is just
It’s a mouthful, it’s a must–
It’s alarming—It’s disarming (giggle)
It’s the law!
Your daughters had better learn to love sharia.
The mullahs have said they ought to wear hijab
It’s all very clearly written in Sharia:
A snip of the clit by kindly Doc Hallab.
Your women will be protected by sharia
It keeps them at home and faithful in their bed.
The husband is smiling greatly for sharia
Says “Better off faithful to your vows than dead”
(Process to centre stage)
Oh great is the wisdom found in our sharia–
Such wisdom cannot be equaled on the earth.
But how do we make you stay
And listen to what we say–
Why do you spurn our Prophet and our God?
Oh how can we make you learn to love sharia–
Why does it always have to end in blood?
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Human rights in Bangladesh (there aren’t any)
More on Tasneem. From the Guardian.
“Rampant illegal detention and torture are clear evidence of Bangladesh’s security forces running amok”, said Brad Adams, [HRW’s] Asia director…Tens of thousands of people were arrested in the weeks that followed the declaration of a state of emergency, and security forces have been accused of flouting standard arrest and detention procedures. Khalil said there was now a culture of “self-censorship” in the country, and people were afraid of the consequences of speaking out. “I am taking a calculated risk in speaking out because I still have family in Bangladesh,” he said. “But I feel it is important that people know what is really going on in my country.”
From CNN (Tasneem has reported for them at times).
Human Rights Watch on Thursday issued a first-person account of the incarceration and torture in Bangladesh of one of its consultants – an outspoken human rights advocate, journalist and blogger…”Tasneem Khalil’s prominence as a critical journalist may have prompted his arrest, but it also may have saved his life. Ordinary Bangladeshis held by the security forces under the emergency rules have no such protections.” Khalil was freed “after tremendous international and national pressure,” the group said.
Tens of thousands of other Bangladeshis aren’t so fortunate. We’ll have to pay attention to Bangladesh. Two, three, many human rights advocates and bloggers – the thing to do is outnumber them. Bastards.
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HRW Pleads for Condemned Saudi ‘Witch’
Man said she made him impotent; she is to be executed.
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Mary Ann Sieghart on the Joys of Sharia
Mortgages are one thing, women’s lives are another.
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Pragna Patel on Religious Law and Women
The archbishop’s sentiments are indicative of those who call themselves liberal but are often the most insidious.
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HRW on Torture in Bangladesh
How the Bangladesh military abuses its power under the state of emergency.
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HRW Report on the Torture of Tasneem Khalil
‘They were hitting me so hard that I’m not sure whether it was just the force that hurt like this or if it was electricity.’
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Organisation for Women’s Liberation Conference
In commemoration of the 8 March centennial, OWL is organising a conference against religious and traditional misogynist practices. Violence against women justified by defence of family honour, forced marriages and imposition of the veil on underage girls are only a few brutal examples of such practices. In light of the Islamist movement’s offensive on women’s rights and lives, not only in counties under the rule of Islam but also in the west, and a global campaign to promote Shalria law, OWL feels the urgent need to mobilize a global force to counter political Islam and promote secularism in order to safeguard women’s rights and safety. Secularism is an important pillar of a society free of misogyny. This conference is a step towards this goal.
Veteran women’s rights activists, secularists, experts in socio-therapeutical work aiding victims of violence, and artists are coming together to make a memorable evening in defence of women’s rights and secularism, and against political islam, Islamist offensive and the new wave of religious movements.
OWL will also like to use this important occasion to bring to the attention of the world the lot of many imprisoned opposition activists in Iran, among them women’s right actvists, labour and student activists. A well-known Iranian poet and playwright, who has launched an important campaign to free student activists, is invited to read some of his poems.
Come and join us to celebrate the 8 March centennial together and join forces to push back the religious offensive and build an international secularist movement for women’s rights and a better world.
The conference will be in English, Swedish and Persian.
Speakers and guests:
Homa Arjmand, Coordinator of Campaign against Sharia Law
Diba Ali Khani, women’s right activist and organiser of 8 March events in Sanandaj, Iran
Rasool Awla, sociologist and psychologist, from Organisation of Men Against Violence Against Women
Maria Hagberg, social worker and the chair for a shelter for girls threatened by “honour violence”
Iraj Janati Ataei, poet, playwright and human rights activist
Azar Majedi, Chair of Organisation for Women’s Liberation- Iran
Houzan Mahmoud, spokes-woman Organisation of Women’s Freedom-Iraq
Sara Mohammad, Chair of Never Forget Pela and Fadme (two victims of honour killings)
Mitra Iranian, modern choreographer and dancer, performing a dance entitled Freedom
Venue: Gothenburg, Sweden
Lundby centrum, Wieselgrensplatsen ovanpå Coop Forum
Date: Friday 7 March 2008
Time: 19:00-23:00
Contact: Shahla Noori, phone: +46- (0)737 262622
Azar Majedi, azarmajedi@yahoo.com
If you have any queries, do not hesitate to contact us. If you would like to participate, please register.
Organisation for Women’s Liberation
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Bangladesh gives itself a free hand
Remember last year when we heard that Tasneem Khalil had been arrested in the middle of the night? Well now we know what happened to him while he was held. He was violently beaten, threatened, and terrorized, that’s what. He’s safe now – but Bangladesh has successfully gotten rid of a reporter who had been investigating human rights abuses of just the kind perpetrated on him. So Bangladesh can presumably do what it likes without any pesky reporters telling the world what Bangladesh likes to do – not unless those pesky reporters are eager to be beaten up and probably killed.