Its signatories seek to affirm common Islamic values — including the belief in peaceful coexistence, the need for Muslims to engage in civic life and the assertion that Islam doesn’t permit the killing of innocent people “regardless of their creed, ethnicity, race, or nationality.”
But wait,
A declaration of fundamental Islamic values released Friday by the Canadian Council of Imams and signed by more than 50 Muslim religious leaders is “completely meaningless” and a result of a “medieval mindset,” says the founder of the Muslim Canadian Congress.
Wahida Valiante is the chair and national president of the Canadian Islamic Congress; imams affiliated with the congress have signed the declaration. She said the council wanted to respond partly to media hype which she said often offers negative representations of Islam.
For example, she said, when a spouse is killed in a case of domestic violence, news reports will often stress the Islamic angle when the true culprit may be cultural.
And the cultural influence is what?
Quaker?
Baptist?
Mormom?
I spent some time in the wake of 9/11 examining what Islamic practices and beliefs were truly grounded in the canon and tradition of that faith.
ReplyDeleteE.g. - the injunction against permanent peace with the Infidel - all truces are temporary, 10 year max - check.
However the honor killing thing seems to be cultural, and not authentically Islamic per se.
IIRC the codification of violence against women in Islam is detailed and repugnant, but doesn't allow for summary execution of women by the family - that's left to the Sharia court (c.f. stoning).
Refudiated! ;)
"that's left to the Sharia court"
ReplyDeleteAnd the Sharia court is (remind me again):
Quaker?
Baptist?
Mormon?
Fay - it's a subtle point. But my point is that to state "Islam teaches that it's OK to kill your wife or daughter or sister" is not strictly a defensible statement. (At least not from my recollection of my own study of the matter - and I did not rely on sympathetic sources).
ReplyDeleteIf you attempt to get a fatwah from the local happy fun LOL Imam "oh please Imam I caz haz mrduers mah wief" my honest impression is that you will not get such a ruling, even from the most jihadhi of them.
I prefer to make the case that Islam dehumanizes women by discounting their testimony and in practice commits political violence against women by further punishing victims of rape with penalties of adultery, up to and including death.
This critique is completely immune to the "it's not Islam, it's culture" argument, because it comes directly from the conduct of the Sharia courts.
And the Taliban, that wonderful example of culture rather than islam, just tortured and murdered a 47 year old pregnant widow for adultery.
ReplyDeleteThe torture consisting of 200 lashes, then three days of pain before they finally murdered her with three shots to the head.
No, it's islam, not culture. Momo was a misogynist, as well as a pedophile, and all of islamic treatment of women is based on his fear of, and inability to deal with an adult woman.
DWT, with the lashes it sounds like a Sharia court. So yeah, that's Islam.
ReplyDeleteThat's what I'm saying Lewy, the Canadian muslim woman who claims this is culture, rather than 'religion' had better be extremely glad she is not in Afghanistan, Pakistan, or one of those other lovely places, or she would probably be sentenced to the same type of punishment for daring to question the writ of a number of her betters (i.e., men).
ReplyDeleteAnyway, now it is time to shower, shave and get ready for work, where, with any luck, my sleepless state will not lead to my biting off the head of an irritating customer.
At some point, culture and religion are indistinguishable. Semantics are important, which is why there are so many lawyers. But semantics aside, at some point the marriage between the two makes the practices of one a tenet of the other.
ReplyDeleteEspecially when there is no overriding movement to separate the wheat from the chaff. If you know what I mean.