A Twitter profile that uses an upsetting amount of photographs of small children wearing hijab and abaya, and whose content I could only describe as “daily motivational Muslim tweets,” had something to say about Islam’s relationship with women.
I wanted to share this series of tweets (along with my commentary) because the line of thinking displayed here is a classic example of the things Muslim apologists say in an attempt to “clarify” other people’s “misconceptions” about the faith. Many of these statements are also genuine answers that Muslim adults give to their small, confused children.
This profile only displays photos of men, boys, and covered girls. Photos of women are only allowed to be posted if the model’s back is facing the camera so that nothing but a piece of held-up cloth is visible.
This is nothing new, though. It reminds me of living in the Middle East.
I am suspicious of the validity of this Englishman’s claim. That said, it is irrelevant because I am not a queen.
This is a distortion of the truth and it’s quite insidious. It is also one of the answers little girls are given when they ask why they’re supposed to treat boys like the plague under any and all circumstances.
The keyword here is mahram. A “mahram” is a member from one’s family that one is not permitted to marry.
This means that my father and brother may shake my hand because it is assumed that they have no sexual desires towards me. However, any other man who is not directly related to me is presumed to be a sexual predator, expected to pounce on me at the shake of a hand. Instead of taking offense to this theory, Muslim men often nod their heads, reasonating with this vile, victim-blaming rhetoric.
It is this idea that makes life so difficult for women in the Muslim world. Our every move—even something as universal as shaking someone’s hand—is assumed to be a trap set up to catch innocent men, taking their good reputation and hard-earned career down with them. It is this idea that makes parents lock their daughter up in their home, watching every breath she takes before marrying her off as young as they could legally and culturally get away with.
There are so many variations to this stupid metaphor that little girls were told all over the Muslim world.
I’m not a piece of candy, I’m not a lollipop, and I’m not a piece of raw meat, you misogynist piles of crap. I’m a human woman and showing my hair does not make me dirty.
Got yourself a convert there? Misogyny isn’t unique to Islam.
There we have it. Never mind that women’s rights movements do not ask to be glorified and, in fact, consider a glorification of any women to be part of the problem.
Even if we put that aside, how exactly does Allah glorify women? This is another framing trick. It’s flimsy, but it works under the right circumstances.
This claim has no merit even if we use their stupid metaphors. What is valuable about a piece of candy? It isn’t expensive and easy to find at shops. Once it is unwrapped and dropped to the ground, it is worthless.
Allah simultaneously “glorifies” women yet also makes their “value” so delicate, hinging on things that are completely out of their control.
On second thought, maybe Islam does glorify women. Like the man who hates his mother because of her human shortcomings, Islam hates women because of their mere humanity.
Islam manages to be both the “all women are queens” guy and “if she breathes, she’s a thot,” guy at the same time.
Ah, yes. When my father threw a towel over my head, pushed me into the bedroom, and closed the door so that the construction workers wouldn’t see my slutty hair and sexy forearms while they walked up the stairs, I should have remembered that he only did that because of my value.
I feel like a lot of Muslim men who start preaching about this get carried away in their head and they don’t realize how much it shows. Who said anything about nakedness? I understood that we were talking about the Muslim woman’s modesty and piousness, but this sentence comes out of nowhere.
I can only assume it’s because a woman’s “nakedness,” according to this profile, could possibly mean hijabi women wearing pants, colorful clothes, or makeup. Maybe even the simple act of showing their faces in public also falls under this category of “nakedness.” My theory is supported by their refusal to post a photo of a woman’s face.
You know what, Aisha? I agree!
Please consider donating to my GoFundMe so that I could receive help to immigrate to the United States. Have a nice day!
Interesting how Islam's approach in the West, up until recently, was to present itself as more liberal and left leaning but currently it is re-branding itself as "anti-woke" and "based". the last stand against cancel culture, political correctness and the LGBTQ "agenda".
Sit back, enjoy the popcorn and let the games begin.