Why I Will Never Convert to Islam

Some purveyors of multiculturalism say all cultures are of equal value. I disagree. There are some cultures that are so damaging to humankind that they should be allowed to wither on the vine and die. The current tacit acceptance of terrorism and violence puts Islam on the list. Here are some reasons why I would rather die than become a Muslim:

Terrorism in the name of Islam

Attitude of supremacy of Muslims

Clear direction in Koran to kill “infidels” (like me)

Lack of equality for women

Lack of respect for women (the testimony of two women is equal to that of one man)

Acceptance of beating as an appropriate treatment of the wife

Glorification of violence and death

Training children to hate and kill

Extreme bigotry against Jews

Bigotry against Christians

Bigotry against believers of anything except Islam

Taking offense against anything that ‘offends’ Islam

Taquiya – it’s ok to lie to promote Islam

The fear of normal sexuality

Lack of tolerance for other cultures

Lack of tolerance for each other (Muslims kill more Muslims than anyone else)

Lack of willingness to accept religious freedom for others in “Muslim” countries

I’ll think of others as time goes on, but this is a formidable list

The God I worship tells me that my enemy, Satan, comes to steal, kill and destroy. From what I’ve seen of the public face of Islam, that pretty well sums it up.

Radiant

Burkhas bad for your health

As a fairly conservative Christian, I understand arguments about headcovering and modesty. (I believe my long hair is my covering - so long as my hair is a little longer than my husband's :-D ) What appalls me about Fundamentalist Muslims is their lack of regard for the health of their women. Here is an article from Foreign Policy worth reading:

Are Muslim dress codes bad for women's health?

Conservative Muslim dress codes may be causing vitamin D deficiency in women by limiting their exposure to sunlight, humans' main source for the vitamin, according to new research.

Scientists had previously found high rates of vitamin D deficiency in Arab and East Indian women living in the United Arab Emirates. A follow-up study investigated the effect of vitamin D supplements on 178 UAE women, many of whom covered themselves entirely, faces and hands included, when outside their homes. Only two of the women did not have vitamin D deficiency prior to receiving supplements. The results were published by a team of scientists in the June issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

One of the researchers concludes, "When sunlight exposure … is limited, much higher dietary intake of vitamin D is needed than currently recommended," particularly for those who breast-feed.

At least one commentator, though, is saying it's not higher doses of vitamin D that are needed, but rather, lower doses of fundamentalism.

We call this domestic violence and it is a crime

Here is the President of Al-Azhar University and Former Mufti of Egypt Ahmad Al-Tayyeb talking about and justifying wife beating. It will raise the hackles of many women who have experienced domestic violence (myself included). This man's views are not what I would ever want to become predominant here in the United States. May we be watchful and cautious and even vigilant against Ahmad Al-Tayyeb's views.

Blog for Hurting Women

My dear friend in Dallas has started a blog for hurting women in the process of restoration. She says she writes for "The woman sitting all alone without hope thinking life has played a cruel trick with her.... I have been her and, praise the Lord, without people to pray for me would still be her."

Here is the site: Trading My Sorrows

She is a very good writer with great insights. I hope you will benefit from her words.

Where are the Feminists when you need them??? Part II

Now the power hungry, intolerant bully misogynists of Iran are taking out their Islamic self-righteousness, penis angst and inadequacy on women who don't dress to look like shapeless bags and hide every feature God (the real one) has given them to be beautiful. Here is a picture of a woman who has been a 'recipient' of Iranian Islamic love. Women who do not cover themselves properly are now considered "animals".



This picture shows who the real animals are (thank you Gateway Pundit for sharing this sad information with us). Read more at Gateway Pundit's site.

Where are the feminists? Where is the uprising against the extreme male chauvinism of these Iranian men?

Here is part one in case you missed it.

Relationship Advice

I received an e-mail from a friend of mine today. She is a mature lady like I am - a very gracious and attractive lady who has had some bad experiences in relationships. Knowing that she still needs to deal with issues in herself, she writes:

As I am relearning how to live ... I am trying to change old habits. Sometimes I may have higher expectations than I should or sometimes I have no requirements at all. SO I am taking a poll (of my friends..ed.) . How do you expect to be treated in a relationship that is exclusive. For example boyfriend/ girlfriend. What are deal breakers? What expectation is too high or too low?

Here is my reply to her. She found it helpful, and maybe some of my readers will find it useful as well:

Deal breakers.....hmmmm..........

The usual - drugs, alcoholism, unfaithfulness, laziness (no work), inability to support self much less a family no matter how nice they are, lukewarm in their faith.

Other VERY important ones.....uncontrolled anger issues, violence, unrestrained tongue, too clingy (!), Unable to get along with people, lack of the fruit of the spirit in their lives, too quick to get involved sexually, lack of respect for people and especially you, lack of respect for leadership, unsubmissive and unkind.

At our age, the men we get to know will have a trail of fruit - good and bad. My husband had a history of educational and job success and advancement, hard work, purity and innocence (amazing for a sailor). As I got to know him ( and you need time to get to know someone) I could see that he tried hard to be a good husband to his first wife.....I know this because of the way he treats me now.

My husband and I are good friends. We trust each other and respect each other as well as love each other. We recognize that we need each other but because the Lord is first in our lives, we could live without each other if need be.

A "boyfriend/girlfriend" relationship needs to grow out of friendship and mutual respect. Unfortunately, this takes time and face to face contact. I know we long for a relationship where we are special to someone....God put that in us.....but rushing and nurturing the sexual attraction and infatuation is not a good foundation for a lasting relationship. Sexual attraction is a fire that can very quickly get out of control given the right circumstances - and then you have to deal with guilt and regret. Hardly a good start for a couple that is not quite considering a marriage yet!

Think about how friends treat each other - how they talk to each other - how they work together and how they admire each other. Friends know each other's limits. Friends know what is important to the other and they seek to bless each other. Friends regard themselves, too, and keep their boundaries up so they don't lose who they are in a relationship. Friends are free to be who they are without having to change just for the other person to make them happy. Isn't that what you want in a lasting relationship?

I hope this helps.

God bless you!

Radiant Times

Where are the Feminists when you need them???

This is just disgusting!!

Follow this link to discover a "Saudi Family Expert" telling families on Saudi TV that if "a Wife Licks Pus and Blood Coming Out of Her Husband's Nose - She Still Would Not Have Observed All His Rights". Is this guy for real???? Is this how a woman should be treated????

You can view the clip here. It is #1447

Disgusting!

MEMRI TV from Saudi Arabia’s Iqra TV.

A Giant Step for Worldwide Women's Rights

Well, look what came across the wires :

2007-03-02

The Grand Mufti in the United Arab Emirates issued a fatwa (religious edict) permitting the performance of divorce through an SMS message through cell phones. He said divorce through this modern facility does not differ from a divorce written on paper.

There was one provision - the sender of the message must be the husband.

Source: Al-Rafidyan, London, March 2, 2007

This is yet another sad demonstration of how women's rights are being upheld in predominately muslim countries. All the man has to do to divorce his wife is to tell her three times "You are Divorced!" And that's it! Now he does not even have to look her in the eye to do the dirty deed. No lawyers. No alimony. No child support (the kids go right to dad). No recourse. So, put on the burkha and be a good little wifey and I will beat you with a rod only gently (snark).

When will the rest of the world, and especially feminists, wake up to this and other wanton abuses of women's rights!!!

A List We All Should Read

While I would not title this list "10 Questions for Muslims" but rather "10 Questions for Muslim Countries," This is still a list people need to consider. It is too bad that, according to question 3, half of Arab women cannot read this, and that only 1% of the population of these countries have computers - half of which have internet access (also according to question 3.)

Here is the list, and all credit goes to Jack Lacton aka Kerplunk in Australia. While I've quoted this list in it's entirety, please visit his blog. His entries are well thought out and documented.


10 Questions For Muslims

1. Why is it Oil or Nothing? The combined annual GDP of the world's Muslim majority countries is under $2 trillion. That's less than 20% of the USA even though Muslims outnumber Americans by about four to one. Their GDP is about the same as that of Germany. The GDP of the major oil rich nations of Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait and Qatar combined is roughly equal to Thailand's $430 billion. Remove oil and gas from the Gulf states' exports and their export figure is below that well known exporting giant...Finland. What else do you do besides oil?

2. Why do you only account for 5% of the world's economy? How does it come about that 25% of the world's population is responsible for only 5% of the world's GDP? And that percentage is falling. Where is your industry? Where are your global companies? Where are your world-leading scientists? Heck, why are you not even any good at any sport?

3. Why are Arab nations so underdeveloped? According to the United Nations' Arab Development Report: Half of Arab women cannot read; one in five Arabs lives on less than $2 per day; only 1% of the population has a computer of which half use the Internet; 15% of the workforce is unemployed and that's expected to double by 2010; and the average growth rate per capita over the last 20 years was only 0.5% which is worse than anywhere but sub-Saharan Africa. How do you blame the rest of the world (or the Jews) for that?

4. Why don't you focus on education? The Muslim majority countries have less than 600 universities for 1.4 billion people. India has 8500 and the US 5800. In the history of the Nobel Prize, Muslim countries have produced only 8 Laureates from their billions of people. In the meantime, less than 12 million Jews have produced 167. That means it's more than 2000 times more likely for a Jew to be awarded a Nobel Prize than one of Allah's followers. In an age of increasing technological reliance how will most Muslim nations do anything other than fall even further behind?

5. Why do you do so poorly in prosperous nations? Essex University released the results of a study The incomes of ethnic minorities that showed the economic conditions of these groups in Britain. According to the report:

Pakistanis and Bangladeshis are easily the poorest groups in the country. High unemployment among men: low levels of economic activity among women: low pay: and large family sizes: these all contribute to a situation in which 60% of Pakistanis and Bangladeshis are poor. This is four times the poverty rate found among white people.

Indian and Chinese people have high levels of employment, and their earnings are on a par with white workers. On these measures they can be seen to be prospering.

The survey also concluded that Pakistanis and Bangladeshis would be poor regardless of where they lived. Given the fact that Pakistanis, Bangladeshis and Indians are the same people who had the same advantages of colonial Britain from which they were separated at the same time, why are the Indians so much more successful than the others? Indians are Hindus not Muslims. Why do Muslims do so poorly when others do so well?

6. Why don't you denounce terrorism performed in your name? Thousands of violent attacks are undertaken in the name of Islam each year by Muslims against non-Muslims. Why do you not condemn terrorist groups like Hamas, Al Qaeda and Hezbollah? Why are there no senior Muslim figures denouncing these acts of barbarity against innocents? Instead, all that we hear is an excuse for violence and blame for the attacks placed on the victims. Why can't you tell right from wrong? When will Muslims develop societal values that don't belong in the 7th century?

7. Why are your countries not free? According to Freedom House of the world's majority Muslim nations only Mali is free. One country from around 50! 60% are not free and 38% are partly free. Why do Muslim nations account for the majority of 'not free' nations? Of the 10 worst of the worst, 7 are Islamic states. Why is this? Are you born to be in chains?

8. Why the nutty Fatwas every time someone criticises Islam? Salman Rushdie, a Muslim of Indian descent, writes The Satanic Verses in 1988 and, for his efforts, has a fatwa calling for his murder placed on him by Iranian nutjob Ayatollah Kohmeini. Why is it that all who criticise Islam get the same treatment? Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Robert Spencer, Kola Boof, Khalid Duran, Naguib Mafouz...it's a long list. Why was Hitoshi Igarashi stabbed to death in 1991? For the crime of translating The Satanic Verses into Japanese. Why can't you learn to deal with criticism like the rest of the world did about a thousand years ago?

9. Why is truth optional? What's the most popular book in Arab nations? The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Readers may know that the book is an anti-Semitic fiction created by Russian secret police in around 1900. However, in the Middle East it's presented as fact. Ridiculous, you say. Really? The Saudi newspaper Al Madina ran a series in 2005 confirming the truth of the 'Protocols', as the book is known. The series was broken down into separate articles such as Muslims must be familiar with the Protocols in order to know how to defend themselves and The Match between the Protocols and real events is the most convincing proof of their authenticity. Shortly after 9/11 a survey of Muslim countries reported that only 18% of people believed that Muslims were behind the attacks. These days they're blaming the Jews. Last month Egyptian researcher Muhammed Al-Buheiri appeared on Nile Culture TV to claim that the Jews are still kidnapping Christian children, murdering them and using their blood in their Passover matzos. It's as if the 9/11 Truthers were in charge of news. In an environment of such lies and denial how do Muslims expect society to advance?

10. What is it with the cartoons, anyway? Why did you go crazy in February 2006 over cartoons published in September 2005? Do you people have no sense of humour? Do you not understand the irony of violence for such a trivial matter? Do you not understand the concept of freedom of expression even if you aren't allowed to practice it in your own countries? Are you so brainwashed that you don't understand the self-harm you inflict by your over reaction?

In an Arab Country

This satirical poem was written by the reformist Saudi author and journalist Wajeha Al-Huwaider. I thought it was worth sharing. It was also on this site

"When you cannot find a single garden in your city, but there is a mosque on every corner - you know that you are in an Arab country…

"When you see people living in the past with all the trappings of modernity - do not be surprised, you are in an Arab country.

"When religion has control over science - you can be sure that you are in an Arab country.

"When clerics are referred to as 'scholars' - don't be astonished, you are in an Arab country.

"When you see the ruler transformed into a demigod who never dies or relinquishes his power, and whom nobody is permitted to criticize - do not be too upset, you are in an Arab country.

"When you find that the large majority of people oppose freedom and find joy in slavery - do not be too distressed, you are in an Arab country.

"When you hear the clerics saying that democracy is heresy, but [see them] seizing every opportunity provided by democracy to grab high positions [in the government] - do not be surprised, you are in an Arab country…

"When monarchies turn into theocracies, and republics into hybrids of monarchy and republic - do not be taken aback, you are in an Arab country.

"When you find that the members of parliament are nominated [by the ruler], or else that half of them are nominated and the other half have bought their seats through bribery… - you are in an Arab country…

"When you discover that a woman is worth half of what a man is worth, or less - do not be surprised, you are in an Arab country…

"When you see that the authorities chop off a man's hand for stealing a loaf of bread or a penny, but praise and glorify those who steal billions - do not be too surprised, you are in an Arab country…

"When you are forced to worship the Creator in school and your teachers grade you for it - you can be sure that you are in an Arab country…

"When young women students are publicly flogged merely for exposing their eyes - you are in an Arab country…

"When a boy learns about menstruation and childbirth but not about his own [body] and [the changes] it undergoes in puberty - roll out your prayer mat and beseech Allah to help you deal with your crisis, for you are in an Arab country…

"When land is more important than human beings - you are in an Arab country…

"When covering the woman's head is more important than financial and administrative corruption, embezzlement, and betrayal of the homeland - do not be astonished, you are in an Arab country…

"When minorities are persecuted and oppressed, and if they demand their rights, are accused of being a fifth column or a Trojan horse - be upset, you are in an Arab country…

"When women are [seen as] house ornaments which can be replaced at any time - bemoan your fate, you are in an Arab country.

"When birth control and family planning are perceived as a Western plot - place your trust in Allah, you are in an Arab country…

"When at any time, there can be a knock on your door and you will be dragged off and buried in a dark prison - you are in an Arab country…

"When fear constantly lives in the eyes of the people - you can be certain that you are in an Arab country."

Extremist or Mainstream???

This video is rather disturbing for women, and I can't help but wonder where the feminists are. Or anyone who believe in equal rights for all, for that matter!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWGA8i6scYY

Can you imagine some preacher standing up here in this country and saying that the only way to deal with certain types of women is to beat her? Think of the outcry! And yet, in predominately Muslim countries, it is normal. Women are oppressed in this way (not to mention at the moment other ways that women are oppressed.) Here is what the Koran says about beating women:

QURAN 4:34 - "Men have authority over women because God has made the one superior to the other, and because they spend their wealth to maintain them. Good women are obedient. They guard their unseen parts because God has guarded them. As for those from whom you fear disobedience, admonish them and send them to beds apart and beat them. Then if they obey you, take no further action against them. Surely God is high, supreme."

I would prefer to not live under those types of rules, thank you very much!