Fundamental Contradictions of the Left To call the Koran "inherently egalitarian" is some kind of joke. Not that the Bible, especially some books of the OT, doesn't have serious problems of its own. But, while the Judeo-Christian scriptures can be said to be authoritative, or even inerrant, there have always been, at least since the Reformation, significant numbers of believers, including Jews from the 17th century onward, who have said that not all of the Bible is what it seems. Or who have gone even further and said that parts simply no longer apply. When the Age of Enlightenment came along in the 18th century this development allowed for large scale "re-interpretation" and for seeking and finding independent sources of authority --in everything from English common law to philosophical treatises. Hence the rise of modern thought and culture. The problem, at least as I see it, based on what Muslims or ex-Muslims have said, including scholars of Islam, is that there is no such option for contemporary Muslims. The one large scale movement that challenged the authority of the Koran came and went in the first 2 or 3 centuries of Islam and is as dead as Gnosticism is among Christians. It simply has no relevance today, or so little that it hardly matters. In effect, in other words, any Muslim who is a believer in any orthodox school is one kind of "fundamentalist" or another. Hence, about the Koran, and Shariah Law which is mostly based directly on the Koran, there is no wiggle room. The only apparent "out" is a false option on its face, namely to devise new views that are only possible because the innovator is basically ignorant of the contents of the Koran and feels free to attribute ideas to the Koran that reflect nothing so much as wishful thinking. This may work well enough among other ignorant "Muslims," apparently such as many Arab feminists, but then when it comes time to challenge the official umma, essentially the decision makers in the community, the reformers are out on a limb with no good case to make. Indeed, it can be argued that the only reason that reformers have any chance at all is because actual knowledge of the Koran is abysmal among the great majority of Muslims, which seems to be an unarguable fact. To put it a little differently, for an actual Muslim who knows his stuff, or her stuff, any reformer is about as far outside of what is acceptable as is Bishop Spong to a typical Evangelical or Catholic, viz, a mile out in Left field. All of this said, it is remarkable that feminism has as much traction as it does within Dar al-Islam. Which is not all that much, but nonetheless is significant. As for the particulars of Shariah, to take just the question of polygamy, different estimates of Muslim families in the USA where there are multiple wives range from 10,000 to 100,000. Yet all opposition to polygamy ( polygyny ) in America is directed against Mormon sectarians in the SW. How much longer can this continue ? It isn't exactly as if polygyny is outside the Koran --Allah's inviolate word, so it is said-- since Muhammad had 10 or 11 wives and all male believers can take as many as 4 as stated in words attributed to Allah. This is explicit. To argue against it would be the equivalent in a Judeo-Christian context or saying that we don't really need all of the Ten Commandments and can dispense with number 3 or 5 or 9. Sure, a secular person may do so, but for a believer this is unthinkable. So, what happens when US civil law finally must deal with polygyny among Muslims ? This issue has been there all along, of course, and has been documented --in books-- since at least the early 1990s. Yet it is completely avoided by the MSM. While there is a reason for the avoidance --desire by the Left to appease Muslims vs. the view that in feminism polygyny is a Mortal Sin, hence not saying anything about this avoids dealing with a fundamental contradiction on the Left-- it simply is preposterous for the situation to continue forever. Therefore, look for the sparks to fly as soon as this breaks into the news, whenever that might happen. You've also got the anti-homosexual values of the Koran in total opposition to so-called "gay rights." This has also been avoided completely by the MSM, not to mention the government, both parties, BTW, even if most blatantly among Democrats. In sum there are a number of major contradictions, really structural contradictions, that exist on the Left because of its love affair with Islam. What I have said here is simply a gloss and great over-simplification. My thinking is that the only thing that prevents this from exploding is cultivated ignorance, a view shared by Norman Berdichevsky and doubtless a good many other critics. In so many words, what the presence of a sizable Muslim minority in the USA amounts to is a large open can of gasoline. The only question is : When will someone toss a match into the gasoline ? Billy ============================================================ message dated 8/9/2011 1:05:27 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time, [email protected] writes:
Our best hope for avoiding creeping Sharia is empowering women. Female Muslim Activists lament the spread of sharia law _http://islamtodayoregon.blogspot.com/2011/08/female-muslim-activists-lament -spread.html_ (http://islamtodayoregon.blogspot.com/2011/08/female-muslim-activists-lament-spread.html) ____________________________________ Their efforts to reform Islam are being hampered by the spread of sharia law courts and feminist Muslims are dismayed that because of this, their efforts are being hamstrung. The examples of sharia courts in Britain and Canada reinforce their cause and voice, and they rightly point out how sharia has crept beyond simple cases of arbitration to become, in some cases standing legal opinion instead of English common law. Theirs is a cautionary tale to which the West needs to pay attention. And to all those Western feminists and their supporters who are rallying behind these brave Muslim women, thank you. Oops, sorry, I forgot there are few if any Western feminists who voice their support and spend their money on helping Muslim women achieve and keep their rights as humans and women in both Muslim and non-Muslim countries. >From _The Australian_ (http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/sharia-law-in-the-west-goes-against-fight-for-reforms/story-e6frg6ux-1226111214151) August 9 by Ida Lichter Sharia law in the West goes against fight for reforms ATTEMPTS to introduce sharia family law into Western societies run against the tide of reforms spearheaded by female activists in the Muslim world. Many aspects of these laws are unpalatable to a society that has enforced equal rights for divorce, custody, inheritance and court testimony, and criminalised polygamy and forced, under-age marriage. Moreover, the experience with sharia in Britain and Canada is cautionary. It is estimated thousands of British Muslim men have taken advantage of a loophole in the law against bigamy to avoid official registration and seal polygamous marriages in mosque ceremonies. Religious divorces, much more difficult for women, were issued by sharia councils in a form of mediation under the Arbitration Act of 1996. In 2007, Sheikh Faiz-ul-Aqtab Siddiqi took advantage of a clause in the act to establish the Muslim Arbitration Tribunal, which could now make judgments enforceable under British law. The tribunal also ran sharia courts. Matters such as commercial and inheritance disputes could be resolved provided both parties agreed and the procedures were fair, but criminal and family issues such as forced marriage, domestic violence or civil divorce, were prohibited. According to a report by British think tank Civitas in 2009, some rulings of sharia courts or tribunals advised illegal actions and others were incompatible with British law. Try these: polygamous marriage (two to four wives) is considered legal; there is no requirement to register a marriage according to the law of the country; a woman cannot marry without the presence (and permission) of a male guardian; a woman may not leave her home without her husband’s consent; a woman may not retain custody of her child after seven (for a boy) or nine (for a girl); and “severe punishments for homosexuals” are recommended. In June, a new bill tabled in the House of Lords by Baroness Cox aimed to strike out gender-discriminatory rulings in sharia courts and make it a criminal offence, with a jail term of up to five years, to falsely claim jurisdiction in family and criminal cases. Recently, the Ministry of Justice in the Coalition government abandoned an inquiry into the courts because the latter refused to co-operate. Existence of an estimated 85 official and unofficial courts in Britain has not fulfilled the ambitions of extremists. In the London boroughs of Waltham Forest, Tower Hamlets and Newham, a recent poster campaign proclaimed sharia-controlled zones and implementation of Islamic rules, including bans on alcohol, drugs, gambling, music, smoking, prostitution, homosexuality and the mixing of sexes in public. In Canada, sharia courts operated under Ontario’s Arbitration Act of 1991. After the leader of the Canadian Society of Muslims declared that a “good Muslim” was enjoined to choose religious tribunals over Canadian civil courts, Homa Arjomand, an Iranian immigrant, feared Muslim women would be coerced into an alternative legal system where they would be denied protection of the Canadian Charter of Rights. Arjomand mounted a campaign, and in 2005 the premier of Ontario banned all faith-based arbitration in the province to ensure one law for all. In Muslim-majority countries, many female reformers have campaigned for changes to gender discriminatory laws. Iranian women “suffragettes” have held demonstrations, risking injury, arrest and imprisonment. In Afghanistan, some women activists have been assassinated. Most reformers maintain the Koran is inherently egalitarian, and discriminatory laws evolved in a patriarchal, tribal society without the input of women. They also note that laws from 7th-century Arabia may not be applicable in the 21st. A understated truth if ever there was one. -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org
