by Lalo Dagach
One of the most ridiculous concepts to stem from generation safe space in the past decade is the prohibition of criticism based on nationality, race, gender or religion. The belief that human rights abuses can only be spoken about by people of the oppressed community. As if the most noble act an empathetic humanist can perform when seeing the inhumane treatment of those less fortunate, is to ignore the oppression and the oppressed. This belief in solidarity through apathy is today being pushed by all types of self-proclaimed “activists” who can’t seem to get enough of their own voice, and one of these tribal absolutists is Mona Eltahawy.
And this must be a fight between and led by Muslim women. If you're white/not a Muslim woman: shut up and listen to us, Muslim women
— Mona Eltahawy (@monaeltahawy) April 19, 2016
Mona wants all whites and non-Muslims (unclear if this includes the millions of white Muslims around the world, in Bosnia, Chechnya, etc.) to shut up and listen to Muslim women. As luck would have it, Mona herself is a Muslims woman. How convenient for her, no?
If I were to say all non-Atheists should “shut up and listen to Atheists,” I wonder how well such a comment would be received by Muslims. After all, Atheists are persecuted all over the world, and especially in Muslim majority countries and communities. I doubt I would be able to get away with such an idiotically obnoxious comment even with the Atheist on twitter.
How was this comment by Mona received by non-Muslim men? During a long exchange on twitter, Ex-Muslim account Iranian Atheist (who is also a close friend of mine), said that “If they had good arguments I'd listen to them. I don't judge people by the color of their skins.” Mona Eltahawy responded by dismissing him and his argument completely. “Ah. You're of the "I don't see colour" school. Got it. We're done here.”
Nope. If they had good arguments I'd listen to them. I don't judge people by the color of their skins. https://t.co/aSURotifXS
— Iranian Atheist (@Atheist_Iran) April 19, 2016
@monaeltahawy This is me. pic.twitter.com/KTw7iTEkpT
— Iranian Atheist (@Atheist_Iran) April 19, 2016
According to Mona if white people try to participate in the fight for equal civil rights for black Americans they would be, and I suppose she also means should be, laughed at.
Same but u want to play silly semantics.If a white person wanted to dictate to BlackLivesMatter, we'd laugh at them https://t.co/3Oj43ontYv
— Mona Eltahawy (@monaeltahawy) April 19, 2016
Why is that? If simply being black is a qualifier for honest statements about the oppression of black individuals in the US, then I suppose we should all “shut up and listen” to Louis Farrakhan. Is there some guarantee that because an individual is a black American, that they are honest and truthful, and not racist, sexist or prejudiced? Who believes that skin color, gender, or religion are merit enough to assure that the person’s arguments are of value and intelligence? Apparently Mona does.
When fellow UnsafeSpeech contributor Fred Martin decided to question her racially centered judgment of ideas, Mona decided to refer to Fred, an adult black immigrant to France, as a “boy” who needed to “run along”.
You 2 boys @fred_connection@Atheist_Iran run along & discuss btwn urselves silly Mona who doesn't know her own words.You're wasting my time
— Mona Eltahawy (@monaeltahawy) April 19, 2016
@lillai23@monaeltahawy@Atheist_Iran So caught up in ID politics she denies the universal nature of Human Rights.
— Fred Martin (@fred_connection) April 19, 2016
Stephen Knight, of the GodlessSpellchecker Podcast, had this to ask to Mona,
.@monaeltahawy Why does it matter 'what' they are? Isn't it more honest to judge an argument by its strength rather than its genitals?
— Stephen Knight GS (@GSpellchecker) April 21, 2016
Which for Mona, was enough to accuse Stephen of being a “misogynist prick” who is followed by “a pack of fuckboys.”
I am no ally of a misogynist prick who along with a pack of fuckboys think they can flood my @. We are finished here https://t.co/QFk3f2h9gN
— Mona Eltahawy (@monaeltahawy) April 21, 2016
.@Atticus_Amber Amazing how freely @monaeltahawy will throw out such a serious accusation to 200k people on no evidence whatsoever
— Stephen Knight GS (@GSpellchecker) April 21, 2016
Of course, my own responses to Mona’s public statements were also enough to have me labeled a “misogynistic prick” to Mona’s 230,000+ following.
"Shutting up" and listening to the religious is what Atheists were forced to do for centuries. Not gonna happen. https://t.co/Ng7eYMtt2k
— Lalo Dagach (@LaloDagach) April 19, 2016
Many Muslim women support Sharia & veiling, so I wont be "shutting up" around them or @monaeltahawy
Thanks anyways. pic.twitter.com/huN4hiZjqt
— Lalo Dagach (@LaloDagach) April 21, 2016
And the other misogynist prick Lalo Degach, also "radio host," obsessing about me with his followers for 3 days now. Full lives they have!
— Mona Eltahawy (@monaeltahawy) April 21, 2016
But surely Mona is content with at least western non-Muslim feminists participating in the fight against religious misogyny? Actually, no.
I don't care about western feminists. This is a fight for us, Muslim feminists, to have https://t.co/EldMV1YA78
— Mona Eltahawy (@monaeltahawy) April 19, 2016
Outspoken feminist, and leader of FEMEN, Inna Shevchenko, also thought this form of exclusionary tactics was going too far and was illogical.
How sad..
I Don't have 2 belong 2 a certain community 2 be free 2 criticize abuse of h/rights,2 be a human is enough https://t.co/HkRi51xWek— inna shevchenko (@femeninna) April 19, 2016
And if white/not Muslim feminists tell Muslim women to shut up and listen on everything which is not about #Islam? https://t.co/HkRi51gkPK
— inna shevchenko (@femeninna) April 19, 2016
What about Ex-Muslim men and women? They have faced discrimination from Muslim family and community, and have the added burden of facing persecution as apostates. Surely Mona would not want them excluded? Sorry, they are out as well. Apparently, too many Ex-Muslims are allied with the right wing (I assume she means the right wing in the west, and not the Muslim right wing).
There's unholy trinity between some atheists, ex-Muslims and racist/right wing. Watch them crawl all over my @ now https://t.co/v7ItxzYBhL
— Mona Eltahawy (@monaeltahawy) April 20, 2016
No thanks. I'm done w "Ex-Muslims."Too many of you have allied with right wing, racist shits. The shit on my @ proof https://t.co/DzfZnGYe0u
— Mona Eltahawy (@monaeltahawy) April 21, 2016
Don't judge all Muslims by the actions of some, says @monaeltahawy. But ex-Muslims? Sure, go ahead.#RegressiveLefthttps://t.co/0syXEdu2DW
— Ali A. Rizvi (@aliamjadrizvi) April 21, 2016
@oceanclub@NiceMangos You don't think apostates have anything to fear from being painted as bigoted, as Mona has done?
— Sarah Haider (@SarahTheHaider) April 21, 2016
@monaeltahawy We aren't all allied with far-right. Sad to see you misjudge all of us. Exmuslim women would appreciate support. Do reconsider
— Halima (@Thumbalima) April 21, 2016
.@monaeltahawy How is it any different than saying 'Too many Muslims are themselves right-wing religious shits' - We even have data(pew) 2/3
— Muhammad Syed (PBUM) (@MoTheAtheist) April 21, 2016
@monaeltahawy seriously Mona? You're erasing whole groups of dissidents, most in the closet, b/c of who you see on twitter? Im a fan but wtf
— Imtiaz Shams (@imtishams) April 21, 2016
How ironic that Mona claims to be in opposition to Islamism, yet thinks everyone who isn’t a Muslim should be silent in the presence of Muslims. Especially since silencing criticism of Islam is the principal foundation for Islamism.
Some believe that since Mona has said a few good things in the past, she therefore should be given infinite leeway to attack people with racist and sexist comments, and accuse outspoken atheists of being “misogynistic prick fuckboys.”
Okay but I know what @monaeltahawy means & stand with her. Her book on sexism and violence against women brilliant. https://t.co/xtALGpyC5T
— Maryam Namazie (@MaryamNamazie) April 21, 2016
I still stand with @monaeltahawy and her fight for women's rights. https://t.co/03Fp2iOFLM
— Maryam Namazie (@MaryamNamazie) April 21, 2016
People are welcome to look the other way if they wish, but I doubt their consistency would hold up if it were Richard Dawkins making similar racist and sexist remarks. Would they still stand with Dawkins because of his past work in evolution, and his strong opposition to religious pseudoscience? I think not. Personally, I myself would not tolerate such aggressively offensive remarks from anyone, even if I had admiration for their past work. It seems moral standards vary in accordance with identity politics.
How much leeway would Richard be given if he were to go on a one-week tirade telling any and every outspoken Muslim critic on twitter that they were “misogynistic pricks”? How quickly would we see Salon and Alternet articles on the offensive against all “New Atheists?”
Try to imagine if Richard Dawkins tweeted “This must be a fight between and led by Atheist men. If you're brown/not an Atheist man: shut up and listen to us, Atheist men.” Or try to imagine Richard, after saying Muslims need to “shut up and listen,” he responded to backlash with “Block & mute will get rid of them, but it's like cleaning your shoe after you step in dog shit.” Could you continue supporting him?
Block & mute will get rid of them, but it's like cleaning your shoe after you step in dog shit.
— Mona Eltahawy (@monaeltahawy) April 21, 2016
@LaloDagach Imagine if a prominent male author was tweeted by a lot of concerned women and he dismissed all as 'shit on my shoe'.
— Rosko (@RoskoPeeko) April 21, 2016
For those wondering if it is really fair to compare a Muslim saying such things to an Atheist, you’re absolutely right. These two things are not comparable. It is quite obvious that it is infinitely worse that a Muslim says infidels need to “shut up and listen”, than the reverse. There are no Atheist majority states or communities where conversion to Islam is punishable by death, though apostates from Islam are executed and massacred around the world regularly. Even as I write this, the news is reporting that multiple outspoken Atheists and secularists have been murdered by Muslims in Bangladesh. The last thing this world needs is for non-Muslims, especially Atheists, to shut up and listen to Muslims, and allow them to go unchallenged. Atheists have been silent, and silenced, for centuries by the religious, and specifically by followers of the Abrahamic faiths.
While many liberal Muslim women are bravely fighting Islamic oppression, by no means are all Muslim women liberal. To even insinuate that a majority hold liberal values is naïve and uninformed. Many Muslim women are extreme fundamentalists and most are at the very least socially conservative. Many believe that veiling and sharia are a necessity, and that apostasy is a crime punishable by death. So no, by no means do all Muslim women have opinions so invaluable they must be indisputably heard. No person’s ideas should go silently uncontested.
As far as this “Fight should be led by Muslim women” cliché goes. If you are of the school of thought that “change in the tribe, can only be achieved within the tribe”, and “any criticism from the outside is a fruitless endeavor”, that’s fine. Though, how you believe that criticism and change in the Church of Scientology will come from “within the church” and “should be led by Scientologists”, I don’t understand. It’s as inane as saying, “the best chance for change on Wall Street will come from within Wall Street, and must be led by bankers.”
If others wish to have this philosophical social justice/PC oriented debate, by all means, have it. I however will be giving any criticism I wish, on whatever I wish, whenever I wish. If people want to pay attention, or not, to what I have to say, that is fine. But nothing I have said, or ever will say, will be prefaced with an asterisk *(said behind a leader). I do not “follow the lead” of Muslim Women, Black Males, Atheists, or any tribe. Gender, race, nationality, and religion are of zero value to me when speaking truth. Humanity as a whole would be better off without seeking leaders to guide thoughts and actions. Be your own leader and to hell with the tribe.
The views and opinions expressed herein are those of the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of Ora Media, LLC, its affiliates, or its employees.