Teach Your Daughters Well

I will admit to being an incurable romantic, but somehow I think it was safer to be a romantic in my day. The American Thinker posted a story yesterday about how a naive American high school girl almost became a terrorist. She wasn’t going to kill anyone–she was just going to act as a nurse to help wounded terrorists back to health.

The story (told through the eyes of her neighbor) describes nineteen-year-old Shannon Conley as  a local girl born and raised in normalcy. After a rocky high school career resulting in a GED, she went to college and was working as a certified nurses aide. She met a thirty-two-year-old Tunisian terrorist who wanted to marry her and bring her to live in Tunisia.

What the story reports about Miss Conley shows her to be a bit odd:

Miss Conley doesn’t seem to have been interested in speaking with the Mosque elders. (She admitted the only things she knew about Islam were learned online.) Instead, despite having converted to Islam, she hung out at Faith Bible Church. People there thought she was trying to blow the place up. According to her, she first went there to learn about Christianity and then had fun scaring them.

…Miss Conley seems more concerned about pleasing Terrorist Fiancé than following Islam. According to Islam, you need the father’s permission to marry. Miss Conley’s dad was wise enough to give an emphatic “no” when Terrorist Fiancé skyped him to ask for his daughter’s hand in marriage. Yet, far from being bound by religious conviction, Miss Conley shrugged that off to fly to meet Terrorist Fiancé anyway.

When Miss Conley headed for the airport, her father called the U.S. Marshals.

The author of the article attributed Miss Conley’s conversion to the type of mind control used in abusive relationships.

The author states:

…I think her case has more in common with domestic violence victims.

Women who become victims of domestic violence fall into classic types. A significantly older man preys on a teenaged or young 20s girl. Miss Conley’s 19. Terrorist Fiancé is 32.

The victim is usually attracted to the abuser’s powerful personality and makes her life revolve around him. Miss Conley was moving halfway around the world and giving up all her family.

The abuser engages in mind control to get his victim to follow his every whim. Miss Conley was even willing to kill her own countrymen for her fiancé. Yet, Miss Conley said she didn’t want to kill anyone personally. She preferred to nurse the terrorists back to health. Terrorists enjoy killing people; abused women blindly serve their man.

This should be a warning to all parents of daughters–teach your daughters about healthy and unhealthy relationships. Keep communication lines open and watch for signs of unhealthy relationships. I think it is okay to believe in Prince Charming as long as you understand that he is a fictional character.

There May Be Hope For Democracy In Tunisia

The Washington Post posted a story yesterday which updated what is happening in Tunisia after the revolution.

The article opens with this scene:

Upstairs, Ibrahim Amara and his friends gather around the computer to watch YouTube preachers offering a vision of Islam that rejects democracy and elections. “Democracy’s freedom is absolute,” Ibrahim says, “and we don’t accept that. In our religion, freedom is limited to the freedom God gives you.”

Downstairs, Ibrahim’s father, Saleh Amara, explodes in frustration over his son’s new, post-revolutionary passion. Saleh and his wife have gone along with some of their 27-year-old’s new restrictions — okay, they’d stop watching soap operas and “Oprah” on TV, because there was too much sexual content — but Saleh says his son goes too far. Growing the long beard of the pious is fine, though it will probably limit his job opportunities. And if Ibrahim insists that his secular-raised, college-educated wife cover her hair and wear gloves, well, that’s his business. But how can he spurn free elections, the sweetest fruit of Tunisia’s revolution?

That is the problem with balancing democracy with Islam. Islamic governments, if they follow Islamic Law (Sharia Law) are incompatible with democracy. There is a divide in Tunisia as to whether the country will become a western-style democracy or a Muslim theocracy.

The article further states:

In the campaign leading to October’s elections and in the months since, small but violent demonstrations by Salafists have frightened many Tunisians.

Islamist preachers calling for sharia law, a return to polygamy and a reduced role for women do not represent a majority but are making headway, some secular Tunisians worry. At brunch, over spicy tuna salad and brik — Tunisia’s fried phyllo snack — served on Royal Albert china, Cherif tells of a well-educated friend whose mother chastised him for voting for a secular party. “You voted against Allah,” the mother said.

“How do you fight against that?” Cherif asks. “How do you educate people about our mild Tunisian brand of Islam when Islamist parties are telling voters that their path is the only one to paradise?”

There has been hope from the beginning of the ‘Arab Spring‘ for western democracies in the Middle East. Tunisia is the only country where that seems remotely possible. We need to keep in mind that Turkey existed as a western democracy since Ataturk’s reforms in 1924 helped Turkey become a secular nation. Unfortunately in the past few years, the Muslim Brotherhood is taking over the nation and support for Sharia Law has grown. There are still Christian churches in Turkey, but they do not have signs on their buildings–it would not be safe to identify them as churches. I hope that Tunisia can survive as a western-style democracy where all religions are treated equally. Unfortunately, recent events in the Middle East which have strengthened the Muslim Brotherhood will make that difficult.

 

Enhanced by Zemanta

The Arab Spring Is Looking A Little Stormy

The Global Post reported today on the elections being held in Tunisia.

The article reports:

Despite deep divisions among the various political parties over Tunisia’s future — the most contentious being the debate between secularists and Islamists — the election itself was a source of both national and regional pride for many Tunisians today.

…“If Ennahda wins, I would like to see sharia [Islamic] law,” said Tawfiq bin Mohammed bin Abdullah, a 62-year-old Ennahda supporter.“There are many women in Tunisia who do not know true Islam. Ennahda will not impose, but it will explain what it is in the Koran. And hopefully they will come to the true Islam.”

Others are drawn to Ennahda not only for its religious message, but for its longer history as a serious opposition group.

“Ennahda, they want to preserve our civil rights,”said 22-year-old Khalil Elalmi, a medical student who was arrested and beaten during the revolution.“They want to preserve our rights and take into consideration the law of Islam.”

“Their objective is to help people get a better life.”

Sharia Law and democracy are not compatible. We need to remember that. One of the most amazing aspects of Brigitte Gabriel’s story (see rightwinggranny.com) was her account of what happened to Lebanon (formerly the garden spot of the Middle East):

Lebanon was 67 percent Christian and was a truly multi-cultural country—there was freedom of religion for all religions. Gradually Muslims immigrated to Lebanon and became the majority of the country. The Muslims formed the Arab Lebanese Army, attacked Christians in a church, and started a civil war. The Muslims killed Christians, burned churches, and committed other atrocities. None of the western democracies came to the aid of Lebanon.

Unfortunately, unless the people involved in the Arab Spring protests wake up quickly, they will see their freedom disappear as quickly as they thought they had obtained it. When the Muslim Brotherhood takes over a country, there is no freedom of religion and no freedom for women.

Enhanced by Zemanta