Naomi Wolf Is Enraptured With Jordan, The Country

Naomi Wolf in enamored with Jordanian feminism.

She writes:

...the faces of Muslim feminism I encountered in recent travels -- notably in Jordan, a country fascinatingly poised between tradition and innovation, developing under a forward-looking monarchy that is seeking to modernize and, to an extent, democratize. For those Westerners who worry about Islamic fundamentalism in the Arab world, surely Jordan is a worthy model to understand, support, and engage.

The women leaders I met in Amman were not saying, "Please tell the West to save us." They were too busy making egalitarian, modernist new worlds of their own, with an Arab, and often Islamic, imprimatur.

...my attention [was directed] to Jordanian-made films about the subordination of women inside the home, and to Rana Husseini's powerful book on honor killings, Murder in the Name of Honor . But her implicit message was that these critical examinations of women's inequality in the Arab world are most enlightening when they are created by women's advocates from within that culture, rather than sensationalized or superficial versions of the problem created in the West.

...there is Rana Husseini herself -- a role model for investigative reporters everywhere who began documenting and investigating honor killings in her newspaper, The Jordan Times . Honor killings claim an estimated 5,000 women every year, and are increasingly common in immigrant communities abroad. According to her account, a woman can be killed for "laughing at a joke in the street, wearing makeup or a short skirt...or being raped by a brother."

After she began her series of reports, Husseini received death threats at her office almost daily - as well as hundreds of letters of support from readers. As a result of her brave investigations, which included interviews in prisons, many Muslim countries are revising their criminal codes, and the issue has taken center stage internationally.

These women are exactly the kind of leaders that everyone should be cultivating and supporting, rather than overlooking because of a belief that they cannot exist in the Middle East. We would do better to find out more about them than to waste our time on superficial debates about how they -- and many others who are just as accomplished -- should dress.

Yep, Jordan is such a great place for feminists:

Sept. 30, 2009 -

AMMAN - Criminal Prosecutor Tareq Shqeirat on Thursday charged three men with complicity in premeditated murder charges in connection with stabbing to death their older divorced sister a day earlier for reasons reportedly related to family honour, official sources said.

The three men, aged between 20 and 26, allegedly stabbed their sister, then set the house afire after her children went to school on Monday, one senior official told The Jordan Times...

...Shqeirat questioned the three brothers, one of whom reportedly confessed to “plotting to murder his sister with the help of his two brothers because she had a bad reputation”.

The suspect said the victim was divorced in 2003 and that “the family had asked her repeatedly to move out of their building”, said a second source quoting the suspect’s initial testimony.

“The victim refused to move out so they decided to kill her and cleanse their family’s honour, according to the suspect’s claims,” the source told The Jordan Times.

Sep 9, 2009 -

AMMAN — A Jordanian youth was charged with premeditated murder on Wednesday after allegedly stabbing to death his divorced teenaged sister because she "knew many men," police said.

The suspect, 18, "stabbed to death his 17-year-old divorced sister with a kitchen knife because he claimed she beat their mother and that she was mean and knew many men," a police spokesman told AFP.

"Police arrested him and he confessed to the crime," in the Red Sea port city of Aqaba.

Murder is punishable by the death penalty in Jordan, but in the case of so-called "honour killings," a court usually commutes or reduces sentences, particularly if the victim's family urges leniency.

On Tuesday, US-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged Jordan to reform its penal code, which it says condones the murder of women as "honour crimes." In the past, parliament has refused to institute harsher penalties.

Around 15-20 women are murdered each year in Jordan in the name of honour, despite government efforts to fight such crimes. So far this year, there have been 15 reported.

And this -

On August 12, the Jordan Times reported the 14th such killing this year, of a 16-year-old girl by her 39-year-old uncle to "cleanse his family's honor." He shot the girl after learning that his sons had raped her and that she had a child by one of them. Under Jordanian law, murder of a relative believed to be engaged in extramarital sex carries a reduced sentence.

Women, Islamic Women That Is

Memri sent this out:-

The following are excerpts from materials from the following websites: www.al-hesbah.org/v – a forum for women and Islamic families; www.shmo5alislam.net/ – an Islamic women's forum; and www.al-faloja.info/vb – an Islamic family forum.

"How I Hoped to Turn My Body into Slivers to Tear the Sons of Zion to Pieces, and to Knock with Their Skulls on the Gates of Paradise"

An Al-Hesbah subscriber calling herself Umm Hamza Al-Shahid wrote a message titled "Secure Yourself a Chandelier under the Throne [in Paradise]," in which she encouraged Muslim women to carry out suicide bombings. Following are excerpts:
"The souls of the martyrs dwell inside the bellies of green birds [that roost] on chandeliers hanging from the royal throne [of Allah in Paradise]. They roam freely in Paradise, and then come to roost on the chandeliers... Sister... [think] what a [wonderful] life that is, how [wonderful] Paradise is, and what we miss living here [in this world]... You know that a martyr does not die. He lives, and will never know death, for it is said [in Koran 2:153]: 'And do not speak of those who are slain in Allah's way as dead; nay, [they] live, but you do not perceive [it].'
"You surely ask: 'What is the way to martyrdom for me, as a woman?... How can I find the way?' Before I answer, let me say: Has it occurred to you that the very first Muslim who had the privilege of becoming a martyr was a woman, [namely] Sumayya bint Khayyat? She was cruelly tortured by the leader of the infidels, the bitter enemy of the faith, Abu Jahl, but remained steadfast in her religion and faith... She spat in his filthy face, leaving him no choice but to draw his sword and stab her, and then her pure body was cast in the desert of Mecca, while her pure soul ascended to Paradise... Take her example, sister. She had the honor [of becoming a martyr] before the [first] man had [this honor]. Allah does not prevent us from... following in her footsteps.

In another posting, headed "Indeed, Men Do Not Have a Monopoly [on Martyrdom]," Umm Hamza Al-Shahid described the last moments of a woman suicide bomber: "She recited the morning prayer... and then sat invoking [the name of] Allah until dawn. In her mind she heard the words of a brother who had [chosen] the path [of martyrdom]: 'Even if I had died while praying,(3) I would have regretted having missed the opportunity to die as a martyr [in a war] for the sake of Allah.' She went out and walked silently... her [soul] filling with a deep and confident tranquility. She fingered the explosive belt hidden under her clothes to make sure that it was tightly fastened. She went on. Then a crowd of filthy Jews appeared in the distance and she hurried to meet them. She managed to slip into the crowd without anyone noticing her. Her heart palpitated, not out of fear of the despicable [Jews], but because her momentous meeting with Allah was drawing near. It seemed to her that the sky shone lighter and brighter than before. She penetrated deeper into the crowd, her breath coming in spurts and the spark of death shining in her eyes, and... Allah Akbar! The explosion rang out loud, violent, deafening and destructive. The body parts of the Jews scattered everywhere, and the black blood spilled on the soil of the Prophets, while her pure soul ascended to heaven, to the chandeliers [of Paradise, an abode of] light, peace and eternity."(4)

A subscriber calling himself Sayf Allah [Sword of Allah] posted a link to a video, accompanied by a message titled "To [Women] Who Seek Martyrdom": "To our sisters on this dear forum, and to all [sisters] everywhere who are devout in their faith, here is a simple video about several women who became martyrs and who, [their final testaments,] urged others to [wage] jihad."(5)

The women's forum on the Islamist website Al-Shumoukh featured an excerpt from a book titled Jihad and Combat in Shari'a[-Based] Policy (Al-Jihad Wal-Qital Fi Al-Siyassa Al-Shar'iyya), by Dr. Muhammad Khayr Haykal, which included the following: "Martyrdom for the sake of Allah is one of the values that Islam glorifies and which confers prestige on the one who implements it... Through [martyrdom], one receives eternal life and avoids death, which is the lot of everyone else. The gates of Paradise open [before the martyr], and the life in this world goes on while the martyrs [bask in] the pleasures of Paradise... After their souls leave their bodies, Allah builds them palaces."(6) "A Woman... [Usually] Dreams of a Husband, a Large House, Children... But There Are Other Women... Jihad Fighters... Who [Sacrifice] Their Souls alongside the Men"; "She Donned a Shroud, Strapped on the Explosive Belt, and Left... That Was the Pivotal Moment in her [Decision] to Meet Allah as a Martyr"

A subscriber calling herself Rabab Khatem wrote under the heading "Women Jihad Fighters in Modern Times Will Go Down in History": "For a long time, I have been thinking about that woman who left everything, abandoned the sweet pleasures of this world... gave up her soul and her money in order to prove herself [equal] to men... [and to prove] that the religion of Allah is more important than her [own life]... I tried to find other women like her among my people, but found only flashy TV hosts, dancers, singers, etc., who present themselves as role models for mankind, and indeed serve as role models for those who wish to follow their [unworthy] example... I have been planning to write about her for a long time... I looked for the most beautiful words that have been said about her, and found many, but none as wonderful as the those written about her by the forum subscriber Louis 'Atiyyat Allah [under the heading] 'Lament for a Muslim Woman Knight':

"'...As I write these words, my sorrow that I am not among you sears my heart. I wish I could be among you, for that would have been an immense privilege. What value is there in a pleasant life that ends in the grave, without glory that will go down [in history, and without] having faithfully served Allah's religion... [The woman knight] said: Allah, accept my blood today and be pleased with it... A woman in this world [usually] dreams of a husband, a large house, children... However, there are other women – praise them – who have decided [to sacrifice] their souls alongside with men, and are undoubtedly jihad fighters...

"The women of the courageous Chechen people have sacrificed their children and their money... They joined the march of the martyrs; they refused to [accept] oppression, and as the enemy intensified its [cruel oppression], their steadfastness and [readiness for] self-sacrifice grew ever stronger... One woman was apprehended by the Russians, and a senior Russian officer violated her honor... She swore revenge... She started preparing, counting the days until she would sacrifice her most valued possession for the sake of religion and honor. She donned a shroud, strapped an explosive belt around her body and went to him; and when the moment came, she approached him, and it was then that she consummated [her resolve] to meet Allah as a martyr...