Our thanks to journalist Tom Gross who for tracking, compiling and bringing these stories to our attention.
Many if not all of them will come as news to you because they are so under reported in the western news media.
In Brussels, 17 girls were removed from a hotel after having been enslaved by royals from the United Arab Emirates. The UAE positions itself as a modern country where excesses are the norm. Jews are forbidden from doing business in the UAE.
A 15-year-old Muslim girl leaped from a balcony in Italy rather than agreeing to her arranged marriage.
A 31-year-old Danish woman was shot dead in Pakistan in an honor killing.
In Georgia, a man killed his daughter from Chicago in an honor killing. That's Georgia, the state, in the United States.
It was reported this week that there have been more than 1,000 honor killings in Turkey over the past five years!
The group Human Rights Watch issued a statement condemning what it called the "slave" treatment of foreign women in Saudi Arabia. We've previously covered the story of the British woman who was stripped and forced to role in excrement after she and her male business partner met in a Starbucks for a meeting after the power went out in their office in the KSA.
In Iran, a woman's activist has been sentenced to five years in prison. This is the same nation that, in 1983, executed a Baha’i Sunday school teacher for failing to renounce her faith. The teacher was 17-years-old.
This has nothing to do with women's rights, but while on the subject of Iran, don't expect to see many blogs coming out of Iran. A new law applies the death penalty to those whose blogs promote prostitution or corruption in that nation. They already executed drug dealers and those who insult Islam in Iran.
In 2005 an Iranian blogger was sentenced to 14 years in prison. Freedom of speech is to be valued and protected worldwide. Those of us who are blessed to be living in nations where we can criticize our government should all be reacting with condemnation over those around the world who cannot.
5 comments:
Hi Gary, thank you for posting this article. As someone who has dealt with the issue of the abuse of women and girls, and this year focused on the issues relevent to Muslim women in particular, I think it's time our own country stopped closing it's eyes to the problem BEFORE it becomes a major one.
Take, for instance, the honor killing of two teenagers in Texas. Those sweet sisters only crime was wanting to be normal, American, teenagers.
The list of atrocities covers everything from FGM to breast ironing, to beatings, burning, stoning, hanging, verbal, physical, sexual and mental abuse. ALL ALLOWABLE according to some interpreters of the Koran.
Perhaps the most damning passage of the Koranic text is Surah 4:34 which allows a man to beat his wife if he suspects she is showing him disrespect or, some claim, cheating on him specifically.
There have been attempts to redefine the term "beat" or say that the arabic word is mis-translated. But Islamic scholars agree, BEAT MEANS BEAT.
Fortunately there ARE Muslim women speaking out and asking us western women to get involved.
I received a threatening Email over my blog called "the women of islam." I was given 14 days to remove the blog or suffer the consequence of having a fatwa issued. Not being sure if the person sending the email meant fatwa in the sense of ordering my death, or fatwa in the sense of telling others not to read the blog, I forwarded it to authorities.
Sure enough, it was out of Iran, and the man (who gave his name) is a legitimate Imam. So this was NO JOKE.
I kept my blog up. If the brave Muslim women who speak out against abuse face threat every day, could I do less?
Anyway, thank you!!! And please visit the blog: www.thewomenofislam.blogspot.com
Hi Gary. There are some disturbing mistakes in your article.
First your statement “Freedom of speech is to be valued and protected worldwide. Those of us who are blessed to be living in nations where we can criticize our government should all be reacting with condemnation over those around the world who cannot.” This is not the problem. The Government of an Islamic society is run on the laws of Sharia Law, which as you know means ‘Islamic Law’.
So therefore I must stress, “that the problem is not the “Islamic Government”, the source of the problem is “Islam” and its barbaric, satanic teachings and laws.
You have correctly mentioned the abuse women go thru in many Islamic relationships. That is why our laws, here in Canada, do not apply to Islamic laws. We see no need to hack off ones head because of his religious beliefs as Islam does. Nor do we allow honor killings.
If Islam teaches that Christians must be subdued and submitted to Islam, If Islam teaches that’s its ok to kill a Christian, then I as a Christian want to know what my Government is going to do to protect me from any Muslim who follows these laws of Islam?
Thank you for your enlightening article; keep up the good reporting, and thank you for it.
Your friend
Mark Harding.
Exhorterone
Whilst we cannot hope to change a cultural practice that we in the West find abhorent we can do something about the practices spreading into our country.
In our efforts to be accomodating to people from other cultures and religions do we run the risk if compromising our own society's mores? What should we accept, and what should we not accept? If we accept practices that are abhorent and alien to our society are we not sending the message that our society has no boundaries. To my mind that is a dangerous course to take.
Where are the international women's rights groups on these issues?
As I see it the problem is Sharia rule ....which everyone knows is mulsim religous rule. Many countries are accepting refugees into thier countries, actually we are supposed to carry out fair share of the burden of these refugees. The problem is that most refugees embrace thier new society and its ways. Muslims do not....they bring thier ways and the very atrocities they are running from with them. Look at whats happening in Holland. Holland is used to people melding into thier society, instead the many muslims who have sought refuge there have segregated themselves instead of assimilating and now basically pose a problem. Any religion who promotes violence is not one that you want to welcome into your society. Not even in the name of religious freedom. Women are to be submissive to thier husbands according to the Quran. It states that "the husband should take them and plough them as a field" as they belong to the man.....what kind of image does this bring up? according to one Surah if they have been disobedient to thier husbands, first the husband should ignore her, if she continues he then should beat her. What a way to build a loving relationship. But then again what can you expect? This whole government by religious rule was conjured up by khomeni who obviously if you look into his background was a pedophile just like his beloved mohammed. A girl should have her period in her husbands house...and if a man damages a child by having sexual intercourse with her too young, he may not have her sister (just 2 of khomeni's statements)...such harsh punishment for that man-I think not..how about castration. When are people going to wake up and pay more attention to the people they are following and listening to? The atrocities that muslim women are being subjected to are too numurous to mention. But the reasoning.....always comes down to selfishness and carnality. Take for instance the teens girls who are being killed there for all these stupid reasons....well before they kill them....they must be sure to rape them in case they are virgin...because.....a virgin would end up in heaven and they wouldnt want that. It goes on and on....we should not be allowing muslims into our country..whether we believe in religious freedoms or not.....its asking for trouble..when our founding fathers spoke of being accepting of other religions I dont believe they had in mind such a heinous religion...and there is seperation of church and state for a reason...islam is a perfect example of why NOT
Pria
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