The secularist movement in Egypt and across the Middle East is taking shape. They have a new weapon of mass destruction, something so deadly that no one will be beyond its reach. Women.
The
bitter sweet irony is that traditionalist Islam and those scholars supporting a
clear understanding of the religion, have long been accused of supporting
misogyny, suppression of women, inequality of rights whilst issuing dictat
after dictat requiring Muslim women to live in the couturier's equivalence of a
cardboard box, save for a few hastily pounded air holes.
Burqas and misconceptions aside, there
is something significant which the secularists are missing. There is on the
horizon, an enlightened approach to a new and progressive Islam; one which is
inclusive, promotes social justice, equality, fair trade, accountable
governance and uphold the rights of other faith groups. It is one which is in
fact not new but the
adherents (so often the absolute worst measure of any faith) are coming to a
better understanding and implementation of their faith. All that it is required
for this desert rose to bloom, is that they be left to do so in peace.
The world is changing and so are the
people in it. The fragments which remained of the Islamic world - left
shattered and broken after the terror waged during World War I and almost a
century of interventionism - have become so easily malleable and
manipulated, so weakened has the state of Muslim affairs become. Being able to
travel from the Atlantic to the Pacific, across Muslim territory sans frontières would now be something resigned to
the history books. A history children in the West will never be taught;
moreover, a chapter of a book which must not be allowed to see the light of day
or affect the public consciousness of Europe and America.
Yet hope springs eternal. We have seen
a spate of attempts to civilise, modernise, nay Westernise, the barbaric
retardations of the Muslim world through the secularly progressive movements of
enlightenment: art, pornography and the neo-suffragette movement. Thank God, I
had wondered precisely where the Muslim world had been going wrong for all
these years. I shall to the artistes studio go, daughters suitably disrobed. Or
there again, perhaps not... not just yet.
The absurdity of Pakistani
celebrity Veena
Malik's claim that her thong being airbrushed from the cover of Indian
FHM has disgraced her (no, really) is eclipsed only by the greater absurdity
of her being labelled a 'threat to Islam'. Against the backdrop of Malik's
father calling for her incarceration, we had crowing senior government
officials and all the while the situation said more about Pakistan's
international standing that neither its reputation, nor that of the ISI, was
any further diminished by such a story. Nevertheless, this new movement has
highlighted something which we became aware of earlier this year when Deniz Ozgun attempted to make a pornographic film
as part of his dissertation at Istanbul University. Unwise is the one who pokes
a stick at a sleeping tiger. In a country where 75% of women wear the
headscarf (including the utterly
elegant Mrs Erdogan), for decades their repression was not at the hands of
islamist salafis (definition anyone?) but at the hands of secular
western ideologues who kept them from places of study, work and
public engagement. Here Islam is seen as a religion of tolerance, moderation
and of modesty. Most importantly for the West, Islam is seen as a force which
delivers in real terms, desperately needed social change. And we would do very
well to note that its influence in public life there and here, is on the rise.
And trending (Sarkozy
take note).
For the Muslim world, public displays
of promiscuity and nudity is an anathema, considered degrading and
debasing. Islam clearly defines areas of first the male and then the female
body which should be covered ('aura') outside of which a person is considered
in a state of nakedness. The methodology by which Abu Ghraib became so
horrifyingly effective was not by co-incidence but by design (caution advised). Contrary
to modern developments in almost all major world religions which depart
from directives enshrined in their scriptures, the Islamic obligation of
covering a woman's head is maintained as essential part of faith, image and
identity. Many non-hijabis recognise it is a thing which proportionate to the
strength of their belief. And it is for this reason that amongst people you
will find little fascism in its implementation, or intolerance for those who do
not wear it. Alongside Fabriano's
depiction of the Madonnna and the holiest women in the
Christendom, the Muslim female form is modesty ('haya'), chastity and virtue.
Yes, even to some degree, shyness, why not. But this modesty cannot be state
sanctioned. Where done so it is just as reprehensible as those women who
degrade the khimar (head covering) by using it as a moral fig leaf for their
indiscretions.
However, this disposition seems to
have been misconstrued by those critics of Islam as weakness, a lack of deep
thought, or ignorance on matters of sexuality or identity. It could not be
further from the truth. The time and tendency to apologise for speaking of
virtue and morality is over, the world has moved on. There is a shifted
public sentiment. Sex is not selling. It's no longer unfashionable to talk about
both men and women living modestly, non-promiscuous and virtuous lives. Between
the lines, its the kind of morality that keeps families and societies together.
Do the math.
There are few as outspoken on such
matters as Egypt's answer to Millicent Fawcett, Mona Eltahawy. No one
should doubt her passion in her belief that feminist secularism is progressive
and the answer to Egypt's woes. Her broken arms and outright courage in the
face of the sexual abuse she received from the security forces is testament
should anyone need it. However even a broken clock is right twice a day. Her
view that Egypt's naked blogger, atheist Aliaa Mahdy, was a "bomb
aimed at the patriarchs in our minds" was completely and utterly
vacuous. The idea posited that
"When a
woman is the sum total of her headscarf and hymen
– that is,
what's on her head and what is between her legs –
then
nakedness and sex become weapons of political resistance"
is something that intelligent Muslims in the West don't buy - it's old news. And arse-manglingly boring, old news at that. We've seen it, lived through the aftermath of the bra-burning 60s, seen the spectre of that ambitious superwoman sold a lie. She who became the Tantalus of the 20th century, never able to have it all, with that final indignation - the gift of self-realisation that her broken marriage, glass ceilings and dysfunctional children bore witness to the sheer cruelty of the joke on her. It's a tried, tested and galactically failed model. It perhaps says something about the diminished capacity of pseudo-feminists in the region if they equate debasement with empowerment. It's not even clever thinking. Travelling patiently down the wrong road looking back at the mistakes the West made decades ago, is not progressive. Well not last time I checked. This is not the liberation of women but enslavement, sexualisation and objectification. Those in such a hurry to pursue this most futile of routes should try pressing the <<fwd>> button on the social engineering remote control.
In the West we have seen the rise
and rise of white,
European-born, well-educated, erudite and professional women converting to
Islam. They are the fastest rising demographic of converts in the West. The
likes of journo, author, presenter Lauren
Booth or MTV presenter Kristiane
Backer are not oppressed Saudi, Egyptian or Afghan doormats. They come
to Islam not by subjugation but by
spirituality and empowerment. This story isn't even a new one, since a
century ago we know of Valentine
de Saint Point's own journey from staunch feminist, to leading
luminary in the art world penning the Manifesto of Futurist Women, and to her
conversion to Islam in 1918.
To those sisters - Muslim and of other
faiths - for the love of God, choose your friends carefully. All feminists are
not your friends, aka known as oranges are not the only fruit. Not that it is
needed, but I present to you exhibit A, the sickest part of the secular
progressive feminist narrative being sold to us
"When
Mohammed Bouazizi, fed up with humiliation, repression and poverty, set himself
on fire in Tunisia last January... he ignited the revolutionary imagination of
the Middle East and north Africa. Aliaa Mahdy, fed up with hypocrisy and sexual
repression, undressed. She is the Molotov cocktail thrown at the Mubaraks in
our heads – the dictators of our mind – which insists that revolutions cannot
succeed without a tidal wave of cultural changes that upend misogyny and sexual
hypocrisy."
The veil drops. And like a disgusting
parasitic virus, the Machiavellian agent provocateur moves in to claim the
corpse of the dead martyr, to play realpolitik and in doing so they reveal
their true selves and their greater goal. Anarchy. Cognitive dissonance.
And if by now you have resisted the
spiritual gag reflex to up-chuck, well done you.
