LTTE: Horny and hatin' Islam.

[livinginphotographs]

I realize this letter might be tongue-in-cheek, but I still couldn't believe it was printed.

Women Stir Desire -- And Should
Editor, Times-Dispatch: You go, girl! Be all God intended you to be.
This letter is from a "girl-watcher." It matters not whether girls are black, white, Hispanic, Asian, or any racial mixture or color in between. I watch and love them all.

I'm reacting to the news story, "Mideast Muslims Condemn Service." It details a controversy over a mixed-gender worship service in New York. A comment by an Islamic professor disturbed me: "A woman's body stirs desire in men." Of course it does! Wasn't that what God designed woman's body to do?

With all due respect to Islam, I'm puzzled by some of its logic. I cannot understand why the exotic beauty of its women must be hidden behind veils and under long black robes, as if they were unsightly and loathsome creatures. Its men don't hide their faces behind masks and their bodies under black robes so as not to "stir desire" in women.

God created beautiful flowers to delight men's eyes. God created beautiful women not only to delight men's eyes but also to delight men with their intelligence, their companionship, and their unique ability to bear men's children. God expected men to develop self-discipline and control over their passions so they could love and respect women as He intended.

I doubt harsh laws governing women were decreed by any god. They probably were written by disgruntled, bearded old geezers who no longer could "cut the mustard" and hated all men who could. Thomas Cannon. richmond.

Um, yeah. Okay.

[Obamarama]

1. Aside from the misogyny inherent in the guy's logic........

He does make an interesting, if not simplistic, point.

Of course women were put on earth to do more than arouse desire in men and bear their babies, but at least the guy acknowledges women should be respected, etc.. I'll bet the uber-feminists make mincemeat outta this guy, though.

Still, he has a point. The veiling of women in the conservative Muslim tradition does strike me as some ridiculous directive put in place and enforced by some very anal-retentive men.

[lukasahero]

2. This "uber-feminist" would rather talk to the guy who wrote the ltte than

any guy who actually uses the word "uber-feminist".

I actually got a smile out of his letter. He acknowledges his appreciation for women on all fronts - in companionship, intellect, and beauty - and then speaks to it being a man's responsibility to learn self-control and doesn't blame the woman for "temping men" by her very existence.

And let's be clear about this, Islam is not the only religion / culture that suggests it's "all the woman's fault". We do still remember Ashcroft here, don't we, and his little run-in with the breast of lady justice?

[Warpy]

3. This jackbooted feminist thug doesn't find the sentiments

particularly dreadful. After all, if he'd denied enjoying his favorite pastime, we'd know he was lying.

The Koran specifies "modest" clothing, which covers a lot of turf. After all, a one piece bathing suit is modest at the beach. Top to toe covering with the face partially masked is modest clothing at any ski resort in the Rockies. Mohammad was a great reformer, and his prophecy represented a great amount of freedom for women, freedom their Christian sisters could only dream about for over 1000 years.

The problem is that Moslems in much of the world have been saddled with a lot of old tribal bullshit which has since been codified into harsh laws against women, laws that Mohammad had lectured against.

The problem with Islam, as it is with Christianity, isn't the religion, but the men who set themselves above god in interpreting it.

And this guy does make a point.