Topic : 06/16 A Daughter in Danger?

I am an atheist, first of all. But I HAVE read the Quran. Trying to convince people in the West about the great life to be had by women in the Muslim world by referring to the teachings of the Quran is as ridiculous as a Christian American who refers to the Bible in order to sell the virtues of American life to Arabs.

The fact is, to a greater or lesser degree, all people are hypocrites. They profess one set of beliefs and values while behaving in ways contrary to them. All people everywhere are the same as far as this is concerned.

I am aware that in the Quran, women - according to the Prophet - are allowed to own property, are allowed to divorce their husbands, are in fact granted much more personal freedom and respect than is ever specifically granted them in the Bible. That said, while the Quran grants women freedom and rights, Arab societies DO NOT! Arab culture is very old and very complex - it pre-dates the time of the Prophet by many more centuries than America has existed. Before the Prophet, women in Arab culture were treated as chattel property - little more than slaves. Today, the Arab world is full of people who profess to be Muslims, but in fact, are still much more Arab than Muslim.

The same is true - maybe especially true - in America. Americans - about 80% of us according to most statistics - profess their Christianity. But very, very few of us behave in a manner either consistent with or becoming of a Christian. And if you are an observer of how ordinary people treat one another in daily life, it seems there are fewer and fewer every day, even as more and more trumpet that they have "found God," are "born again," and start thumping on their Bibles, suddenly feeling SO much superior to their less devout brethren.

Colorado Evangelical "mega-church" leader Rev. Ted Haggard, who worked tirelessly to not only stop laws prohibiting discrimination against gay people, but to actually promote more anti-gay legislation to roll back the anti-discrimination laws that already were on the books, was caught cavorting with a gay male prostitute! The Rev. Jimmy Swaggart, a televangelist from Louisiana - known for his fire-and-brimstone "You're all goin' ta Hell" sermons - got arrested for soliciting prostitution. Oh, yes... and the Roman Catholic Church, the priesthood of which has become a safe haven for pedophiles; the church hierarchy has long, as a matter of unwritten policy, shielded priests who are KNOWN for this behavior.

And we also have, across the planet, "Muslims" who feel it is just to send female rape victims to prison for "provoking" their rapists' behavior, or for being in public without escort by a male family member. This is NOT in the Quran, but it sure is a part of life in any Arab country. We have "Muslims" who kill at random, kill women and children, kill innocent non-combatants - sometimes, like on 9/11/01, by the THOUSANDS. And they do it by means of suicide missions, in the name of Islam, in the name of jihad.

These practices are very un-Islamic by the Quran, but are certainly very Arab. There is no more place in Islam for suicide than in Christianity or Judaism, nor is the killing of innocents a part of legitimate jihad. But like Christians who behave like they've never opened the Bibles they so sanctimoniously thump at the rest of us while wagging their fingers in judgment, there are Muslims in the millions who act and preach as if they've never actually read the Quran for themselves, they've simply allowed themselves to be demogogued into radicalism by self-appointed imams and mullahs who are verbally facile enough to cloak their fascist ideology in the vocabulary of Islam.

The bottom line is, it is human nature to be hypocritical. People everywhere are guilty of behaving at odds with their stated beliefs. And people everywhere are very good at rationalizing and justifying it. Otherwise, how could we live with ourselves? So, your citing of religion as an apologia for Arab cultures' treatment of women just makes me laugh in derision.

I am an American married to a non muslim Jordanian/Palestinian man. I have been married 14 years. When I traveled to Jordan I was treated like a princess! I think that this girl might be enjoying all the attention she receives by being a novelty in a foreign country. I too am blond and have blond children and when I walked into a room or down the street, people noticed me and paid a lot of attention to me. I also think my husband was pleased with this attention and felt like he had some kind of prize to show off. I am not so sure she is really in that much danger. She might very well be in an abusive relationship, but that can happen anywhere. And I cannot deny that her future children may become pawns in keeping her where he wants her. It happens.  When I was dating my husband, I was told many, many horrible stories about Muslim/Arab men. Its true that my husband is not Muslim, nor is his family. But he still has many behaviors that are culturally acceptable in the middle east that may not be percieved as positive attributes here. We have had to work those out. I don't think what this girl has done is smart in any way, but I'm not sure she is really being held captive or is being brainwashed.

First...I don't have any children of my own yet, however I would NEVER stop protecting them no matter how old they are! I am happily privilaged to be 33 years old and still have my parents look out and care about me and my husband. (whether we take their advice/suggestions or not.) I fully support her family/parents trying to get their daughter back from this loser who is obviously lying through his teeth to her and everyone else. Second...If you watched the end of the show, they showed clips of the next episode. Dr. Phil, luckily, got her OUT and she is now back in the US with her family.

 Does anyone know when the last part of this show is going to air? I saw the previews for when she is back in the U.S. but I didn't hear when that episode will air.....thanks!

 I gather from this post that she DOES come back. Does anyone know any more about when she comes back and how the story proceedes? Or when it will air?

M

When I gave a geography/history lesson on why Dr. Phil erred in calling any part of the middle east "Palestine", I was given some pretty nasty feedback.

Even though I said absolutely nothing insulting about Palestinians or Muslims, I still made people very angry.

I was only trying to point out that while this man was a Palestinian, Katherine did not fly to Palestine, since there is no country or state named Palestine.

I recognize that this was not the main point of the story, I just thought Dr. Phil should have been more careful when referring to any area of the middle east.

If he was from any other culture, any other religion, commentors would probably have focused on the real issue: the dangers of the internet, the dangers of young women running away with men they hardly know, parents having to pay more attention to what their children are doing...

 

As for jewish people being upset of the use of the word "palestine...." well, it is called being narrow-minded...

From California... have you ever been in, yes PALESTINE, and the Gaza strip? I think you are confusing countries. She is not in Afhganistan, and she is not surrounded by the Taliban... next you are going to tell me that the women living in Dubai cannot show their arms...

If that guy was a white i don't think the family would have had problem with it's only because of where he is from. I seen the preview and she tells Dr Phil that the guy hit her i don't believe it because if she was really in danger she would have came right home when doctor asked to come. I wounder if her family would have acted the same way it  was black guy i wonder if Dr. Phil would still be really scared for her. I like  the Dr. Phil show but i think he is trying to make that guy look bad but the only person the looks bad is that girl that girl. That girl is only looking for  people to feel sorry for her I don't like girls like her.