To seek approval and acceptance by American (read: white) society by an Arab or Muslim in America at a time like this is as ludicrous as a Vietnamese seeking acceptance from American society in the 60s and 70s instead of focusing their energies on putting an end to the carpet bombing and use of napalm on fellow Vietnamese. It's as ridiculous as an Algerian's seeking acceptance into French society during the zenith of Algeria's colonization or a Black slave presenting his best appearance to his master during the Transatlantic slave trade. It is even more ridiculous when such validation arrives in the sexist, degrading vehicle of a beauty pageant, which we're willing to dismiss in return for 15 minutes of fame.Blogger Will Youmans had no qualms with commenting that he was "happy for her even if the pageant is wack and debases women."
Contrary to common understanding among Arab-Americans, an Arab's winning of a beauty pageant does not challenge stereotypes of Arab women. In fact, it confirms them. Subservience to males from underneath the hijab isn't the only stereotype regarding Arab women.
The image of the bellydancing, exotic harem girl also permeates western imagination of the Arab world. The physical requirements of winning a beauty pageant do not differ significantly. The image of a bikini-wearing Arab is not exactly a radical shift from the characters of Arabian Nights.
Arab-American Muslim wins the Miss USA pageant
Wonderful - thank you Al-Q.
Arab-Americans were elated by the victory of Fakih, who was born into a powerful Shiite family in southern Lebanon and whose family said they celebrate both the Muslim and Christian faiths.
"With all the stigma that goes around - especially after 9/11 and how people portray Muslims and Arab-Americans - it's just a great way to knock down all those barriers," said Dewnya Bakri-Bazzi, 22, a Muslim law student from Dearborn, Mich., who uptated her Facebook status to read, "woot woot who knows maybe I can be the next Miss America?"
Abed Ayoub, the legal director for the Washington-based Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee, called the win significant. "It shows our country's diversity and the opportunity it offers all citizens."
"Les imbéciles heureux" (happy morons) is the expression that comes to mind.
I think it's time for a Muslim Playboy centrefold - to celebrate the end of both racism and misogyny in Amerika. Thoughts?
Rahim Jaffer?
Ennir, you've just been crowned [url=http://rabble.ca/babble/babble-banter/babble-quote-hall-fame-part-1000#c.... babble hall of fame[/url]!
To be fair to CNN, they weren't asserting that Ms Fakih is a spy - the article was about some of the nutty rumours floating around about her on the far-right blogosphere, of which that was one.
Maybe we need some more items about how wonderful it is that a (part) African American is in the White House and how the far-right blogosphere is still calling him a Muslim!
That society to the south would be laughable, if it weren't such a powerful and ongoing threat to the lives and security of people around the world.
To be fair to CNN, they weren't asserting that Ms Fakih is a spy - the article was about some of the nutty rumours floating around about her on the far-right blogosphere, of which that was one.
You are correct in that the article was about the nutty rumours; however, most people don't read past the headlines, thus the damage was done.
That's true. But following the nutty Zionist blogs, it is quite informative the amount of vitriol, all of it racist, directed toward this young woman. I always understood that fascist, supremacist ideologies were fragile, but I never understood that the fascist, supremacist ideology of Zionism was oh so fragile as to be so threatened by this very same young woman she must become the target for a concentrated hate unknown since the KKK opposed the civil rights movement.
I don't follow nutty Zionist blogs. I see enough from those cornballs in places like babble and the CBC comments section. Would you mind posting a link or two?