Lawrence de Bivort wrote:
>
> Burkas predated the taliban and, as was pointed out, now post-date them.
>
> Brad, have you EVER talked with a Muslim woman who wears the burka, or other
> veiled or covered Muslim women?
No. I am not now nor have I ever been....
--
I have studied female genital mutilation in Africa and the
mid-East since about 1980, including volunteering last year to
translate part of a scholarly text on the subject (that
was a way I could materially contribute to the cause).
I myself am a victim of the lesser but
nonetheless barbaric practice in "our society"
of male genital mutilation AKA circumcision.
And while I was not forced to wear a Burqa, I was threatened
with parental disownment if I did not get a haircut.
Only those who died and risen again have the right to speak.
(--Hermann bROCH, _tHE sLEEPWALKERS_, p.531)
Don't compare! All suffering is intolerable.
(--Elie Wiesel)
\brad mccormick
>
> Lawry
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]On Behalf Of Brad
> > McCormick, Ed.D.
> > Sent: Tuesday, August 13, 2002 4:12 PM
> > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> > Cc: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; [EMAIL PROTECTED];
> > [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> > Subject: Re: SA and Work in oil-rich countries
> >
> >
> > [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> > >
> > > snip....snip....
> > >
> > > debivort....
> > >
> > > Nothing wrong with burkas, Keith -- except that the Western feminist
> > > movement has labelled them oppressive. I haven't heard any feminist say
> > > 'Ooooops, maybe we were wrong. Maybe our Afghani sisters really
> > DO like to
> > > wear burkas,
> >
> > Not by any means all of them!
> >
> > Burqas are the outward and visible sign of portable imprisonment.
> > Surely you have read about the Taliban not allowing women to
> > even leave their houses to see a doctor without a male relative to
> > escort them? Etc.
> >
> > But the true potential of the burqa has not yet been
> > exploited: The Islamic People's Stealth Technology: The Burqa Bomber!
> >
> > And where there are burqas, the question arises whether the
> > infibulators with their razor blades to "perfect what
> > nature left not quite finished" can be far away?
> >
> > http://www.users.cloud9.net/~bradmcc/womenululating.ram
> >
> > \brad mccormick
> >
> > > in the same way that we Western women have our own clothing
> > > habits, rules and taboos. Hmmmmm," our enlightened feminist
> > would go on to
> > > say, "I wonder what our Afghani sisters say about our high-heels, our
> > > display of skin, our make-up, our tight-clothing.....is it possible that
> > > they don't see, whith all these things, how advanced and
> > sophisticated we
> > > western women are???"
> > >
> > > cordell....
> > >
> > > I think the issue is choice. Westerners can wear anything (or
> > nothing, in
> > > many cases) but the the others must wear burkas. Most Westerners would
> > > find the lack of choice oppresive. Perhaps some Moslem women
> > as well bridle
> > > at the lack of choice.
> > >
> > > > This is particularly so in Saudi Arabia where, indeed, the
> > present Saudi
> > > > royal family came to power by mounting a jihad in 1902 with
> > the assistance
> > > > of the Wahhabi sect, and have been indebted to them ever since.
> > >
> > > 1922 perhaps? It wasn't a jihad -- it was a tribal war vs. the
> > Hashemites.
> > > The Saudi tribe WAS Wahhabi -- they didn't do it with the
> > assistance of such
> > > a 'sect'-- it is simply a desert tribal Arabian school of Islam.
> > >
> > > And, yes, Wahhabism is a strong social and moral force in Saudi
> > Arabia, and
> > > does stand in variance to modernizing -- meaning, for better or worse --
> > > westernizing forces
> > >
> > > Generally, the oil-rich countries -- and not just the Arab ones -- have
> > > tended to become dependent on foreign labor, manual and
> > professional. Oil
> > > revenue money is distributed freely, in effect, to nationals of
> > the country,
> > > and they do not have to do any work. So the nationals become
> > dependent on
> > > the foriegn workers, and fail to develop as a work force of
> > their own. This
> > > is the reality behind many of the symptoms you point to. This
> > is a very hard
> > > nut to crack. Saudi over-spending has left them in debt, and so
> > this pattern
> > > is being severely challenged -- and for simple economic reasons and not
> > > religious ones. Will Saudi Arabia and the others, find a way,
> > despite their
> > > wealth, to evolve a competent diversified indigenous workforce?
> > This is,
> > > IMHO, the number one issue before them. I did a detailed study
> > (including a
> > > large public opinion survey) several years ago of this stuation
> > in one such
> > > country (not SA) and was impressed by how hard it was going to be.
> > >
> > > With this inmind, I have renamed our thread.
> > >
> > > Best regards,
> > > Lawry
> >
> > --
> > Let your light so shine before men,
> > that they may see your good works.... (Matt 5:16)
> >
> > Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. (1 Thes 5:21)
> >
> > <![%THINK;[SGML+APL]]> Brad McCormick, Ed.D. / [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> > -----------------------------------------------------------------
> > Visit my website ==> http://www.users.cloud9.net/~bradmcc/
> >
--
Let your light so shine before men,
that they may see your good works.... (Matt 5:16)
Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. (1 Thes 5:21)
<![%THINK;[SGML+APL]]> Brad McCormick, Ed.D. / [EMAIL PROTECTED]
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Visit my website ==> http://www.users.cloud9.net/~bradmcc/
