Qatif rape case

[dreamer_easy]

I get very impatient with the constant call for moderate Muslims to decry the words and works of extremist Muslims, when moderate Muslims do that all the time: it's just not as headline-grabbing. And if you didn't happen to hear about it from the news sources you follow, it may as well not have happened. (The same rubbish is said about feminists, often without even the effort of a thirty-second Web search.) The aim is to tar with the same brush over a billion human beings, from different countries, speaking different languages, from different races, with different politics (even within Saudi Arabia), following different beliefs and practices... but they're really all the same, you see.

Some more recent Saudi commentary on the Qatif case:

From Arab News: How 'Culture' Is Defended in a Globalized World: "Time after time judgments such as that passed in the “Qatif” case mortify us as Saudi nationals by their appalling and overt misogyny that inevitably makes headlines in the international press. It is an urgent issue because these authorities keep catching us by surprise and exposing us to international ridicule and condemnation with their own narrow religious-political agenda."

The Real Issue Raised by the Qatif Verdict: "The morality of the Qatif girl is not (and should not) be the main discussion point. The real issue at hand is that of a due process within our judicial system."

British Muslims on the Sudan teddy bear case:

A bear called Muhammad is no blasphemy; Blasphemy caused by cuddly animals; There's far more to Islam than a teddy

Comments

Re: on moderation

[jblum.livejournal.com]

Different article -- the one on The Satanic Verses controversy is the one which mentions Rushdie's 1998 declaration that he's come out of hiding.

And yes, it does still support my argument, because Kate's point -- and mine -- is that you're only hearing the "shouts" over your preferred news channels, and not actually hearing the facts which don't match what you're saying. As above, where you claimed he was still in hiding.

Part of the shoutiness is the megaphone effect of centralized media -- especially in nations with direct control of the press, which hide the alternate viewpoints within a country, but Kate's point is that the US is hardly immune from this either. (That's why she's highlighting these other comments.) It is indeed a struggle for moderates to make themselves heard... but we also need to struggle to listen for them. Maybe the reason it sounds like a whisper is because you're not listening?

Re: on moderation

[kateorman.livejournal.com]

Putting aside questions of media bias, "Mad beardy bastard decapitates teddy" is always going to be a better headline than "Moderate Muslim holds sensible opinion". :-)

Re: on moderation

[thegameiam.livejournal.com]

My knowledge of Islamic attitudes comes from reading media published in the middle east, my graduate work in Middle Eastern History, and from the Muslims I know personally, not from Wikipedia.

I highly recommend getting to know some religious Muslims (in real life, not online), and evaluating whether their attitudes about things like the Rushdie fatwa would be well described by the word "moderate."

My point is a bit tautological - if the voice is so quiet that you have to struggle to hear it, then it's really, really quiet. The not-so-moderate voices are a hell of a lot louder, more prominent, and more dominant. Really, I feel like I'm being forced to argue that water is wet - moderate voices in Islamic countries are routinely executed or driven into hiding.