ISLAM AND WOMEN: THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR'S = DISTORTION AND THE REALITY by Srdja Trifkovic

January 3, = 2005

ISLAM AND WOMEN: THE CHRISTIAN = SCIENCE=20 MONITOR'S DISTORTION AND THE REALITY
by=20 Srdja Trifkovic

"US Latinas seek answers in Islam," heralds = a recent=20 feature article in The Christian Science Monitor (December = 27). "Some=20 young US Latinas say Islam offers women more respect," reports the = paper's=20 contributor Christine Armario. She quotes a head-scarved immigrant = convert as=20 saying that Muslim men "don't look at you like a sex object." According = to Ms.=20 Armario's account, "Many of the Latina converts say that their belief = that women=20 are treated better in Islam was a significant factor in = converting."

The=20 report mentions in passing the skepticism that these conversions = sometimes=20 elicit in the Latino community, but then goes on to quote in = extenso one=20 Leila Ahmed, "a professor of women's studies and religion at Harvard=20 University," who discounts any doubts as misplaced. "It astounds me, the = extent=20 to which people think Afghanistan and the Taliban represent women and = Islam,"=20 Professor Ahmed is quoted as saying;

"What's really going on, she = says,=20 is a reshaping of the relationship between women and Islam. 'We're in = the early=20 stages of a major rethinking of Islam that will open Islam for women. = [Muslim=20 scholars] are rereading the core texts of Islam=97from the Koran to = legal texts=97in=20 every possible way.' New views of women and Islam may be more prevalent = in=20 countries like the US, where women read the Koran themselves and rely = less on=20 patriarchal interpretations.

"What is really going on" is nothing = of the=20 kind. To start with, no mainstream "Muslim scholar" is allowed to = "re-read" the=20 Kuran "in every possible" or any other way. As Allah's direct and = unadulterated=20 word, the Kuran cannot be subjected to textual analysis and critical=20 evaluation. (Professor Ahmed is well aware of this, of course, but = as a=20 Muslim she is not only justified but also expected to lie to the = infidel; they=20 call this practice taqiyya, and have perfected the art over the = past 13=20 centuries.) Muhammad's followers believe that Allah's revelation is = complete,=20 untainted by human intervention, and not open to critical "re-reading" = when it=20 declares that "Men are in charge of women because Allah has made the one = of them=20 excel the other" (Kuran, 4:34). Those Muslims who dare "re-read the = Koran," like=20 Sudanese theologian Mahmud Muhammad Taha, risk death. Taha's attempts at = "re-reading" made him guilty of apostasy; he was publicly hanged in = Khartoum in=20 1985 at the age of 76. His death confirmed that, like all totalitarian=20 ideologies, Islam has an inherent tendency to the closing of the mind. = The=20 spirit of critical inquiry essential to the growth of knowledge has = always been=20 and still is completely alien to it.

Professor Ahmed's stated=20 astonishment at "the extent to which people think Afghanistan and the = Taliban=20 represent women and Islam" is equally disingenuous. It is contradicted = by this=20 official U.S. government account of the contemporary life in one of the = most=20 affluent Muslim countries in the world and a presumed ally of the United = States:

"The testimony of one man equals that of two women . . . = Female=20 parties to court proceedings such as divorce and family law cases = generally must=20 deputize male relatives to speak on their behalf . . . Women play no = formal role=20 in government and politics and are actively discouraged from doing so . = . . The=20 government does not keep statistics on spousal abuse or other forms of = violence=20 against women, [which] appear to be common problems. Hospital workers = report=20 that many women are admitted for treatment of injuries that apparently = result=20 from spousal violence . . . Women are not admitted to a hospital for = medical=20 treatment without the consent of a male relative. By law and custom, = women may=20 not undertake domestic or foreign travel alone . . . In public a woman = is=20 expected to wear an abaya (a black garment that covers the entire = body)=20 and to cover her head and face? Daughters receive half the inheritance = awarded=20 to their brothers? Women must demonstrate legally specified grounds for = divorce,=20 but men may divorce without giving cause? If divorced or widowed, a = woman may=20 keep her children until the age of 7 for boys, 9 for girls."

The = above is=20 not a quote from a history book describing conditions in medieval = Arabia; it=20 comes from the U.S. Department of State, and concerns daily life in the = Kingdom=20 of Saudi Arabia (Country Report on Human Rights Practices in the = Kingdom of=20 Saudi Arabia for 2000). It also tells us that women must not drive = cars, and=20 must not be driven, except by an employee, or husband, or a close = relative=97and=20 even then must not occupy the front seat. In addition, the Report says, = divorced=20 or widowed foreign women are prevented from visiting their children. The = authorities monitor any gathering of persons, especially women, and = disperse=20 women found in public places, such as restaurants. Women may not accept = jobs if=20 there are no adult male relatives present with whom they may reside and = who=20 agree to take responsibility for them. Once they do get to work, = all=20 contact with male supervisors or client is generally allowed only by = telephone=20 or fax machine.

With the exception of the reference to cars, = phones, and=20 faxes, all these stipulations are legally and therefore morally = impeccable in=20 Islam. Apologetics and propaganda notwithstanding, the original = sources=97the=20 Kuran and Hadith=97provide ample and detailed evidence on Islamic = ideology,=20 theory, and subsequent Shari'a practice regarding the role and rights of = women.=20 That practice is the norm in most of the Islamic world today. A judge in = Pakistan thus sentenced a young woman to death for "adultery" by stoning = after=20 she had been raped by her husband's brother (New York Times (May = 17,=20 2002). The woman had accused her brother-in-law of raping her and this = was a=20 confession to her "having intercourse outside of marriage," which is = punishable=20 by death (4:15).

In the Kuran the men are superior (2:228). "Your = wives=20 are as a soil to be cultivated unto you; so approach your tilth when or = how ye=20 will" (2:223). Men are the protectors and maintainers of women, because = Allah=20 has given the one more strength than the other, and "the righteous women = are=20 devoutly obedient." Those that are not inhabit the nether regions of = hell,=20 because "they are not thankful to their husbands" (Sahih of Al-Bukhari, = Vol. 7,=20 p. 96). In this life the disobedient wives are to be beaten (4:34). No=20 "re-reading:" is taking place in any authoritative circles: the most = respected=20 contemporary body of Islamic scholars, at Cairo's Azhar University, = insist that=20 if "the woman is of a cold and stubborn type, the Qur'an bestows on man = the=20 right to straighten her out by way of punishment and beating, provided = he does=20 not break her bones nor shed blood." Many a wife belongs to "this = querulous=20 type," Azhar scholars add, "and requires this sort of punishment to = bring her to=20 her senses." The College of Law at the University of Qatar concurs: a = husband=20 faced with a rebellious wife "hastens to bring mutual understanding . . = . by the=20 scourging which deters (Ahmad Ahmad, The Individual Guarantee in the = Islamic=20 Law, p. 63).

Physical violence against wives, far from being a = crime,=20 remains divinely ordained and routinely advised in modern Islam. Muslim=20 activists in the West "explain" that the Islamic teaching and practice = on=20 beating wives is in line with the latest achievements of clinical = psychology. It=20 is positively beneficial to them because "women's rebelliousness = (nushuz)=20 is a medical condition" based either on her masochistic delight in being = beaten=20 and tortured, or sadistic desire to hurt and dominate her husband. = Either=20 way,

"such a woman has no remedy except removing her spikes and=20 destroying her weapon by which she dominates. This weapon of the woman = is her=20 femininity. But the other woman who delights in submission and being = beaten,=20 then beating is her remedy. So the Qur'anic command: 'banish them to = their=20 couches, and beat them' agrees with the latest psychological findings in = understanding the rebellious woman. This is one of the scientific = miracles of=20 the Qur'an, because it sums up volumes of the science of psychology = about=20 rebellious women" (The Australian Minaret, Australian Federation = of the=20 Islamic Councils, November 1980, p.10).

One can only feel pity = for the=20 young Latinas who convert to Islam partly because they think that Muslim = men=20 "don't look at you like a sex object." In fact violence against women = and rape=20 as the ultimate form of their sexual objectivization are inherent to = Islam, and=20 remain endemic in Islamic societies. Perhaps the most degrading image of = women=20 conjured by Muhammad is that of lovely girls in afterlife, submissive = slaves=20 ("restrained," i.e. chained) "whom no man has touched," whose sole = purpose is to=20 provide physical gratification of men: "In Paradise there is a pavilion = made of=20 a single hollow pearl sixty miles wide, in each corner there are wives = who will=20 not see those in the other corners; and the believers will visit and = enjoy them"=20 (55:70,72,74).

While condemning the pagan Arab practice of = burying=20 unwanted newborn girls alive, the Kuran also acknowledges the lesser = worth of=20 daughters:

"And when any of them is given the good tidings of a = girl, his=20 face is darkened and he chokes inwardly, as he hides him from the people = because=20 of the evil of the good tidings that have been given unto him, whether = he shall=20 preserve it in humiliation, or trample it into the dust" (16:48,=20 59).

Adjusted people would value all children equally, regardless = of=20 gender, and Allah's preference for sons cannot portend anything good. = The boys'=20 special status and codified superiority indicate that their purpose is = in the=20 fulfillment of the needs of the father, which explicitly denies an = attitude of=20 nurturing towards the child. The Law of Inheritance accordingly dictates = that a=20 son gets double the inheritance of a daughter; and in Islamic courts a = man's=20 witness is worth twice that of a woman's (2:282). Al-Ghazali, to this = day=20 regarded as one of the greatest Muslim scholars of all time, states that = Allah=20 has punished women in eighteen ways, including physical functions = (menstruation,=20 pregnancy, childbirth) and divinely ordained handicaps: lesser share in=20 inheritances, liability for divorce but inability to initiate divorce,=20 seclusion, exclusion from many religious rituals and ceremonies, and=20 disqualification for positions as rulers and judges.

Islamic = marriage=20 does not envisage any consent from the bride if she is still under = paternal=20 control: Abu Bakr, Muhammad's friend, thus wed him to his daughter, = Aisha, when=20 she was six; the actual consummation of that "marriage" took place when = she was=20 nine, and Muhammad 54. Islamic marriage does not produce any community = of=20 property between husband and wife, and the wife is permanently dependent = on the=20 support of her husband. That support may be withdrawn in case of=20 disobedience.

To the outright divine command of every wife's = obedience to=20 her husband, Muhammad has added a few comments of his own. When asked = who among=20 women is the best, he replied: "She who gives pleasure to him (husband) = when he=20 looks, obeys him when he bids, and who does not oppose him regarding = herself and=20 her riches fearing his displeasure" (Mishkat I, p. 216). As for the = "rights" of=20 women, even in basic necessities the needs of the husband take = precedence: "You=20 shall give her food when you have taken your food, you shall clothe her = when you=20 have clothed yourself, you shall not slap her on the face, nor revile = (her), nor=20 leave (her) alone, except within the house" (Mishkat I, p. = 212).

The=20 husband's sexual needs have to be satisfied immediately and = unquestioningly:=20 "When a man calls his wife to his bed, and she does not respond, the One = Who is=20 in the heaven is displeased with her until he is pleased with her . . . = When a=20 man invites his wife to his bed and she does not come, and he (the = husband)=20 spends the night being angry with her, the angels curse her until = morning"=20 (Sahih Muslim II, p. 723). This is consistent with the consensus of = Islamic=20 scholars that "sexual intercourse is an action, and the woman does not = act," and=20 that her pleasure in the sexual act is to give pleasure to her=20 husband.

In our own time, General Zia ul-Haq, the military = dictator of=20 Pakistan for many years, had reintroduced discriminatory legislation = reducing=20 women's rights to one-half those of men when they sign business = contracts. Some=20 women's groups protested that the new law "insulted women and debased = their=20 dignity." Dr. Aly Farrukha, Director of Islamic Studies in Chicago, = replied:=20 "The issue of a woman's testimony in court is a divine order which = necessitates=20 that a woman who is a witness should be accompanied by another woman in = order to=20 remind her if she forgets (some details) and to correct her if she makes = an=20 error. This verdict does not intend to insult women, but rather to help = them"=20 (The League of the Islamic World, February/March, 1985, p. = 17).

In=20 addition to all other deficiencies, the woman has no fewer than ten=20 'awrat, shameful orifices including, or resembling, her external=20 genitals: "Ali reported to the Prophet, saying: 'Women have ten = 'awrat.=20 When she gets married, the husband covers one, and when she dies the = grave=20 covers the ten" (Kanz-el-'Ummal, Vol. 22, Hadith No. 858). Furthermore,=20 according to a "faultless" hadith, not only does the woman have ten = 'awrat, she=20 is seen as one herself: "The woman is 'awrat. When she goes outside (the = house),=20 the devil welcomes her" (Ihy'a 'Uloum ed-Din by Ghazali, Beirut, = Vol II,=20 Kitab Adab al-Nikah, p. 65). Covering all orifices with a veil is not = meant to=20 preserve the chastity of women, but that of men prone to be scandalized = by the=20 spectacle. Muhammad accordingly forbade women to talk except by leave of = their=20 husbands, to go out except in emergency (and on Bairam), to use the = middle of=20 the road, to be greeted, or to greet. The fire-worshipper, the Jew, and = the pig=20 are listed alongside the woman as things that corrupt prayer.

The = volumes=20 of the Hadith mention violent scenes between Ali and Fatima, Muhammad's=20 daughter. At times he forgot himself to the point of ill-treating this = ailing=20 woman, forcing her to take refuge in her father's house. When faced with = these=20 delicate situations, whether Ali or Uthman, Fatima or Ruqayya were = concerned, he=20 ordered his daughters "to comply with their husbands' moods." He = declared, "If I=20 were to order anybody to make a prostration to anybody, I would have = ordered a=20 woman to prostrate before her husband" (Mishkat I, p. 210). This adage = goes=20 beyond a slave acknowledging her master; it resembles that of creator = and=20 creature, and borders on heresy on the Kuran's own terms, since worship = belongs=20 to God alone. Nevertheless, a mortal man is elevated to an almost divine = plane=20 when the destiny of his wife is at stake: her disobedience to him is = unlawful,=20 while her obedience is the key to eternal bliss: "Whosoever female dies = while=20 her husband is pleased with her will enter Paradise" (Mishkat I, "Duties = of=20 husband and wife," Hadith No. ii, 60). Muhammad also warned women: = "Watch how=20 you treat your husband, for he is your Paradise and your = Hell."

Small=20 wonder then that, in Muhammad's view, it is a noble sacrifice for men to = share=20 his life with women, creatures utterly deficient in mind, religion, and=20 gratitude, and unable to repay the favor. Muhammad's example was = followed by the=20 early caliphs. The second, Umar, ordered Muslims to prevent the women = from=20 learning to write. Ali, Muhammad's devoted son-in-law and the fourth = caliph,=20 said that women are evil: "Men, never ever obey your women. Never let = them=20 advise you on any matter concerning your daily life." According to Ali, = they=20 have three qualities worthy of an unbeliever: they complain of being = oppressed=20 when in fact it is they who oppress; they take solemn oaths and at the = same time=20 lie; they make a show of refusing the advances of men when, in fact, = they long=20 for them ardently.

In short, the woman is not a worthy and equal=20 companion of man. Her deficiency in intelligence and religion render her = unable=20 to engage in discussion of lofty ideas, even if her husband were foolish = enough=20 to approve of any such attempt. One of Muhammad's widows, his favorite, = A'isha,=20 complained to the caliphs and companions: "You have put us on the same = level=20 with a donkey and a dog." Her words were prompted by Muhammad's verdict = that if=20 a man's prayer was disrupted by the passing of a donkey, a dog, or a = woman in=20 front of him, his prayer was not acceptable, and he had to perform = ablution=20 again and repeat his prayer.

In Islam, divorce is undesirable but = lawful=20 and easy to obtain. The husband can divorce his wife by simply saying so = three=20 times, but a woman cannot divorce her husband unless she has his = permission to=20 do so. She can get a judicial dissolution of marriage for neglect,=20 ill-treatment, or positive cruelty (A. Guillaume, Islam, p. 174). = A man=20 may divorce his wife without any misbehavior on her part, or without = assigning=20 any cause, and it is valid even if a man is acting under compulsion, if = his=20 words are uttered in sport or jest, or by a mere slip of the tongue = (T.P.=20 Hughes, Dictionary of Islam). The husband may even say to himself, = without=20 announcing his intent to the wife: "If this thing does not happen, my = wife is=20 divorced by three"=97and if "the thing" comes to pass, the wife finds = herself=20 divorced for reasons entirely unknown to her.

In our own time = Arab press=20 is full of family tragedies caused by the frivolous treatment of divorce = in=20 Islam, and the courts are overloaded with thousands of divorce suits = that mean=20 the eviction of children and wives who are helpless and dependent on = their=20 former husbands. By contrast, they may not seek divorce but only = judicial=20 annulment, on the grounds of the husband's physical sexual deficiency,=20 mutilation, or malfunction prior to marriage; of evident madness and = leprosy;=20 impotence, for which a year of probation can be granted by the judge; or = a=20 husband's "vow" not to have intercourse with his wife for four = months.

No=20 marriage is valid without the payment of a dowry. The significance of = its=20 payment=97sometimes in the form of a mere token=97for the sexual use of = the woman is=20 rooted in the Kuran (4:24). This is confirmed by Muhammad's ruling that = a man=20 who wanted to divorce his new bride, who turned out not to be a virgin = but=20 pregnant from previous adultery, still owed her the dowry: "He separated = the=20 two, commanded that the woman be flogged, and said to the man, 'The baby = will be=20 your slave'" (Encyclopaedia of Islam, "Nikah"). Since the implications = of the=20 sexual rights secured by the payment of dowry extend to children of a = previous=20 marriage, the husband has the right to prevent his wife from looking = after=20 children, including infants, from her former husband. In any event, man = is the=20 privileged party in all cases of custody of the children. Their mother = may be=20 awarded temporary custody until the age of seven (for boys) or nine (for = girls),=20 provided she is of good character and does not leave the abode of the = husband,=20 does not remarry, and preserves sound morals.

"The wife," of = course,=20 designates any one of up to four of them (a limitation to which the = Prophet=20 himself was not subjected), as the Kuran sanctions polygamy: "If ye fear = that ye=20 shall not be able to deal justly with the orphans, marry women of your = choice,=20 two, or three, or four. But if ye fear that ye shall not be able to deal = justly=20 [with them], then only one, or [a captive] that your right hands = possess, that=20 will be more suitable, to prevent you from doing unjustly" (4:3). = Ghazali's=20 justification for polygamy is simple: "Some men have such a compelling = sexual=20 desire that one woman is not sufficient to protect them [from adultery]. = Such=20 men therefore preferably marry more than one woman and may have up to = four=20 wives."

If they want to get rid of them, the Kuran does not = present a=20 problem: "If you wish to exchange one wife for another and you have = given unto=20 one of them a sum of money, take nothing from it." The rule was = practiced by=20 Muhammad's successors and companions. Muhammad's second successor, Umar, = married=20 seven women in the course of his life, in addition to having two = maid-slaves,=20 Fakhiyya and Lahiyya, as concubines. Uthman was wed to eight women. Once = he was=20 widowed, Ali ibn Abi Talib=97to whom Muhammad denied permission to marry = a second=20 wife beside his own daughter Fatima=97married 10 wives and permanently = maintained=20 19 concubines and maid-slaves for a total of 29 women. Muhammad's = grandson Hasan=20 ibn Ali, of whom Muhammad said that he is the master of the youth of = paradise,=20 during the course of his life married up to 70 women and had at least 31 = children. Sometimes he used to divorce two women in a day. Even his = father urged=20 the residents of Iraq not to marry their daughters to him because he was = a man=20 who constantly divorced his wives, but the Kufa's people continued to = marry=20 their daughters to him, hoping that they would bear children descended = from the=20 Prophet. "It is no sin for you if you divorce women," the Kuran says, = provided=20 the dowry is repaid and suitable parting gifts presented (2:236). Tedium = of=20 matrimony or simple carnal desire for another woman necessitated = divorcing one=20 to marry the other if the family budget could not accommodate both. The = revered=20 companions and the rightly guided caliphs provided the = example.

If=20 multi-matrimonial bliss provides insufficient diversity, Muslim men are = free to=20 have sex with their slave girls to their heart's content. According to = Bukhari,=20 Muhammad sometimes had sex with all his wives in one night, and at that = time he=20 had nine wives, and he once said of himself that he had been given the = power of=20 forty men (Sahih of Al-Bukhari, vol. 7, Hadith No. 142. Also vol. = 1,=20 Hadith No.268). Nevertheless, he enjoyed the obligatory services of his = Coptic=20 slave Mary better than the charms and favors of all his = wives.

Modern=20 Islamic scholars argue for the practice of polygamy on scriptural = grounds as=20 well as for practical reasons. Sheikh Taysir Al-Tamimi, former acting = head of=20 the Palestinian Authority's Shari'a Judicial System, had this to say, = "To those=20 who demand equality and whine about women's rights: By permitting = polygamy,=20 Islam protects the woman's humanity and emotions, secures her right to = marry,=20 and gain honor and esteem, instead of becoming a professional paramour = lacking=20 in rights, whose children are thrown onto the garbage heap" = (Al-Quds,=20 March 8, 2001). Qatari Sheikh Walid bin Hadi set out the different = rationales=20 for polygamy=97barrenness, demographic inequality, preventing adultery, = and=20 increasing the birth rate=97but, as he explained, in the final analysis = every man=20 has his own reasons: "The Prophet said: Do not ask a husband why he = beats his=20 wife . . . Do not ask a husband why he takes a second wife" = (Al-Rai=20 (Qatar), January 5, 2002, quoted by www.memri.com). Dr. Muhammad = Al-Masir, a=20 cleric from Egypt's Al-Azhar University, defends polygamy in the name of = women's=20 rights: "In the days of the Prophet, not even one woman remained without = a=20 husband=97not a spinster, nor a widow, nor a divorcee . . . I ask our = women and=20 daughters not to be egotistical" (This remark seems to presume the needs = of a=20 society engaged in eternal jihad, both in terms of caring for widows and = for=20 keeping as many women as possible in the production of future fighting=20 men).

"The wife" could also be a concubine, or legally paid = prostitute.=20 The institution of temporary, contractual marriage=97degrading to women = no less=20 than to the institution of "marriage"=97was proclaimed lawful by = Muhammad "for=20 three nights" or more. It could be contracted for money, or a dress. The = "husband" could desert the "wife," leaving her without any rights or = obligations=20 vis-=E0-vis any possible offspring. The soldiers of Islam in the = field=20 welcomed the revelation:

"We used to participate in holy battles = led by=20 Allah's Apostle and we had no wives with us. At that time, he allowed us = to=20 marry women with a temporary contract and recited to us this verse, 'Oh = you who=20 believe, make not unlawful the good things which Allah has made lawful = for you'"=20 (5:87).

By approving polygamy or temporary "marriage," Islam = denies the=20 value of true marriage, based on exclusive, devoted love and rooted in = the=20 natural (and scriptural) notion of family. Monogamy alone gives = recognition,=20 status, and value to a woman, as well as to the husband and their = offspring. In=20 a polygamist society there is no centralized family nucleus. There are = many=20 children, and every group of children rotates not around the father but = around=20 the mother. When a Muslim man takes another woman, she does not live = with the=20 former wife and her husband but in another house or tent, and there = she=20 raises her children. The husband may visit her once a week or once a = month. If=20 she is out of favor, her children will seldom meet, let alone play with, = their=20 father. In the polygamist society, the father is perceived as an = absence.=20 Instead of the father figure essential to normal development, there = is a=20 void, from Ishmael to Muhammad to Bin Laden, who was one of fifteen = children by=20 one of his father's ten wives.

Islamic dogma, tradition, and = practice are=20 the foundation of a coherent and consistent outlook that has generated = its own=20 reality, visible in each and every traditionally Muslim country and in = the=20 transplanted centers of the Islamic diaspora in the West. Khaled Fouad = Allam of=20 the University of Trieste calls that "schizophrenia of the contemporary = Muslim=20 society, with signs of modernization in externals, with women doctors = and=20 lawyers, and, at the same time, deep-rooted structures that seek to = apply=20 Islamic law to civil rights in Muslim countries." The latter are=20 self-congratulatory about Islam's treatment of women, even in their = pitch to the=20 West, claiming that "the Islamic system has achieved the right mixture = of=20 freedom and security that women seek and that is in the interest of the = society=20 as a whole":

"The regulations for the protection of women which = were=20 revealed in the seventh century can be easily verified by anyone in the=20 twentieth century . . . [and] contain certain fundamental truths which = will=20 benefit whoever applies them. The present time of widespread rethinking = of the=20 role and rights of women is perhaps the appropriate time to look with = fresh eyes=20 at the Islamic point of view, which has contributed to the formation of = stable=20 societies in both sophisticated and underdeveloped peoples in vast areas = of the=20 world over the past fourteen centuries, which has retained the = continuity of its=20 principles, and from which the Western world may have something to = learn"=20 (www.jamaat.org/islam/WomanIslam.html).

For one-half of all = Muslims=20 living in those "stable societies," a tenth of the humanity, in early = puberty=20 Purdah falls and "the rest of her life was going to be spent in that = void where=20 time was without meaning" (V.S. Naipaul, Beyond Belief: Islamic = Excursions=20 Among the Converted Peoples, N.Y., Random House, 1998). For those = unwilling=20 to submit, the punishment may be death, even if they are of royal blood: = that=20 was the fate of a Saudi princess and her boyfriend. Both were executed = for=20 adultery when they returned to their native land from Britain, where = they had a=20 romantic liaison as students. (When ATV in Britain and PBS in the US = were about=20 to air a documentary based on this tragedy, "Death of a Princess," the = British=20 Foreign Office, the State Department, the Saudi royal family, and the = oil=20 interests jointly exerted pressure to cancel the show=20 (www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/us)).

The relegation of women = to such=20 an inferior position deprives Islamic societies of the talents and = energies of=20 half its people. As Bernard Lewis has warned, it also entrusts the other = half's=20 crucial early years of upbringing to undereducated and downtrodden = mothers. The=20 idea of "love" is removed from those men's understanding of sexuality, = which is=20 too often reduced to hurting others by violence. Gross mutilation of = little=20 girls, known as clitorectomy and rampant in Muslim Africa, and to a = lesser=20 extent in Arabia, is the direct result of a culture that deems female = orgasm as=20 indecent and threatening, because it implies mutuality. It reflects a = gigantic=20 rupture that Islam develops between men and women, where no harmony, = affection,=20 or equality is allowed to exist:

"In relationships between men,=20 meanwhile, affection, solidarity, and empathy are left out of the = picture. They=20 threaten the hyper-masculine order. It is excruciating to imagine the = sexual=20 confusion, humiliation, and repression that evolve in the mindsets of = males in=20 this culture. But it is no surprise that many of these males find their = only=20 avenue for gratification in the act of humiliating the foreign "enemy," = whose=20 masculinity must be violated at all costs as theirs once was. Violating = the=20 masculinity of the enemy necessitates the dishing out of severe violence = against=20 him. In the recent terrorist strikes, therefore, violence against = Americans=20 served as a much-needed release of the terrorists' bottled-up sexual = rage.=20 Moreover, it served as a desperate and pathological testament of the=20 re-masculinization of their emasculated selves" (J. Glazov, "The Sexual = Rage=20 Behind Islamic Terror,"=20 www.frontpagemag.com/columnists/glazov/glazov10-04-01.htm).

Mass=20 murderers are often found to have histories of sexual abuse as children; = Muslim=20 terrorists are no exception. Unlike their lone Western counterparts, = however,=20 the abuse of which they are the victims is systemic, and inherent to = their=20 societies. They are victimized by virtue of growing up and living in a=20 dysfunctional culture of sexual repression and misogyny, where "love" is = reduced=20 to violent domination and its rejection reflects a deep-seated fear of=20 individuality.

The treatment of women might be expected to = disqualify=20 Islam from the contemporary post-Christian establishment's point of = view, to=20 which The Christian Science Monitor belongs, but this has not = happened.=20 There is a reason for this. It is the failure of Islam to recognize, let = alone=20 support, the wife as her husband's closest and inseparable lover and = partner,=20 his life-long companion. Islam challenges Christian marriage in = principle and in=20 practice, and Muslim teaching on marriage and the family, though = conservative=20 about "patriarchy," undermines the traditional Western concept of = matrimony.=20 Paradoxically, Islam thus comes close to the contemporary, = post-Christian=20 ideology that relativizes "marriage" and "family."

By subjecting=20 themselves to Islam in ever growing numbers, Amero-Indian women = ("Latinas") are=20 proving their assimilability into the post-Christian, post-civilized = milieu to=20 which they have migrated. Their souls would have been in a much better = shape had=20 they remained in their native villages. It is for their sake, too, that = the=20 ongoing migratory deluge across our southern border should be first = halted and=20 then reversed.

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