A victim speaks out
A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about crazed mobs of Egyptian men who ran through certain streets in Cairo attacking any female who had the terrible misfortune of being in the area at the time.
Thanks (once again) to the Egyptian Sandmonkey for alerting his readers to the existence of a new blog written by one of the victims of these attacks. Wounded girl from Cairo shares her story with the world in a stark, no-nonsense way, describing in horrifying detail what she went through that night. Despite her anonymity, I think it takes a lot of courage to not only relive the experience, but also to open herself up to criticism from readers (and she's taken quite a bit of criticism from people who negate her assessment - which I believe to be accurate - that Islam played a role in what happened).
Definitely worth checking out...
5 comments:
Liza, I have happily read your comment to my blog appreciating that there are people like you who understand my point of view. Thank you very much for writing and please feel free to write as much as you feel/want. Thanks again!
yikes...
girl4cairo: To be honest, I have a hard time understanding those who can't understand your point of view, people who refuse to see that religion is often twisted to suit people's needs. It's not like you're saying that all Muslims are evil, you're just pointing out that these acts were committed with religion (however warped an interpretation it may be) playing a prominent role.
bagelunderthecouch: Yikes indeed. I'm impressed with this young woman's courage to speak out, especially in a society such as hers.
Hi. Great animal pics on the other post. I just want to say that I admire the woman who spoke out, most definitely. It reminds me of someone who was on the American news some time ago who recorded or took pictures of people who sexually harassed her or men who flashed her and posted them on the web. We should make these men known so it won't be so easy to harass. It is easier to do these acts if they can remain anonymous.
Also I'd like to agree and disagree with you on the fact that Islam caused the attacks. I do see girl4cairo's point that not all Muslim men are bad and the attackers may have been motivated by a twisted view of Islam. I think that if people twist the religion (whichever one) to suit their needs, it is no longer the religion motivating them. Like in the States, many believe terrorist attacks are caused by Islam. I don't take that view becuase it is only a twisted form of the religion for a political goal. It is no longer Islam.
The blame and responsibility lies with the attacker in both cases. The bigger cause if often harder to tease out. No question it's wrong in both cases.
I can understand being so frustrated as to make the comment that you hate Muslim men. I definitely can. I know what she means, I think.
tcdrtw: Welcome to something something. Glad you liked the pics!
I don't think that Islam caused the attacks, but I definitely believe that the mens' clearly warped understanding of the religion and the part that religion plays in Egyptian society played an active role. If these men used values and beliefs that they believe to be based in their religion, it is not for us to say the it isn't the religion that motivated them, even when we believe that they are using a twisted version of that religion. Many aspects of religion (some would say all) are open to interpretation, and while we may see what's happened as no longer reflecting the true nature of Islam, I don't think that these men would see it that way.
I'm not saying that religion was the sole motivator here. Clearly, knowing that the police and the Egyptian authorities would do nothing to stop them and that there would be no real repercussions to their acts was also a motivating force. When religion plays such a looming role in society (as it often does here in Israel as well), it becomes difficult to separate the two, and the boundaries become muddled.
I never said that I hate Muslim men, and would never dream of making such a statement. I hate the men who perpetrated these attacks.
Post a Comment