The woman pictured is draped in a black, overbearing jacket, posed with her hips pointed to the luxury-clothing store to the right of her. Beneath her cumbersome jacket is a multi colored skirt that hides her knees and upper calves. This however, is not the reason the said woman received a multitude of death threats on social media.
The reason revolves around her wavy, long and dark hair, whose strands frolic within the dusty, Saudi Arabian wind. This, according to users on Twitter and Instagram, is the primary reason the woman is to be killed. Executed for abiding by fundamental human rights of expression. These rights, set forth by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, are nonexistent in a nation ruled by a fierce caliphate: Saudi Arabia; a caliphate driven by a draconian set of laws: Sharia. The woman, named ‘Malak Al Sheri’, faces this fatal possibility. However, she would not be the first woman to have suffered this fate. According to Amnesty International, nearly 2,208 people were executed by the Saudi state from January 1985 to June 2015. This number, which does not count ‘vigilante’ murders, is rocked by an even scarier statistic. Amnesty International, in the same report, found that nearly half of all executions in Saudi Arabia were due to non-lethal crimes. Non-lethal crimes include “adultery”, armed robbery, “apostasy”, drug-related offences, rape, “witchcraft” and “sorcery”, which are punishable by death. Ms. Sheri’s innocent photo falls under the guidelines of this penalty. One would expect that the Western world to be unanimous in their condemnation of Sharia law. After all, Sharia law is completely incompatible with Western values, and is fundamentally threatening to the idea of Western civilization. Thus, this should warrant criticism from both sides of the political aisle. Correct? One could not be any more incorrect. When liberal personality Sally Kohn appeared on Politicon to debate conservative spokesman Ben Shapiro, it would be no surprise that both belligerents would be able to agree on the issue of Sharia law. After all, the previously mentioned precedent would be causation for such an agreement. When asked about the issue of Sharia law, Kohn defended the ideology as the mere ‘culture’ of immigrants from Islamic nations. She attacked her opponent as a xenophobe for “misrepresenting Sharia law”, and for simply generalizing “all who believes in Sharia law as extremist”. Kohn, among others, are proof that the extremes of the binary political system can grow malicious not only to their opponents, but to the fundamental institution of Western civilization in itself. Kohn, in that debate, created the argument that Sharia is merely a cultural phenomenon that must be respected. Within conservative circles, this contention is rife with what is known as “cultural relativism”. This principle states that all cultures are objectively equal, no matter the potentially intolerant idiosyncrasies that may separate one culture from another. This Cultural Relativism is dangerous for women such as Malak Al Sheri, as it threatens the ability of the developed world to criticize the intolerant forces wreaking havoc in underdeveloped nations. ‘Cultural relativism’ is used as a bulwark against criticism of cultures that are inherently egregious and whose crimes against humanity, such as those in Saudi Arabia, deserve criticism. Kohn and others downplay the threat posed by ideologies such as Sharia law to protect what they see as “underprivileged cultures”. Sharia law is romanticized as part of a cultural identity, and considering the “equity” of cultures under Kohn’s position, reduces the ability for others to criticize intolerant beliefs without the mischaracterization as “bigots” and “Islamophobes” by those on the political extreme. Even more worrying, this political extreme is slipping itself into the progressive mainstream. Take for example Linda Sarsour, a self-declared “Muslim Progressive” who was famously photographed in handcuffs while leading the feminist Women’s March in New York City. According to the Federalist, Sarsour has explicitly stated that Sharia law “sounds nice” due to the lack of economic interest or usury. Taking into consideration the scope of Sarsour’s messages both on Twitter and in the real world, these threats prove to be a major threat to the progressive movement as a whole. This is not a one-sided argument against the Left or Leftism. In fact, despite the threat of normalization of Sharia through cultural relativism to progressivism; most leftists are generally quick to criticize the law systems in nations such as Saudi Arabia and elsewhere. Nonetheless, the issue remains of the political extreme that attempts to appease to others simply based on the virtue of their cultural diversity. Those on both sides of the political spectrum must find a way to combat political extremism and counter radical viewpoints that, if entered into the political mainstream, will mean a betrayal to oppressed women such as Malak Al Sheri. A betrayal to the fight to protect the rights of women everywhere, no matter the cultures they reside in.
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By Galib KabirGalib is a long time contributor, editor, and co-founder of the Hallway Herald. He aims to be a moderating and insightful voice on all conflicts. ArchivesCategories |