http://blogcritics.org/ A sinister cabal of superior bloggers on music, books, film, popular culture, politics, and technology - updated continuously. en Copyright 2005-2007 by the authors Mon, 17 Dec 2007 15:16:48 EST http://backend.userland.com/rss Blogcritics.org custom software http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/12/13/162330.php#comment-680876 Yes I do have a bias. I'm not afraid to admit it. If you familiarize yourself with my posts (and writing I've done in the past) you will see that I speak my mind regardless of collective offenses. The style of writing I admire includes Ann Coulter, Michelle Malkin, Christopher Hitchens, Dinesh D'Souza, etc. I mention them just to give you an idea of where I am coming from and what you could expect from me. My only limits include personal attacks against those I debate. I am not a fan of fundamentalists of any stripe and have no problem speaking out against religious belief systems (or non-belief such as atheism). The only thing for anyone to be sorry about is expressing more outrage over my bias than this young woman's death. 680876@blogcritics.org Mon, 17 Dec 2007 15:16:48 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/12/13/162330.php#comment-680841 Sorry, LorMarie, but in light of your replies not being able to pass the smell test, it appears to me and the other folks posting that you're only being partly truthful in that you have a bias. If you are really interested in human rights I don't see how you can't acknowledge the presence of intra-family violence period, which Erika points out. That you're harping on one particular instance involving a Muslim and trying to paint this as somehow intrinsic to that belief system leads me to believe that your agenda of painting Islam as violently anti-woman (and to fair, there are ways to interpret Islamic teachings to justify this sort of behavior if that's what you're of a mind to do), leads me to conclude you have an agenda, and promoting it is more important than any objective discussion of "human rights." 680841@blogcritics.org Mon, 17 Dec 2007 12:37:45 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/12/13/162330.php#comment-680388 K, If one follows this story, there is no room for doubt as to what this man's beliefs were. Why would this young girl leave home in traditional Muslim dress, but change once she arrived at school? Perhaps moderate or liberal muslims demand that there children wear the traditional clothing? Not according to my experiences with various cultures. I have taught for many years (many Muslim students). The more devout the parents, the more tradition they will demand from their children. So it is obvious that his beliefs led to this tragedy. And yes, I do have a bias. I have a bias in favor of human beings to live their lives as long as they don't infringe upon the rights of others. My bias in favor of human rights is more important than political correctness. 680388@blogcritics.org Sat, 15 Dec 2007 13:44:35 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/12/13/162330.php#comment-680374 it's remarkable that the author says we can only speculate about HOW the man killed his daughter, but as for why, she seems to have all the answers with no doubt in her mind. how does she even know the man was "devout" and who judges what makes devoutness? how do we know he killed her over the hijab anyway? where is the proof of that? let's be a little more modest and circumspect and not just jump to conclusions that fit in with our biases. 680374@blogcritics.org Sat, 15 Dec 2007 12:50:46 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/12/13/162330.php#comment-680181 Erika, It is hard to believe that the problems within the Parvez family are motivated by simple father/daughter conflicts. We cannot escape that this family comes from a "worldview" where the oppression of women is as common as can be. If you could explain how honor killings, forced marriage, denial of political or even basic human rights are related to "family clashes", then I commend you for being well-versed in those issues as it relates to culture. I agree that they did not receive much needed counseling. Unless the father were to have admitted to a problem, counseling would not have been possible. 680181@blogcritics.org Fri, 14 Dec 2007 15:51:32 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/12/13/162330.php#comment-680158 Family violence is not something new to the west. Unfortunately in light of recent events North Americans have become more aware of the Muslim culture and with the war in Afganistan, the pligt of women in countries that have chosen to interpret the Quran in such a way that it has led to the detriment of the women in those countries. How many men have killed their wives/girlfriends in the US this year? How many children have been hospitalized or worse died in the US this year at the hands of their fathers? What is the number of children that were physically or psychologically abused in the US this year? If you are able to give these numbers, then I commend you for being well educated and informed on the topic of domestic violence. The wearing of the hijab is just one of the issues that this father and daughter clashed. It's very unfortunate, that in the west where so much is available this family did not recieved the couseling that could have prevented this tragedy. That is the age in your life when everything is changing so rapidly, you don't know where you even belong or what you want. How unfortunate, that there was no support to provide parenting guidance to this family on how to cope with their daughter at this vulnerable stage in her life. 680158@blogcritics.org Fri, 14 Dec 2007 14:26:36 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/12/13/162330.php#comment-680146 Thank you for commenting. While I understand the point you are trying to make, I have to consider what I am told from those who were once Muslims and have been seasoned in the faith for years (not saying you have or haven't). On what did Parvez base his actions? His opinions? A literal interpretation of the Quran? Perhaps his interpretation was figurative. These incidents do not appear to be isolated. I firmly believe that we should look honestly at all religions (or even at atheism) and the issues within it that leads to problems. 680146@blogcritics.org Fri, 14 Dec 2007 13:48:18 EST http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/12/13/162330.php#comment-680128 Mr. Parvez is a murderer and should be brought to justice. However, the relevance of his being a "devout Muslim" to his murdering his daughter is about the same as that of "devout Christians" who murder their children because they're possessed, disobedient, etc. Sick is sick, and just because someone acts on their sick impulses in the name of religion (or politics or whatever) isn't an indictment against those beliefs. It does speak volumes about the person acting on them, however. Let's not forget that in this climate of Islam-bashing that seems to fester here at Blogcritics. 680128@blogcritics.org Fri, 14 Dec 2007 12:41:24 EST