As for blaming colonialism: the notion that Islam had a gentler side when the West showed up is totally inaccurate. As I documented in my book about Napoleon’s scientists in Egypt, when the French arrived in Egypt in 1800—the first large-scale interaction between the west and Islam in modern history—they were appalled at the treatment of women. Just one example: in his journals, Vivant Denon—who would go on to be first director of the Louvre—described encountering a woman in the middle of the desert with an infant on her back. Blood streamed down her face and a close look proved that both her eyes had been stabbed out. Denon wanted to give aid, but the locals told him her husband had merely meted out the approved punishment to unfaithful women. Read more at observer/2014/10/muslims-on-barbarism/#ixzz3Hpb5zzSS Follow us: @newyorkobserver on Twitter | newyorkobserver on Facebook
Posted on: Sat, 01 Nov 2014 15:30:17 +0000
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