Here Are the Muslim Feminist Voices, Mr. Rushdie!

Dr. Khan,

While I have not read Rushdie`s article, nor plan to, since I found the man to be a bore after reading a few pages of the book that made him famous, the Satanic Verses. However, I think with respect to the growth of Islamists in Egypt (the Egyptian Islamic Brotherhood), it was initiated neither by US policies (as you, and much of conventional wisdom, say) nor by Islamic teachings (as Rushdie says). The historical fact is that the movement started in the early 1950`s by a man named Bana (who was himself influenced in part by Maudoodi`s rubbish). Bana became radicalized after he was (and here is the fact that few people seem to remember) imprisoned by Gemal Abdel Nasser. And Nasser was hardly pro-US. In fact he was the archetypal ``third world leaders`` who came to power in the post-colonial era on an anti-west platform.

Closer home, in Pakistan, the mullahs have been trying to come to power as an alternative to the failed middle class politicians (BB and NS).

It is easy to blame the west and US policies. It is the egotistical and corrupt third world leadership that lies at the root of the Islamist problem.

And that leadership emerges from the characterless third world middle class which has not taken it`s responsibilities to the millions of poor around them, nor to the cause of peace around the world, seriously. As a result, the burden of making this world a more civilized place is very much on western societies today, and this is a fact that educated people in the third world have to date been generally in denial about.

This is counter to conventional wisdom among third world intellectuals, but I hope you will give it some consideration.

Dear Dr. Khan:

Thank you for the response to Mr. Rushdie. All persons of conscience, whether Muslims or not find Obscuritanism the determined foe of reason. Obscuritanism is but another religion of political power. Unfortunately, such straightforward responses do not address Mr. Rushdie`s concerns. His agenda is to expose Islam to a far deeper, more malignant threat.

Mr. Rushdie is a late comer to this conversation and his agenda is first and foremost the infusion of ``profanation`` within Islam and the cultures of Muslim communities, in the sense Daniel Bell in his ``The Return of the Sacred?: The Arguments on the Future of Religion`` develops the concept.

Any discussion or response to Mr. Rushdie that does not characterize ``Modern`` as the aggrandizement of the unrestrained self, indeed rebellion against restraint itself and the angry acknowledgment, affirmation, of nothingness, will fail to satisfy his concern. His mission is to “temper” the morals and sensibilities of Muslims; his tools, the expressive arts. While Muslim scholars and lay persons seek to develop and apply the rules of interpretation, Mr. Rushdie brings to the subject sensibilities in the tradition of G. E. Lessing, Rousseau, de Sade, Laclos, Dostoevski, Gide, Nietzsche, Marx, Hegel , Foucault, Laing and Brown. Seeking God or is it to be, God like, as they embrace the devil.

Suggestions that Mr. Rushdie`s work is a call for the differentiation of institutions of religion and governance overlook the fact that his work in essence, calls for the separation of religion, specifically Islam, from culture and conscience. Such notions deserve examination by all Muslims. Are we as well, to be tempted with cultural exhaustion? Even as we seek to safe guard a cultural space from the Obscuritanist and the proponents of the self and impulse? Will reason prevail? Or are we to be left asking whether reason should prevail?

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re: saminashah

``It would be unwise to grant him or any other South Asian writer the agency to be representative of all writers, and his championing within the Western media/world of academia appears to be a somewhat different issue.``

..who is granting whom agency to be a representative of South Asian writers?...writing is not a collective exercise...until someone can outdo the Rushdies and Naipauls, they will continue to have this agency by default...the onus to dethrone them is squarely on those who oppose them vehmently...

This is not a criticism at the article but at some of the interacts. Those of you who are quick to defend women and women especially as reformists within islam cannot be honest in their defense if you don`t give the benefit of the doubt to other groups. You cannot stereotype others while you protest others stereotyping you. You know who you are.

re: veeresh

{If there is one thing India and Pakistan agree on it is the apparent desire to be ``like Singapore``.}

i don`t think so...india should emulate Singapore`s economic policies but certainly not its medieval policies on personal liberty and freedom...

It is the introduction about the writer which gives a better insight into her mind.

1)If someone has studied literature then please understand it has no meaning whatsoever.If it was a doctorate in the english language then at least one can gloat a little.

2)Doctorates are demeaning these days.especially when Pakis make it a part of their name themselves,like Col. Gen.(retd)....believing that it is respectable to be noticed as such.

3)No one with half the brain calls himself/herself professor.Teacher yes but professor?Only those who use pigeons for fortune-telling call themselves professors .Like /intellectual & /intelligentsia it is not a very flattering term.

4)Such long-distance & remote-cooked solutions with words like /feminism are the social versions of IMF & World Bank---run by illiterates & ignorants about the recipient nations.Those who are truly learned & educated return home put roots and walk talk & behave like those being helped(Sattar Edhi--anyone?)or Case in point:The barefoot bankers of Bangladesh or the brave woman who in India who sent the World Bank illiterates packing(Sardar Srowar Narbada Dam).

5)To identify with Muslim woman one should acquire madrassa education at least to the primary level so as to gain a little credibility & respect when talking to the local imaam.

6)Must be seen as a walking talking practising muslim & try not to mould those being helped into an alien-infected image.

7)Go for advanced education to India,Bangladeh,Malaysia,Iran,China rather than to those where the families are fragmenting and are getting psychologically impaired.

8)Learn to write such stuff in urdu for Urdu magazine & newspapers and guage the response.It is then that one can test ones own knowledge properly.



In short the Somnaths & Bamiyaans of alien-hatched solutions MUST be brought crashing down.

Otherwise it is just a feeble attempt to convince rural-relatives back home that ``I too have `evolved`---just notice my `accent` & my disdain for my ancestoral culture``.

__________________________________________________

The tone is deliberatley provocative and is expressly adopted to counter the smug & innane `values` which have taken a strangle-hold on the Pakistani Society.

Counter-provocative replies welcome!

RE: Reply #: veeresh

``Yes Sir . . . from rediff, Varsha Bhosale says . . .nevertheless, there does exist a country that has kept its 15 per cent Muslim population totally in line with the rest, believe it or not: In Singapore, there are no demands from Muslims for separate Islamic codes and other such inequities. The Government of Singapore appoints the mufti (the highest Muslim authority in the land); it vets all the Fridays sermons, which are required to be submitted to the authorities in advance; it monitors the sermons to ensure that there is no deviation from the approved text; and it steps in with the secular law of the land if the Muslim authorities do not police themselves . . .

+++

If there is one thing India and Pakistan agree on it is the apparent desire to be ``like Singapore``.

Right? ``

God, I hope at least India does NOT become like Singapore. One smile on the face of a village child in India is more precious to me than all the dour contented faces that I see when I am in Singapore.

India does not need a National Spontanaeity Day for it`s citizens to turn on their charms.

Perhaps we can get an informal list of women writers in the Muslim world together;

three I`d suggest: Assia Djebar (Algeria), Taslima Nasreen (Bangladesh), the brilliant Sara Suleiri (India-Wales)

Dear Dr. Khan ,

You have made your point well but do you really think we should give explanation to the likes of

Rushdie . Controversies are oxygen for him . Just ignore him he will die a natural death .

Regards

Afaqui # 25

I think it is time that we should start giving each other the benefit of doubt. The idea that the one must produce a perfect thesis to be considered as intellectually sane and honest is futile. And it is also counter-productive to the evolution of the thought process. I think hobbyty has adopted a better approach.

#: 7

BijIi

Kafir Kafir Shiya is Kafir



Neptune,ppl.like you are Nathuram Godse ,Sarvarkar ,Thakeraey & Advani .Divisive like blade of knofe carving thanks giving turkey .

If you dont believe this is imposter post .I recant & condemn this post !!!!!

Neptune is doing this.NOT MY POST

saminashah #27

correction - sara suleri is not india-wales but pakistan-wales ...yale via presentation convent, pindi and kinnaird college, lahore ..... z.a. suleri`s daughter - editor of dawn and pakistan times .......

Rsax

To a greater extent I agree with you on Rushdie and Naipaul, (but particularly Rushdie) in that we need to get over it...he`s proved himself to be a writer worthy enough to have a fatwa placed on him-or good enough to draw oohhs and aahhhs from many readers internationally and enough of a creative malcontent to be used as a pawn/symbol in the ``good/bad`` worlds of the mullahs mullahwannabes. Whether anyone likes it or not, he`s here, he`s written some great books (of which we can reasonably expect more), he`s paid his due for being a dissenting artist, and he has provided a intellectual/artistic legacy for the postcolonial literature student...more than any of us can claim...so perhaps some of us ought keep that in mind before reach for the keyboard.

Yes, its up to those who accuse Rushdie and Naipaul to start publishing those amazing works they`ve got hidden under their beds...I, for one, am waiting for a novel from some very specific naysayers....will it come-probably not.

Mr. Hamzad Afaqi

I think your post tends to be a bit overgeneralizing and short sighted. Do we really need a cultural revolution in the Muslim world? You do know the answer is ``no``, right?

re mohajir 16

Here is a quote from the same BBC where you found the Hindu exodus,(the BBC that you hold as gospel):

``However, West Bengal`s Left Front government has dismissed the figures as highly exaggerated.

The Front`s Chairman, Biman Bose, says the recent migration of Bangladeshi Hindus to India has not reached that alarming level.``

I am just quickly mentioning this to show the other readers your one-man, hate-filled, innuendo-laced campaign against Bangladesh. If you don`t like the Islamisation of Pakistan, the manly thing would be to try to correct that, not claim that `others` are like Pakistan too. Because Bangladesh is not like Pakistan. Which is why we kicked Pakistanis out cold thirty years ago.

NOT RELEVANT TO THE THREAD,EXCUSE ME,BUT INTERESTING,MR.Naipaul,Rushdie,& Freidman(WITH whole Bernard to Emerson writer bullies)

Assalam alaikum,

- Muslim Leaders Salute Will Smith -

Muslim leaders across America are saluting `Will Smith` [The Fresh

Prince] for embracing their religion after completing the Muhammad

Ali biopic. Smith was introduced to the religion while learning about

the legendary boxer`s life - Islam is Ali`s religion of choice.

Friends close to Smith claim the megastar is now embracing the

religion in his own life and is eager to learn more about it.

About conversion: http://us.imdb.com/WN?20011109#9

About his tv/music/movie career: http://us.imdb.com/Name?Smith,+Will

May Allah have mercy and continue to guide us all, ameen.