Sakineh M. Ashtiani: Light at the end of the tunnel at last?

Global opinion is with her, but will it prove to be enough?

I received the following email from Avaaz.org. Inshallah justice shall prevail, and this case will set a beneficial precedent for human rights in Iran, a beautiful country which can always be ever more so. 

Dear friends,

Our global outcry worked and Sakineh is still alive! The next step is to fund international experts to strengthen Sakineh's legal defense and work with officials in Iran to resolve this shameful situation. Let's build on our 900,000-strong outcry and fund the next steps to win her freedom once and for all. Click below to help:

Sakineh is still alive! We stopped her stoning sentence, postponed an attempt to hang her quietly, and let the Iranian government know that the world is watching and outraged. Now is the time to save Sakineh for good.

Over 900,000 of us sent messages and made calls to key government officials after learning of her imminent execution. But now we're at an impasse and have to give Iran a way out of this dilemma. The next step towards freeing Sakineh is to fund international experts to strengthen her legal defense and work with officials in Iran to resolve this shameful situation. If thousands of us donate we can hire an elite team of advocates, keep campaigning to free Sakineh and work on behalf of others facing brutal injustice. Click on the link below to support Sakineh:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/whats_next_for_sakineh_1/?vl

Iran has tried everything to keep Sakineh in jail. They accused her of adultery and sentenced her to stoning despite the fact that the alleged adultery took place after her husband’s death. They sentenced her to death for the murder of her husband even though she had already been acquitted, and another man convicted and sentenced for the murder. They even arrested her son and lawyer and forced the rest of the legal team into exile. After massive international pressure, Iranian officials must be desperate for a face-saving way out of this mess..

And now, for the first time, there is dissent within Iran from Conservative forces about the treatment of Sakineh and the way her case has been handled by the Iranian government. Some are calling for her acquittal of all charges.

A team of diplomatic and legal experts could build on this dissent and work within Iran to secure Sakineh's release. Our call, 900,000 voices strong, in combination with pressure from inside Iran for Sakineh's release is the best chance we have to save Sakineh. Now is the moment to give whatever we can to end her brutal persecution:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/whats_next_for_sakineh_1/?vl

In the campaign against the death penalty worldwide, Sakineh's survival is an important beacon of hope. We have shown unprecedented support for her through an explosive petition, strategic ads in Iranian-allied countries and a flood of messages to world leaders generating an international outcry. Join us in this next step towards freeing Sakineh, ending stoning, and eliminating the death penalty across the globe.

With hope and determination,

Emma, Alice, Stephanie, Ricken, David, Ben, Graziela, Iain and the rest of the Avaaz team.

Tehran regime starts to split over Ashtiani death by stoning verdicthttp://www.polijam.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=37191:tehran-regime-starts-to-split-over-ashtiani-death-by-stoning-verdict&catid=54:world&Itemid=53

Brazil President Elect speaks against Iran stoninghttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/03/AR2010110305762.html

Sarkozy threatens to suspend dialogue if Sakineh was executed.http://www.lefigaro.fr/international/2010/11/03/01003-20101103ARTFIG00419-sakineh-sarkozy-aurait-directement-menace-l-iran.php

Canada condemns possible execution:http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/canada-calls-planned-execution-of-iranian-woman-completely-out-of-line/article1783290/

UK calls for halt of executionhttp://ukiniran.fco.gov.uk/en/news/?view=News&id=23139672

US demands no execution:http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hXcWTNyR_NntWQMCKG3d9XxYBISw?docId=CNG.8a2d12eae1177874ba5a4a061cec5e53.231

Letter of thanks: Stop Stoning Internationalhttp://stopstonningnow.com/wpress/4242

Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani: A life in the Balance (Amnesty International)http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE13/089/2010/en/589bd56b-49ac-4028-8dc6-abd903ac9bac/mde130892010en.pdf

Costume Capers

A Hui man - totally Chinese, and totally Muslim.

G'day mates and matesses!

With Eid ul-Adha just around the corner, people everywhere turn their thoughts to what to wear for the celebrations. Indeed, at the masjid the other day I couldn't help but try on a very nice shalwar kameez that I noticed was for sale. I was ultimately put off by the hefty price tag, but it got me thinking about the topic of modern muzzie fashion......

Now, Australia is basically a nation of immigrants, each ethnic group bringing its own culture and clothing. From the aforementioned shalwar kameez to thawbs, jalabiyas, kufis and turbans, Muslims from different countries proudly display the ornaments of their unique identity.

But what about those Muslims from a non-Islamic culture? This invariably means those who are reverts/converts, or born Muslims whose parents come from a background with little or no historical Islamic tradition. For instance, one may be a Scotsman who has accepted Islam in his twenties, or somebody raised as a Muslim whose Bronx-born mother and father entered the deen back in the days of Malcolm X.

The sartorial habits of these people can be said to fall into three general categories:

1. Absolutely no change from what they would 'typically' wear as a non-Muslim.

2. What they would 'typically' wear as a non-Muslim, with the rejection of certain items (eg shorts and miniskirts) and/or the addition of certain accessories, such as a skullcap for men or a hijab for women.

3. Adoption of the dress of a 'traditionally' Islamic culture.

It's funny to consider the things that one would 'typically' wear. For instance, in this country a Pakistani (or any suitably 'brown-looking') guy would attract no attention in a t-shirt and jeans, and if he were to wear a shalwar kameez as ordinary street attire people might go 'hmm' but basically accept it as normal. But if an East Asian guy dons a Chinese hanfu or Mao jacket, or a Japanese hakama, people think that he's performing for some cultural festival!

Not that there's no good reason for this. The SK is still a commonly worn everyday item back in Pakistan (and to a certain extent so is the Mao jacket in China, but hey, that's just how people's minds work), but the hanfu and hakama have all but died out for everything but formal events. This is symptomatic of the homogenizing effect of globalization, as traditional aesthetics are sidelined - the Mao jacket itself was only adopted in the early 20th century!

For 'New World Muslims' we have the potential to fall into either one of two extremes. The use of 'Western' clothing by people from a non-western background (eg Chinese reverts), even if 'Muslimized' via a hijab or skullcap can arguably be said to merely further reinforce the cultural hegemony of the globalizing West, as difference is slowly but inexorably eliminated.

On the other hand, I personally find it quite tragic how so many reverts enthusiastically ape 'traditional' Muslim fashion to the point of cariacature. From massive, pointy-headed turbans to abayas and burkhas, they leave people wondering what they find so incredibly deficient about their own cultures. Rather than a genuine expression of diversity, this merely comes across as another form of assimilation.

Thus, it can be said that the issue is how to retain uniqueness and originality without alienating the non-Muslim mainstream or resorting to cultural appropriation. 'New World Muslims' can try to convince themselves all they like about how they are just trying to follow the sunnah, but as long as they keep walking around the place like characters from A Thousand and One Nights, Islam will forever be regarded as something foreign and strange, a religion of the 'other', never to be integrated into western society. Such people uphold a crystallized and artificial view of what a real Muslim 'should' look like, when the fundamental sunnah in regards to clothing is simply modesty.

'New World Muslims' are in a unique position to act as trailblazers for both fashion and the normalization of Islam in western (or eastern, or northern, or southern.....) societies. They have the potential to serve as a bulwark against the homogenizing effect of globalization whilst opening their arms to modernity.

Now, I still wear a shirt, suit jacket and trousers to work, but hopefully one day every Muslim in Australia, Britain, France, Japan or Korea will be able to wear an outfit that says "I am of the country that I live in, I am of the culture that I belong to and I am of the religion that I practice" - all at the same time.

Eid mubarak in advance!

Funny, 'cos it's true

I saw this graffiti at Flinders St station the other day. Haha, bless.

And to my international readers wondering what mX is, well, maybe ignorance is bliss in this case. Stay innocent.....