Cast the first stone..

I'm sure that i'm not the only feminist who squirms a little when the topic of Islam's treatment of women is raised. Not in a kind of cultural relativism we-can't-criticize-because-that-would-be-racist way but mainly because it seems to me that on questions of Islamic oppression of women, feminists end up with some rather unsavoury neo-con bedfellows.

After many rather heated debates over the last few weeks i found this article on Ayaan Hirsi Ali which is exactly what i've been trying to express but have not managed to do so quite succinctly. I had also never realized that this woman who is so against asylum seekers especially if they are found to have fudged any of the details of their claim fudged her own asylum application for the Netherlands.

The idea of a monolithic religion and culture seems so far removed from what i have heard about Islamic culture that it seems to make as much sense to equate the Taliban's treatment of women with that of Islam generally as it makes to equate the treatment of women by the Bulldogs as representative of all Australian attitudes. A monolithic view of Islam thus ends up propogating the arguments of the fundamentalists within the religion and not respecting the fact that many muslims are more progressive and are working to change and challenge their religion.
It's more than a little condescending to suggest to these people that they are so oppressed that they just don't know any better.

Considering how recent many developments in gender and racial equality are in western countries it's a little rich to suggest we have the monopoly on non-opressive social relations. Frankly, many of the conservatives who criticize Islam for its treatment of women have not made a peep about inequalities within their own societies and instead seem to spend an inordinate time calling uppity women "femonazis".

It is amazing how Ali has fought back against some of the more insidious parts of Islam and feminism can do with more outspoken and fearless advocates even if we do end up disagreeing with some of their conclusions..