Sudan women 'lashed for trousers'

[hoppybird]

Reported on BBC website.

[edam]

Good grief.

[onagar]

Someone said just the other day that this kind of thing doesn't happen and that everyone sticks to the dress code because it liberates them etc etc blah blah.

[Blu]

Did they, Onager?

Some women DO wear certain dress codes, voluntarily, and that has been pointed out - but I haven't seen anyone deny that there is also heinous co-ercion, backed up by this kind of atrocity, or seen anyone support non-voluntary dress codes.

Anyway, poor women. Horrible.

[Ripeberry]

And in the meantime in other Muslim countries, Christian churches are bombed but if we so much as cough or sneeze on a Mosque in this country they want 'justice'.
How can wearing trousers be indecent? Hope that kind of Sharia law does not come to the UK.
And why lashes? Do they love the sight of blood or something? Why not a fine. Why does it always involve some kind of bloodletting?

[Saltire]

That BBC article led me to belive that they were Christians, so surely they shouldn't be subject to Sharia law?

[Greensleeves]

Ripeberry it isn't a characteristic peculiar to Islam, it's a feature of oppressive fundamentalist regimes generally

we were doing the same things ourselves a few hundred years ago

[Wonderstuff]

Ripeberry I don't think there is any danger of these sort of restrictions coming into force in the UK! They seem to be ristricted to poor countries with oppressive totalitarian regimes. Poor women, will be interesting to see what the eventual outcome is for those who are challenging the arrest.

[bloss]

Message withdrawn

[Wonderstuff]

When was there support on MN for sharia law??

[Greensleeves]

there are plenty of right-wing fundamentalist Christians who would welcome a similar regime, particularly in the USA

as long as we pretend these atrocities are a feature of Islam, because Islam is a nasty religion, there will be no understanding between cultures

but then some people (on both sides) don't WANT an understanding between cultures, they want the "other side" demonised and eradicated

different societies mature and develop at different rates in different areas - a few hundred years is bugger all in human social terms.

[donnie]

what is 'indecent' about trousers?

[ilovemydogandmrobama]

Sharia law doesn't distinguish between Christians and Muslims.

[onagar]

"as long as we pretend these atrocities are a feature of Islam"

Well there are plenty of muslims pretending it IS part of it and therefore we shouldn't criticise.

Personally I agree that right-wing fundamentalist Christians are just as bad, but two wrongs don't make a right.

[littleducks]

Shariah law does distinguish

[bloss]

Message withdrawn

[ilovemydogandmrobama]

Oh, OK. Am happy to be wrong, but thought that a country that subscribes to Sharia law wouldn't take into account whether the person who broke the law was Christian or Muslim. Wasn't there a case a few years ago where a woman in Iran was accused of adultery, but was Christian, yet received a punishment according to Sharia law?

[Wonderstuff]

The BBC article said that only Muslims were subject to the law and the journalist and a few others were appointing lawyers to fight on these grounds.

[bloss]

Message withdrawn

[TheHeathenOfSuburbia]

I think that some elements of Sharia are only supposed to apply to Muslims, and I think the dress code is one of these.

Which is not to say that a repressive regime wouldn't apply it to all. Especially if they were generally into the ethnic cleansing business (see: Darfur)

I'm assuming no Muslims are going to come forward and defend the government of Sudan...

[sherazade]

Someone said just the other day that this kind of thing doesn't happen and that everyone sticks to the dress code because it liberates them etc etc blah blah.

honestly onagar i've completely lost what little respect I had for you after this innaccurate and misleading comment.

[monkeytrousers]

"Ripeberry it isn't a characteristic peculiar to Islam, it's a feature of oppressive fundamentalist regimes generally

we were doing the same things ourselves a few hundred years ago"

Ni it isn't a feature of fundamenalst regimes generally. It actually is a featuree of Sharia, which makes it synonymous with Islam.

And whatever we were doing do ourselves a few hundred years ago, we aren't doing it now.

[onagar]

Sherazade, were you there? I didn't see you at the time or maybe you are misreading it.

I'm saying that someone tried to convince me that people wear the special clothes because they want to because it makes them feel liberated. I wasn't convinced.

so are you saying that's not the reason or that I didn't have that conversation?

[sherazade]

maybe i was. maybe i was far too hidden under my burkha for you to see me

[onagar]