Letters to the Editor
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Virtue is valueless without temptation
I must say that I have too much respect for men to claim that they are all mindless bundles of tinder just waiting around for a naughty lady spark to set them off.
I believe that men are capable of actually exercising self-control and freedom of choice when faced with a woman in shorts and t-shirt. After all, although I myself am of an avaricious nature, I can control myself sufficiently to the point where I don't rob banks or rip Rolexes off of random passersby. Can men do no less?
I could make a further argument, referencing Milton's Paradise Lost, that young women wearing enticing clothes are in fact enabling heterosexual men to strengthen their faith on a daily basis. Adam and Eve were able, after the Fall, to choose between good and evil -- and thus became infinitely more valuable to God than even angels, who cannot choose to do anything BUT good.
So if a Christian young man sees a teen temptress in Daisy Dukes but is still able to put a lid on his fiery loins and return to his copy of the "National Review," has he not had his moral strength TESTED and PROVED thereby?
Ladies! We have a moral imperative here! I, for one, am planning to don my lingerie and march enticingly forth herewith, with the express purpose of enhancing our nation's Christian character! On! On! On!
Are you with me?
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Victorian men..
Used to have a meltdown over a glimpse of ankle..
That which we most desire is that which is most strongly denied us. Of course men in a repressive society are going to react strongly to seeing that which they are not supposed to see.
Familiarity breeds contempt, or at least indifference.
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Who knows? Maybe he's right
Maybe a generation of insane repression has turned all the Iranian men into Centaurs.
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Salam alaikum
Hojat-al-Islam means "proof of Islam" in English, however in contemporary Iran, under the rule of the mullahs, it means "proof of ignorance." This is a very sad incident to read about when you consider that things weren't always this way in Iran.
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.. if you get his gist
Our youth, even those who are educated by families who believe and respect the words of the Prophet, when they come into contact with this fire [the women who are not properly veiled] they burn and become ash.
... and just in case anyone is having a hard time grasping the concept, this guy presumably has any number of followers willing to turn the analogy into literal truth.
Hey, kids! Burning with the fire of fundamentalism: it's not just for metaphors anymore!
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I don't get it
What is it about being a fundamentalist Muslim male that makes the rest of the world have to accept that they are absolutely, positively unable to keep their fly zipped?
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Go you uncover girl!
Let Svutlana try for understand. Face of woman make man beast, destroy society and set fire to everything. Sound little bit like recipe for rapture.
If face can do all this, imagine what entire woman do!
Svutlana
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Ah, the 7th century...
proudly brought to you by Hojatolislam Seyyed Ahmad Elmalhoda.
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Clerics...Clerics...
This guy has obviously not done much traveling. And I would kill for that kind of ash-making power. Lye for life.
Isn't it kind of pointless to quote these guys? Or to throw equivalents derived from Christian interpretations? (here's lookin' at you "jfwlucy").
These guys are equivalent of Indian Guru's, performing magic tricks for masses, and spreading fear.
Would it not be a better idea to perhaps find a way to extol this guys obvious lack of intellect, not just here, but back home?
Plus, I am no expert on Islam, but some contributors are - is it not true that woman's face is not necessarily sexual but hair and chest are? In that case, how many different interpretations of the veil are there? And what about short hair? Anything progressive from that corner?
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Fundamentalism, Islamic or other, should be shunned.
In a nation like America, where (theoretically) there is pluralism of religion, fundamentalist sects can exist without endangering all the rest of us. But in a nation like Iran, where they are the official government, they are poison.
And yes, in Abu Gareb or Guantanamo, taunting those beliefs may be the most fun part of torture, especially for female guards. (Smearing a fundamentalist with what a female guard claims is her menses, and watching him flinch, must seem like justified feminist revenge, especially to Salon readers.) But it simply justifies the fundamentalists sending more of his sons, and when the males run out his "inferior" children of the other sex, to kill more Americans.
They must be shunned. Middle East nations, no matter how much oil they have, must be made pariahs in the world community unless and until they grow up. Next, we can talk about shunning nations that host the Olympics, who sell poisonous lead crayons and economic devastation at Wal-Mart.
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Yes, but which lip plumpers actually work?
Sorry, I'm so distracted by the absurd ad that Salon is beaming to my computer that I can't work up much outrage over another culture's absurdity.
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Ads: But now I'm getting a Muslim Dating Site!
With a woman in a sexy hijab! I can't control my loins!
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My Down Home Newspaper
This is a little off thread, but it speaks to how crazy all religous folks can be:
There was this whole letter thread at my newspaper about how contraceptives are evil, as evil as abortion, and one poster said that as soon as they got rid of the latter, they were going to ban birth control pills, condoms, and IUDs. Anytime a couple uses contraceptives they are cheating that potential child out of God's love. That was weird enough, but what was WORSE was how another poster said that we had to breed Christian soldiers for the jihad. That poster actually implied he wanted to start it now. (Argh.)
Now, I'm not trying to say the actions of Christain Extremists are at all equal to Islamic Extremists. I've read people on this website say Christain fundamentalists are like this and that, but I'm sorry, I thought you guys were just biased. But to actually read someone, who isn't from the 7th century, write how they are excited for the upcoming jihad/crusade/ or whatever and to say, without a hint of irony, that they are having as many children as possible to be warriors...well it's just creepy.