I find it really strange that Chesler makes no mention of women like Fatima Mernissi, Leila Ahmed, and other Muslim feminist scholars who are working from within the religion to reinterpret misogynistic implementations of Sharia (Islamic law), and instead condemns the religion wholesale.

Her intro to the article about being a "kept woman" in an Islamic country also echoes the uber-problematic "Not Without my Daughter" by Betty Mahmoody, but also (I think) works against her argument in some ways. It's not the religion itself that's problematic based on her personal narrative, but the way that it's used to justify political oppression (in this case, of women). And what religion hasn't been used this way historically, in various times and various places?

- Erika

where in this article does it say that ms. chesler supports a "secular war" against islam? it seems like she's calling for a removal of islam from the public and political spheres, an islamic "enlightenment," as she herself calls it. if religious people hear "heathen" when secularity comes into play, that's bigotry (and stupidity) on their part. how come you're not willing to combat that?
you also say the gist of the article is that "islam is racist." where did you find that? i think you're reading some things into this article that are not really there.

You're right, Anonymous, that it doesn't say secular war in the text. That was my own wacky term, and I apologize. But when she calls for removing Islam from the public and political spheres, an enlightenment, that amounts to a violent act against Islam in the eyes of many religious Muslims. And yes, of course it's bigoted to hear "heathen" when someone says "secular" but you're not going to get anywhere by calling someone a bigot, either. If you want to change a whole functional society I think you're going to be a lot more effective by instituting internal reforms, rather than letting people shout at each other and run wild.

As for the article saying that Islam is racist, I was referring to this section: Nevertheless, Western intellectual-ideologues, including feminists, have demonised me as a reactionary and racist “Islamophobe” for arguing that Islam, not Israel, is the largest practitioner of both sexual and religious apartheid in the world and that if Westerners do not stand up to this apartheid, morally, economically and militarily, we will not only have the blood of innocents on our hands; we will also be overrun by Sharia in the West.

Arguing that Islam is the largest practitioner of religious apartheid... that's implies Islam values a kind of racism. Not the same thing as what we usually call racism in the US, but still racism.

I guess my point is, calling for an enlightenment is all well and good, but calling for it by screaming that Islam is practiced by a people to whom racism and sexism are important and holy, is counterproductive.

i'm not saying i'm going to get anywhere by noting that religious people see secular people as heathens, it's just the other side of your chesler is a racist coin. and i don't know who is shouting and running wild in your neck of the woods, but it sounds pretty hilarious. and as to islam being a "functional" society, i'm not too sure about that.

i think its a stretch to call islam's sexual and religious apartheid "racism." it's more like religionism. to be honest, all religions are separatist. it's just that islam has a tendency to be more extreme about it. it also varies a lot from place to place. can a jew or christian go to mecca? no. can a jew or christian tool around morocco or turkey and go in and out of mosques? sure.

the reality is that islamism is the loudest voice in islam today. regular muslims have been cowed into silence and seeming acquiescence. why is it problematic for you that people are criticizing islam?

Ann O. Nimus