Reading through my e-mails, I was shocked to find an advertisement for Nonie Darwish on campus. This was the “avid women’s rights speaker” from the Middle East?
This self-proclaimed “former Muslim” is notorious for her baseless assertions, ranging from “Muslim student organizations on every college campus are spreading radical Islam,” to “a Muslim man can marry a child as young as 1 [sic] years old.”
Apparently, the International Studies Department (in coalition with CAMERA) has decided to join Nonie Darwish in her crusade to liberate the “freedom-hungry” Muslims and Arabs.
All that aside, I want to focus on Nonie Darwish and ask how the author of “Cruel and Usual Punishment: The Terrifying Global Implications of Islamic Law” and “Now They Call Me Infidel: Why I Renounced Jihad for America, Israel, and the War on Terror” is qualified to give an informational speech on “human rights and Islam?” Admittedly, she runs Web sites titled “Former Muslims United” and “Arabs for Israel,” but that does not change the fact that she has absolutely no professional or educational background in Islamic jurisprudence.
I suppose one could argue that her limited personal experiences are a source of knowledge, but that doesn’t justify her intentional distortion of Islamic law in order to appeal to the anti-Muslim hysteria in our country. Additionally, I would like to refute the e-mail for her event because it mentioned her claim that Sharia requires Muslim women to have “four male witnesses” to “make a case” for rape.
This is false. The Quran states that accusations of adultery require four witnesses. Accusations require four witnesses to assure that people cannot make false claims. I’m going to assume that the organizers of this event were sloppy and did not have time to check their facts because they were in a hurry to liberate Muslim women.
I am also troubled by the fact that Darwish treats Islam as the cause for “why Arabs are oppressed under their government.” Once again, I need to ask if I should attribute this falsehood to her lack of knowledge of Middle Eastern history or her devious plan to bash Muslims while pretending to be an objective scholar.
In conclusion, I would like to inform everyone that I am a Muslim and Iraqi-American woman. The goal of my response is not to infringe upon free-speech rights. I was compelled to take a stand because I am quite familiar with Darwish; her purpose is to amplify hatred towards people like me, who have the “misfortune” of being Arab or Muslim in post-9/11 America.
Unlike my peers, I do not have the privilege of observing this issue from a neutral distance. Physical assault, job discrimination and public humiliation are among the hardships I deal with as a result of the hate rhetoric that is espoused by Darwish and her counterparts.
I hope the organizers of this event take this into consideration next time they have the benevolence to create an event to help people “understand” Islam and the Middle East.
Hajer Al-Faham
Political Science/Women Studies Major
No to Darwish: speaker clouds understanding of Islam
Published: Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Updated: Wednesday, November 4, 2009 23:11
7 comments
If you allowed "your Name" - who is not an Islamic Scholar to post about Islam then you must allow me (who is not a Judaic scholar) to post what we see in popular media.
It shocks me to see the hatred expressed at Islam here. That is not what the Plain Truth Magazines I used to read (distributed free in Asia when I was a small child said - that magazine spoke the virtue of - Loving thy neighbor- and so forth- I learnt about the love of God from it as a child).
This person 'accuse' Hajer Al-Faham ,an Iraqi, for expressing her well thought defensive critique! - this is not scholastic of 'Your Name'.
The Iraqis are innocent victims of a war that they did not solicit.
My personal opinion is that the huge amount of oil they are sitting on is their bad luck - for many want it.
It is the trial of Muslims- to have the largest reserves of oil under their feet in - Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Nigeria, Pakistan, Indonesia, Iran etc - to experience the heartless vulturing by the rest of the world and the loss of human virtue from greed.
Afganistan is described from ancient times as the 'strategic point' in geographcal terms & all who are in greed of ruling the economy of the world desired for it. Alexanders army wanted it , Silk Road, Genghistan, and so were Russians & now USA.
In the 1980's my mother by chance visited Baghdad for a meeting & was surprised!. She came home w/ Iraqi sweets & goods for the kids & said -"It is a beautiful country, rich in oil revenues and the universities had 50:50 ratio male: female students and well designed for tourism" - I was planning to visit & never had the chance- for now it is ruined.
It also made me think - "Why every magazine I picked up said "Visit Rome-Paris-London-New York" but did not mention Baghdad for I believe my mother's opinion- she had visited all the above & many more.
Is it b/c many hired & resident magazine writers - neglected to mention it to suppress economic gain to Baghdad?
The roots of evil seem to run very deep and individuals like "Lion Of Kabul" only bring back those painful memories - for they were the perpetrators of these evil global wars in every generation and many more to come.
FROM THE KORAN:
--“ the (only) religion (acceptable) before God is Islam." (3:19)
-- " If anyone desires a religion other than Islam, never will it be accepted of him." (3: 85)
-- “You are the noblest community ever raised up for mankind.” (3:110)
-- The unbelievers among the people of the book and the pagans shall burn forever in the fire of Hell. They are the vilest of all creatures. (98.6).
-- Surely the vilest of animals in Allah’s sight are those who disbelieve. (8.55)
--The unbelievers are your inveterate enemy. (4:101)
-- Mohammed is God's apostle. Those who follow him are ruthless to the unbelievers but merciful to one another. (48:29).
-- It is unlawful for a believer to kill another believer, accidents excepted. (4:92)
-- Believers, take neither the Jews nor the Christians for your friends. (5:51)
-- Make war on them until idolatry shall cease and God's religion shall reign supreme. (8:40)
-- Fight against them until idolatry is no more and God's religion reigns supreme. (2:193)
-- The true believers fight for the cause of God, but the infidels fight for the devil. (4:76)
-- We will put terror into the hearts of the unbelievers. (3:151)
-- I shall cast terror into the hearts of the infidels. Strike off their heads, strike off the very tips of their fingers. (8:12)
FROM THE SAYINGS OF MUHAMMAD:
-- Muhammad said to the Jews: "If you embrace Islam, you will be safe. You should know that the earth belongs to Allah and His Apostle, and I want to expel you from this land. “
-- Allah's Apostle said, "You (i.e. Muslims) will fight with the Jews till some of them will hide behind stones. The stones will (betray them) saying, 'O 'Abdullah (i.e. slave of Allah)! There is a Jew hiding behind me; so kill him.' "
-- Mohammed said, "I have been ordered to fight with the people till they say, "None has the right to be worshipped but Allah, and whoever says, " None has the right to be worshipped but Allah , his life and property will be saved by me." (otherwise it will not). Vol. 4:196
-- Mohammed said, "Whoever changes his Islamic religion, kill him." Vol. 9:57
-- Mohammed said, " No Muslim should be killed for killing a Kafir" (infidel). Vol. 9:50
-- Muhammad said: "Fight in the name of Allah and in the way of Allah. Fight against those who disbelieve in Allah. Make a holy war, …"