Let us all admit this right up front, Harvey Weinstein was and probably still is a pig and a disgusting one at that. He deserves much of the scorn for his practices and using other human beings as sex objects, toys even. We should also accept that he operated in this fashion in a time when such was more of a common practice than today and was almost alive during times when slaves existed in many places around the globe openly. If we were to be complete honest about this practice, then we should expect to have much, if not most, of Hollywood, producers, major stars and starlets and to be sure, male and female sexual predators alike. But that is simply Hollywood and the sexual harassment and worse produced as matter of fact coin of the realm.
What about one who preached modesty for women, proper behavior and restraint for women, unbecoming clothing to hide the female form all so men would not act like the sexual predatory animals they presumably are and then acted exactly as one of those predatory animals men presumably are? Should the feminist lobby and membership be outraged or understanding as this presumably honorable man has been accused of acting boorishly, committing rape and taking advantage of his position of power and influence in order to take advantage of women who trusted him. The man holds and has held prestigious positions such as a former Professor of Contemporary Islamic Studies in the Faculty of Oriental Studies at St Antony’s College, Oxford, and also teaches at the Faculty of Theology and Religion, University of Oxford, is a visiting professor at the Faculty of Islamic Studies at Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Qatar, and the Université Mundiapolis in Morocco plus is also a senior research fellow at Doshisha University in Japan and is a Swiss academic, philosopher and writer. Since the accusations of sexual misconduct have piled up with some of the women unknowns, a few women of stature have also brought accusations that in their youth when they were not accomplished, they had been victims of this illustrious man of religion.
The man in question, as you have all probably recognized already, is Tariq Ramadan, the Islamic Imam extraordinaire of Europe and as much loved and respected by the seculars of Europe as he is by Muslims the world over. The allegations against Tariq Ramadan must be addressed seriously just as they would be inspected with all seriousness were this a cleric of another religion. Imagine how seriously women would be taken if they were to come forward with similar charges against one of the Catholic Bishops or Cardinals claiming that as a priest they had molested and raped these women in their youth or if high clergy of a protestant church or respected Rabbi were accused of these same charges. In any of these cases, the women would be canonized by the Feminist Movement and these Christian or Judaic clergy, religious men would not be permitted an ounce of sympathy and would be held accountable and their accusers believed just as have the charges against Harvey Weinstein. It has taken Oxford University a number of weeks before deciding to influence Tariq Ramadan to take a leave of absence until these matters have been cleared. The basic response in Europe has been to treat him with kid gloves and accuse the women of slander and protest their absurd and contemptible accusations against such a man who stands above reproach.
Islamic Imam Extraordinaire of Europe Tariq Ramadan
Did we miss the demand that we return to the 1950s or earlier where a woman accusing a man of rape was ridiculed and charged with asking for it or is this a unique case where the person accused is absolved due to their religious orientation granting automatic immunity against such charges. To claim that Tariq Ramadan cannot be held to the same standards as other men is to support the Islamic claim that if a woman was raped, then she deserved it unless she can produce four men to support her claims and were witness to such an act. There would never be four men who would claim to have witnessed such an act as rape and not intervened to prevent such an abhorrent act, thus the women could never produce sufficient witness to uphold her wild accusations. Tariq Ramadan would be dismissed as innocent and his accusers stoned in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Syria and much of the Islamic world. In reality, no woman would dare bring such charges in a Muslim nation, as they would know they were risking their own lives with such an accusation. To bring a charge such as these against a man of the stature and position of Tariq Ramadan would be certain death. Fortunately, these women are in the Western World and thus are not risking their lives, only their reputations.
But will being in the Western World make their accusations any more productive or will they be discarded as foolish women who should have known and expected such treatment from Tariq Ramadan meeting him in a private location without witnesses. They must have known that being alone with a Muslim man would drive his sexual desires beyond his abilities to control his actions. What were they thinking, one meeting him alone in a hotel room, she had to realize that he was inviting her to his own little den of iniquity. Meeting him alone anywhere, his office at Oxford, a meeting room at an Islamic Center, any location unsupervised would simply be an invitation to do with them as he pleased and he pleased to please them, or himself. These were Muslim women and one admitted to meeting him unveiled and wearing close fitting Western clothing which was in fashion, she had to be temporarily insane to agree to meet dressed thusly. These other students, they were likely improperly dressed to be meeting a Muslim man alone in an unobserved and remote location. The Quran warns women not to place themselves around Islamic men in any place or situation where the men might act animalistic as this is a temptation which no man can resist. Tariq Ramadan is being charged with being a man, a normal man under Islamic belief and as such, he could not be expected to withhold his desires and lusts in the presence of such temptresses. Obviously, the officials and public throughout Europe are well versed in all things Islamic and have already reached their verdict, Tariq Ramadan was acting as a man and these women are to blame for his actions against them as they were asking for it. They placed candy before an infantile mind and the child-man simply took the candy, what did they expect. If these women honestly believe that Tariq Ramadan did something untoward to them, maybe they should go back and consider the stress and irresistible temptations they placed before him and the terrible situation they imposed tempting him in such an unholy manner. To have expected anything different than what they received was simply ignorance and after all, would not any women accepting such a meeting with Tariq Ramadan be doing so knowing the result and secretly desiring such an end? We must understand that these women had glanced the beatific aura and rugged handsomeness that was Tariq Ramadan (see image below) and were taken by his radiance as well as the powerful positions he held and importance in the Islamic World, it is no wonder they sought to tempt him so shamelessly.
Tariq Ramadan
The end of this series of events, or fiasco depending on one’s predisposition, is still something we will need patience to wait and then ascertain. The initial reading of the tea leaves would indicate that Tariq Ramadan will lose some of his sheen but still be considered a radiant and brilliant person above reproach in the finer societies of Europe and for the leftists in the United States. He might lose his position at Oxford but is more likely to be granted a sabbatical to return to somewhere in the Middle East to further his studies only to make a triumphant return in a year to eighteen months. The women will be insisted to be more reserved and to reconsider their charges. Most will be glad to escape this circus intact and not permanently labeled as a woman without morals, as an easy woman. Hopefully, some will stick to their guns and perhaps receive support from some more prominent women, possibly Muslim women of prominence with a similar story from their past and Tariq Ramadan. There must be some Muslim woman who he demanded favors for a recommendation early in their career. Such a woman making an accusation would be risking becoming a pariah in the Islamic World and be without any support from the Islamic World. They would be signing their own death act should they return to the wrong country in the Middle East, North Africa or anywhere where Sharia is enforced. They would be best advised to avoid many of the Muslim neighborhoods where they enforce their own laws in Europe, the United States or elsewhere in the world. They would no longer be acceptable should they bring down a Muslim man for sexual misconduct as such so rarely exists in the Islamic World as to be considered an impossibility, something one would probably never witness in their lives. These women would become ostracized and face the wrath of Allah according to most Imams. This is the risk each of these women who have made accusations is already facing and that alone adds credence to their claims. The result of these claims and possible future claims will be interesting to watch, not so much the actions in Europe and the United States but throughout the Islamic World, that is where change is necessary and the reaction to this fiasco, as it is currently playing out, will tell us much about the future of the Muslim World, and thus the rest of the world as well.
Beyond the Cusp
Beyond the Cusp 