The Disgusting Side of War in Syria...
I am not a religious person. In fact, I don't believe in the Christian God. I do acknowledge there is a power higher (and a whole lot smarter) than myself. Over the years, I've had the chance to read, (not study in depth, just read), various religious texts. The Bible, the Koran and the Talmud, to name just three. I've spoken at length with both Buddist monks and various Hindi 'gurus'. There was even a discussion with someone from Japan about Shinto beliefs as well as Taoism. Yet, in all my reading and with all the various discussions I've had with folks who call themselves 'religious', I've never, EVER come across something as truly disgusting as this...
http://www.salon.com/2013/01/02/saudi_religious_leader_calls_for_gang_rape_of_syrian_women/
For those who don't want to read the article, it boils down to this: Muhammed al-Arifi, a prominent cleric in Saudi Arabia, has issued a Fatwa (a religious ordinance or edict), saying "warriors of Islam” fighting in Syria may be getting weary for the lack of sexual pleasure and is advocating (more like ordering) the GANG RAPE of women and girls over the age of 14. Muhammed al-Arifi qualified the Fatwa by stating these women and girls about to be GANG RAPED have to be either divorced or widowed. (Like some soldier-boys are actually going to ask!!)
I am at a loss for words over this so called religious edict. RAPE, under ANY circumstances, is just plain wrong. This is right up there with the Republican's statement during the recent Presidential election cycle about legitimate RAPE. When are men, ALL men, of any color, race, nationality or religious belief going to get it through their heads that RAPE is wrong? It is the most APPALLING thing a man can do to a woman, and no matter how you look at it, or try to explain it away, RAPE is the most abusive use of power against women ever conceived! In all my readings and discussions, I've never come across a single word that says RAPE is the right and proper thing to do.
What a woman chooses or not chooses to do with THEIR OWN BODIES, is no one's business, except the particular woman in question. I am yet to meet a woman, anywhere, who chooses to be RAPED. The physical and mental effects of RAPE can quite often last a lifetime! I seriously doubt there are RAPE counsellors in Syria to help the women and girls try to overcome the effects of being GANG RAPED by a bunch of Saudi Arabian soldier-boys. Not to mention a complete and utter lack of available medical care for them either.
This Fatwa has nothing to do with whether or not some soldier-boys are getting weary, and everything about using GANG RAPE as a 'weapon' of war. In every theater of war, (and let's not diminish them by calling it a conflict or a skirmish), RAPING women (and some men, for that matter) has happened. Yet, in this case, the soldier-boys from Saudi Arabia have gotten a religious order to GANG RAPE just about any Syrian woman or girl they come across. Oh, you thought they would just GANG RAPE women and girls who are merely divorced or widowed? I have grave doubts that any soldier-boy is going to ask if the woman or girl they have in their hands IS divorced or widowed. No, they will just obey the orders of Muhammed al-Arifi and RAPE away.
So why isn't this Fatwa being blasted from every mainstream news service? Because we, the US of A, don't want to annoy the Saudi Arabians as we still depend on their oil far too much. We, who not that long ago, had women having to prove in court they didn't ASK for it when they were RAPED. We, who still raise our collective eyebrows when a woman states she does not wish to marry. We, in many sly and sneaky ways, are trying to stop women from aborting pregnancies they do not want to carry. We, who still insist on paying women, who often are doing the exact same job as some man, less than their true worth.
Is the RAPE of a Syrian woman any less disgusting than the RAPE of an American woman?
Not to my understanding.
RAPE is wrong. RAPE will never be right. The sooner all of us men understand this very simple fact, the healthier the population on this planet will be.
Jad...Out
http://www.salon.com/2013/01/02/saudi_religious_leader_calls_for_gang_rape_of_syrian_women/
For those who don't want to read the article, it boils down to this: Muhammed al-Arifi, a prominent cleric in Saudi Arabia, has issued a Fatwa (a religious ordinance or edict), saying "warriors of Islam” fighting in Syria may be getting weary for the lack of sexual pleasure and is advocating (more like ordering) the GANG RAPE of women and girls over the age of 14. Muhammed al-Arifi qualified the Fatwa by stating these women and girls about to be GANG RAPED have to be either divorced or widowed. (Like some soldier-boys are actually going to ask!!)
I am at a loss for words over this so called religious edict. RAPE, under ANY circumstances, is just plain wrong. This is right up there with the Republican's statement during the recent Presidential election cycle about legitimate RAPE. When are men, ALL men, of any color, race, nationality or religious belief going to get it through their heads that RAPE is wrong? It is the most APPALLING thing a man can do to a woman, and no matter how you look at it, or try to explain it away, RAPE is the most abusive use of power against women ever conceived! In all my readings and discussions, I've never come across a single word that says RAPE is the right and proper thing to do.
What a woman chooses or not chooses to do with THEIR OWN BODIES, is no one's business, except the particular woman in question. I am yet to meet a woman, anywhere, who chooses to be RAPED. The physical and mental effects of RAPE can quite often last a lifetime! I seriously doubt there are RAPE counsellors in Syria to help the women and girls try to overcome the effects of being GANG RAPED by a bunch of Saudi Arabian soldier-boys. Not to mention a complete and utter lack of available medical care for them either.
This Fatwa has nothing to do with whether or not some soldier-boys are getting weary, and everything about using GANG RAPE as a 'weapon' of war. In every theater of war, (and let's not diminish them by calling it a conflict or a skirmish), RAPING women (and some men, for that matter) has happened. Yet, in this case, the soldier-boys from Saudi Arabia have gotten a religious order to GANG RAPE just about any Syrian woman or girl they come across. Oh, you thought they would just GANG RAPE women and girls who are merely divorced or widowed? I have grave doubts that any soldier-boy is going to ask if the woman or girl they have in their hands IS divorced or widowed. No, they will just obey the orders of Muhammed al-Arifi and RAPE away.
So why isn't this Fatwa being blasted from every mainstream news service? Because we, the US of A, don't want to annoy the Saudi Arabians as we still depend on their oil far too much. We, who not that long ago, had women having to prove in court they didn't ASK for it when they were RAPED. We, who still raise our collective eyebrows when a woman states she does not wish to marry. We, in many sly and sneaky ways, are trying to stop women from aborting pregnancies they do not want to carry. We, who still insist on paying women, who often are doing the exact same job as some man, less than their true worth.
Is the RAPE of a Syrian woman any less disgusting than the RAPE of an American woman?
Not to my understanding.
RAPE is wrong. RAPE will never be right. The sooner all of us men understand this very simple fact, the healthier the population on this planet will be.
Jad...Out