The picture of the blonde-haired Lauren Booth wearing a head scarf is certainly striking, but it's also striking to me that she seems determined not to buy into the dominant narrative about Islam as a religion that subdues women:
Women who are being abused by male relatives are being abused by men, not God. Much of the practices and laws in "Islamic" countries have deviated from (or are totally unrelated) to the origins of Islam. Instead practices are based on cultural or traditional (and yes, male-orientated) customs that have been injected into these societies. For example, in Saudi Arabia, women are not allowed to drive by law. This rule is an invention of the Saudi monarchy, our government's close ally in the arms and oil trade.
This probably too easily discounts the negative aspects of any religion -- but, of course, it's always the sinful people who distort a religion, not the religion itself that's at fault. But Booth is a very new convert, seeing Islam as a lens through which to criticize her society. It'll be interesting to watch her journey, and to try to figure out what -- if anything -- it means for the rest of us Westerners.
1 comment:
"Much of the practices and laws in "Islamic" countries have deviated from (or are totally unrelated) to the origins of Islam."
What she says here may be true to a certain degree, but it seems to me that any religion (or other cultural institution) which has it's origins in the first millennium C.E. is going to have a fair amount of the subjugation of women, slavery and other non-niceties endemic to it.
Post a Comment