Islamophobia and Today's Ideological Jihadairways worldwide, emanating from Iran, Lebanon, and Syria,
to be sure, but also from our erstwhile "allies" in Egypt, Saudi
Arabia, and Qatar.'Reform or denial?
Oft en goi ng han d in han d wit h charg es of Isl amo pho bia is astrang e'
disi ngen uous ness on the part ofMus limrefo rmer s. In Apri l 2005 , the
Tor onto Sta rran a gushi ng prof ile of Indon esia n Musl im femi nist Mus-
dah Mul ia, exul tin g tha t she "bl ames Mus lims , not Isla m, for gend er
ineq uity"inthe Islamic world. This was one in a long series of article s
thathaveappeared in newspapers and magazines in the Western world,
which describe "true" Islam as a religion of tolerance, freedom, and plu-
ralism. Yet the idea that "true Islam" is more akin to Quaker pacifism
than to the religion of Osama bin Laden is untrue and dangerously mis-
leading. It keepsAmericans in thedark about the real motives and
goals of the jihadists.
Mulia , accor ding to journ alist Haroo n Siddi qui, "wear s the hijab but
saysit's not mandated by Islam, a position augmented by a sizeable
majority of Muslim women in Indonesia. indeed around the world, who
don’tdon it and feel no less Muslim." Yet neither Siddiqui nor Mulia
mention the Islamic tradition in which the Prophet Muhammad
commands,"When a womanreaches the age of menstruation, it doesnot
suit her that shedisplaysher parts of body except, ,face andhands."'
Nor do they mention, while noting that she "wants polygamy banned,"
that Mulia will face an extremely difficult battle, since the Qur'an tells
men to "marry womenof yourchoice, twoor three or four" (4:3).
Musdah Mulia, exults Siddiqui, "is no Westernized secular feminist,
She is an Islamicscholar, witha Ph.D. from the Institute of Islamic
Studies' in Jakarta. "She teaches there part-time but her day job is director