May 17, 2006

Ayaan Hirsi Ali, Dr. Wafa Sultan; two other Mukhtaran's in the making?


As if Mukhtaran Bibi's ordeals were not enough, here are two others:

Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a 'wanna be' Dutch national speaks out strongly against Islam and its treatment of women. However, her case is very different from Mukhtaran's in that Mukhtaran lives in Pakistan where Islam is the state religion whereas Ayaan lives in the Netherlands where she constitutes the minority, and where she is also a Member of Parliament. What makes Ayaan's case different has been articulated brilliantly by SR on his blog titled " Ayaan Hirsi Ali - Human Rights versus Tolerance"


Dr. Wafa Sultan, a Syrian American residing in California is yet another brave soul who stands undaunted in the face of the recent Fatwa that has been issued against her because of her views on radical Islam. She is another Ayaan who, while speaking on Al Jazeera, said, "Only the Muslims defend their beliefs by burning down churches, killing people and destroying embassies. This path will not yield any results. The Muslims must ask themselves what they can do for humankind, before they demand that humankind respect them."

Mukhtaran, Wafa Sultan, and Ayaan Hirsi Ali; all three wish to be heard and want their cause to be addressed. Yet each one is perceived differently by us, the public. Mukhtaran's passive resistance hits a sympathetic chord, unanimously; Sultan's vocal protest brings an admiring cheer from most; and Ayaan's proactive resistance accords her just a hearing, and that too by only a few.

6 comments:

Vigilante said...

As an American, I am not happy that Ayaan Hirsi Ali is leaving the Netherlands for the United States.

One, I think her most important work is in the Netherlands. She is the real 'Iron' lady (as opposed to Rita Verdonk) in Dutch politics.

Two, I am distressed that when she comes to the USA, she's going to work for the American Enterprise Institute. Certainly we can find a better place for her than that.

Dr. Deb said...

I saw Dr. Wada Sultan on an interview and she impressed me so much.

karmic said...

Vigilante just made the point I was thinking about.
I am not surprised the AEI is hiring her though. Also there really are not a lot of left leaning think tanks in the US. The conservatives have built this up over 20 years. The left is sort of catching up but it will be a while. That being said all the 3 women are amazing at what they are doing each in their own way.

Anonymous said...

Dr Wafa Sultan, now I do recall an Al-jazeera interview of her where she categorically denounced certain policies of the Middle Eastern countries and discussed how Islamic leaders themselves furthered the clash of civilizations. It earned her a lot of denunciation from the mullahs and the likes.

Nandi23 said...

NOTED...:D

Unknown said...

I guess this seems like a coincidence also, regarding the last post on my blog. I wrote something about Dan Brown's work being tolerated by Christians, while Muslims can not even stand a fit of Muhammad being depicted as a terrorist.