BOOK REVIEW: THE CAGED VIRGIN

Tendayi Isaac Mawango

BOOK REVIEW
Ayaan Hirsi Ali, The Caged Virgin: A Muslim Woman’s Cry for Reason, London, Simon and Schuster UK Ltd, 2006.


2007





Ayaan Hirsi Ali, The Caged Virgin: A Muslim Woman’s Cry for Reason, London, Simon and Schuster UK Ltd, 2006.

Ayaan Hirsi Ali’s The Caged Virgin: A Muslim Woman’s Cry for Reason, calls for the emancipation of women from cultural oppression and emancipation of Muslims from a backward religious system in relation to the overall development of Muslim societies. Published in 2006 her work comes in the wake of a growing concern with political Islam/Muslim Fundamentalism and the threat it poses to Western Liberalism. This concern has translated into a plethora of scholarly works on the future of Islam and the general development of Muslim societies. Her book is firmly located in the Liberal and Neo-Liberal frame of analysis and in a way represents Western Fundamentalism’s response to political Islam.

Ali’s work adds weight to the growing scholarship on Islamic reform and an interesting and central dimension which gives it an aura of originality is the way in which political reality is interwoven into the personal experiences of the author. The personal experiences of an Islamic woman provides the launch pad for her call for the “enlightenment” to dawn on Islam if there is to be any hope for the development of Muslim societies. The book uses a sustained analysis of the condition of women to tackle the broader subject of development of Muslim societies and the full integration of Muslims in Western society. In addition, the book also takes a swipe against sections of Western society for taking a retrogressive stance of harbouring Islam without placing upon it the same stringent code. She asserts that for as long as western tolerance does not impose this stringent code on Islam then Fundamentalism will continue to flourish. In this sense therefore Ali looks at reform as something that has to generated from within Muslim societies with the help of Western societies who in essence epitomizes both modernization and development. Her interrogation of Islam especially on the treatment of women takes the form of seventeen essays which make up the seventeen chapters of the book.

The first essay entitled ‘Stand up for your rights’, presents Ali’s justification of her criticism against Islam. She forwards four reasons as follow: to end the degrading treatment of Muslim women and girls; the emancipation of Muslim women is a pre-condition for the social advancement of Muslims in Western Society; Muslim women need a woman to speak on their behalf as they are scarcely listened to; and the belief that an emphasis on a Muslim identity is detrimental to Muslim women. Ali exposes the condition of women in Islam. Ali’s women are “enchained bvy the doctrine of virginity” (p.2), victims of domestic violence, and l;agging behind in education. Her life story especially the success she achieved after escaping an arranged marriage are taken as proof of what can be achieved by Muslim women hence her call to successful women to ‘stand up and fight’ for the rights of fellow Muslim women.

In Chapter 2 Ali calls on Muslims to look at themselves critically. September 11 and other statistics on terrorist activities and armed conflicts involving Muslims takle her to that point where she admits that there is something wrong with Islam. She challenges Muslims to break out of the cacoon of denial by posing the following questions:
If nothing is wrong with Islam, why then are so many Muslims on the run? … Why is the position of women in Muslim countries so abominable? If we Muslims are so tolerant and peaceful, why is there so much ethnic, religious, political and cultural strife and violence in Muslim countries? Why can’t or won’t we acknowledge the seriousness of the situation in which we find ourselves. Why are we Muslims so full of feelings of anger and uneasiness, and why do we carry so much hostility and hate within us both toward ourselves and toward others? Why are we incapable of criticising ourselves from within? (p.11).


Ali concludes that’s Islam is “incensed, traumatised, shattered and living in an illusion”.
She contends that for as long as the organisation of society, economic policy, education and the relations between the sexes are left in the hands of God, poverty, violence, political instability, economic malaise and human suffering will persist. She also condemns the failure by the United States to recognise that the so called moderate governments of the Middle East are the secondary causes of fundamentalism. In the so cvalled moderate countries fundamentalism has taken the guise of opposition political movements. As a solution Ali advocates for the withdrawal of religion from the public sphere and the adoption of Western values of freedom and equality.

Chapter 3 entitled “The Virgins’ Cage, argues that Islamic culture is way behind the West in many ways. Islamic culture is insufficient in terms of individual freedoms, knowledge and women’s rights. In Ali’s view the adoption of Islam in non-Arab countries like Tanzania, Nigeria and Pakistan resulted in a significant regression in individual freedom, acquisition of scientific knowledge and the rights of women (p.17). She further claims that Islam does not possess a credible and workable political model. She attacks Islam’s morality and attendant obsession with virginity which locks up women in a virgins’ cage. The ‘virgins’ cage’ is a double cage which not only entraps women but all Muslims in the quagmire of socio-economic backwardness which is passed on from generation to generation. Self-criticism is forwarded as the means to break out of the cage. Muslims in the West should take advantage of the civil rights and liberties there to initiate the criticism.

Ali’s fourth essay elaborates the differences between Islamic and Western culture. The central call of the essay is for the “Enlightenment” to dawn upon Islam. The question the compatibility of constitutional democracy and Islam is explored. Ali argues that Islam’s ideological framework is heavily polarized and provides breeding ground for fundamentalism. The framework consist of “strength and weakness, dominance and humiliation, eternity and transience, clarity and obscurity”, Halal and Haram (p.36). In addition Islam gives greater value to the community, honour and submission as opposed to individual autonomy. Western culture on the other hand gives emphasis to individual independence, personal responsibility and plurality of ideologies. The constitution is more important than God’s Holy book. Ali also refutes the claim that Islam has been taken hostage by terrorists instead she contends that “Islam is held hostage by itself (p.41).

In chapter 5 Ali tackles the issue of the integration of Muslim immigrants in Western society. She equates the process of integration with the process of civilization. Muslims in their raw form have a pre-modern mentality which has to be dismantled if they are to take up the opportunities offered by Western society. She explores the four routes towards integration namely political-legal route, socio-economic angle, multiculturalism and the socio-cultural approach. As an advocate of the dismantling of Islam’s pre-modern mentality Ali abhors multiculturalism and considers the socio-cultural approach as the best way toward integration.

Chapter 6 traces Ali’s walk to freedom in addition to justifying her movement from the Labour to the Conservative Party. In this Chapter she takes the reader through her father’s political career and his four marriages, her flight from an arranged marriage and her realization that she was an atheist. She also briefly tackles the issue of female genital mutilation. Through the life of her sister Heweya she explores the trauma and psychological damage Islam perpetrates against women. Ali also considers herself as one of the champions of the “Third Feminist Wave” (p.67). For Ali emancipation is a struggle. A number of contradictions emerge in Ali’s essay as her downtrodden women go to America to get diplomas, succeed in getting divorces, and meet prospective husbands in literacy classes.

As an act of defiance Ali structures her seventh essay around the Ten Commandments. She further endorses her claims to atheism and casts doubt on the existence of God. She castigates Allah’s commandments for stifling the appreciation of art, beauty and the romantic side of mankind. In Muhammad’s dictatorship [He is the true prophet of Allah, and Allah is the only true God], Ali sees the despicable character and megalomaniacal rulers of the Middle East. Parental dictatorship as represented by her own mother is located in the law of God. Ali brandishes her defiance of Allah’s commandments on chastity, theft and lying. She is an adulteress, a thief, and a liar. Though Allah forbids one to covet a neighbor, Ali covets Karl Popper hence her “ideal in not to be a politician”, but a philosopher.

In chapter 8 Ali uses an interview she had with Irshad Manji, a Canadian Muslim, to endorse her own opinions about the lack of freedom in Islam. Ishard Manji expresses the conviction that Islam can be reformed. In her opinion Muslims are suffocating and it is religion which is strangling them. Just like Ali, Manji’s criticism of Islam is about human rights. “Arabian cultural imperialism”, in her opinion, perverted a beautiful and tolerant religion. Manji openly admits that she is a lesbian and finds justification for her “unseeming” sexual preferences in the Koran where it regards the diversity of nature a blessing.

The ninth essay in Ali’s work is a speech she delivered in the Netherlands to commemorate Memorial Day [memory of the victims of World War II] on 4 May 2002. She explores the subject of freedom of speech and the need to remain vigilant to safeguard freedom. Freedom of speech though “undervalued” and often taken for granted in Western society was and is shaping whole generations of immigrants and forces many to rethink and sometimes dismiss old customs. She contends that such eruptions of aggression as the Holocaust, the Rwandan and Burundi genocide are often preceded by oppression and a lack of freedom. The rights of the individual are presented as a prerequisite for the acceptance of pluralism and enjoyment of personal identity. A climate which guarantees freedom also prevents the perpetration of such atrocities as referred to above.

The “Four women’s lives” is the title of the tenth essay. Here Ali articulates her experiences as an interpreter between 1995 and 2001. Through the lives of four immigrant women Ali laments the lack of sex education in Islamic culture and the attendant problems of sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies. She narrates the ordeal of a Somali teenage who, though pregnant, still believed that she was a virgin because her stitches were still intact and the boy she had been with had merely rubbed himself against her. Ali also tells the story of Anab who is first abused by her half brother and later on gets married as “damaged goods” and is treated accordingly by the husband, a porn addict, who rapes her and make her do all sort of things. Ali third woman is an HIV positive housewife who can not believe that HIV/AIDS can also affect her, a Muslim, when it is a disease for Christians and Homosexuals. The fourth girl is pregnant and has agreed to have an abortion but now wants her stitches to be renewed so that she can be a virgin again.

In chapter 11 Ali takes a swipe against policy makers in the Netherlands for failing to tackle the problem of domestic violence especially in immigrant populations. Domestic violence within the ranks of the Muslims revolve around issues of morality and chastity as prescribed by the faith. Women are beaten up and in extreme cases killed in the name of God and family honour. A man who kills a daughter for “unlawful” sexual conduct is esteemed by society. Ali proposes the establishment of an organization responsible for preventing, identifying and reporting domestic violence. Offenders and victims should all be rehabilitated.

The twelfth essay by Ali exposes the horrors of genital mutilation. She argues that genital mutilation is unacceptable and culturally inexcusable. She considers it the most underestimated violation of human and women’s rights worldwide. The medical complications arising from the practice are graphically exposed. Her calls for the establishment of a system of monitoring to prevent further violations are rejected by the government and she becries the outcome.

In chapter 13 Ali writes an open letter to Muslim women who are contemplating running away from the “oppression”. The letter take the form of unsolicited advice on the steps one has to follow on the journey towards realizing one’s individuality. The process starts by making an informed choice as to whether or not one really wants to leave, then personal encouragement through having faith in oneself and others, making new friends, finding the place of refuge[university towns an especial choice], putting in place safety measures, financial provision, opportunities for study, moving of belongings and the need for mental strength. Once out there comes the challenge of learning to live in a new society.

The fourteenth chapter of Ali’s work is based on a transcript of the film Submission Part I by the same author and the late Theo Van Gogh [killed as part of Islam’s response to the film]. The film/transcript is an attempt to open dialogue between God and the individual. The story is about a woman, Amina, who, though a dedicated Muslim and constantly praying is surrounded by women who are treated cruelly, raped, flogged, and victims of incest. Justification for these atrocities is located in the Koranic verses. Amina takes up the stories of these women. Aisha’s love and sex life [beautiful and joyous] have been reduced to fornication resulting in her flogging. Aisha concludes that submission to Allah is self-betrayal. Safiya, a victim of an arranged marriage, is systematically raped by her husband. She has to yield to the sexual appetite of a man she finds repulsive all in the name of Allah. Zainab knows that Allah has given “man more strength to look after woman”, but she feels the strength of her husband’s fist on her face at least once a week. She raises her lament as follows:

O, God, most elevated, submission to your will assures me of a better life in the hereafter, but I feel that the price I pay for my husband’s protection and maintenance is too high. I wonder how much longer I will submit.

Fatima also wonders if she can continue in submission after being raped by an uncle, Hakim, who can not be made to answer for the crime, because her father can not question the honour of his own brother. She knows that once the protruding belly betrays her she will be killed by her father as a way of safeguarding the “honour” of the family. In this transcript Ali presents the dilemmas arising from submission to Allah’s word.

In chapter 15 Ali presents her response to the negative criticism of Submission. She calls on Islam to see the need for self reflection. Islam has ugly blemishes which can not be discerned by those within. This is so because Islam robs people of their individuality; it dictates how one has to sit, eat sleep and travel. It stifles basic human curiosity and thus it is inimical to progress, knowledge and prosperity. Islam has to be humanized by adopting a critical approach. Islamic morality has to be reconciled with secular morality by pointing out the inconsistencies in a God who is merciful and yet sanctions the abuse of women. She calls on the “faithful” to examine those teachings and ideas which lead to brutal behavior. She expresses her disappointment at those critics of Submission who expressed disapproval without having watched the film or for reasons outside her immediate intention of opening up dialogue.

The sixteenth essay entitled “Portrait of a Heroine as a Young Woman”, deal in part with the life of Ali’s “current” heroine, Samira Amhed, who ran away from home and has recently completed a diploma in pedagogy with a distinction for her thesis. Samira ran away to escape physical and psychological violence. The police could not help her because her challenge belonged in the domain of “family matters”. This takes Ali to a discussion of the failure by the authorities to deal with violence against women. She uses the example of eleven murders committed in the name of religion in the area of The Hague and in the province of South Holland. Ali laments the silence and passivity of universities and NGOs in dealing with the right of immigrant women.

Ali’s last essay calls for clear thinking in Islamic culture. Contrasts between the values of Western society and Islamic society are made. Western society is open, tolerant, allows for freedom of conscience and expression, equality before the law for women and men and for homosexuals and heterosexuals, free trade and open market. Islamic culture on the other hand seeks to establish a Shari’a based society in which people are obligated to serve Allah. The society is intolerant; it kills those that leave the faith and is hostile to peoples of other religions. In this society women are subordinate to men. Ali identifies Muhammad as the central figure of the struggles by the likes of Bin Laden, Khomeini, Hassan al-Banna, and Sayyid Qutb to establish Shari’a based societies. She points out that “Muhammad built the House of Islam using military tactics that included mass killings, torture, targeted assassination, lying and indiscriminate destruction of productive goods”, and it is no wonder that fundamentalists justify their action from the deeds and edicts of the Prophet (p.173). A process of clear thinking is forwarded as a strategy to “liberate” Muslims from Muhammad’s doctrine and will expose the utopia and hell which the fundamentalists promise. Rational thought will serve as the midwife for the democracy.

Overall Ali’s work provides an important contribution to the debate on the need for Islamic reform. Her sustained exposure of the irrational character of Islam and appeal to infuse the religion with the spirit of the enlightenment, critical thought, and secular morality and reasoning are especially relevant in the broader debate on the nexus between development and culture. The uncompromising manner in which her work tackles and exposes the violence, physical, ritual and psychological, which is perpetrate against women in the name of religion. Ali’s defiance and criticism of Allah as she seeks to unearth the causes of fundamentalism in addition improving the condition of women is a sign of determined courage and should be emulated if Islam is to be reformed.

Though useful, Ali’s work is weak in that it makes unfair and illogical comparisons between Muhammad and John Stuart Mill. A fairer comparison would have been between Koranic and Biblical characters She in turn almost makes the mistake of painting all Muslims with the same brush and their position on women. She also presents a glossed up version of Western society hence all that is good is located in Western culture and all that is wrong is found in Islam. She in turn almost makes the mistake of painting all Muslims with the same brush. Western intolerance in the form of racism and unequal trade and economic relations with the Third World are ignored thus Ali denies the relevance of colonialism and neocolonialism in explaining some of the problems found in Islam. Any developmental strategy which denies the relevance of historical enciounters and the reality of neo-colonialism in Islamic countries is doomed to fail. Ali also treats her informants in a way that is biased against Muslims thus for most of the part the opinions of the so-called liberals are captured verbatim whereas the fundamentalists are given an indirect voice in the form of reported speech. Ali also fails to see the potential for development, as in Confucianism, located in Muslim emphasis on the community as opposed to the individual. Notwithstanding the said weaknesses Ali’s work is a must read for development practitioners in Muslim countries in particular and the Third World in general as it makes a useful contribution in the discourses on culture and development and cultural development.