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DEARBORN, Mich. — The "call to prayer" is a sound heard five times a day in this city, but this is not the Middle East. It’s Dearborn, Michigan — which has the largest Arab-American population in the U.S. Like other immigrant groups, many came here years ago in search of a better life. In the past few decades, the auto industry needed workers, so Michigan became a top destination. Over time, thousands of the Muslim faithful from around the world settled here, opening shops and restaurants and turning Dearborn into a heavily Muslim-influenced community, replete with mosques in every section of town and traditional foods from places like Pakistan and Syria.
The United States Constitution guarantees freedom of expression and freedom FROM state sponsored religions. The US Constitution DOES NOT grant the practicioners of any religion/belief system rights which are contrary to common or penal law, or that would be contrary to the rights and responsibilities of society. Islamics/Muslims living in the US are not permitted to impose cultural practices and values contrary to the societal good of their members or any other members of society. Sharia Law is contrary to the US Constitution and common law. It can not be permitted to be enforced in the US as it has crept into use in parts of the UK and Europe. Once the genie is out of the bottle, it can not be put back in the bottle and Muslim/Islamic law and culture will spread beyond the Islamic community to the non-Islamic population. This must never be permitted to occur in the US, otherwise we will become a divided nation of Sharia and Constitutional Law.
The United States Constitution guarantees freedom of expression and freedom FROM state sponsored religions. The US Constitution DOES NOT grant the practicioners of any religion/belief system rights which are contrary to common or penal law, or that would be contrary to the rights and responsibilities of society. Islamics/Muslims living in the US are not permitted to impose cultural practices and values contrary to the societal good of their members or any other members of society. Sharia Law is contrary to the US Constitution and common law. It can not be permitted to be enforced in the US as it has crept into use in parts of the UK and Europe. Once the genie is out of the bottle, it can not be put back in the bottle and Muslim/Islamic law and culture will spread beyond the Islamic community to the non-Islamic population. This must never be permitted to occur in the US, otherwise we will become a divided nation of Sharia and Constitutional Law.
Maybe , like many American women did , they should grow a BRAIN and a BACKBONE and fight those stupid rules....most of which are designed to simply make women into property, cattle, for the weak spineless little boys they mistakenly call men.
yes they try mostly out of a sense of duty to family.
but they are slowly changing, america money and freedom will do that to you
the east calls it "corruption" of the west.
the greatest compassion i have is for the 2 muslim parents on a cruise trying to control their 16 year old daughter in a mini skirt with a host of cute american young boys all around her for 4 days. a great inducer of heart attack for mom and dad. east meets west.
Maybe , like many American women did , they should grow a BRAIN and a BACKBONE and fight those stupid rules....most of which are designed to simply make women into property, cattle, for the weak spineless little boys they mistakenly call men.
Hah... I'd love you to tell the women I attend classes with here in the UK who choose to cover themselves to grow a brain and backbone. I'd say they're beating out many American women- regardless of religion- on both counts. A woman can CHOOSE to cover up and still follow her Muslim religious laws while being an active and engaged member of society. I see it every single day. It's prejudices from the outside community that pushes many of these bright young women who refuse to bow to societal pressure and take off the hijab into the shadows.
Hah... I'd love you to tell the women I attend classes with here in the UK who choose to cover themselves to grow a brain and backbone. I'd say they're beating out many American women- regardless of religion- on both counts. A woman can CHOOSE to cover up and still follow her Muslim religious laws while being an active and engaged member of society. I see it every single day. It's prejudices from the outside community that pushes many of these bright young women who refuse to bow to societal pressure and take off the hijab into the shadows.
Hey, if they want to wear drapes and paint their hair purple it's fine by me...however, their obeisance to men and their acceptance of horrid religious laws that treat women like animals makes them brainless and spineless.
Oh, I'm sure they can get an engineering degree or some other degree...I know some who have a degree, too. But it doesn't make them strong enough to stand up for their basic human rights. It doesn't give them the courage to fight these MAN-made repressive laws against women. And it sure doesn't give them the intelligence to see what it's doing to their daughters...
It's one of the many ironies that here, in our nation of religious freedom, people in many cases are totally "free" to be bound by the most restrictive, draconian rules, if THAT'S WHAT THEIR BELIEFS DEMAND of them.....it may not be your cup of tea, nor mine...but that's religious freedom; and if a woman wants to be 'subservient' to males, that's her right.
Much as it may 'rankle' many, you can't "free" us Catholics by 'silencing the Pope'....nor can you 'free" the Amish by insisting they use cars and televisions.....nor can you "free" Muslim women by insisting they adopt equality with males. Those are religious practices....and we're free to follow them...even if they're restrictive.
Hah... I'd love you to tell the women I attend classes with here in the UK who choose to cover themselves to grow a brain and backbone. I'd say they're beating out many American women- regardless of religion- on both counts. A woman can CHOOSE to cover up and still follow her Muslim religious laws while being an active and engaged member of society. I see it every single day. It's prejudices from the outside community that pushes many of these bright young women who refuse to bow to societal pressure and take off the hijab into the shadows.
Nonsense. That's like arguing that a young African woman can "choose" to refuse to allow genital mutilation to be performed on her daughter. Or a young Chinese mother of the 19th century could "choose" not to bind her baby daughter's feet. Sure, they could refuse. And be ostracized, or even penalized.
There's no reason for any human being to cover her or his face before God. If Islam requires women and not men to do so, it's merely a form of fundamentalist oppression. You can dance around it all you want. Convince yourself otherwise all you want. But the "choices" we make are the "choices" we are offered. The Muslim women in the UK who "choose" to cover their faces are doing what they know they will be judged for not doing.
It's one of the many ironies that here, in our nation of religious freedom, people in many cases are totally "free" to be bound by the most restrictive, draconian rules, if THAT'S WHAT THEIR BELIEFS DEMAND of them.....it may not be your cup of tea, nor mine...but that's religious freedom; and if a woman wants to be 'subservient' to males, that's her right.
Much as it may 'rankle' many, you can't "free" us Catholics by 'silencing the Pope'....nor can you 'free" the Amish by insisting they use cars and televisions.....nor can you "free" Muslim women by insisting they adopt equality with males. Those are religious practices....and we're free to follow them...even if they're restrictive.
The religions and sects that you note in your post don't practice a religion that preaches the conversion of infidels by the sword! You are comparing two sides of the coin!
The religions and sects that you note in your post don't practice a religion that preaches the conversion of infidels by the sword! You are comparing two sides of the coin!
Very true....and the first time someone picks up a sword to 'convert' someone, he should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law...not for his religion, but for 'using a sword'. Until then, it's all just 'talk'.....and no different in its actual effects on society, than the Reverend Fred Phelps of Kansas (Christian) preaching that "God Hates F*gs".....Phelps is free to voice his opinion...he is ONLY prevented from actually physically harming anyone, whether he feels God hates them or NOT.
Am I a devotee of fundamentalist Islamic belief? No, I'm not...I think it's a violent, misogynistic, backward, hateful 13th-Century cult. But under our laws, and in accordance with our love-affair with multiculturalism, Islamic fundamentalism is no different from any other religion..its beliefs are protected by law.
If we don't like THAT fact, we're going to have to back off and re-think some of our beliefs regarding multiculturalism (maybe all cultures are NOT equally good), and our single-minded approach to 'tolerance' (maybe SOME lifestyles and beliefs should NOT be tolerated)....until THEN, I'm afraid we're stuck with "Islamic fundamentalism" being just another way of life...like Lutheranism, Mormonism, Catholicism, or Judaism....you can't have it both ways.
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