Monday, August 21, 2006
The bravery of one woman
I will admit a fairly abysmal ignorance of just why Theo Van Gogh was so brutally murdered. Or, rather, a fairly abysmal ignorance of the circumstances surrounding his death. Until, that is, I tuned in to last night's "60 Minutes" broadcast, and sat there, stunned and horrified, watching one woman try to fight the injustices she sees in the religion of Islam.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali, whose Wikipedia entry can be found by clicking here, amazed me with her erudite description of the horrors committed against women in the name of the Koran. Those injustices were the subject of her film "Submission", a film which cost Theo Van Gogh his life.
Of course, all of this is old news by now, but I am continually stunned by the blindness of those who would defend Islam as a "peaceful" religion. Yes, I will catch hell for this, and no, believe it or not, I am not a religious bigot. I support the right of anyone to worship as they see fit. I do think a line should be drawn, however, on the "right" of an Islamic man to slaughter his wife (or daughter, or sister) if she dares to step a toe out of line. When the "peaceful" Muslims mutilate a director in the streets, as happened to Theo Van Gogh, someone must stand up for the simple right to life.
This includes, today, Hezbollah, who seem hell-bent on destroying Israel--as is, indeed, their publically stated goal--all in the name of that "peaceful" Koran. The men who committed 9/11 were not Buddhists. They were not Mormons. They were not Jewish. They were not Hindu. They were Muslims.
Thus, I am all for profiling. I am all for the government listening in on my pizza orders. To paraphrase Dennis Miller, the government can bug my behind if it'll keep me and my kids safe.
All of which is off the topic of the courageous and wonderful Ayaan Hirsi Ali. Islamic women should have the right to life, shouldn't they? This is basic stuff. When Scott Peterson slaughtered his wife and unborn son in California, he was incarcerated and given the death penalty.
He should have converted to Islam, taken Laci to Iran, and cut her head off there.
He'd have been a hero.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali, whose Wikipedia entry can be found by clicking here, amazed me with her erudite description of the horrors committed against women in the name of the Koran. Those injustices were the subject of her film "Submission", a film which cost Theo Van Gogh his life.
Of course, all of this is old news by now, but I am continually stunned by the blindness of those who would defend Islam as a "peaceful" religion. Yes, I will catch hell for this, and no, believe it or not, I am not a religious bigot. I support the right of anyone to worship as they see fit. I do think a line should be drawn, however, on the "right" of an Islamic man to slaughter his wife (or daughter, or sister) if she dares to step a toe out of line. When the "peaceful" Muslims mutilate a director in the streets, as happened to Theo Van Gogh, someone must stand up for the simple right to life.
This includes, today, Hezbollah, who seem hell-bent on destroying Israel--as is, indeed, their publically stated goal--all in the name of that "peaceful" Koran. The men who committed 9/11 were not Buddhists. They were not Mormons. They were not Jewish. They were not Hindu. They were Muslims.
Thus, I am all for profiling. I am all for the government listening in on my pizza orders. To paraphrase Dennis Miller, the government can bug my behind if it'll keep me and my kids safe.
All of which is off the topic of the courageous and wonderful Ayaan Hirsi Ali. Islamic women should have the right to life, shouldn't they? This is basic stuff. When Scott Peterson slaughtered his wife and unborn son in California, he was incarcerated and given the death penalty.
He should have converted to Islam, taken Laci to Iran, and cut her head off there.
He'd have been a hero.
