[lit-ideas] Re: Waterboarding Bodies Mattered
- From: Omar Kusturica <omarkusto@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 24 Apr 2009 08:58:25 -0700 (PDT)
--- On Fri, 4/24/09, Donal McEvoy <donalmcevoyuk@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
From: Donal McEvoy <donalmcevoyuk@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: Waterboarding Bodies Mattered
To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Friday, April 24, 2009, 12:48 PM
This is clear enough when we consider that the roots of the practice do not lie
within a sacred text (I doubt the Koran, properly understood, prescribes rape
within marriage, and suspect it proscribes it) or necessary or essential
cultural practice, one that if removed would undermine vital aspects of the
wider culture. The reasons are largely historical and to do with what feminists
might call "patriarchy" and "oppression of women".
* Rape is proscribed in Islam; as far as I know the Koran does not specifically
discuss rape in marriage. This may be because it was not thought necessary, or
simply because the Koran could not legislate on every possible subject. It is
after all a prophetic text and, though it does contain some legal instruction,
it is a relatively small part of it and not essential. It may be possible to
use this to argue that the Koran does not explicitly proscribe marriage rape,
but it certainly does not prescribe it or legitimize it. Whether it is true
that many men in Iran believe that rape in marriage is an impossibility, and
why they believe this, is a matter for which I would like to see evidence /
citation.
Traditional cultures often used mechanisms such as taboo to proscribe things,
rather than explicit legal prohibitions. Let us not forget that it is said that
some native American tribes simply did now know about rape at all until they
saw European colonizers perform it.
O.K.
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