What is the most widely recognized symbol of the United States?
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Viewpoint - April 21, 2011
On Caged Birds And Liberators
Posted by thecynicalarab
"I detest Nicolas Sarkozy. I consider him right wing and
racist but I also detest the niqab and I detest the face
veil." So begins the lamentation of Mona Eltahawy, self-
proclaimed columnist and public speaker on Arab and Muslim
issues.
Eltahawy ineptly repudiated the bigoted French President
Nicolas Sarkozy during her most recent CNN appearance;
Sarkozy in 2009 called on a more robust national European
identity to combat what he referred to as "tribalism",
calling for newcomers to respect host communities
"...striving not to clash with them, or shock them,
respecting their values, beliefs, laws and traditions
and ? at least in part ? adopting them."
Sarkozy, known for his unyielding repression of immigrants,
was calling for smooth integration, for parasitic new-
comers not to disturb the "host community" ? for clean
assimilation. As of late Sarkozy's UMP party declared its
intention to host a public forum to address fears about
Islam's role in French society, following controversy over
Muslim street prayers, halal-only restaurants and full-
face Islamic veils.
Mona Eltahawy attempted to divorce herself from the
xenophobic French right wing, only to align herself with
their legislation which calls for offenders who do not
comply with the facial veil ban to face a fine of some
150 euros (£133; $217) and a citizenship course.
Eltahawy's feminist routine customarily slams misogyny yet
slanders and often mocks women who have decided to don the
face veil.
"As I take a nap, I hope the sisters in niqab and the
husbands of sisters in niqab who have discovered my
tweet feed, have fun.
- Mona Eltahawy (@monaeltahawy)
Often the case is made that those refusing to don the niqab
etc. are superior and civilized whilst those donning the
niqab etc. are "brainwashed" and uncultivated. The rhetoric
being used in describing a female who chooses to wear a
niqab is colonialist; similarly used by provincial elitists
chronicling barbarism.
Eltahawy compares a choice of religious attire with bondage
and racism:
"If a woman "chooses" to sell herself into slavery, is
that a "freedom of choice" we must respect?
- Mona Eltahawy (@monaeltahawy)
"If cultural practice that passes itself as religious
"choice" dictates that everyone who's black must cover
their face, do we respect that?
- Mona Eltahawy (@monaeltahawy)
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Mona Eltahawy, often heralded as a go-to feminist icon for
the "liberation" of women, refuses to acknowledge that a
number of those who wear the face veil do so out of their
own personal discretion. Yet the argument is that they
simply do not know any better, they have been indoctrinated
to wear the face veil, they have no apparent mind of their
own as it has been seemingly been overwhelmed with
extremism forced upon them by the male figures in their
lives.
During Eltahawy's recent CNN debut she went head to head
with Heba Ahmed, a niqabi. Ahmed illustrated, quite
eloquently, that her decision to sport the niqab "is a
free choice": (Watch the Video) http://bit.ly/fl72kZ
"This is something that I choose to wear. I disagree that
it's some right-wing ideology. I have a masters degree in
mechanical engineering and [...] this is the choice that
I want to make. Just because somebody doesn't accept my
interpretation of Islam or personally like it doesn't
mean that we can use laws to violate people's freedom of
expression and freedom of religion."
As the debate nears its end you hear Eltahawy stress that
she "...will not sacrifice Muslim women's rights", as if
it were politically convenient ? a right which can be
monopolized; here we see feminist colonialism boasting
of the liberation of exclusionary legislation.
A fairly aged piece written for the Guardian by Karen
Armstrong highlights her own experience as a Nun for seven
years wherein she "...wore voluminous black robes, large
rosaries and crucifixes, and an elaborate headdress."
Armstrong went on to say that "...Nuns had been banned
from Britain since the Reformation; their return seemed
to herald the resurgence of barbarism", she emphasized
the inherent xenophobia present in Britain, the systems
outright repugnance in respect to Catholicism ? comparing
it with the "perceived Islamic threat" of veiled Muslim
women.
Armstrong writes:
Until the late 19th century, veiling was neither a central
nor a universal practice in the Islamic world. The Qur'an
does not command all women to cover their heads; the full
hijab was traditionally worn only by aristocratic women,
as a mark of status. In Egypt, under Muhammad Ali's leader-
ship (1805-48), the lot of women improved dramatically,
and many were abandoning the veil and moving more freely
in society.
But after the British occupied Egypt in 1882, the consul
general, Lord Cromer, ignored this development. He argued
that veiling was the "fatal obstacle" that prevented
Egyptians from participating fully in western civilisation.
Until it was abolished, Egypt would need the benevolent
supervision of the colonialists. But Cromer had cynically
exploited feminist ideas to advance the colonial project.
Egyptian women lost many of their new educational and
professional opportunities under the British, and Cromer
was co-founder in London of the Anti-Women's Suffrage
League.
Eltahawy has continuously used feminist hype to further
isolate a minute body of women, all in the name of Mona-
brand "liberation", the same type marketed fervently by
the universal assembly of misogynists.
Yet in all of this comes the most striking irony. Mona
Eltahawy had been preparing for a United States citizen-
ship exam, and by her own admission she passed the English
and US History & Government exam and that her "application
for US naturalization has been approved."
I suspect they may have excluded the 1st amendment of the
United States Constitution from her citizenship exam:
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment
of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;
or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press;
or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and
to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."
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