Are the Australian cleric’s comments about women really offensive in this day and age?
No one over the last few years or so would have failed to notice that Islam has been a constant topic in the media and therefore a source of discussion among Muslims and especially non-Muslims. Most of the coverage has been negative and created many stereotypes about Islam and Muslims.
The recent comments in Australia by an Islamic cleric to his Jummah congregation have caused more outrage and media hysteria. How dare he say that women who go out provocatively dressed contribute to sexual harassment and rape. Also he compared women to meat being left exposed for animals to attack with gusto and relish.
This type of language when translated from Arabic to English comes across as being very crude and has upset a lot of Australians especially women, in particular those who like to sunbath with a G-string and a bikini on.
Australia is known as a country where the outdoor lifestyle is very liberal to say the least. One of its favourite past times in sunbathing and there are many beaches where people go completely nude, well almost nude. People in Britain became aware of Australia via Neighbours and Home and Away and they do seem to be a very tolerant bunch of chilled out people.
Recently the Cronulla riots took place between native Australian youths who wanted to re-claim their beaches back from the Lebanese Muslims, who they derogatively refer to as Lebs. It’s understandable to see how white Australians feel threatened by recent immigrants especially the Muslim variety. The women wear Hijab, jilbab and Nikab, the men wear foreign garbs even in the heat, have beards and refuse to wear shorts. Also unlike other immigrant communities who have embraced Australian values and have no problems fitting in, the Muslims have remained aloof and distant. Many Muslim youths born in Australia have embraced and are following a more fundamentalist version of Islam than their parents, who followed a mixture of culture and Islam.
It’s quite ironic that White Australians feel this way about Muslims I suppose when their ancestors first landed the aborigines must have felt something similar. Of course the aborigines being civilised and tolerant didn’t ask the immigrants to integrate and adopt the dress code and values of the host society nor did they attack them or call them racist names. Over time we see that it is the aborigines who have been converted into thinking and behaving like the immigrants of 250 years ago. So why then does Australia have a problem with Muslims and Islamic values? Maybe Islamic values can help to re-shape and create a better society for all. After all Islam does have a track record of creating harmony between different faiths and people of many races.
Why not engage in dialogue and discussion with Muslims and see what Islam has to offer Australian society. Maybe Islamic values can help to reduce societal problems like binge drinking, sexual diseases, rape, abortion, racism, unemployment. After all the most populous Muslim country in the world is Indonesia where Muslim traders landed and conveyed the Islamic message which led to millions converting to Islam.
According to recent articles Islam is gaining converts in Australia and is the fastest growing faith at the moment with over 100 mosques and a 90% increase in terms of the number of Muslims in the last decade.
Now to those controversial comments which has upset many people. Anyone who lives in the west is accustomed to seeing pornographic magazines on the top shelves of most newsagents. Soft porn can be seen daily in newspapers, TV, internet, advertising, music videos and films. Also women walk around wearing revealing clothes during the summer. Plus the many comedians who tell sexist jokes some of whom are very crude and demeaning to women. We have all seen and heard such things that we have now become immune and fail to see them as being offensive to women.
Not many people and especially those women who are now incensed complain about women being used as sex objects to promote and sell products, in fact being a page 3 girl or model is considered to be a glamorous career with hundreds of young anorexic women eager to flaunt their bodies. Yet these same women find it offensive when a Muslim cleric makes comments which are very tame in comparison to what is portrayed and said about women in the western media and popular culture.
If we think about it I’m sure we have heard them before in the UK. Not from preachers of hate imported from abroad or radical Muslim groups who Mr Blair wants to proscribe but from respectable people in high office and the general public.
A British poll, described as “shocking” by equal-rights campaigners, has found that more than a third of people believe women are to blame for being raped if they behave flirtatiously, wear sexy clothes or get drunk.
The IMC survey, commissioned by Amnesty International
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az= view_all&address=102x1940203#1940215
Note the above survey interviewed women as well as men for the sake of fairness.
This amounts to about 20 million people in Britain. In this context the cleric’s views seem to be mainstream in Britain and not extreme. Also the comments made by the Australian PM Mr Howard and others should be aimed at the pommies also. But would he dare to attack the Brits? No he’s happy to pass the buck to Shane Warne and other Australian fast bowlers. Just goes to show how bigoted and insincere he is.
So why then is the media picking up on every quote, speech and action of Muslims?
Ever since George Bush launched his war on terror after 9/11 against the terrorists many people have started to now ask questions.
Why are the Christian terrorists who bomb abortion clinics spared?
Why are the Israeli terrorists who kill innocent women and children armed and supported by America?
What about the Hindu terrorists in India who destroy Muslim places of worship and kill innocents?
The Buddhist suicide bombers in Sri Lanka have claimed the deaths of 2 Prime Ministers something which the so called “Muslim suicide bombers” have been unable to match let alone surpass.
And of course the Secular terrorists like Bush and Blair are not engaged in terrorism at all, although over 500 000 plus have died more than under Saddam’s tyranny.
It’s apparent to everyone that the war on terror is not against terrorists at all, but against those people who represent a threat and have an alternative way of life to Capitalism. It’s a convenient excuse to label them as being terrorists and then invade their countries and bomb them back to the Stone Age. Mr Bush openly talks about Muslims who want to establish the Caliphate from Morocco to Indonesia, who have an evil ideology and this war will continue for decades.
Obviously the western public need to support this crusade by sending their sons, paying taxes and verbal support. Also they need to be shown constantly that this enemy is everywhere and poised to attack physically and rhetorically. This is where Sheik Taj Din al-Hilal and his comments come in, more fuel to the fire to justify the war on Islam even though as I have mentioned above many other people hold similar opinions, 20 million of them in the UK in fact.
Also if the media wants controversial and offensive comments there is a plethora of people willing to make them. From Christian cultists to Right wing extremists, but then why give them the oxygen of publicity and create societal disharmony. It’s better to focus on the Muslims and continue to gain support for the war against Islam as an ideology and system for life.
As long as the war on terror continues Muslims all over the world will come under close scrutiny and everything we say and do will be misinterpreted and used to defame Islam and our communities. It is important in this current climate that we hold firmly onto Islam and trust in Allah swt only and engage in discussions with non-Muslims using the best words and explain our belief and rules in a calm and rational manner.
And for Non-Muslims who are open minded and do not believe what their leaders and media say about Islam and Muslims the time is long overdue to research what Islam is and to discuss with your Muslim neighbours, work colleagues or to visit Muslim places of worship and find out for yourself what Islam is.
Showkat Ali
Please feel free to publish, post and circulate widely, Also I welcome your comments and criticisms and feedaback.