You might want to read Asra Q. Nomani’s op-ed in the Washington Post on the organized program to silence critics of the un-Islamic way in which some Muslims practice their faith through shame.
Cultures have different ways of controlling the behavior of their members. Among these methods are through internalized guilt or externalized shame. The cultures from which many Muslims come are not guilt cultures but shame cultures which means, among other things, that attempting to make them feel guilty will not be an effective method of social control while shaming them might.
I also think we need to make it clearer to the Muslims of the Middle East that, if they wish to hold us to a standard of collective guilt, they will need to accept such a standard themselves. And adjust our own ways of thinking accordingly.
An example of the difference is that there are numerous reported examples of women’s sexual “offenses” being ignored, so long as they are not made public. But publication results in honor killings, preferably by siblings, if not the father. In this sense, the shame is really directed to the family.
I do question the author’s diplomatic skills, as she says she has argued with traditionalists that Muslim women have a right to orgasm.
Watched Lawrence of Arabia last night; many scenes deal with honor. My favorite was with Anthony Quinn, when Lawrence and his group drink from his well after a hard crossing of the desert. I think I would have chalked this up to water being important, but as the scene progresses, it’s obviously not about the water, its about the loss of face from Lawrence’s men taking the water without asking. Quinn is at risk of being emasculated, and who know what else will be taken? Ultimately the conflict is resolved not by giving compensation for the water, but by Lawrence and Sheriff Ali asking for hospitality. Quinn gives himself honor by granting the request and giving them dinner.
Cultures certainly have ways of controlling (or trying) behavior within groups that have tight affiliations, but not so much otherwise. History is full of bad behavior and you rarely have interventions by others to stop it unless it very directly affects them. By and large others have not done much when genocide (or mass state sponsored killing) has been occurring. We were late in getting rid of slavery (as was Brazil) and we weren’t getting thumped for it.
So, I don’t think most Muslims feel especially responsible for the bad actions taken by some in the name of Islam. If they decide to take collective responsibility for the actions of a minority, I think that will be pretty unusual.
Steve
Article reads as written by a self-hating muslim. I don’t see much of use here.