On Monday, August 3, 2015 at 12:53:38 PM UTC-7, Sal Paradise wrote:
> On 7/24/2015 5:00 PM, Christopher Helms wrote:
> Fourteen hundred years ago Islam gave women rights; rights that could
> not have been imagined by European counterparts. Bold words! Words
> that have been spoken repeatedly, especially in the last two or three
> decades by Muslim converts, and Islamic writers, academics and educators
> across the globe. Women's rights, responsibilities, and choices have
> been the subject of books, articles, essays, and lectures. Sadly
> however, convincing the world that Muslim women are not oppressed by
> Islam is a message that is just not getting through. Media headlines
> scream oppression and the words Muslim, women, and oppression seem to
> have become inextricably linked.
>
> No matter what Muslim women do or say to try to convince the world
> otherwise, words like hijab, burka, polygamy, and Sharia seem to do
> little but convince people that Islam oppresses women. Even educated,
> articulate women fulfilling the modest conditions of hijab can do little
> to dispel the myths. Women who conduct themselves with decorum and
> grace and function effortlessly in the modern world have their
> achievements and successes celebrated. However, if a woman wears a
> scarf, covers her hair or puts her religion above worldly pursuits she
> is immediately labelled oppressed. One wonders if this is the case for
> women of other religious persuasions.

I guess Chris Helms is not familiar with the Koran. :-O