In politics the enemy of your enemy is your friend. We need to remember this if
we are to understand why Western feminism for the most part turns a blind eye
to the mistreatment of women in the Islamic world.
It isn't so much that Western feminists approve of the culture and values of
the Islamic world. It's that they see Western Patriarchal-racism-imperialism-
capitalism to be their main enemy. Though feminism developed in the West, it
was usurped by radicals whose ethnic origins were largely Jewish. Also, even
non-Jewish feminists came to take their inspiration from the Jewish ones like
Betty Friedan, Bella Abzug, Gloria Steinem, Katha Pollitt, Martha Nussbaum, and
others. Everyone past infancy should know that most
Jews are on the Left and committed to bringing about the decline of white gentile power.
Jews are thus obsessed because Jews are smart and
talented, thus hungry for near total elite power. Since white gentiles are their only
real rivals, Jews want to weaken their power as much as possible. Jews use all sorts
of methods to undermine white power. Not only socio-economic networking
but employing the media and academia to portray white gentiles as
historically sinful and collectively stained with the evils of 'racism', 'sexism', imperialism,
and whatever-other-ism.
Jews hate Muslims too, especially in regard to Israel. However, the fact is anti-Islamism
in the West is essentially a stance taken up by the Right. Since the Right exploits
anti-Islamism as a political issue, the Left--of which feminists are a part--cannot jump
on the bandwagon. It's not so much that feminists are okay with Muslim mistreatment of women. They just can't stand the fact that the issue has become a political weapon of the Right.
Of course, the Right isn't exactly pure-hearted on this either. Rightists are not anti-Islam because they really care about Muslim women. No, the Right uses this issue to push for rightist causes. One is anti-immigrationism. By highlighting Islamic evils, Western white rightists argue
immigration from the Third World is a bad idea. Or by emphasizing how the Western
treatment of women is far superior to Muslim treatment of women, the Western Right
absolves itself of any guilt in the area of sexual inequality or repression. By pointing to
what's wrong in the Muslim world, the Western Right smugly feels superior, the implication
being that progress is no longer necessary in the West since 'we' are so much more advanced
than the Muslim 'ragheads'.
Anti-Islamism has also been used by the Right--especially neocons--to justify American foreign intervention, especially in the Middle East. Bush and neocons emphasized how much the Muslim world had to gain by having advanced Western values and ideals shoved down their throats and up their arses. Anti-Islamism, in other words, has been used to justify Western 'neo-imperialism'.
So, the Left isn't wholly unjustified in seeing anti-Islamism as a political ploy on the part of
the Western Right to push its agendas. Just consider the issue of gay politics. The Western Right opposes the gay agenda but is eager to point out that Western treatment of gays is far superior to Muslim treatment of gays. In other words, we no longer need any more progress on the gay issue since we are so much better than the Muslims. At least we don't hang gays.
This is why the Left don't want to fall into the trap of anti-Islamism. By pointing out how
backward and brutal the Muslims are, the Western Right can simply rest on its laurels and
argue that the West no longer needs progress since it is better than Muslims or whomever.
Of course, given the 'progressive' agendas proposed by the Left, I can only sympathize with
the Right for resisting 'change' cooked up by perverted gays, sicko feminists, aggressive and hateful blacks, and obnoxious illegal aliens. But, I must admit it is somewhat disingenuous
on the part of the Western Right to argue against progress solely on the basis that we
are so much better than the Muslim world. This would be defending child labor on the basis that 'at least we don't use our children for human sacrifice like other cultures do'.
Feminists agree that Muslim world is unfriendly to women, but as they live in the Western world and deal with Western rightists on a daily basis as their main enemies, they don't want
to be distracted by the issue of Muslim barbarism.
Similarly, the Western Right doesn't want to hear too much about poor needy starving Africans
since the Western Left uses that particular issue to argue for more aid to Africa, more immigration from Africa, more investment in Africa, etc.
The Western Right is very much aware of the hellish conditions in Africa but merely want to acknowledge them in order to argue against closer ties to hopeless Africa. They don't
wanted to reminded night and day about how poor Africans are so desperate and in need of our
love and compassion. The politics of compassion--whether for Muslim women or for African children--is really a weapon used by both sides. By pointing out how terrible things are in the Muslim world, the Western Right stokes Western pride and glory. By pointing out how terrible
things are in Africa, the Western Left fuels Western guilt and redemption.
Consider the case of Ayaan Hirsi Ali. You'd think feminists would embrace her since she's for women's freedom and liberation from the oppressive clutches of Islamic male oppression. But,
feminists have been cool to her because she's forged an alliance with elements of the Western
Right that is anti-immigrationist, anti-Third World-ist, and anti-feminist. This is all very ironic.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali calls for feminist rights for Islamic women but she's embraced by the anti-feminist Western Right but rejected by the feminists of the Western Left. The Western Right
embraces not Ayaan's feminism but her critique of the non-Western world. A black Muslim
women saying that the white Western world is so much better and more humane than the black/Muslim world is music to the ears of Western Rightists. But, it's poison to the ears of the Western Left and feminists. They may agree with her views on freedom for women but they cannot forgive how she has allowed herself to be 'duped' and 'exploited' by the Western Right.
Politics is really funny business.
--P. N.
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