I am a Muslim Woman

November 21, 2001 | Furi Setio Rini

[Ronin]

Hello,

My name is Furi Setio Rini and I am a Muslim woman. I am 20 years old and live in Jakarta, Indonesia. I am attending my third year of medical school at Trisatki University. My friend, Ronin, asked me to write this because he is very disturbed about the hatred of Islam that he is seeing on your board.

What can I say about me? Well, I think I am an average Indonesian girl. I like movies and music. I love to shop for new clothes. Sometimes I eat too much. I do not like the music that is too loud. I don't like politics and I don't understand them.

I have to laugh when I hear western people talk about Muslim women. Somehow they think that all of us are beaten by men and treated like animals. If you had ever seen my father, my brothers and me, running away from my mother when she was angry, you would know how silly that is.

I have never worn a veil. I wear make up and I use lipstick. Except on the days I go to Mosque. On those days I clean myself as much as I can. I do not believe that it makes much difference to God, but I want him to see me with my true face, and heart.

I have two brothers. One of them is older, the other is younger than me. I guess that they are like brothers everywhere. Sometimes I love them. Sometimes I hate them. Sometimes I wish I could kill them. But no, that is a lie. Even when I think I hate them, I love them. They are my brothers, my family. I love and respect my father and my mother. I adore my father and hope to find a husband just like him.

I have not been kissed yet. And I have not been held as a woman wants to be held. Yes, I want it. Yes, I dream about it. But I can wait until I find the man I will marry. And no -- it will not be a marriage arranged by my parents. I will choose my husband, and he will choose me. We will marry because we love each other and want to spend the rest of our lives with each other. God willing.

I am studying to be a doctor. It is my best dream and ambition to be a doctor in a small village where doctors are rare. I want to be able to help the most common people of my country. I want to make life better for them. I want to bring happy and healthy babies to loving mothers and proud fathers. I want to give comfort to the old people who have so much to teach us. I want to share my love with true and real results.

I am not perfect. I am quite lazy sometimes and I have to force myself to studies on days when it is too hot, or at times when there are so many other interesting things to do. But this is a story about Muslim women, so maybe I should talk about that a little. What is Islam to me? This is a question that is very hard for me to answer. Islam is in my blood. I pray to God each day. I ask for health and happiness for my family, my friends and my country. More than that I cannot say. I love God and I pray to Him daily. . Is that any different from you?

I pray to God each day for wisdom. But the newspapers and the television and the radio shows me nothing but images I do not want to see. I can't stand the pictures I see.

I hate war. I hate it! I hate it! I hate it!

I hate it almost as much as I hate pediatrics class. Not because I hate newborn babies, I love them. I want my own babies. But, I hate learning about the illnesses and the horrible conditions that can happen when a baby gets sick.

My heart cries. Sometimes, just opening the textbook is a horror. To see a stillborn baby makes a small death inside me. But I must learn, because if I cannot learn to treat them and make them well, more babies may die. I cannot think of anything worse.

I think that most Indonesian girls are like me. And, most Indonesian boys are like boys everywhere. They like cars and sports. They play music too loud. When they think they are so cool and exciting, they are usually very boring. The television and radio you see is not showing you the proper vision of my country or my people. We live and we love. We go to restaurants, movies, and clubs.

I do not drink alcohol, but I do not find that a hardship. (I did have a glass of red wine once. It did not taste very good.) My father and my brother smoke cigarettes, but I don't. No, we do not eat pork.

Men say that the words of God are in the Holy Quran, the Christian Bible and in the Jewish books. I do not know about that. I read the Holy Quran and try to live my life in the teachings that it contains. But inside my heart I know the only commandment of God is love. I love God. And I know that God is love.

So, this is my testament. It is not very profound.

I am a Muslim woman. I love God. God is love. I love you all.

Furi Setio Reni

[Alouette]

I have to laugh when I hear western people talk about Muslim women. Somehow they think that all of us are beaten by men and treated like animals.

THIS MUSLIM WOMAN WAS BEATEN AND TREATED LIKE AN ANIMAL. YOU WON'T LAUGH

Picture is linked rather than displayed as the image may be shocking for sensitive Freepers.

[Fighting Irish]

YAWN.......

I'm so tired of this conversation.

It was rag heads that brought this fight to my country. You don't like the verbal retribution then go back to your homeland.

[Fighting Irish]

Whatever.......I'm so tird of pandering peace and love to these towel heads. It was their extremist beliefs that brought all this on. Now they should either just shut up or simply go away.

The burden of proof flew into the Pentagon, a Pa. field and Trade Center towers.

Ball is in their court.

[BellStar]

Easy for a Muslim woman in Indonesia to say! How about all the raped Christian little girls and Woman in Indonesia Ronin? How about helping them with a few post. Balance don't you know.

[hinckley buzzard]

The facts on the ground indicate rather forcefully that there IS a lot of Kabul in Jakarta. Asking us to ignore the realities of moslem atrocities in Indonesia and all around the periphery of the moslem world by sending an airhead little girl to pretend that she's just an average American teen, nothing amiss here, by golly, was not a wise or well-considered idea.

We don't hate your little girlfriend, we hate the ugly realities she blithely ignores yet blames us for acknowledging.

I think you need to get back to civilization for a breather, Ronin. You're starting to go Asiatic.

[Ol' Sparky]

No, the spin of the day is coming from anti-Christian bigot like yourself. The only thing a dim wit like you even knows about the Canaanites is what the Bible -- the old testament being the oldest record of human history -- tells you. So, it is the Bible that clearly states that the Canaanites were to be destroyed because of their Nazi-like culture. A culture involved in sacrificing children should be destroyed. Only idiot would disagree that is just cause to eliminate any culture. And the Bible clearly states that is the major cause for the attacks on the Canannites.

If you were an anti-American bigot, you'd make the same case against the US in World War II or against our actions in the Persian Gulf War.

[KanghaRue]

Irish:
Whatever.......I'm so tird of pandering peace and love to these towel heads. It was their extremist beliefs that brought all this on. Now they should either just shut up or simply go away.

kangharue:
You didn't say "it was their extremist beliefs that brought all this on", you said, "Prove to me that your "Prophet" didn't say kill everyone that is not a follower of Islam." Therefore, you were implying that the problem stems not from extremist interpretations of Islam, but from Islam itself...from Muhammed. When you make statements like that...the burden of proof is on you to prove them correct. That's what I'm doing. I'm asking you to prove it, or at least attempt an argument. If you can only ignorantly rant about "towel heads" than your mentality is about on a par with the militant Islamists.

Irish:
The burden of proof flew into the Pentagon, a Pa. field and Trade Center towers.

kangharue:
Emotionally charged rhetoric but not much else. Planes flying into the WTC or the Pentagon do not prove that Muhammed ordered all non-Muslims to be killed. That was your claim.

[KanghaRue]

Ice:
We hate the stupidity of a 'religion' that is based on killing innocent people.

kangharue:
Perhaps I'm wasting my remarks on someone of your great intellectual standing..but your comments are really kind of funny....in their own sick, stupid way. One needs a strong stomach and a significant anti-intellectual bent (all that "Piled hired and Deeper" stuff) to take pleasure in your ridiculous ramblings. Unfortunately, you probably take pride in being this uninformed.

Since you made the claim, can you now prove that Islam is based on killing innocent people?

Ice:
Tell me, do you agree with the practice of Moslem men using young boys for sex--because it is not really sex.

kangharue:
Do you find it equally offensive when Greek men do the same thing? ..or Chinese men? ...or German men? Do you have any idea what you're talking about? I doubt it. Your remarks display a shocking level of ignorance and a gross inability to analyze.

[KanghaRue]

Irish:
I'm so tired of this conversation.

It was rag heads that brought this fight to my country. You don't like the verbal retribution then go back to your homeland.

kangharue:
Obviously, you're only here to rant on about what you don't know. I think you should go back to watching football. Hurry, there's a game starting!

[Fighting Irish]

Oddly enough....I'm not a football fan.

[KanghaRue]

You have a name like "Fighting Irish" and your not a football fan? What are you then...some kind of bar brawler?

[Demidog]

A culture involved in sacrificing children should be destroyed.

So you support the terrorists? A million abortions sounds like child sacrifice to me. And I am not an anti-Christian bigot. I am an anti-bigot Christian.

[Ol' Sparky]

If you were a "Christian" you wouldn't be misrepresenting the Holy Bible.

The terrorist are evil and motivated by Islam, which is the foundation of their actions. Islam is the ultimate example of bigotry and intolerance. Islam oppresses women and millions of Muslims, motivated by the Qu'ran, support slaughtering innocent non-Muslim civilians. Those opposed to bigotry, should be opposing Islam.

I oppose the abortion policy of our government and those policies should be overturned. There are ways to stop that, however, without killing abortionists. The Canaanites could only be stopped by force.

[Demidog]

If you were a "Christian" you wouldn't be misrepresenting the Holy Bible.

I could say the same about you.

[Vets_Husband_and_Wife]

Good grief Ronin!!!! If Furi lives in Jakarta, Indonesia and doesn't KNOW what a large contingency of Terrorist Training Camps are there,.. I have to question her intelligence, or lack of.

This is just such a naive letter. I feel for her as a fellow human being. Having worked in medicine on a Maternity Ward, and in an OBGyn clinic, I can relate to the still born deaths, etc. I hope she continues with her education.

But I'm still left with the FACT she LIVES in one of the biggest hotspots in the world for Terrorist Training,..and seems unaware of it.

Help me out here.. ??

[Vets_Husband_and_Wife]

OH!!! And btw,. THIRD YEAR MEDICAL STUDENT??? They sure do it differently in Indonesia!! How old was she when she graduated from High School? How old when she got her Bachelors degree?? She said she was 20!!! Doesn't seem to add up for me. Unless of course she is a child prodigy!

[Chick-with-a-brain]

Well, like many others above have said, we don't hate Muslims. In fact, I had a Muslim female friend that I was very close to and thought she was a very loving, innocent person. But, their religion, in my opinion, has some completely upside down values.

Ms. Rini listed things she prayed for, but she failed to mention that 5-times-a-day prayers had to be said in Arabic even if she doesn't understand what she is ritually citing.

Ms. Rini also failed to mention that once a month, during her cycle, she is considered "dirty" and not permitted to pray, enter a Mosque, or touch the Koran. Of course, after those 5 days, she's required to make up the prayers that she missed.

Ms. Rini also failed to mention that there's a verse in the Koran that tells men to beat their wives.

Ms. Rini also failed to mention that a Muslim man can divorce his wife without any legalities or communications, by just saying so and she may not even know it happened.

Ms. Rini also failed to mention that Muslim men may marry outside their religion, but not Muslim women; this is a terrible sin.

Ms. Rini also failed to mention that the penalty for a woman being unfaithful to her husband is death.

The above are not extemist views, but rules/facts practiced by so called moderate Muslims.

Oh, and what about all the thousands of Indonesians protesting in the streets recently about how much they hate the U.S.? I wonder what Ms. Rini thought of this.

[Fighting Irish]

By that logic are you then...a marsupial?

[PoisedWoman]

In the mosques that do allow women, they have to enter through a different entrance than the men do.

Even in secular Turkey(a Muslim but not Arabic country), Muslim women were confined to a small room at the back of the Mosque to pray, while the men got the run of the place. In gambling casinos, however, Turkish women were shoulder-to-shoulder with the men at the gaming tables. Go figure.

[toddst]

is this based on personal observation or heresay? I admit to knowing little about Turkey.