gdp's Comments

Jihad Watch :

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 18:54:46 +0000

I would consider saving that picture and defacing it, either by computer or printing it out and using a pen, but it doesn't really need much work! It's terrifyingly hideous enough as it is. Equating either Dinnerjacket's or Khameini's authority with that of allah / fake-God / Tash would seem to be the gravest blasphemy. And that reported happily by a 'moderate' newspaper? That's OK then, we can all relax, the 'moderates' are saying things we can all understand and respect...

Jihad Watch : Jihad Watch: Christian woman faces 40 lashes in Sudan for wearing trousers

Thu, 30 Jul 2009 19:46:42 +0000

Yes, ETA have been unusually quiet lately so it seems a bit much to think that they would do something so outrageous with no warning. Don't forget that the Madrid bombings were immediately blamed on ETA, then it turned out that they weren't involved and it was Al Qaeda. The only thing that supports the ETA theory is that the attack was targetting the Civil Guard, which has been their arch-nemesis since forever. I guess we won't know until there's conclusive evidence one way or the other...

Jihad Watch : Jihad Watch: Saudi beauty queen wins without showing her face

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 07:29:04 +0000

The abaya makes her look like an Egyptian mummy. Kind of appropriate really...dead inside, merely physically preserved.

Jihad Watch : Jihad Watch: As Muslim women suffer, feminists avert their gaze

Sat, 25 Jul 2009 19:14:21 +0000

I absolutely agree; if feminism just means what you describe then I'm behind it 100%. I think it's sad that it seems to have been warped and become a vehicle for anti-male, anti-West rhetoric. Any movement that extends our freedoms to muslim women has my support, but it doesn't seem to be coming from traditional feminist quarters, for reasons we can only guess at.

Jihad Watch : Jihad Watch: As Muslim women suffer, feminists avert their gaze

Sat, 25 Jul 2009 18:40:55 +0000

Are you referring to me? :S

Jihad Watch : Jihad Watch: As Muslim women suffer, feminists avert their gaze

Sat, 25 Jul 2009 18:08:26 +0000

Technically, a feminist is a woman who seeks independence from men. In that respect I would say that I am a feminist because I don't want any aspect of my life to be under the control of anyone, male or otherwise. However, after the protest culture of the '60s began to peter out in the '70s, the feminist movement took weird and fragmentory turns, because there was so much theory and arguments over what it actually means to be a woman and how woman's emancipation can really be defined (the most basic example being, is a woman who flaunts her body for money considered free and empowered because she knows what she's doing and is taking advantage of mens' primitive desires, or is she merely a pawn; a slave to their lust and cash? In the case of islam it's the worrying idea that women "choose" to cover themselves from head to toe and it's just misogyny to want to force her to uncover herself). Thus it became pretty much impossible to pin down what exactly it was that 'feminists' wanted and how they proposed to get it, because there was so much infighting and contradictory statements between different groups. You can listen to one feminist who claims to speak for all women, and then another who also claims to speak for all women who says the exact opposite. Women can't be lumped into one big category that assumes we all think, feel and want the same things. That's why I don't go out of my way to label myself as a feminist, because it propagates that myth rather than seeing a complex individual with a rich array of things that make up one's identity. Sorry, that was a bit of an essay but I'm afraid I can't answer your question about how we organise women who don't consider themselves to be feminists - the best I can offer is to keep hammering away at the logic of universal human rights rather than letting anyone think that women are different and must be treated as such, especially when "different" only means "worse" (not that I'm in favour of preferential treatment either, just to be clear!).

Jihad Watch : Jihad Watch: As Muslim women suffer, feminists avert their gaze

Sat, 25 Jul 2009 16:38:23 +0000

I don't like describing myself as a feminist because it always conjures up negative stereotypes of 'hysterical' women who, like persikas says above, care less about women than about hating men. I care about everyone being treated equally with love and respect, which just happens to mean that women tend to need a greater amount of attention and support because they are treated far worse proportionally to men. Having done modules on feminist theory as part of a Politics degree I agree with everyone else here who is appalled that so little time and energy in Western feminist academia is devoted to the ill-treatment of muslim women. Things are by no means perfect for Western women but I think we're reached a point now where we can afford to spare a thought for those less fortunate...

Jihad Watch : Jihad Watch: London: Five-storey mosque with 120-foot high minaret given go-ahead

Sat, 25 Jul 2009 08:33:19 +0000

That's brilliant. Russia may have its problems but you have to respect that they really don't f**k around when it comes to this kind of thing!

Jihad Watch : Jihad Watch: UK: Muslims could get their own police force!

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 17:17:34 +0000

Actually I wonder about the Racial Equality Laws - surely they could be used to disband the Black Police Officer's Association? It's an organisation with membership based on skin colour so it should be illegal. Plus it's rotten to the core because the senior officers use it as a platform to cry racial discrimination when they're almost already at the top of the foodchain...

Jihad Watch : Jihad Watch: "Record rise" in anti-Semitic attacks in UK -- guess why?

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 16:43:54 +0000

Thanks Markhole, glad to know you support the preservation of an ancient and good people rather than joining your fellow pond-scum in baying for their blood.

Jihad Watch : Jihad Watch: "Record rise" in anti-Semitic attacks in UK -- guess why?

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 12:27:48 +0000

This article is very very sad, but it's kind of not surprising. I only met one Jewish person my whole time at university, and he seemed like a really awesome person. I wouldn't have liked to have been in his shoes in February when there were noisy, aggressive protests against Israel, and even an occupation in one of the lecture theatres (on the pretext of demanding a boycott of Israeli products and that the university cease investing in the arms trade which was apparently 'arming Israel to help it kill poor innocent Palestinians.'). No other protests about genocides and human rights abuses occurring in other parts of the world, mind. I'm disgusted by anti-Semitism in any form, but especially the dishonest way people try to dress it up as 'anti-Israeli' sentiment. Maybe we should set up a campaign to make the UK a safer place for Jews and try to encourage more of them to live here? I'd be more than happy to share my living space!

Jihad Watch : Jihad Watch: Investigation of Kent State prof, former contributor to jihadist website, continues

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 15:00:11 +0000

That story ran in the Times and the first comment was asking people not to bash islam because the attack was a 'cultural' problem, not a religious one. After a few comments of disbelief they took the comment feature off, so we can't see any of it. And look how the BBC reports it: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/8165349... No mention of the motive behind the attack. Shame. I feel sorry for the poor man and hope that the woman is taken somewhere safe where they can't get her - according to the Sky news report the two men that did it were her relatives, one her brother. How can honour be worth *that* much?

Jihad Watch : Jihad Watch: Indonesia: "Terrorism is not a religion and so it is not correct to say Muslims were th

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 14:30:14 +0000

What? That makes hardly any sense. Regardless of what Judas did, Jesus still willingly went to his death even though he *could* have chosen not to, which refutes muzzammil's point that Jesus was powerless to retaliate or forgive. And yes, quite a few of us here do seem to 'believe in this crap,' but unlike some of our islamic brethren I'm not going to scream and tantrum and issue death threats because others choose to believe differently. Not all religions or religious people are violent and moronic, you know.

Jihad Watch : Jihad Watch: "Tamimi distinguishes good Muslims from their adversaries this way: \'We love death. Th

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 17:24:26 +0000

If you listen to the audio of that video, he sounds eerily similar to Hitler performing his angry, hate-stirring rallies.

Jihad Watch : Jihad Watch: "Tamimi distinguishes good Muslims from their adversaries this way: \'We love death. Th

Wed, 22 Jul 2009 16:00:33 +0000

Why is it that such a great proportion of the stories on JW originate in Britain...it's truly shameful that we 'produced' this 'man.' What does British society do to these people that fills them with such hate? Is it the free health service, the free housing, the free benefits that increase exponentially the more children you have, the free education where you're allowed to build your own islamic schools to indoctrinate your multiple offspring to your heart's content? Is it possibly the world-class comedy, relatively good standard of living and unlimited supply of food and consumer durables? Please help, I'm at a loss as to what exactly it is about this country that breeds such malcontents and psychopaths. I've tried being tolerant and understanding and rational, but at the end of the day it's not going to save us. Canada, and Canadians, I'm sorry!

Jihad Watch : Jihad Watch: UK: Muslim sheikh says that Sharia penal codes would benefit Britain

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 18:35:05 +0000

Erm, Valentine de Sainte Point was an artist of the Futurist movement and wrote a manifesto on the place of women in Fascism...not exactly the shining beacon of feminism! Sorry to keep disagreeing with you, but can you really say that the evident barbarism of sharia in under-developed countries is the fault of Western colonialists? How did their actions force it to be applied in a 'piecemeal' way, what was wrong with that and how did codifying sharia cause it to be misapplied? I don't think that countries like Saudi Arabia can excuse themselves by saying that it's all the 'Western colonialist's' fault for forcing them to amputate and behead etc. Furthermore, I think it can hardly be denied that islam doesn't advocate the protection of religious minorities any more than non-muslim countries bend over backwards to accommodate people of any faith - your life as a muslim in Britain is far, far better than my life could ever be as a Christian in Saudi Arabia. Or Iran. Or Pakistan. Or any other muslim country. I still haven't been convinced that there isn't widespread intolerance and discrimination in the sharia system - you mention men being forced to give his wealth to all his family through inheritance; but isn't it true that male heirs will receive more than females because it is thought that the man will take responsibility for his sister / mother etc., when really that's just a way of forcing her to be dependent on him so she can't have a fair share of the inheritance on which to support herself? The same arguments for divorce - the man can supposedly divorce his without her even knowing, and even if she's told she has no choice in the matter. The problem with these courts is that even though they may be quicker and less bureaucratic, they're also less accountable so *if* the interests of women and children are placed below those of men, who can do anything about it? I do not want to be disrespectful but I really wish you could see things from our point of view, that the only way for a fair and just society is to have the same rules for everyone, otherwise the potential for injustice is limitless.

Jihad Watch : Jihad Watch: UK: Muslim sheikh says that Sharia penal codes would benefit Britain

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 17:07:24 +0000

I'm really trying hard not to just see things in black and white, so thanks for debating with me for so long (and sorry about the length of time between replies, I was busy making tea). I appreciate that law - any law - is a constantly evolving thing based on the socio-cultural developments around which it's interpreted and applied. However, I think this is why so many people balk at the idea of having enforceable laws based on religious teachings from a time when the world was unrecognisably different; although there may be a certain level of change in the interpretation, there isn't enough room for the wholescale moral developments we've seen in secular societies (feminism for example, even though I'm now risking sounding like a stuck record). The Church had the reforms of the Vatican Council II when it became clear that it simply had to adapt, which lead to decades of reductions in its power over lawmaking, but I'm sure the people of Italy etc. are very thankful for. I suppose the main thing I want to know, in a broader sense, is why you think sharia courts in Britain are a good idea? Do you feel that your interests just aren't served by the State, that the existing laws aren't good enough? I'm not asking this in an aggressive way, I genuinely would be interested to know.

Jihad Watch : Jihad Watch: UK: Muslim sheikh says that Sharia penal codes would benefit Britain

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 15:37:23 +0000

If Choudhary is so repulsive, can you and other Muslims please stop him peddling his hate in public, and indeed everywhere? Non-Muslims haven't been able to get him censured yet because if we say anything against him, it's just 'Islamophobia.'

Jihad Watch : Jihad Watch: UK: Muslim sheikh says that Sharia penal codes would benefit Britain

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 15:34:13 +0000

Right, so if men and women are found equal in the koran, then surely the flexibility allowed for the decisions that are so dependent on the individual judge means that sharia law is not enforcing God's will, rather the will of the person interpreting it? And that renders sharia null and void at best, capricious and dangerous at worst because there are not clear enough standards on which decisions are made, just the whim of the judge? Either way it sounds like a very bad idea, I'm afraid, and the evidence found by the Civitas report (http://www.civitas.org.uk/press/prcs91.php) a while ago suggests that it really isn't capable of integrating into a Western legal system.

Jihad Watch : Jihad Watch: UK: Muslim sheikh says that Sharia penal codes would benefit Britain

Tue, 21 Jul 2009 13:39:12 +0000

I see; but this is only about material wealth, not a woman's physical being. So far I've still never seen any evidence of islamic jurisdiction being used to punish a man as being wholly responsible for raping someone, with the full physical and psychological damage he causes taken into account based on her testimony. If sharia is going to be seen as an acceptable replacement or even companion for Western law, it has to treat everyone as equal, valuable individuals. P.S. Women did have the right to own property here more than a century ago - women writers like Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters all had independent lives based on the careers that they chose in the 1800s. Those are just the foremost examples I can think of, there must be many more from different fields.