Julia Frugoli wrote in message ...
>>(I'm not sure it accomplishes much more than awareness-raising,
I'm not quite sure what awareness is raised, except to perhaps add to and
deepen the Euro-western misconceptions about Islam. Some of the wording
["extreme Islamic society", "right-wing fundamentalist Islam" ] in the
petition is highly inflammatory. What is going on in Afganistan is worth
addressing certainly, but let's take care as to what we attribute it!!!
Think about the wars that have been waged in the name of a prejudiced and
inappropriate label.
What is alluded to as 'fundamentalist Muslims" does a grave injustice to
Muslims across the world [btw - the second largest religion in the world].
Let me mention some principles from a Muslim's Holy Qur'an:
* There was no "it's Eve's fault" by the way; both Adam and Eve ate the
apple.
* A woman cannot be married without her permission.
* If she desires the marriage to be dissolved, it can be.
* The money earned by the man is his and he is FULLY responsible for the
appropriate upkeep of his family.
* The money earned by a woman is hers, and if she shares it with her
husband, well, isn't he blessed. [Hard to earn money without working, eh?]
* A woman can earn, inherit and own property and dispose of it just as a
man can. And this was back in the 600s - when did women in the US and Europe
get to inherit property?
* The Qur'an does not prohibit women from going out of their houses; during
the time of the Prophet Muhammad they went to the mosques, they labored in
the fields along with their husbands, they went with the army and no
occupation was prohbited to them.
* It is the responsibility of BOTH men and the women to act in moral,
virtuous, and righteous manners. They are encouraged to avoid contact with
the intent to incite passion except with one's own spouse. And yes, Islam
does not believe in premarital sex.
* A person's reputation is protected and he/she is not to be maligned.
The Prophet Muhammad's wife, Alisha, was accidently left behind on the road
and she sat to wait for someone to find her. Someone started an untrue
rumor accusing her of sinful acts. According to the Holy Qur'an, if any
person, with intent, falsely testifies about something [e.g., a will, a
contract, a business agreement] or someone, that person's testimony is to
NEVER be trusted again. [Now, wouldn't that wreak havoc right now in the
US!!]
I wonder how the 'letters-to-the-editors" would read if articles were put
forth calling IRA actions in Ireland as 'fundamentalist Catholics' or
'Catholic terrorists'. By the way, the "deep south of the 1930s" must
have extended to just south of the North Pole, don't you think? I know that
there was an active KKK in Portland, ME as late as the '50s and '60s.
Just do an exercise with what you know in your own [there is a reason this
is the 'bionet.women-in-bio newsgroup isn't there?] life, in what you read
in the newspapers, the weeklies, the nightly news, etc and reword the
script.
Label the characteristics of the people being mentioned ..... and if you
find major corporations which have society-based %age representations of
color/culture/sex in their upper management, please let me know.
How would you define the 'labels' for the US Senate, the US Presidents, the
US House of Reps; the breakdown of sentencing for rapes, drugs .... well,
except for Noriega, but I think we have voted at least one of his
accomplices into public office, haven't we?
There are a LOT of educational, legislative, judicial, hiring and
promotional practices which give a slow [and sometimes a not-so-slow] death
to the abilities of "minorities" in our very own country to work and produce
to their best abilities and to support and bring up families in what many of
our 'average' citizens take for granted.
I would encourage people to NOT sign and to NOT forward until the person who
has written that, I am assuming Ms. Buckheit, modifies the introductory
text.
Ann Rathbun
