General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Video-Amina: Topless Tunisian Protester Tells Femen She Was Beaten,Kidnapped & Drugged By Her Family [View all]BainsBane
(53,001 posts)It is invoking religion as a justification for Islamophobia. They attribute a single act to all of Islam. They imagine, based on very little information, that all of Islam is a certain way based on what they see on cable TV. They know nothing about the history or current state of the Muslim world and work hard to make sure they learn nothing. You may find such views acceptable, which is entirely your problem. I do not view people of different ethnicities or religions as inferior to myself, nor do I deny their right to practice a religion. When I see stereotyping and scapegoating, I will speak up. To fail to do so would be to sanction prejudice and cultural imperialism. Such ideas are a product of an ideology promoted in this country to justify endless war in Muslim countries. I find it repulsive on every level, whether it comes from the neocons or those who are simply influenced by the neocons. The neocons use democracy as their justification for imperialism; some here use religion, or antipathy toward religion.
It's one thing to object to rolling back particular rights in Tunisia, like abortion rights or women's education, and quite another to use that as an excuse to spread hatred of other peoples. I'm all for denouncing mistreatment and abuse abroad. What galls me is taking that as an excuse to denounce an entire people. I have yet to have anyone explain to me how they think they are doing Muslim women any good when they don't even respect a core aspect of their identity, which is both religious and ethnic. It appears to me that some here care far less about conditions faced by women in the world, including the Muslim world, than in denouncing Muslims as inferior because of their faith.
Our country is responsible for the worst sorts of human rights abuses in many Muslim countries, and no on here seems to care at all about that. Instead they wag their First World fingers at other cultures that have the audacity to pray differently from them. It takes a lot of nerve for people from a country that has killed hundreds of thousands of Muslims to imagine that Islam, more than their own government, is the source of oppression in the Muslim world. You resent that I point out historical conditions that contradict the idea that Islam is inherently evil. You want to pretend that British/Euroopean colonialism and US backed dictatorships had nothing to do with the rise of Islamaist fundamentalism. Less information never furthers understanding, but it does enable people to cling to simplistic views of the world. Education is a choice. There is plenty available for people to read about the rise of radicalism in the Muslim world and how Islam has been practiced in the past. You get pissed off that I point some of that out. Too bad. I have no illusions that most people here want to learn anything that challenges their culturally imperialistic world view. Their privilege vs. the rest of the world depends on massive exploitation and oppression abroad. That they consider that privilege natural is evidenced by the fact they refuse to interrogate it while turning their noses up at the benighted folk of the Global South.
So if you feel a need to proclaim yourself superior to the 90% of the world's population who engage in "religious superstition" that is entirely your problem. I see no evidence to justify that sense of superiority.