Islam and Freedom

Achelois: Sexual promiscuity amongst Muslims.

Near the end:

What do you want men to believe when you insist that they can have sex with female slaves before they are married? How do they feel when you tell them their Prophet (pbuh) did it too so it’s OK? What message does that give to young Muslim men? I will not dwell on the huge problem in the Gulf where people treat their housemaids as slaves and therefore rape of maids is a very common occurrence but you can read it here and here if you like since I have talked about it in the past.

The author doesn't write down the logical corollary: Muhammad is not a moral model for decent humans in the 21st century. Blaming Western media for the atrocious and mentally fragmented condition of the umma is not helpful; the answer is closer to home.

Link via Mezba.

Comments

[Jeremayakovka]

1) Yes, I worked for an Arab family for a while here in the States: they were mighty exacting of their underlings while also frowning on American patriotism (e.g., my flag waving display one July 4th).

2) His late Christian pacifism would put him at odds with most of this century's aggressive response to terror and Islam, and equivalence apologists would say "we" are just as bad as "them," but still I would like to see an Arabic-language novelist attempt to reckon with this issue as Count Leo does in Resurrection:
http://tinyurl.com/3c7ox2

Then again, in fairness, the menaces of Mulsim apostasy are far more severe than Orthodox Christianity's....

[sunrunner]

I worked for Arabs in the Saudi Arabia. While I was "white" and treated in many ways better than the "brown" servants who lived in my employers homes (I was a personal tutor to women and children), many of my employers tried to rip me off whenever they thought they could get away with it.

When I finally quit working for these families, a number of them refused to pay me my back wages (these people have an allergy to paying up at the time the service is rendered). The most notable family was a member of the Riyadhi bin Ladens, who owed me a little more the $500 US. Interestingly, I never had this problem with the "middle class" families who were genuinely interested in seeing their daughters advance in their education. The rule of thumb was, the richer the employer, the more likely you were to be treated like a slave, that is not worthy of an honest wage. I could go on and on and on regarding this topic..

BTW--I converted to Islam in the late 70s, via Sufiism. Then married an Arab, Divorced him and renounced Islam in the process, though I still admire many Sufis. I just cannot be associated with a religion which espouses so many double standards whether from a sexual perspective or a class perspective.

[sunrunner]

I worked for Arabs in the Saudi Arabia. While I was "white" and treated in many ways better than the "brown" servants who lived in my employers homes (I was a personal tutor to women and children), many of my employers tried to rip me off whenever they thought they could get away with it.

When I finally quit working for these families, a number of them refused to pay me my back wages (these people have an allergy to paying up at the time the service is rendered). The most notable family was a member of the Riyadhi bin Ladens, who owed me a little more the $500 US. Interestingly, I never had this problem with the "middle class" families who were genuinely interested in seeing their daughters advance in their education. The rule of thumb was, the richer the employer, the more likely you were to be treated like a slave, that is not worthy of an honest wage. I could go on and on and on regarding this topic..

BTW--I converted to Islam in the late 70s, via Sufiism. Then married an Arab, Divorced him and renounced Islam in the process, though I still admire many Sufis. I just cannot be associated with a religion which espouses so many double standards whether from a sexual perspective or a class perspective.