In a largely positive post, Alan A offered reasons to feel ambivalence about some of Femen’s methods, focusing on its indiscriminate targeting of Muslim buildings, some of which don’t really seem to earn a protest. However Femen’s trademark toplessness does in fact have most point within the context of defending the rights of Muslim women who want to dress as they please.* Compare also Maryam Namazie’s nude calendar initiative, launched in support of the Egyptian blogger Aliaa Magda Elmahdy who posted nude pictures of herself on Facebook.
The Tunisian feminist Amina has recently quit Femen, citing its (alleged) Islamophobia.
“I do not want my name to be associated with an Islamophobic organisation,” she told the Maghreb edition of the Huffington Post.
“I did not appreciate the action taken by the girls shouting ‘Amina Akbar, Femen Akbar’ in front of the Tunisian embassy in Paris,” Sboui said.
Those chants were a parody of Allahu akbar (God is greatest), a phrase frequently used by Muslims to express their allegiance to and praise of God.
Amina also criticised the burning of the black Tawhid flag, which affirms the oneness of God, in front of a mosque in Paris.
“That offends many Muslims and many friends of mine. We must respect everyone’s religion,” she added.
I wouldn’t agree that ‘we must respect everyone’s religion’ and lampooning religion need not be bigoted, but burning the flag in front of a mosque is certainly an extremely aggressive move.
The least appealing reason Amina gives for breaking with Femen relates to its funding:
“I don’t know how the movement is financed. I asked (Femen leader Inna Shevchenko) several times, but I didn’t get a clear answer. I don’t want to be in a movement supported by suspect money. What if it is financed by Israel? I want to know.”
Andrew Coates picks her up on this detail:
We strongly suspect this is the source of Amina’s ‘concern’ about the money behind Femen.
“From what is known about their funding: the key player appears to be an individual named Jed Sunden. (6) Sunden is a Brooklyn-born American Jew who founded a major Ukrainian newspaper/media company; KP Media (which owned the Kyiv Post till 2008/2009 for example) , (7) and also is an active part of the Ukrainian jewish community. (8) Sunden was the man who‘discovered’ Femen and it was he who began to give them the oxygen of publicity (and notoriety) for their topless protesting in the Kyiv Post.”
Although the point about Israel is obviously objectionable, and although her accusations of Islamophobia may be debatable, I don’t agree with at least one aspect of Femen’s response.
It is regrettable that islamist statements of Amina heard on the background of antiislamist revolution played out in Tunisia through, including Amina’s sekstremist actions in the past.
There is nothing in her words which makes the label of ‘Islamist’ seem fully accurate. The comment about needing to respect others’ religion could be seen that way, but she is only criticising a (fairly extreme) method of protest, not calling for limits on free speech. Similarly, she only says she does not appreciate having her name used in an Islam-themed parody – she is not calling for blasphemy laws to be introduced.
*Unless they are Muslim women in France who want to wear the niqab.
Hat tips: Andrew Coates and Howard Fuller
