Have you read "Infidel" by Ayaan Hirsi Ali?

[Heather in Neverland]

I am almost done with this book and wow...it is heart-breaking. I have been looking her up on the internet and I see there are a lot of people who hate her for her criticism of the way Muslim women are treated. So I just have to wonder if all she wrote is true (yes I know she lied to get political asylum...not my point)...everything I read, from the female genital mutilation to the way the mothers beat their kids and the husbands beat their wives and everything else that goes along with it...is this true? Is it exaggerated? Is it an African Muslim thing only? It really upset me. I live in a Muslim country and I can't help but look at the Muslim women I pass on the street and wonder if her experience is their experience, you know? It breaks my heart to think it. :confused:

[Gratia271]

I haven't read it, but it sounds quite interesting. I am going to check for it at my library.

[erica471]

:iagree:Yes, it is an AMAZING book. She has some other books, too. I've recommended this book to several friends.

[radiobrain]

Amazing and scary book. As far as I know it is all true, if it weren't why would she be afraid for her life?

[unsinkable]

:iagree:Yes, it is an AMAZING book. She has some other books, too. I've recommended this book to several friends.

 

sorry for the hijack, Heather...

 

Erica, who is your avatar picture?

 

Thanks!

[dangermom]

Yes, I have read it and it is heart-breaking. I see no reason not to believe her. However, there are a billion Muslims in the world and I'm sure that they have very diverse experiences; I would not assume that every Muslim woman undergoes such awful things.

[Kate in Arabia]

 

However, there are a billion Muslims in the world and I'm sure that they have very diverse experiences; I would not assume that every Muslim woman undergoes such awful things.

:iagree: I don't know that there is anyone who can speak for the entirety (or even majority) of Muslim women in the world, just as I am sure there isn't anyone who can speak for the entirety of Christian women, or Jewish women, or American women, etc. etc.

[Jenny in Atl]

I read her bk a few years ago. Her story is more of a culturally specific experience, and not a reflection on the Muslim faith as a whole. Female circumcision is a practice in a number African countries, basically on a tribal level, but many are fighting hard to end the practice. Most of the extremes you see in any faith come from local practices, not from the faith itself.

 

As for husbands beating their wives, that's a universal issue, as is with any form of domestic violence (kids included).

[Mejane]

As for husbands beating their wives, that's a universal issue, as is with any form of domestic violence (kids included).

 

Yes, but it may also be more prevalent or accepted in the context of patriarchal cultures/religions such as traditional Islam and others where women are seen as the property of their husbands.

 

disclaimer: I have not read the book.

[stripe]

Yes, but it may also be more prevalent or accepted in the context of patriarchal cultures/religions such as traditional Islam and others where women are seen as the property of their husbands.

Whether someone believes women are the property of their husbands is their own problem, but this is explicitly rejected in Islam.

 

Given the number of pregnant women who are murdered by their husbands/boyfriends in the US, unfortunately domestic abuse is hardly an isolated issue.

[Heather in Neverland]

I read her bk a few years ago. Her story is more of a culturally specific experience, and not a reflection on the Muslim faith as a whole. Female circumcision is a practice in a number African countries, basically on a tribal level, but many are fighting hard to end the practice. Most of the extremes you see in any faith come from local practices, not from the faith itself.

 

As for husbands beating their wives, that's a universal issue, as is with any form of domestic violence (kids included).

 

So then her experience was more of a Somali clan issue than a Muslim issue? The FGM made me so ill I had to put the book down for a few days. I get what you are saying about local practices taking their faith to an extreme. I think I was just wondering if this a "common" example of the life of a Muslim woman (I realize we can't say ALL are like that...but what is the percentage? 25%? 50%? 75%?). If her experience is really more related to a small number of Somalian Muslim women then it really did not come across that way in the book.

[LG Gone Wild]

So then her experience was more of a Somali clan issue than a Muslim issue? The FGM made me so ill I had to put the book down for a few days. I get what you are saying about local practices taking their faith to an extreme. I think I was just wondering if this a "common" example of the life of a Muslim woman (I realize we can't say ALL are like that...but what is the percentage? 25%? 50%? 75%?). If her experience is really more related to a small number of Somalian Muslim women then it really did not come across that way in the book.

 

Well, have you not heard of "Not Without My Daughter" or "Princess"? I've read another (years ago) about a Muslim girl from UK who was sent off to Yemen. It's the same sort of story. The book you read isn't the first that a woman in the Muslim culture has written about her experience. As for FGM, that goes on in Egypt and I think non-Muslim African tribes, so it's not *just* a Somali Muslim occurrence.

[erica471]

sorry for the hijack, Heather...

 

Erica, who is your avatar picture?

 

Thanks!

 

It's Saint Scholastica. I've loved her since I read the children's book The Holy Twins: Benedict and Scholastica by Kathleen Norris and Tomie dePaola.:001_smile:

[erica471]

I was browsing around on Amazon and saw that she is coming out with another book in May 2010. Nomad: From Islam to America: A Personal Journey Through the Clash of Civilizations.

 

Another similar book I loved was Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women by Geraldine Brooks.

[asta]

Whether someone believes women are the property of their husbands is their own problem, but this is explicitly rejected in Islam.

Given the number of pregnant women who are murdered by their husbands/boyfriends in the US, unfortunately domestic abuse is hardly an isolated issue.

 

That may be the case, but unfortunately, just as in other religions, what is practiced in real life, what is "preached" and believed by millions, is not necessarily wholly in line with an original holy text.

 

 

a

[Thea]

I read the book. I don't know if everything is true or not, but, what does she have to gain by exaggerating or lying?

 

The Trouble with Islam is another good book as is Reading Lolita in Tehran and Things I've been Silent About. Oh, and Stoning Soraya M.

Edited April 19, 2010 by Thea

[Giraffe]

I haven't read the book - it's on my list. But I have lived in a Muslim country and have Muslim relatives (so I get to see "behind the scenes" in family life). I didn't see anything that would indicate pervasive abuse going on. In fact, I'd wager in a couple of the families I know, it'd be more likely the husband ducking and running, not the wife!

 

And as far as "Not Without My Daughter" goes, please remember that she was trying to get from one Muslim country (Iran) to another Muslim country (Turkey). Turkey's women are independent, educated, strong-willed, and proud. It ain't easy to keep them down!

[bookfiend]

I read this book a few years ago. It has the feel of truthfulness. I was grateful for the insight to another culture/belief system that took me out of my suburban fog for a time.