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Well, wearing a hijab may not reveal every detail of the wearer’s politics, but it certainly tells you the wearer (or her family) rejects secular values. These values have formed the basis for challenging the subordination of women in Muslim countries. In some cases, hijab-wearing girls are simply rebellious teenagers trying to establish their own identity and put some distance between themselves and their secular-minded parents. Immigrants who fled to Canada to escape the ayatollahs, mullahs and imams are not always thrilled when their daughters dump secularism and don the hijab.
Yes, a masterwork like “fuckwad” is tough to beat. BTW I’m sorry for calling you an idiot. You’re kinda cute.In an April 18 op-ed in the Globe and Mail, the president of the MCC, Farzana Hassan, urges Islamists to “come out and debate the issue rather than using young Muslim girls as shields to pursue a political agenda.”
It’s a sad commentary on the progressive left in Canada in general, and Babble in particular, that a person who brings a progressive Muslim point of view into a debate is not only targeted for personal abuse by other members, but is also threatened with expulsion by the moderator. It seems that people’s understanding of the politics of the hijab is shaped not by the historical record or by progressive commentators, but by “Little Mosque on the Prairie.”
Are you bringing "a progressive Muslim point of view to the debate" as a Muslim? I ask that to just to get some context for your posts.
You don't have to like it. You just have to follow that rule, difficult as it is. Discussion over. Move on.
So please, stop posting if you are going to cling to your bigotry like feather to tar.
That and our once-per-week random obscenity-laced private message spree. That's pretty fun.
Oh, I forgot about those! But, those are fun and entertaining! [img]biggrin.gif" border="0[/img]
I think there are two aspects to this particular issue: discrimination against Muslims, and the role of religion in society. Apparently in the mind of the moderator and some other participants in the debate, alleviating the former means strengthening the latter.
But many of us with a secular, progressive outlook are not happy with this approach to life. As I noted above, even progressive Muslims have stated publicly that they are concerned about the hijab issue being manipulated by fundamentalists to marginalize secular individuals within the Muslim community.
It seems to me that instead of listening to what progressive Muslims are saying, “progressives” in this forum are giving unconditional support to religious conservatives who claim that a particular type of headgear traditionally mandated for women in Egypt and Saudi Arabia is essential to the identity of Muslim females.
Bullshit. All we're saying is that women HERE should have the choice. And that on this forum, you're not allowed to stereotype Muslim women based on that choice. It's really that simple.
Catchfire was a little out of line with those insults, but you have been more than provocative and intolerant in your posts.
[ 03 May 2007: Message edited by: inkameep ]
Could you quote any posts that gave you that impression?
No one is saying that. BCG said that there are many progressive feminists who choose to wear a hijab as an expression of pride in their culture.
To put it very simply: Not all women who wear a hijab do so as a "badge of honour" nor do all women who wear a hijab do so involuntarily as a result of male oppression.
To sterotype would be to claim that all wearers of a hijab fall into one category and not the other. And, I think that the only poster making that absolutist claim was you (that all hijab wearers are doing so involuntarily as a result of male oppression).
[ 03 May 2007: Message edited by: Sven ]
One point that has not been made so far is that progressive Muslims, as represented by the Muslim Canadian Congress, are concerned that putting a positive spin on hijab weakens the position of women who don’t want to wear it.
That's fair comment, but think about the courage it takes NOT to wear a headscarf in Canada, when religious leaders in your own community encourage it as an expression of feminine “modesty” and the broader community goes out of its way to accommodate it.One theory, that I agree with, is that the MCC says the typical Islamophobic crap that the MSM says, onyl because they're all Muslim then it's okay! Magic! I love when that happens! (note: sarcasm)
P.S. I put Irshad Manji in the same camp as the MCC btw.
I thought about doing that but how does one go about asking strangers personal questions?
Perhaps they are keeping a low profile or don't have permanent residence status or any number of reasons to not want the attention. They may well be third generation Canadians but how does one approach them?