Surely, it couldn't happen here: Talking about Sharia law in Great Britain
Disbelief usually prevails when the topic of Sharia law comes up in conversations with Americans. Excesses of Islam and its lack of integration is not a well-reported news item here. Surely, it won't happen here.
Holland's serious problem with Muslims demanding rights from their own culture to be introduced and applied into Dutch law is hard to understand when you haven't lived or seen it; including Sharia law into Dutch jurisdiction. Banners during such a demonstration read: "Islam will dominate the World, Freedom Go to Hell, Islamic Punishment is Coming". Yet the person who has to defend himself in court for "Hate Speech" is Geert Wilder, a Dutch politician and leader of the Party for Freedom (PVV), the third-leading political party in the Netherlands. Seeing thousands of demonstrators like this here in American streets shouting and making vociferous demands, would it make you wonder if it could happen here?
France has increasing problems with its traffic. Roads are regularly blocked several times a day for prayer by Muslims. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYc0k6f5iCk&feature=related . Not only in Paris but also in Nice that has a big Muslim population. Surely that couldn't happen in the US?
While Muslims in Germany seem to blend in --outwardly- they stay in their own comfort zones-(ghettos-like). Muslim children have special privileges in German schools, i.e. they need not participate in sports classes and swimming. An extra teacher is required to supervise those.
The majority of Muslims, even the so moderate Turkish citizens, force their second-generation children to marry among each other, and not get involved with German partners. To the point that honor killings are not unheard of if a Muslim girl wants to marry a German man. Could it happen here that law enforcement has to protect young Muslim women from their own fathers and brothers?
In many a conversation with Americans I wondered why Muslims here abide the law more, blend in and seem to become muster citizens. Is it the pledge of allegiance to their adopted country that makes it different to European situations? Is it because the US has been an immigration country for those who want a better life in freedom for centuries? Or are things just more clandestine here, simply go unnoticed?
Have tenets of Islam then been abandoned by the ones who immigrated to the US? According to the CAIR official stance/guide the same rules apply here for Islamic men and women: A man is allowed four women, he can divorce a woman, but she has to ask for permission; a female witness in court is only half that of a man. In their houses of worship, women have to do that behind a curtain or partition, entering from the back. Women cannot make the pilgrimage to Mecca by themselves without a man. Even a widow needs the written permission of a son or other. So how can Muslims enjoy equal civil rights?
Leaders of CAIR and other Muslim organizations like ISNA are interwoven with the Muslim Brotherhood. Little is known about this congregation which was first founded and then forbidden in Egypt for along time. Different Arab countries ban or support it, have different creeds and different histories with the MB, not alone because of the surrounding different political situations. One thing they almost all have in common: On the issue of women and gender the Muslim Brotherhood interprets Islam conservatively. They are in favor of Sharia law.
An Egyptian born Muslim Canadian former professor in the Sobey School of Business, Saint Mary's University in Halifax , Nova Scotia , Jamal Badawi also a well-known author, preacher and speaker on Islam . He also a member of ISNA's Fiqh Council of North America. He has issued a fatwah "authorizing American Muslim husbands to physically punish their wives". "There are cases in which a wife persists in bad habits and showing contempt of her husband a disregard for her marital obligations," Badawi advises . "Instead of divorce, the husband may resort to another measure more accurately described as a gentle tap on the body."
Reinforced by Dr. Muzammil Siddiqi , an American Muslim , Islamic scholar, and chairman of the Fiqh Council of North America . In 2004, "It is important that a wife recognizes the authority of her husband in the house"In some cases, a husband may enforces some light disciplinary action in order to correct the moral infraction of his wife". Surely head -to- toe cover-ups and veils are extremely convenient under the circumstances. Surely this wouldn't happen in America.
Another worrying topic that should give food for thought, is the interpretation of the word Jihad. Since 9/11, America is afraid it may be happening here but luckily, so far, Homeland security as well as Anti-terrorism measures have averted it.
CAIRS official stance is that Jihad does not mean holy war "but striving in the cause of God, the struggle to better oneself in society," More like a personal, internal fight with one's ghosts. Factually stretching the reading, words, and interpretation of the actual Quran verses to their limits. Zaid Shakir, however, a so-called moderate imam and frequent speaker at CAIR conventions and an important part of an interfaith dialogue initiative between Christians and Muslims , contradicts. His interpretation of the word Jihad explains to his Muslim audiences:"Jihad is physically fighting the enemies of Islam to protect and advance the religion of Islam." So it could happen here?
During last Friday's Prayers in Alexandria, Egypt's victorious day over Mubarak's dictatorship, imams of the Muslim Brotherhood called for holy jihad against the corrupt Egyptian regime. Albeit legitimate, this was not a call for personal strive in one's own mind.
In the meantime,European leaders recognize that multiculturalism has failed.
While I'm writing this piece reality caught up with the US: CNN yesterday reported an honor killing in AZ where a Muslim father is alleged to have killed his disobedient daughter.
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