Veena Malik is my new hero. The Pakistani actress takes an imam to task on television for criticizing her appearance on an Indian reality TV show. She is unstoppable!
I almost felt sorry for the imam. He probably thought he'd just do his usual thing, invoke the community, shame, etc., and that his opponent would be cowed. But Malik will not be shamed, will not be cowed. She fights right back, gives better than she got, and just whips the guy. Of course, this is how it looks to a Westerner like me: a brave woman speaking truth to power. But the more important question is, how does it look to the average Pakistani?
Showing posts with label islam. Show all posts
Showing posts with label islam. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Joining the Blog Bomb for Geert Wilders
Geert Wilders is currently on trial in the Netherlands for his short film Fitna. The film can be viewed in its entirety here. Please be advised that it contains graphic scenes of violence.
The film depicts Islam in a very bad light. By interspersing verses from the Koran with scenes of Islamic violence and hatred, it creates the impression that they are related. (I suspect there is something to this, by the way. But that is a question I have dealt with in other blog posts.) One of the most damning indictments in the film is its videos of Muslim clerics speaking in Arabic, subtitled in English. As the invaluable Middle Eastern Media Research Institute (MEMRI) has illustrated time and again, it's a common terrorist tactic to say one thing to Western audiences and quite another to Arabic ones. Fitna provides a similar service.
The Netherlands is prosecuting Wilders under its hate speech code. Does the film fall under the purview of the code? Perhaps: I am not an expert on Dutch law, needless to say. But if you believe in freedom of speech (as the Dutch government clearly does not), this film is exactly the sort of thing that must be protected. It is political speech, protest speech. Note that the film has not been attacked as libelous. Inaccuracy is not part of the complaint.
Furthermore, its message is merely that Islam is dangerous and to "stop Islamization". There is no call to answer violence with violence. This is not hatred. It may be wrong; you may disagree with the message. But silencing the messenger is an offense against one of the basic freedoms of Western civilization.
The film depicts Islam in a very bad light. By interspersing verses from the Koran with scenes of Islamic violence and hatred, it creates the impression that they are related. (I suspect there is something to this, by the way. But that is a question I have dealt with in other blog posts.) One of the most damning indictments in the film is its videos of Muslim clerics speaking in Arabic, subtitled in English. As the invaluable Middle Eastern Media Research Institute (MEMRI) has illustrated time and again, it's a common terrorist tactic to say one thing to Western audiences and quite another to Arabic ones. Fitna provides a similar service.
The Netherlands is prosecuting Wilders under its hate speech code. Does the film fall under the purview of the code? Perhaps: I am not an expert on Dutch law, needless to say. But if you believe in freedom of speech (as the Dutch government clearly does not), this film is exactly the sort of thing that must be protected. It is political speech, protest speech. Note that the film has not been attacked as libelous. Inaccuracy is not part of the complaint.
Furthermore, its message is merely that Islam is dangerous and to "stop Islamization". There is no call to answer violence with violence. This is not hatred. It may be wrong; you may disagree with the message. But silencing the messenger is an offense against one of the basic freedoms of Western civilization.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Banning the Burqa
Claire Berlinski writes a thoughtful and convincing essay on why we should ban the burqa, and now.
A clothing ban is highly distasteful. It's possible that one has to live through the consequences of widespread veiling, as Berlinski has (and I haven't), to gain an emotional, not merely intellectual, understanding of the necessity of banning it. I don't think I'm quite there yet, but Berlinski supplies the best argument I've read to date.
Parents in these neighborhoods ask gynecologists to testify to their daughters’ virginity. Polygamy and forced marriages are commonplace. Many girls are banned from leaving the house at all. According to French-government statistics, rapes in the housing projects have risen between 15 and 20 percent every year since 1999. In these neighborhoods, women have indeed begun veiling only to escape harassment and violence. In the suburb of La Courneuve, 77 percent of veiled women report that they wear the veil to avoid the wrath of Islamic morality patrols. We are talking about France, not Iran.
A clothing ban is highly distasteful. It's possible that one has to live through the consequences of widespread veiling, as Berlinski has (and I haven't), to gain an emotional, not merely intellectual, understanding of the necessity of banning it. I don't think I'm quite there yet, but Berlinski supplies the best argument I've read to date.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
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