Sorry I have been MIA for a bit. A couple or three things jump out from the New York Times, NPR and the ‘Net this morning.

Firstly, there’s an op-ed in the NYT this morning by the country director for the Institute of War and Peace Reporting providing his personal perspective about the bombing of the Serena Hotel in Kabul, a watering hole (and just a place to hole up) for expats, particularly. And there have been other stories about Afghanistan in The Times, on NPR, other places in the last few days. It seemed to hit me; is it a coincidence that the Western Media and Zeitgeist is sitting up and noticing—or should I say acknowledging, since some information has always been around—that Afghanistan is down the tubes because the Taliban, as Mr. McKenzie tells us, have now started a policy of targeting westerners?
The other thing that jumped out at me was from a series that NPR is doing on Muslim Women in Britain.

I am currently enrolled in a class at a university. It is Islam. I had my doubts at first, but one day, when we all were in class and I was listening to a Recitation of the Holy Qur’an, it felt like a burst of light and joy was coming from my heart. I literally had no idea what was going on, but I let myself feel it. I had tears streaming down my face, and it we were only about ten minutes or so into it, and the Sura was finished. The professor was done giving the example.

It’s Saturday night, and the blogs are on fire!

The Prophet saw Hell and there were more women there than men!  Ouch!

Comments after the jump:

German Judge and Legal Orientalism
By  Mohammad Fadel

Originally Posted on Eteraz.Org

The Friday New York Times reported that a German judge denied a Moroccan woman’s request for an expedited divorce from her Moroccan husband – despite the apparently undisputed evidence that the husband had repeatedly abused her – on the grounds that such conduct is “common” in Morocco and that the “Koran . . . sanctions such physical abuse.” 

Over the next few months, I will get back to developing the health section on the site.  One major change is to address men’s health concerns.  I want to develop pages not simply on men’s health issues in general, but also address women’s abuse of men and male responses to child abuse.  As I develop that part of the site more, I will be putting together professional-looking pamphlets on these topics that will be available as pdfs for anyone who wants to use them.  Simply download them, take them to your local copy place, fold them in thirds and distribute them in your community.  A few colleagues and friends are going to be helping me with this project.  I’ll announce their names as each pamphlet comes out.

To my mind, gender justice must address both women’s and men’s concerns and needs (in straight and glbtq conexts) if we are to make any long-lasting progress.  Justice (`adl) means to put things in their proper places.  We can only put things in their proper places if we come to understand the haqq of a thing; in other words, all of its rights and obligations, all of its properties and characteristics so that all things may be given their due.  To be "just," then, is to give everything its due.  Insha’Allah, the site will be able to contribute to justice in this way.

When I surf the internet, I tend to gravitate toward the blogs of other women who are also in polygamy. Misery loves company, and all that.

Most of what I find is awful. There's something that's just so sad about seeing otherwise intelligent women lobotomize their minds in the name of Islam as they try (and fail) to squash themselves into the mold of the "ideal Muslimah", and parrot the usual inadequate rationalizations. I understand all too well why they do it—-been there, done that—-but it's so depressing all the same.

But once in a while, I happen upon a piece which is a treat to read, if only because it's so honest. This morning, I was absolutely delighted to see that Peacefulmuslimah has come out and said what I've been secretly thinking for a while now: that she thinks that if her husband had just gone and had an affair, it would have been less humiliating for her than his polygamy.

Unfortunately, I can't make it to the women-led Eid prayer organized by Laury and Nakia. But naturally, I won't let that stop me from weighing in on it nonetheless. After all, so many conservative Muslim leaders in North America felt free to comment on the Amina Wadud prayer, although they had not attended it, that I feel almost confident that it must be 'urf if not sunna to sound off in such cases… :-)

'Amma ba'd—-let's get straight to the point. One of the main problems—-as we remember from the Amina Wadud prayer—-is butts. Women's butts, that is. It doesn't matter how many layers of clothing a woman wears, her butt is still alluring, and any man praying behind her is bound to get distracted, so we can't allow women to lead mixed congregations.

Debra Mubashshir Majeed discusses marital rape and where we go from here following the responses to her pamphlet on Marital Rape she published here and used in a discussion on the topic at her mosque.

Debra Mubashshir Majeed writes,

I have read the responses to my initial posting in June with great interest. Since the taleem mentioned above, it has become increasingly obvious
that "we" — practicing Muslims and those who study our religion,
rituals, and lived realities — have much work to do on this very important issue. I cannot begin to tell you the depth of ignorance that is taught and shared as revelatory truth. Too many Muslim women arise before dawn each day to make salat and to live in contexts that confirm their sense of inferiority and marginalization. Popular interpretations of Islam suggest that men are the maintainers of women, and some of these women experience that very "maintenance" as domination, as control, and as abuse.

Ashly Higgens, a former student of mine and a reader of PI.Org website, sent me this hysterical photo from DC's "High Heel Drag Race."  It seems to put the proper note to the absurdity of the anti-niqab discussion.  Niqab is as American as you can get when it gets to be campy drag wear.  Fellow Muslims, we have  arrived!