Ayoon Wa Azan (The important and the more important)

The Western world is developed and democratic. By comparison, both the East and the West are faring better than us, because we are a nation that has chosen failure as its occupation and its hobby. And yet, as I follow up various issues, I find that the West is preoccupying itself with what is important, only to ignore what is more important. A UN-led survey of countries in Asia Pacific that collected data from 10,000 men and 3,000 women aged 18 to 49 has shown that a quarter of men had committed rape at least once. The survey coincided with the death sentence issued against four Indian men who had raped a woman on a bus and tortured her, before she died in hospital. Crimes against women should be treated as a priority. While rape in our countries might be much less in scope, in my estimation, the fact remains that women in our countries are lacking many of their rights and are oppressed, while a majority of men want women to remain between the kitchen and the bedroom, never seeing the sun. Equally important as the above is the issue of child brides. The UN survey coincided with a news story from Yemen published by a Kuwaiti newspaper about an eight-year-old girl who died from internal injuries after she was married to a man who is forty years old. Marrying children is a crime equivalent to rape in Asia Pacific, and should be prohibited by law. I say to all Muslims that only al-Bukhari claimed that the Prophet married Aisha bint Abu Bakr when she was six and consummated the marriage when she was nine. However, Bukhari and every historian or biographer whose work I read say that all of Abu Bakr’s children were born before Hijra, which means that Aisha was over 15 when she became betrothed to the Prophet and 18 when they consummated the marriage. Protecting women from rape, seeking equality for them with men in rights and duties, and prohibiting child marriage are issues that are endemic to the whole world. I find these issues to be much more important than others advanced by the West, and I do not understand why, although I studied in Western universities and lived longer in the West than I lived in Lebanon. The above, for instance, is definitely more important than the issue of a British convert to Islam, who refused to take off her veil in a court because, as she claimed, her faith prohibited her from revealing her face to men. She subsequently became a sensation, with pictures of her wearing the veil and details about her story making it to the front pages. She is a recent convert to Islam, but I tell her that the Quran does not order women to wear the veil. The court insisted that the woman take off the veil before she could testify. Personally, I would advise this woman to follow what al-Azhar says. Al-Azhar issued an opinion stating that the veil is tradition rather than a required religious duty. Personally as well, I support every Muslim woman who wants to wear the headscarf or not, provided that this is based on her own decision rather her being forced to do it. The issue above caused a huge controversy, from Britain to France and even Germany. While I believe it’s important, a more important issue is protecting women and giving them their rights, and prohibiting child marriage. There are two issues in the West in recent days, if not months and years, that do not deserve the attention that is distracting decision-makers from what is more important: The first is gay rights, or the rights of those we called homosexuals. There are laws protecting them, but they are trying to impose themselves and their practices on the rest of the people, to the extent that there is now a campaign against Russia and even calls for cancelling the Winter Olympics there because its laws outlaw homosexuality. But in truth, a Russian public opinion poll showed that more than 80 percent were against homosexuality, and some Russians even said they did not want to live near anyone who is a homosexual. What is better than gay propaganda and attacking those who object to homosexuality, is the old policy observed by the U.S. armed forces of “don’t ask, don’t tell” – meaning no soldier should ask another about his sexual orientation, and if he does, then the other should not disclose it. The second issue is atheism. There are many atheists in the West led in Britain by Professor Richard Dawkins, who recently published his memoirs titled “The Making of a Scientist.” Dawkins is at the heart of an old and ongoing debate on atheism, and now, atheists are holding congregations on Sunday to compete with Church prayers. Atheists in the West want all people to become atheists, and have even run ads in trains saying, “There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.” I tell them do whatever you want, but leave believers alone, and it is God who will judge everyone. The views expressed by the author do not necessarily represent or reflect the editorial policy of Arab Today.