|
Globalization of Political
Islam, Women’s Rights
In commemoration of
the death of Fatima Shahindal, a victim of honour killings
Stockholm Conference 21/01/06
Why political Islam?
We are here today to commemorate Fatima Shahindal who was
murdered four years ago by her father. She was tried in a family court and
executed by members of her family only because she chose to live differently.
We are here to talk about honour killings, which according to
UN, takes the lives of 5000 women worldwide. There is another theme to the
conference, as well, political Islam. Why political Islam?
What does connect Fatima with Aynor in Berlin who was killed
in February last year? She was killed by her 17 year old brother, in front of
her 5 year old son, while waiting at a bus stop.
What does connect these two with another Fatima in Palestine
and another one in Jordan, and another one in Nigeria or Syria? What does
connect them all with Fatemeh Rajabi; a 16 year old girl in Iran who was gang
raped and executed the next day by the Islamic Republic of Iran? She was accused
of corruption and prostitution.
What does connect these events with Hajiyeh Esmailvand who
was sentenced to death by stoning last December? She escaped stoning as a result
of international protests and especially the work of Mina Ahadi, who is one of
the speakers in this conference, and Organisation for Women’s Liberation (OWL).
What do they all have in common? I go further, what does
connect all these with women who are harassed every single day on the streets of
Iran for not observing the veil, not observing it properly or try to break
gender apartheid? All those women who are trying to live independently and all
those women in Afghanistan? Or women in Iraq who are murdered by the Islamic
thugs. All these women, In fact, millions of women are terrorized, kidnapped,
raped and murdered because they are not Islamic enough.
I go even further, what does connect these brutalities,
atrocities and murders with September 11th in New York? To the
victims of the suicide bombings in London in July 7th, In Madrid, In
Bali and In Iraq?
Try and think carefully! They all have one thing in common.
They are all connected by ONE movement, namely, Political Islam. I talk of a
political movement and not a religion proper. Because it is not the force of
believing in a religion, however violent its teachings and doctrines may be,
that creates a sophisticated machinery of terror, maiming and murder. There is
need for a political movement, political power and political machinery to
organize such horrendous acts of murder and brutality. It is the force of a
political movement that has turned each and every mosque into recruitment
headquarter for terror. True. Ideologically, Political Islam is based on Islam.
It derives its doctrines and vision from Islam. But only as a political movement
it can acquire such immense power to suppress millions of people.
For the past 30 years there has been a movement in the Middle
East, in Afghanistan, Iran, and in the Islamic ridden countries that has gained
power, which tries to acquire power in the region, and tries to become a power
globally. It has based itself on religion, has based itself on Islam and has
cashed on in people’s sufferings and grievances to fill up the vacuum created in
the political and ideological sphere in the region. It uses terror and
intimidation as its main tool to reach its goals. Intimidation and terror is its
strategic tool.
The first victims of this reactionary movement are women.
They have been raped, stoned to death, killed, maimed, flogged and their dignity
violated. Political Islam promotes and mobilizes a very concentrated, coherent
campaign to suppress and silence women in the Middle East and the Islamic ridden
countries and also in Europe. As I mentioned, according to the UN 5000 women are
killed annually world wide. Even the UN says that this figure is far from the
real figure. Do you know why? Because some women are not even worth being
registered as dead! Or their murder is disguised as suicide. The figure is much
more than 5000. Majority of these victims belong to the Islamic communities
either in North Africa, Middle East or Islamic communities in the West.
When a woman or a young girl is killed in the name of honour,
it is not only her, but the whole family is killed in a way. They pick a 16 or
17 year old male member of the family to execute the death sentence. By doing
this they kill the boy as a human being. Just think what this “trial” and
execution do to humanity. To be present in such trial, to be judge or jury in
it, and then be chosen as the executor, just imagine what this process does to
the mind of any human being.
Going back to the question: why political Islam? Because
Political Islam is responsible for basically all these atrocities taking place
against women, children and humanity. Political Islam is the driving force
behind this violence. It promotes violence and terror. It mobilizes force, it
nurtures and recruits, it supports and encourages, it leads a global movement of
terror and backwardness.
It must also be added that political Islam did not reach this
position; it did not acquire such power alone. It was aided considerably by the
West. Bin Laden, the infamous character, who everyone is looking for, rose to
power by the US. Taliban and Islamic Republic of Iran could not come to power
without the West’s aid. When the West wanted to fight the left, they brought
these monsters to us. Unleashed them upon us and now that the monster has come
to the West, they are looking for them! It is ironic that even when the US and
the West decide to come after these monsters, again there are the people in the
region who become victims. What happened in Iraq and the misery and bloodshed
imposed on Iraqi people is a vivid example of this.
Perhaps most of you like to hear what you can do in Sweden to
change the situation. For example what integration policy can be adopted to
fight this? Definitely, Sweden needs to have a better, universal, more
progressive and less racist integration policy. But fighting against honour
killings, atrocities against women, violations against women goes further than a
sound integration policy.
Political Islam is an international movement, it fights
internationally, it mobilizes internationally. The network of Mullahs and
Mosques that spread hatred, terror, and anti women, anti human values in
Stockholm, London, Berlin and so on are related internationally. Just go to
these Mosques and see what hatred and brain washing they inflict on young minds
of our children. They issue fatwas against people like us, people fighting for
women’s rights and freedom, secularism, fighting against religious rule, against
political Islam, against whoever questions the rule of Islam or the god. All of
us deserve to die.
Go to the religious schools and see what superstitions they
put in the young impressionable minds of our children: hatred against women,
hatred against the West, hatred against liberty and anything human. These are
all related. We can not just sit here and talk about an integration policy that
is better and can solve the problem. We have to think internationally. They
think internationally we have to think internationally as well. They organize
and mobilize internationally, we have to organize and mobilize internationally.
We should come together and build a united force against
political Islam, against religion’s meddling in public life, for a secular
society, for equal and universal rights for women, for banning of child veiling,
against gender apartheid, for banning religious schools, against funding of
states to religious institutions and groups, to support our movement for
liberation and equality.
I call upon you all to support our movement to fight for
these goals and values. We should unite and organise for a better and more
humane world, to safeguard freedom and bring about equality. We need a world
free of religious superstitions and terrorism. We need to stand against two
poles of terrorism: Islamic and state terrorism led by the US and Western
governments.
|