A world different from ours (9 parts of desire)

Change is inevitable. If any form of institution or entity failed to change, it would not mix with the rest of the world. A perfect example of this mentality of living in the past is the Islamic Establishment. Poeple have not changed their beliefs for thousands of years which is absolutely insane. Many of these people are still living in the dark ages. As society changes, so must you. The belief that god created man to exceed the abilities of a female is just purely outdated/wrong. Imagine going to a hotel and being denied a room because you are a female. Any female who had been unexposed to the islamic culture would be extremely shocked and insulted. Even in middle-eastern history, women have proved themselves and yet still have half of the testamony that a man has in court. One of the most disturbing parts of the unequal rights in the middle east is that many women have not realized the atrocities of how they are being treated. Instead, they accept the law and the fact that men are greater. Women leave the catholic church here merely because of the opinions on birth control and abortion. In the middle east, women pray to allah every day and get flogged when they misbehave. Clearly Americans do not understand this mentality, Geraldine Brooks could not even find the answer to this strange loyalty. "I learned that one of the words for woman, hormah, comes from the same root as the words for both holy, sacrosanct, and sinful, forbiden." What makes the least amount of sense out of all of this, is that women are praised, and holy, yet "kept on a leash". Basically, the Koran says that if women are good, praise them, if they are bad then punish them. It sounds like a guide on how to train wild dogs not human females. Its just like AK said, "Wives or Pets?" Obviously it depends on how one translates the Koran, but in an extremist type interpretation, this is one of the crazy things that happens every day in the middle east and frankly, is an insulting aspect of the islamic tradition. MAD