In case you haven’t heard, it’s Islamo-Facism awareness week: David Horowitz and some other conservatives have decided that they’re going to pretend to take on the cause of the “poor, defenseless Muslim woman.” What garbage!
On Monday, Nonie Darwish (pictured here on the cover of her book) spoke at Wellesley College. Darwish is the founder of Arabs for Israel, and was a guest of Wellesley’s Jewish Hillel group. She was interviewed by Phyllis Chesler for Chesler’s blog, and the resulting article is ridiculously biased, painting Darwish as some type of blameless saint, bullied by the evil Muslim girls on Wellesley’s campus. Perhaps the title can illustrate my point: “The Heroic Nonie Darwish Faces Muslim ‘Mean Girl’ Power at Wellesley.”
The article, which I will critique fully in a minute, describes Darwish’s “heroic” speech, the “hostile” groups of Muslim women wearing headscarves that attended, and these same women’s “goon squad” behavior.
Now, sisters, I’ve got to say something here. If Ms. Darwish is correct, and some of the women were making faces and causing disruptions, then this is not cool. Ms. Darwish has a right to believe whatever she believes and speak as an invited guest, and it shows poor character to go to her lecture just to be a douchebag (plus, it makes Muslims look bad). If you don’t agree with her, don’t go to the lecture! Write an editorial to the school paper about how Islamo-Facism Awareness Week is bigoted instead. Or organize a countering “Islam Awareness Week” that has positive lectures about Islam and fun stuff to do—this is a lot more effective than disrupting a lecture. Or, go to the lecture, behave respectfully while taking notes, and then write a measured rebuttal for the school paper or a magazine.
Now, to the article. Chesler’s bias drips through the lines. She writes about Darwish’s lecture and paints the Muslim attendees as intimidating gangsters, and Darwish agrees with her: “They [the Muslim girls] quadruple-teamed Darwish and did not stop until Darwish ended her lecture. Twenty to thirty minutes of soft-core, well-choreographed, goon squad behavior. ‘They are Hamas-trained,’ says Darwish.” Hamas-trained? So because a bunch of people leave the lecture for whatever reason, they’re Hamas-trained? Ridiculous.
Just in case Chesler’s readers don’t get the point, Chesler exaggerates the idea that these Muslim women present a threat: Darwish says that the Jewish students were cringing, afraid “that the Muslims might physically hurt them afterwards. According to Darwish, one Jewish student told her that she ‘was locking her door. I am scared’).” Really? So because some Muslim students left the lecture, these students think that they’re going to get physically harmed? Do they think that the Muslim students left the lecture to go look up the Jewish students’ addresses and then stalk them for listening to Darwish’s lecture? Really?
I’m not disagreeing with the face that Hillel invited her, that she spoke, or that many in the Muslim community disagree with what she’s saying. I’m disagreeing with the negative portrait that Chesler paints of Muslim women. Calling us gangsters and implying that we’re going to hurt people who disagree with us? Please.
I’m also disagreeing with the fact that Ms. Chesler deifies Darwish as some sort of whistle-blower on Islam, without critiquing Darwish’s views or credentials. The article itself says that Darwish was born into a privileged military family in Egypt and now lives in America. Living in a privileged Egyptian family in the 1950s, 1960s, or 1970s gives someone a radically different perspective on Islam, Israel, and Egypt’s current political state. Egypt was very Westernized in these decades: Nasser and Sadat both clamped down very hard on religious institutions, alternately made war and peace with Israel, and Egyptian women rarely wore hejab back then. Growing up in that kind of Egypt could produce viewpoints that synchronize well with Western ideas about the Middle East and Islam.
So why is she a mouthpiece for Islamo-Facism awareness week? Perhaps it’s because she agrees with what they’re saying. Or perhaps it’s because Horowitz couldn’t book Ayaan Hirsi Ali to spew their organization’s Islamophobic crap. Either way, it the lecture provides us with an idea to how Islamo-Facism Awareness week will play out.
Salaams,
Speaking of “poor defensless, Muslim woman” being garbage, here’s a Muslimah who is anything but defenseless stateside.
http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=local&id=5722703
Sorry for the vagueness of my earlier comment. I dashed it off too quickly and should have been clearer in light of this post’s important topic.
I believe that some Muslim women are in difficult positions culturally or otherwise, and with a society against you, there is call for change in those societies. But no woman is defenseless. And I don’t know any Muslim women who attempt to provoke as it is claimed the hijabi “goons” did. Instead, like this woman,
http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=local&id=5722703 they fight back when in danger. Does that make sense?
With that said, I would never encourage taking an axe to a burglar waving a gun in your face, regardless of whether you suspect the gun is a fake.
However, I am proud to see a Muslimah portrayed as brave in the news.
Wow, this Chesler article is ridiculous. You need Hamas to train girls to roll their eyes, whisper, and get up during a lecture?
The bias is so over the top, with Darwish a poor, honest, innocent “hero,” and wild, sinister crowds of Muslim girls (”so many” hijabs!) attacking her, I find it hard to believe that even people already opposed to Islam could take Chesler’s “chronicle” seriously.
Salaam Alaikum,
Jazak Allahu Khayran for the link, Shawna, that story was cool.
As for the post “Hamas-trained”. *eyeroll*.
On Dr M’s blog (http://drmaxtor.blogspot.com/) there are some interesting assessments of the various characters involved in IFA week.
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20071024/que_hearings_071024/20071024?hub=Canada
Just wanted you to see this article if you haven’t already. This one moron in Quebec keeps trying to stir up trouble with his “Code of Life” immigrants must follow in order to settle in Quebec, including not wearing hijab.
This has been a non-issue in Canada since the idiot decided to invent such a stupid code, but now he’s gone a step further saying Canada should not protect anyone’s religious freedom.
Asalaamu alaykum sister,
As one of the “headscarved goonies” at the lecture, I would like to clarify a few things.
First off, I think we all can agree upon the baselessness of Chesler’s article. It was biased to the point of hilarity. The fact that she went to the extent to saying our bathroom breaks were scheduled (I was fasting that day and really needed to go!) is hilarious. To pay any heed to her article is giving her too much credit. The only thing that was dangerous about her article was the supplemental article she printed slandering our Muslim advisor’s name with blatantly absurd accusations.
On the behavior of Al-Muslimat at the lecture, we had an inkling of an idea of what we were walking into when we attended the lecture that night. The intent was not to be “douchebags”. The fact that Ms. Darwish made it a point to direct her hateful words directly at the Muslim contingent just proves her contempt of Islam. The whole event was a mistake and the group who invited them have apologized but the administration is doing very little damage control in the aftermath of the event which led to some tensions between the Muslim/Arab populations and Jewish/Israeli populations on campus.
What are we doing as Muslims on campus? We are doing a full blown campaign sponsored by MSA National called the Peace not Prejudice campaign that is a counterattack to IslamoFascism Awareness Week. Alhamdullilah, we have invited speakers such as Dr. Jamal Badawi to campus to speak on Feminism in Islam. Our Islamic Awareness Week is in the works as well inshAllah.
Suggestions are always welcome so sisters please suggest away. We just can’t stay stuck on being offended, there’s so much more of that to come. We have to stay on the offensive inshAllah and keep on the straight path. May Allah (swt) make it easier on all of us…
Salaams.
Waleykum salaam, Wellesley Muslim.
Barikallah for your work on campus to promote a more inclusive, accepting environment for Muslims. I think I remember reading the slanderous article that Chesler wrote about the MSA director, which was definitely not cool. But what can we expect from this woman, who has made it her life’s goal to hate on Islam?
hello,
i take issue with your attempt to discredit nonie darwish based on her upbrining: just why is the experience of someone who grew up in egypt during the 50-70s less valuable than otherwise? that’s every egyptian who’s over 30. so what, only Egyptians who grew up in the post-sadat nightmare has a valid view on islam? and “different perspective” than what?
you’re basically saying that older Egyptians have westernized views because they grew up in a westernized Egypt, and so they must be wrong.
you know who else has the exact same background as Nonie Darwish? Leila Ahmed, the reknowned Muslim feminist scholar whose views are full-hearted eachoed by MMW. how come her perspective is valid? maybe because you agree with it?
Ooooooooooooh, snap! Good points.