Islam and the human beast

Submitted by Deianira (United States), Feb 22, 2009 at 14:36

Our morally derelict media devotes countless hours to the tragi-comedic travesty of the human condition exemplified in Buffalo, NY, by the fate of Travis, the "son/husband" chimpanzee who - as wild animals will - suddenly went on a murderous rampage and forced the idiosyncratic woman, his "mother/wife", to calll the police and, most reluctantly , have them kill the beloved beast which during a monstrous relatonship of many years, she had almost transformed into a human.

In sriking contrast to the endless reports about Travis is the studied brevity of news about the Muslim woman - Assiya Zubair Hassan, wife and mother of two, who was decapitated by her husban, the true monster, who may get 15 years to life. The overwhelming irony of this story is that the murdered was founder and CEO of Bridges TV, a Muslim enterprise dedicated to improve the image of Muslims in America.

The meagre details about the victim reveal that she was not only an extraordinary mother but also a remarkable individual. She had suffered years of abuse from her husband for the sake of her children, even while she worked with him at Bridges TV which was her brain-child. . She was to obtain an MBA degree. Surely this woman deserves to be remembered for much more than the fact that she was decapitated by her husband. Aasiya Zubair Hassan was a model for women, particularly Musims.

She was following the American tradititon: trying to improve not only herself but also the world in which she lived. . She was an admirable example of a woman in a developing socity; she could see beyond the circumstances of her personal life and was working through Bridges TV to improve the lot of her fellow human beings, particularly much needed understanding, acceptance and harmoney between Islam and other cultures. The more we consider the character, conduct and fate of Aasiya Zubair Hassan, he more we should demand that a day - like Martin Luther King Day - be declared in her name.

We must not allow the facts of her death which are still not fully reported, to be lost in the jumble of newsreports. We must demand to know how she died - suddenly? gradually ? Did her mostrous husband at least have "the decency" to strangle her first and dispatch her with merciful speed, at one stroke. Or - horribile dictu - did he relish the task and slowly apply a rusty blade? Did any one in the building or nearby hear sounds of a struggle? Screams? The media maintains a curiously disinterested distance from the story of Aassiya and her horrifying murder by her husband. Why? Has the Islamic community imposed its usual censorship or does the very word "Islam" bring a hush to our purportedly "free" press? Nor a word as to mourners or her funeral? Nor what happened to her two little ones. Aasiya and her hideous fate - on of all times "Valentie's Day" - must not be swept into anonymity. Her memory and the facts of her horrible death must be kept alive.

The historical significance and the universal symbolism of her fate must become the source of scholarly studies about the posiion of women in Islam, and must also cause of a rally cry for freedom - f reedom from the demeaning head-scarves, and the dehumanizing burquas, and whatever masks behind which an Islamic woman is obliged to hide and, in fact, negate her existend as a reponsible citizen or even as a sentient being. Obviously, there are volumes yet to be said and written about the headless woman found in a hallway on Valentine's Day, and the ever-widening range of circumstances in the culture of Islam, "the political ideology" that claims to be " a religion". Enough for now.

Her dream for Bridges TV surely included a brighter future for her children, but many more dreams of a better, safer life for her fellow Muslim women whose history - much as that of American Blacks - has been of subjugation , not only during the two or so centuries of American history, but for thousands of years since, at least, the Seventh Century of Mohammed.

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