Posted on 09/21/2002 2:38:09 PM PDT by knighthawk
A Somali woman living in the Netherlands has been put under police protection, after allegedly receiving death threats from extremist Muslims. On Dutch television earlier this week, Ayaan Hirsi Ali criticised fundamentalist Islamic communities for their treatment of women. Other Dutch Muslims who have been campaigning for women's rights say they too have been threatened, and that the Muslim community here in the Netherlands is increasingly divided.
Ms Hirsi Ali, a Somali-born immigrant who has lived in the Netherlands since she was nine years old, is an outspoken critic of the treatment of women in Islamic society, and particularly within tight-knit fundamentalist groups in Western immigrant communities. A member of the scientific panel that advises the Dutch opposition Socialist party, she has accused Islamic groups in the Netherlands of covering up the problems of domestic violence and child abuse.
In a popular talk show early this week, Ms Hirsi Ali made a plea for full women's rights, including "complete personal freedom and individual choice". Muslims deny "the serious imbalance that exists in relationships between Muslim men and women", she said and added that, in this context, Islam could be called "a backward religion".
Serious Threats
These remarks provoked an outcry among Dutch Muslims and earned Ms Hirsi Ali a barrage of verbal abuse and even death-threats, allegedly from extremist Muslims both in the Netherlands and abroad. Police are taking the threats very seriously and have offered special protection to Ms Hirsi Ali and the foundation she works for.
The commotion is indicative of the wide gap between conservative and reformist forces within the immigrant Muslim community, says Secil Arda, who heads an organisation representing Turkish women in the Netherlands and is an adviser to the Dutch government.
"This is nothing new, just think about Salman Rushdie [the British author who received a fatwa ordering his assassination after the publication of his book The Satanic Verses, seen as blasphemous by many Muslims] or others who had the courage to say something. This is nothing new, it's always been like this."
Silencing Dissent
Other prominent members of immigrant communities, such as the Amsterdam-based lawyer Afshin Ellian and writer Hafid Bouazza have received similar threats after expressing criticism of Islamic culture. The threats merely serve to stifle any constructive discussion about the genuine issues at stake, says Secil Arda.
"It's true what she says. The point she makes is also my point. She's only telling us that Islam needs some enlightenment, some further steps and some reforms within the Muslim community. This can only happen if there's a good discussion and a key talking point should be the situation of women within Islamic countries and within Muslim thinking, which we absolutely disagree with. So, we need this discussion."
"Cowards"
Mrs Arda is aware of fierce opposition from some quarters within the Dutch Muslim community to improving the plight of women. She's faced threats as well, but says defiantly that this will never deter her.
"Those people are cowards. I want to see them, I want to hear them say why they don't come forward and tell us what their grudges are. I always speak my mind, I'm not afraid of them. … I consider our fight a milestone in the process of emancipation and I'm happy with it. Without this quest, we would never have change. I don't think it's such a negative thing. Maybe, a couple of fighters like us take all the flak, but behind us there are many other women and men desiring change."
There's a general sense that, following September 11 and the anti-immigrant backlash in several European countries, the Muslim community has turned inwards on itself. In this context, criticism from within its own quarters has invariably drawn a hostile response. In Mrs Arda's view, the only way out is to acknowledge that different views exist and to enter into a dialogue.
"Holland is a country where it's possible to voice your opinion. We need the fundamentalists to join us in the discussion and we invite them to do so."
Now we face the consequences.
Religion of tolerance-list
If people want on or off this list, please let me know.
In just about any context, Islam (fundi's) could be called a backward religion.
Oh yeah? We'll see. My guess is, when the IslamoNazis start blowing themselves to shreds among the crowded malls of the Western world, they're going to find little sympathy. I don't think we'll be quite as patient as the Israelis have been, to put it mildly. It's easy to sit back and watch Israel take it, and cry how bad the Palestinian "plight" is, until it comes to your own back yard. Things will come to a head soon. When you Euros, and for that matter, the American Left, have to peel the guts of your brothers and sisters off the wall, we'll see how much your "dialogue", and "tolerance", and "diversity", means to you. Your tune will change in a heartbeat, since you really don't have any principle in the first place.
Hmmm,come to think of it, maybe that's why the the suicide bombers haven't ventured into that frontier since 911. Maybe they know it's a real bad idea for them to come over this way. We'll see, won't we?
Bump.
This was their first clue????
She is a socailist. Explains it all.
Unfortunately, they didn't predict that some of these immigrants would bring their retrograde social ideas with them (hatred of gays, oppression of women, etc).
If the very future of the West wasn't on the line, this would actually be humorous.
Remember: islam is an insane death cult....it is awfully cruel and brutal.
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