Sharia

A recent opinion poll shows that a majority of Egyptians want the Quran as the State’s source of law. 

Furthermore, the poll showed that Egyptians are more open to the inclusion of religious parties in future governments, with one in three Egyptians polled having a “very favorable” view of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Meanwhile only 36% of people questioned feel it is “very important” for Christians and other minority religions to be allowed to freely practice their religions. 

I guess we’ll have to see what the September elections bring…

Marriage Day in Iran, which commemorates the marriage of Imam Ali to the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad, was day in which family values were celebrated. Yet this year, the day was renamed No Divorce Day, and was reinstated as a day on which no divorce permits would be issued, after divorce rates tripled this past decade.

Many accredit this increase in divorce to the motivation and desire of Iranian women to escape unwanted, unequal marriages, as in Islam men are able to end their marriages without giving a reason, while women who want a divorce, must suffer and fight for years.

So instead of trying to focus on the positive side of marriage, the Iranian government decided to change its day of celebration of family values, to a day of further rejecting women’s right to equality.

For the complete story of Iran’s rising divorce rate and No Divorce Day, see: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/07/world/middleeast/07divorce.html?_r=2&pagewanted=2&ref=global-home

Guess which picture is more recent? As Egypt becomes increasingly radicalized, we see the rights of women moving further and further back in time. Nonie Darwish, featured in Obsession, explains how this radicalization is in part, a rejection of Western values.

"Expecting Muslim women to be behind the reformation of Islam and Sharia, is like asking slaves to end their own slavery without their masters’ approval or asking prisoners to get out of prison without the guards opening the doors. […] For Muslim women to simply revolt against Islamic gender apartheid will be regarded as anti-man, anti-family, anti-religion, anti-government and worst of all, anti-Allah himself."

Check out Nonie's take on the potential for a feminist movement in the near future here.

This was the headline I saw in Google News this morning when I woke up for a drink in the middle of the night. “AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, June 5 (UPI) -- Geert Wilders, the Dutch anti-immigrant maverick, apparently led his party to a surprising runnerup slot in the Netherlands' European elections, officials say.Exit polls in the election to choose a European parliament indicate Wilders' Freedom Party won 15 percent of the vote and claimed 25 seats Thursday. That would be enough for a second place finish to The Christian Democrats of Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende and a step ahead of the Labor party of Wouter Bos...” I want to personally congratulate Geer t and I believe that Geert is the only hope for Europe to avert total destruction. With 15% of the seats in the Danish parliament Geert’s party is going to be a major political force but it’s too bad that the press describes him in a negative manner. Geert is already being prosecuted in Holland for inciting hatred What’s the deal with that? When is the last time a radical Imam was prosecuted? When is the last time that Geert or his followers rioted? There is a major double standard in the world. Geert has taken a major stand on the issue that we need to recognize as the one that will determine the fate of our children. Do we want to live in a world dominated by Sharia? I know that I don’t want to live in a world whose values are totally wrong in my eyes. I don’t believe that women should be turned into slaves or that children should be turned into killers. I may not agree with Geert’s position on a lot of issues. But Geert I congatulate you and take my hat off to you. I wish you success and hope that we succeed in pushing back Sharia.