sex and islam
Feb. 4th, 2007 11:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
miriam_eI have been thinking a lot recently about the way the islamic world sees sex and women and the West. My wonderful niece, Lois, came to visit and we had a great series of conversations. She is reading a number of books at the moment, one of which is a book by a woman who grew up under islamic society in Saudi Arabia. Lois told me it was deeply shocking to her the way the men were able to hold such strange views about women. They would be happy to go out and screw anybody they wished, then consider that all women were whores. If a woman got pregnant outside marriage then the woman was at fault even if she had been raped. The man would be excused his mistake and the woman would be lucky to escape death. All this reminded me of a very disturbing piece I'd read some time back by another woman who'd grown up under islam. It re-read it aloud to Lois and we discussed it. (You can read it at http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Printable.asp?ID=5775 )
It strikes me that islamic society seems deeply disturbed. I'd often felt that Western society is obsessed with sex, but compared to islamic society the West is incredibly restrained and comfortable with sex. In islamic society a woman can't show skin for fear of inflaming desire in men, as they have total power over women and can do anything they want with them. In contrast, Western women can walk down the main street of any major city wearing little more than a skimpy bikini in complete safety. Either men in the West are paragons of virtue or men under islam have become debased and dehumanised by their power. This is interesting because jihadists preach the exact opposite: that the West is evil and wallowing in the sins of the flesh.
Strange.
It is the power. It always seems to be power. We humans are wonderful in so many ways, but give one person power over another and terrible things are certain to follow.
Islamic society will remain sick until the power of men over women is removed. They are corrupted and sickened by it.
It strikes me that islamic society seems deeply disturbed. I'd often felt that Western society is obsessed with sex, but compared to islamic society the West is incredibly restrained and comfortable with sex. In islamic society a woman can't show skin for fear of inflaming desire in men, as they have total power over women and can do anything they want with them. In contrast, Western women can walk down the main street of any major city wearing little more than a skimpy bikini in complete safety. Either men in the West are paragons of virtue or men under islam have become debased and dehumanised by their power. This is interesting because jihadists preach the exact opposite: that the West is evil and wallowing in the sins of the flesh.
Strange.
It is the power. It always seems to be power. We humans are wonderful in so many ways, but give one person power over another and terrible things are certain to follow.
Islamic society will remain sick until the power of men over women is removed. They are corrupted and sickened by it.