Sex, Men, Women, Violence, Religion

When you tell a child he can't have something, he wants it even more. Islam, especially in places like Saudi Arabia, doom some women and men to miserable, hideous lives. Freedom's Cost, sums it up this way:

Isn’t it interesting that the very culture that was meant to foster morality, that was meant to protect women against the animal instincts of certain males has instead fostered the exact opposite? Could it be that the religion does in fact mean to foster morality, but IslamoFascist interpretations have instead resulted in creating the immorality and disregard for human life it was meant to suppress?

Psychologists have long told us that extreme repression of any natural urge will prompt the individual to find another outlet for relief, could that explain the propensity for violence among certain elements who claim Islam as their religion? (via Freedom's Cost, via Israelated)

In Times Online, "Ed Hussain, once a proponent of radical Islam in London, tells how his time as a teacher in Saudi Arabia led him to turn against extremism", (via The Muslim Question 2 :

Racism was an integral part of Saudi society. My students often used the word “nigger” to describe black people. Even dark-skinned Arabs were considered inferior to their lighter-skinned cousins. I was living in the world’s most avowedly Muslim country, yet I found it anything but. I was appalled by the imposition of Wahhabism in the public realm, something I had implicitly sought as an Islamist. [snip]

Part of this local culture consisted of public institutions being segregated and women banned from driving on the grounds that it would give rise to “licentiousness”. I was repeatedly astounded at the stares Faye got from Saudi men and I from Saudi women.

Faye was not immodest in her dress. Out of respect for local custom, she wore the long black abaya and covered her hair in a black scarf. In all the years I had known my wife, never had I seen her appear so dull. Yet on two occasions she was accosted by passing Saudi youths from their cars. On another occasion a man pulled up beside our car and offered her his phone number.

In supermarkets I only had to be away from Faye for five minutes and Saudi men would hiss or whisper obscenities as they walked past. [snip]

In my Islamist days we relished stating that Aids and other sexually transmitted diseases were the result of the moral degeneracy of the West. Large numbers of Islamists in Britain hounded prostitutes in Brick Lane and flippantly quoted divorce and abortion rates in Britain. The implication was that Muslim morality was superior. Now, more than ever, I was convinced that this too was Islamist propaganda, designed to undermine the West and inject false confidence in Muslim minds. [snip]

At work the British Council introduced free internet access for educational purposes. Within days the students had downloaded the most obscene pornography from sites banned in Saudi Arabia, but easily accessed via the British Council’s satellite connection. Segregation of the sexes, made worse by the veil, had spawned a culture of pent-up sexual frustration that expressed itself in the unhealthiest ways.

Using Bluetooth technology on mobile phones, strangers sent pornographic clips to one another. Many of the clips were recordings of homosexual acts between Saudis and many featured young Saudis in orgies in Lebanon and Egypt. The obsession with sex in Saudi Arabia had reached worrying levels: rape and abuse of both sexes occurred frequently, some cases even reaching the usually censored national press.[snip]

I vowed, in my own limited way, to fight those who had hijacked my faith, defamed my prophet and killed thousands of my own people: the human race. I was encouraged when Tony Blair announced on August 5, 2005, plans to proscribe an array of Islamist organisations that operated in Britain, foremost among them Hizb ut-Tahrir.

At the time I was impressed by Blair’s resolve. The Hizb should have been outlawed a decade ago and so spared many of us so much misery. Sadly the legislation was shelved last year amid fears that a ban would only add to the group’s attraction, so it remains both legal and active today. But it is not too late.

You can go read the entire article here.

Freedom's Cost says:

This is not meant, in any way, as an indictment of every Muslim male! My Palestinian next door neighbors (with whom I am very close) are devout Muslim professionals, both. I’ve hardly ever seen a more loving couple, I’ve seldom seen such devotion and respect for one another. I have no doubt there are thousands of couples like them here, in Europe and even in Muslim countries. Nevertheless, there is something within the Islamic culture as practiced today that seems to foster violence, specifically against women. Is it not time for reform, time for reinterpretation?

I don't know what the answer is, but the problem seems clear. Ed Hussain has made a complete turnaround and I applaud him for speaking out.

What say you?

Comments

[Rastaman]

"there is something within the Islamic culture as practiced today that seems to foster violence"

Really? The writer is just noticing that?

What say I? The same thing I've been saying. Islam is inherently violent. Islam preaches torture, mutilation and death to all "unbelievers" and until their own Satanic verses are re-written or written out, Islam will always be a threat to genuine civilization and human advancement that it has repeatedly proven itself to be in the past. Islam is a violent creed propagated by a violent, insane pedophile who, for the most part, simply amplified on the general attitudes prevalent among the Arab peoples at that time, much as Hitler manipulated the predjudices and resentments of the Germans.

The muslims sexual violence and perversion isn't the problem or even part of the problem. It's a symptom of the problem.

The practice of Islam is the practice of: 1. Insanity; 2. Satanism; Stone-age brutality. Pick one. Either way you'll be right.

Rastaman
www.islamanazi.com

[Faultline USA]

Good article which needs to be shared. Radical Islam like anything “radical” always leads to all sorts of abuses. In this case it’s pure butchery and terrorism.

[Layla]

Like you do Debbie - I too applaud Ed Hussain for his turn around. As for an answer to this problem, I have none suffice to say that perhaps the Koran should be outlawed along with Sharia law and a Prophet who is a pedophile. Most Muslims do not even know what the Koran says, it is mostly given by word of mouth--therefore they are brainwashed with hate. Theirs is not a religion, but an evil ideology steeped in the pits of hell fire.

[Stormwarning]

I am so sorry, but this is so far from rational thinking.

It has been written, "Theirs is not a religion, but an evil ideology steeped in the pits of hell fire."

Some sources show over 1.3 billion people as followers of the Islamic faith, or over 20% of the World's population.

"One" cannot possibly HATE that many people. There cannot be that much hate in any one person.

I have neither the time, patience or interest in reading the Koran. That shouldn't affect this point of view...ALL HATE IS BAD.

[Ortho]

Well-written and articulate post.

I shall return to this blog often.

I can't wait to read more well-written, thoughtful, and engaging posts.

[Rex]

don't get me started.
instead come read the nice post i put up about your site.

[Debbie]

Thanks for the comments everybody, and Rex, thanks for your nice post at your place. I really appreciate it.

Ortho, we've had storms today, so posting has been very light. More tomorrow.

[bernie]

I linked to you from Schmaltz: http://plancksconstant.org/blog1/2007/04/schmaltz.html