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From Magic City Morning Star R.P. BenDedek I was reading the latest articles at Magic City Morning Star news today, and decided to see if Noor Al Haqq (International Section) had written anything yet, and came across the three articles she has written to date.
Knowing well the Evangelical Christian leaning of this newspaper, I couldn't help but wonder what readers make of her writings. Having read them, I am not only impressed, but understand what she has written. My son converted to Islam and married an Indian Muslim girl. He had known her for quite a while, and often used to talk to me about the arguments he had had with her. It was a shock then, when he wrote me in China and told me that he was getting married. My daughter-in-law grew up in a western liberal Muslim family, but over the last decade, one by one her siblings "chose" orthodoxy. This orthodoxy did not derive from the parents, was not forced upon them, and nor did they fall prey to some "extremist" Islamic group. My daughter-in-law and her whole extended family, as well as the members of their mosque, have become a loving and supportive surrogate family for my son. With this I am well pleased. That last statement might be a bit surprising, but I can't elaborate without entering into a discourse on the varieties of influences that imposed themselves on my son's life, often leaving him with a 'not so nice' impression of religious people. From an early age, he showed amazing awareness of and love for God, and was acutely aware that he did not 'fit in' with those around him. When he was about 10 years old and attending a Catholic School, he was going through a difficult emotional time, and spent time discussing with me the fact that he was, according to everything he had learned from those around him, unacceptable to God, because he was not Baptised, and especially, not a Baptised Catholic. I actually tried to get him to follow his desires and convert. But he didn't! (His eldest sister went through the same thing!) So here he is today, ten or so years later, an orthodox Muslim, married to the most wonderful woman on earth. I have only seen my daughter-in-law's uncovered face once, and I was amazed at how much more beautiful she is than I had imagined. She is the stabilizing force in his life. I even remarked to her one day, "How, as a good Muslim girl, can you let him swear like this?" She replied something to the effect that she was not always orthodox, and she preferred this fault to any other. I too have talked to her about the "veil" and the issue of women's equality, and received much of the same comments as made in Noor Al Haqq's articles. As for my son, the last time I had a lengthy conversation with him, I questioned him about a particular thing he had said, and from this learned that, within his Muslim community, as a convert, he is a shining light that reminds the "old timers" of the finer nuances of the Quran, in relation to hospitality, kindness and wrong doing toward others. It is his "freshness" that allows him to give importance to things that the others have long forgotten. (Yes, I know. I'm probably being over generous with my praise). Now as for the article comments about womens dress, it reminded me that the other week a fellow foreign student at Wuhan University made a comment to me, that was almost identical to ones I have previously made, about the dress sense of Chinese girls. As China is modernising, many of the wealthier young girls here are striving to portray themselves as "fashionable" and "upbeat." Unfortunately, in their desire to look like Parisienne models, they doll themselves up so much, and so garishly, that in fact "they look like prostitutes." I'm sure they love it when they see foreign men turn to stare at them, but I'm afraid that their self satisfaction would soon be decimated if any of us told them "why" we were staring. I know they think that they are gorgeous, but really, how can you tell them what they really look like? It is an interesting point to note that, while Muslim women are enjoined to dress modestly so as to give rise to no occasion to sin, western girls (thanks to the feminists) do exactly the opposite. They present themselves in a fashion that immediately conjures up promiscuous thoughts in the minds of men, and then blame men for having "dirty" thoughts. Another thing that Noor Al Haqq pointed out is that there is a difference between the religion and those belonging to it, for not all Muslim's behave in the same way. The same can be said of Jews and Christians. There are degrees of orthodoxy, and variations in behaviour. My son informed me the other day that secular music according to the Quran, is "sinful," and yet, the popular music industry is growing very fast in many Muslim countries. There are two major points that seem to come across in Noor Al Haqq's articles, with which I agree.
There can be no doubt that many male Muslims in the world subjugate their women, and from personal observation, the same can be seen amongst Christian fundamentalists. Both are in error. Despite what the Feminists claim about the patriarchal perception of women as revealed in the Old Testament, and their similar accusations against St. Paul, both the Old and New Testaments can be seen to elevate women above the station accorded them within the various contemporary settings. If you read the book of Proverbs (which the feminists revile so much), you will see that "Wisdom/Sophia" is not only a woman, but a manifestation of God. Women are portrayed as the ones who, for both good and evil, have the power to sway the direction of men's lives. They are also portrayed as strong, caring, excellent business people, and leaders. I have always been called a sexist pig by every woman who hated me, and yet I grew up in a family where no sexism existed. In one company, in which I was the only male, the female staff hated me, oft-times calling me names, because I had a fantastic work relationship with the female boss. My crime? Having been a boss, I never hesitated to disagree with mine, but always at the same time, showing respect for her as a person, and respect for the fact that her decision was final. In short, we could disagree on anything work related, because we both had the best interest of the company at heart. It was never personal. In the end, the boss is the boss. I feel sorry for those women who are subjugated by the men in their lives, and I equally feel sorry for those men in the same position. Women have the right to choose their own paths, even if it be the religious path. R.P.Bendedek Email: rpbendedek@hotmail.com Note: Because of the recent Server change, some links may not work. This file was amended September 2007.
The King's Calendar is a chronological study, of people and events listed in the Bible, Josephus, and The Damascus Document of the Essenes. It both confirms and challenges many cherished concepts in relation to Biblical Infallibility and Bible History, The Dead Sea Scrolls, the writings of Josephus, the Reign of Nebuchadrezzar, Moses and the Exodus, Jeremiah's Seventy year prophecy of the Babylonian Exile, Daniel's Vision of Seventy weeks, and discrepancies between the Septuagint and Masoretic Texts of the Bible. © Copyright 2002-2007 by Magic City Morning Star |
