Further Developments In #Boobquake (No Pun Intended)

Just a update, from a CNN news article: Blogger: Show cleavage to test cleric’s quake theory

..She said no woman should feel pressured to participate.

“It’s not supposed to be serious activism that is going to revolutionize women’s rights, but just a bit of fun juvenile humor,” she wrote. “I’m a firm believer that when someone says something so stupid and hateful, serious discourse isn’t going to accomplish anything – sometimes light-hearted mockery is worthwhile.”

Back on Boobquake’s Facebook page, McCreight took a moment to be serious and encouraged followers to consider donating money to the American Red Cross’ disaster relief efforts or to the AHA Foundation, an organization that strives to “defend the rights of women in the West against militant Islam.”

I will not be taking part in #boobquake. In case you were wondering.

But I will be buying a copy of Amanda Marcotte’s new book on activism and protesting, because I’d like to learn more about the things she writes about.

I’ve had a few discussions with friends who will either take part, not take part and/or don’t support it – there’s quite a few who don’t particularly care… reactions have been mixed.

One response to me looked at comparing the male to female response to the issue – do we ever see the likes of PZ Myers, Dawkins, Hitchens, Eugenie Scott, et al, ever make gestures that primarily capitalise or directly draw on their ‘sex appeal’? Yes, there are indeed people who find them ‘sexy’. However, they do not aim to make that their primary, or even secondary or tertiary appeal, when they publicise and / or promote themselves and their work. Perhaps they don’t find they need to.

Another friend had sent me some links that I hadn’t seen before, so I’ll include them here: What Is Internalised Sexism? was the first post I was sent, and I strongly suggest checking out the rest of that site, called “Finally – A Feminism 101 Blog“. Then “Sexism is a Matter of Opinion” and from another site: “What’s the Big Deal? It’s Just A Joke”

I guess the only thing to add from my own perspective, as someone who has worked in an Islamic school and teaches Religious Education, is the following experience:

Since the time I first learned of it in early 2000 and most likely before – it is still ongoing – clerics from Asian regions are paid for by fundamentalist groups in their various countries, such as Indonesia, Malaysia and even sponsored by Middle Eastern regions, to visit Australia and lecture.

The messages by these kinds of clerics are extremist, often supportive of acts involving terrorism and I have read accounts and heard discussions in regards to how the mosques are mortified that it is those messages that are immediately picked up by the media and presented as if they are representative of their entire Islamic community, particularly those in Australia.

April 15th, 2010, The Age Newspaper:

…Yesterday, no one involved with the Lakemba mosque would take responsibility for procuring Mr Awlaki as a speaker. According to a director of Lakemba mosque, Ziad Ghamraoui, Sheikh Shady al-Suleiman was in charge of organising evening youth events at the time of the sermon. Sheikh Suleiman refused to comment. He would not say whether Mr Awlaki was paid and would not comment on the subject of his speech. Following Mr Awlaki’s lecture, the mosque must now approve all speakers. ”It’s this kind of thing,” Mr Ghamraoui said of why the approval process changed. ”We need to make sure that it’s only moderate scholars that are coming.”

The senior imam at the mosque, Sheikh Hilaly, condemned provocative clerics who radicalised young people. ”They are like fast food who give no substance and no spiritual nutrition,” he said.

While news reports occasionally give alternative views to the stereotype on what it means to be Muslim, particularly as a woman, they are few and far between and reflect the ongoing tension. They also, like the lecture by Taslima Nasrin, show how responses to dissidents who are within the reach of fundamentalists, may be ‘use this situation to set an example’ to the rest of the world – via one of violence and death-threats.

It is those women and those communities that I primarily think about, if I choose to condemn the majority as bad – the same way they do to us in return. Nothing changes if anyone takes a blanket approach and say ‘They Are All X’.

Gestures that are driven by outsiders, like atheists / skeptics /humanists, whoever, to issues within the Muslim community could be ignored – as I suspect this one will and as Ryan on his blog points out – ‘Concerned about Boobquake’ – possibly even by sympathetic members, if they do not indicate an understanding of the situations that may lead to a cleric extremist making press-headlines by making those kind of statements.

This is not unusual for any culture, I should point out. Indigenous Australian groups may respond the same way and it is why we have cultural residences and educational institutions that work towards reconciliation and community networking and outreach, to encourage a ‘balanced’ depiction of them in the media and beyond.

Again – American Red Cross’ disaster relief efforts or the AHA Foundation.

Tagged as: #boobquake, Amanda Marcotte, Australia, BlagHag, charity, Christopher Hitchens, CNN, Education, Eugenie Scott, feminism, humor, Islam, jokes, Links Elsewhere, Muslim, news, PZ Myers, Richard Dawkins, Science, sexism, Skepticism, Taslima Nasrin, USA