Next month Haitham al-Haddad is due to speak in Southampton on the topic ‘Empowering Women through Knowledge’. I’m not sure how it could seen as ‘empowering’ for women to be told that it might be ok for their husbands to hit them or for their daughters to be mutilated – or that the angels will curse them if they don’t provide their husbands with sex on demand. And how can it possibly be ‘empowering’ to be told that your word is worth precisely half that of a man’s in court?
Of course some of the women who are most indignant about this kind of thing are Muslims, as they are the ones most likely be affected by such appalling views or, if not directly affected, feel frustrated that people like Haddad are seen to speak for all Muslims. Here’s a link to a campaign against Haddad which reflects this opposition to extremists from Muslim women.
Update: Having taken another look at the FB site for this campaign, I note that its organiser is being viewed with (?)suspicion by some because this blog has covered the story. I will point out that I got the link from the Islamic Far Right in Britain blog, as is completely clear from my hat tip, and have had no contact with her. As I didn’t think it relevant to the post, I made no reference to her other views. However it may be helpful to point out that a dislike for Haddad seems to be about the only thing she and HP have in common.
Hat Tip: The Islamic Far Right in Britain
