Religion & Philosophy

Walking the walk

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By Ann Ivins

Now that the U.S. can declare an agency of a foreign government a terrorist organization; now that deposing a political leader for crimes against humanity is an accepted reason for war; now that fundamentalist religious governance is recognized as a threat to world order, the Bush administration can step up and take a hard line on this:

Saudi: Why we punished rape victim

I’ll be waiting right here.

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  2. I’m usually pretty tolerant of other cultures, and try very hard not to just assume that my way of looking at things is the only way or the right way. And though I carry around a fair amount of anger, I suppress it pretty well and am considered to be a non-violent guy.

    But I’d like to get my hands on those judges.

  4. One of the scarier things is that the Saudi judges’ punishment for the rape victim is pretty mild when compared to other fundamentalist Islamic nations – some execute rape victims and exonerate the rapists because the judicial system assumes that the victim was “too beautiful” and the men couldn’t resist her. Check out the following links:

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6152520.stm

    http://secretcommunique.blogspot.com/2006/11/execution-of-rape-victims-in-iran.html

    http://www.stophonourkillings.com/index.php

  7. Reading things like that makes me understand the impulse to bomb that entire region into flat black glass, sink a gigantic oil tap into the middle of it, and be done with it all.

    Disgraceful.

  8. What’s wrong with these people? Well, like Iraqis, many are former nomads now confined to one place.

    If you’d like a crash course into the Bedouin character, go here for the musings of Englishman John Glubb who worked with them for decades in the twentieth century.

    The following excerpt doesn’t address their hatred of women, but it’s illuminating:

    The Arabs in general are hot-headed, hasty and volatile. They are proud and touchy, ready to suspect an insult and hasty to avenge it. To hate their enemies is to them not only a natural emotion but a duty. Should any man claim to forgive an enemy, they find it difficult to believe in his sincerity and suspect a trap. Politically they tend, like the proverbial Irishman, to be against the government. Of whatever form or complexion it may be, they are usually ready to change it, though they may later on regret their action and wish to return to their former state. It is easy to conquer any Arab country, but their natural inclination to rebellion makes it difficult and expensive for the invader to maintain his control.

  9. I might also suggest “Seven Pillars of Wisdom” by TE Lawrence, and if you want a really good but really depressing read, try “The Great War for Civilisation” by Robert Fisk.

  10. Pingback: Scholars and Rogues » A little rape among friends: part II