|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dear Mr. HallReader comment on item: L'Institut d'Égypte – In Memoriam Submitted by Debanjan Banerjee (India), Feb 27, 2012 at 23:22 Hall : The burka represents oppression to most western societies. My Answer : Strange suggestion. If I am correct I believe that there is also a concept of freedom of expression in the West. But then again as I come to know there are limits to the freedom of expression in the West depending upon the regime in power. Now remember in Germany the Nazi Uniform is banned only because there is a regime in place in Germany which does consider Nazi uniform as a sign of oppression So if say a neo-Nazi regime comes into power in Germany and they decide to lift the ban on the Nazi uniform , so everything will be fine with the Nazi uniform right ? Before Mr. Sarkozy came into power in France , Burkhas were not banned so at that time they were not considered as signs of oppression right ? So how that only within last 5-6 years of Sarkozy reign , Burkhas became the symbols of oppression ? Can you please explain ? Hall : In Saudi Arabia there are laws prohibiting Muslim women from marrying non Muslims, and stopping women from driving. My Answer : I am well aware of those laws in Saudi Arabia. Yet that same house of Saud is the biggest ally of the West in the region. Remember every single US president since FDR , bowing and kissing the hands of the Saudi monarchs ? Remember UK PM-s including Blair and Cameron taking hefty commissions for selling big arms packages to that same House of Saud ? Is it not strange that the country whom you so-called defenders of Western freedom always like to bash , also you find yourself in bed with most of the times ? To every rational person in the World that represents hypocracy and double-standards. At the same time in Iran more women goes to Universities than men yet it is the same country which has been under constant threats of sanctions and invasions throughout the last 60 years from the West. Strange is not it ? The most progressive nation in the region lies under sanctions , assasinations and threat of military actions while one of the most oppressive regimes in the region lies in bed with the West , and the West doing every trick in the book of Kamasutra to please her House of Saud partners. Hall : It is a common trait amongst failures who look for someone to blame for why they are a failure. My Answer : I agree with you on this. By extending your logic let us have a look at the problems the West finds itself with now. The biggest problem that France has been facing for the last decade has been massive unemployment , economic debt burden and economic inequality. All these can be attributed to the greed of the very few who happen to be rich and powerful in that country. Now tell me is Burkha responsible for these present ills of France ? No it is not. So why do you not blame the French for the same accusation that you are labelling against me ? Hall : You not being from a developed country do not have the understanding of what oppression of women is, because being a Muslim male from the 3rd world you are probably an oppressor of women. My Answer : I understand I am not a citizen of any so-called "developed country" like your beloved USA or Australia. Now the most basic unit of the progress of humanity i.e. the family is in the danger of on the verge of collapse in your beloved USA.(Reference : http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/18/us/for-women-under-30-most-births-occur-outside-marriage.html?pagewanted=all ) Now fortunately we in this developing country of ours fortunately still do not have this same thing. So tell me what does the phenomenon of the upsurge in single mothers represent to the Western civilization ? Progress ? Development ? I consider it oppression over women. The makers of norms and cultures in the West never have had the benefit of women in mind when they encouraged her to give up marriage. They wanted her as clerks and personal secretaries thereby turning her as an object of exploitation. In the West , the woman is an object for exploitation. That NYtimes article supports my viewpoint here. I believe Islam at least provides these hapless and oppressed single and lonely mothers in the West a very important and needed route . Family and protection , period. Coming back to the developed Western civilization of yours , I ask you why the most important man ever to contribute to the cause of progress and humanity and to be born on Australian soil i.e. Julian Assange can never set his foot upon Australian soil , his land of birth ? What kind of progress and civilization does this represent on the part of the West ? I await eagerly for your answers. Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments". Reader comments (104) on this item
|
Latest Articles |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
All materials by Daniel Pipes on this site: © 1968-2024 Daniel Pipes. daniel.pipes@gmail.com and @DanielPipes Support Daniel Pipes' work with a tax-deductible donation to the Middle East Forum.Daniel J. Pipes (The MEF is a publicly supported, nonprofit organization under section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code. Contributions are tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law. Tax-ID 23-774-9796, approved Apr. 27, 1998. For more information, view our IRS letter of determination.) |