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Politics : Actual left/right wing discussion -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: one_less who wrote (6066)	3/7/2007 12:55:18 PM
From: Brumar89	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 10087

I understood the lashes were to be for meeting a man, not punishment for rape. My remark about her being lucky was a reference to the beating her brother gave her for dishonoring the family - murder is common in such cases. I would bet a years pay (if I were a better) that the sentence will removed by the mercy of the court for one of dozens of legal mercies that are allowed. I've known many people who have worked in SA over the last few decades and their legal system is not big on mercy, but rather big on "chop-chop". Below is an essay which sees the treatment of women a key indicator of the health of Islamic civilization. I know SA is only one country (possibly the worst for women) but conversations I've had over the years with women from relatively liberal places like Malaysia indicate women aren't treated equally in fact even there. ---------------------------- The Canary In The Coal Mine Of Islamic Civilization Steven M. Warshawsky It is often said that Jews are the canary in the coal mine of western civilization. When they start to be abused and mistreated, it is a sign that a poisonous atmosphere has developed that threatens to engulf all of society. Well, women are the canary in the coal mine of lslamic civilization. And they are choking and dying across the Muslim world. The most recent story, from Saudi Arabia, involves a 19-year-old woman who was kidnapped, beaten, and gang-raped by 7 men -- and then sentenced by a court to 90 lashes for the crime of being alone with a man not related to her. This is utterly barbaric. Yet it is consistent with Islamic law (sharia) as practiced by the leading Sunni Muslim nation, the world's largest oil exporter, and America's "ally" in the Middle East. Equally revolting acts of sharia tyranny against women occur in Iran, Afghanistan, and throughout the Muslim world. I submit that the single most important indicator of whether the Muslim world will be able to co-exist peacefully with the West is how they treat their women. So long as the Muslim world follows a religious code that reflects such a deep fear and hatred of women, it never will be able to embrace the core values and principles upon which a free, democratic society is based: the dignity of the individual, freedom of conscience, political and economic liberty, the principles of nondiscrimination and equal opportunity, representative government, and non-violent transitions of power. When the Muslim world stops abusing and mistreating its women, we'll know they're ready for peaceful co-existence with the West. Until that day, we'd better keep our eyes open and our powder dry. smwarshawsky@hotmail.com americanthinker.com

To: one_less who wrote (6066)	3/7/2007 1:10:42 PM
From: Brumar89	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 10087

Muslims for freedom Thomas Lifson Sounds very good. But I don't know how much headway will this make - especially outside the US? An important gathering of Muslims dedicated to retaking their faith from the hands of brutes and madmen has taken place in St. Petersburg, Florida. The St. Petersburg Declaration can be found at Jihadwatch.org. These are important people doing an important thing. They may be the best hope for saving the world from violent religious war, which seems the aim of many jihadists. In essence, they are demanding the Islam play by the rules the world's other religions obvserve. They deserve our full-throated support. I eagerly await CAIR's reponse to the group, which offers a way top solve all problems in "American Islamic Relations": We are secular Muslims, and secular persons of Muslim societies. We are believers, doubters, and unbelievers, brought together by a great struggle, not between the West and Islam, but between the free and the unfree. We affirm the inviolable freedom of the individual conscience. We believe in the equality of all human persons. We insist upon the separation of religion from state and the observance of universal human rights. We find traditions of liberty, rationality, and tolerance in the rich histories of pre-Islamic and Islamic societies. These values do not belong to the West or the East; they are the common moral heritage of humankind. We see no colonialism, racism, or so-called "Islamaphobia" in submitting Islamic practices to criticism or condemnation when they violate human reason or rights. We call on the governments of the world to: * reject Sharia law, fatwa courts, clerical rule, and state-sanctioned religion in all their forms; oppose all penalties for blasphemy and apostacy, in accordance with Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human rights; * eliminate practices, such as female circumcision, honor killing, forced veiling, and forced marriage, that further the oppression of women; protect sexual and gender minorities from persecution and violence; * reform sectarian education that teaches intolerance and bigotry towards non-Muslims; * and foster an open public sphere in which all matters may be discussed without coercion or intimidation. We demand the release of Islam from its captivity to the totalitarian ambitions of power-hungry men and the rigid strictures of orthodoxy. We enjoin academics and thinkers everywhere to embark on a fearless examination of the origins and sources of Islam, and to promulgate the ideals of free scientific and spiritual inquiry through cross-cultural translation, publishing, and the mass media. We say to Muslim believers: there is a noble future for Islam as a personal faith, not a political doctrine; to Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus, Baha'is, and all members of non-Muslim faith communities: we stand with you as free and equal citizens; and to nonbelievers: we defend your unqualified liberty to question and dissent. Before any of us is a member of the Umma, the Body of Christ, or the Chosen People, we are all members of the community of conscience, the people who must chose for themselves. Hat tip: N.S. Rajaram americanthinker.com