Comments on: Bombs, Liberty, and the Muslimah Body

By: Bleh

Bleh — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 18:47:27 +0000

…opinion, this is yet another instance of a woman’s body being used as a fighting ground. Her body is not her own, but rather belongs to the agendas of the men who wish to ’say something.’ Using her body was more convenient…

Its a fucking cartoon strip.

Seriously \point?

By: American Perceptions of Female Suicide Bombers « Rotten Little Girls

American Perceptions of Female Suicide Bombers « Rotten Little Girls — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 03:43:18 +0000

[...] here is a great post about female suicide bombers that I found while looking for a picture for this post. I’m [...]

By: Sobia

Sobia — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 00:55:58 +0000

Thanks Heather for the clarification. Much appreciated :)

I guess what I was getting at was that she represents the West which is predominantly Christian (whether practicing or not).

By: Heather

Heather — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 00:23:21 +0000

Just to comment on origins of statue of liberty, you ask if she is Christian. She is based on the Roman goddess of freedom, Libertas. Just thought I would throw that in there. Really enjoying reading through this site.

By: Grégoire

Grégoire — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 05:42:12 +0000

The first female suicide bomber to get any sort of international attention was Wafa Idris, a self-described atheist who had, in her youth, started a feminist youth group in her Palestinian school. She was nobody’s dishrag. Her family (which included at least one brother who was a religious militant) expressed surprise at her final gesture. When I got around to piecing together her life, it didn’t surprise me at all. She volunteered her time driving an ambulance for the red crescent and was hit by rubber bullets a bit too often.

Too often we blame religious indoctrination for things that only desperation and a lifetime of humiliation can adequately explain. The bottom line is that if the unhappy base of society wasn’t feeling an overwhelming, hopeless desperation, suicide (by any means) wouldn’t be a social problem.

By: M Thibodeaux

M Thibodeaux — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 12:45:46 +0000

The Statue of Liberty was a gift of the French Nation to the United States in commemoration of the signing of our Declaration. The French played an important and enduring role in establishing our viability as a free country by helping us deliver a decisive blow to the British at Yorktown. No one seems to like the French these days. The Iraqis seem not to like us either, but…

How would the Iraqis respond to a very respectful likeness of the Statue of Liberty that was somewhat different, but emblematic of our attempt to liberate Iraq? If there are any Muslim artists out there send me an alternative cartoon.

By: jdl

jdl — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 15:15:26 +0000

Seems that a popular joke in the Mid East is a fitting political comment here. “The only real men left in Irag are women”

By: Sobia

Sobia — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 00:20:43 +0000

Thanks everyone!

@Philip:
Interesting analysis. And it would work, except the words “democracy and liberty” written on the Statue’s tablet still insinuate some sort of superiority of America and its values. Even if this was a critique of what the American’s tried to bring in, that definitely wasn’t clear. This depiction of the Statue of Liberty didn’t bring that across. It really does seem like a kiss-up job.

By: Fatemeh

Fatemeh — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 23:58:28 +0000

Great analysis. I especially like the point you make that the vast majority of suicide bombings are still carried out by men; why do a few more women merit this kind of attention?

By: Ethar

Ethar — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 12:01:22 +0000

Love this post. Everything is spot on.

I know you can’t read Arabic, so I just want to add that this is all over Arabic press too, who call it a ‘travesty,’ ‘ridiculous,’ ‘a farce’ and ‘ignorant.’

One particular beautiful piece starts off with a proverb: “The ignorant does with himself what the enemy does to his enemies.” ie shooting themselves in the foot.