Muslim Daughters: Small Catastrophes?

Last updated on: March 10, 2010 at 12:00 am by nicole

Muslim Daughters: Small Catastrophes? 2010-03-10T00:00:46-04:00 nicole

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

In early February, a story broke about a briefing being given to Belgian soldiers departing for Afghanistan. In this briefing, the speaker notably made the following points, as related by the Belgian newspaper Le Soir:

“[Having a] girl to a Muslim usually means that the man has poor sperm quality. I’m not joking. Manly men make boys and men who are not manly make girls. Also obviously because a girl must be married, [girls] costs a dowry; a girl, it’s a small catastrophe because you have to “marry her off” as we say in French (“il faut la caser”), she must get married. A boy is the strength, the warrior, having a boy is very important.”

But the speaker is no hardened military man, or at least, not exactly. Professor Jacques Rifflet is a Belgian lawyer, author, and scholar of religions. Furthermore, Rifflet is often asked to speak at interfaith gatherings and roundtables on religion and international politics.

The Belgian press took note of his comments, and one MEP (the CDH deputy Georges Dallemagne) was appropriately outraged. Dallemagne called Rifflet’s comments into question and said, “This briefing is important for our soldiers and their relationship with the local population. As such, it would seem necessary to avoid making such startling statements which can only be hurtful to Islam or to our allies.”

Furthermore, the Minister of Defense (via a party member acting as spokesperson), in the same parliamentary session, went a step further and “disassociated” himself from the comments in the briefing. Yet at the same time, the Ministry’s spokesperson offered up one weak explanation: that the briefing was in French for a primarily Flemish-speaking public, which necessitated words with “rich imagery.”

However, in this story, the mainstream press seems to be missing the point. It’s not about what he said being hurtful to Muslims or culturally insensitive. The real problem is that Rifflet is a so-called expert on comparative religion whom people listen to and respect: see the (quite scary French) comments here.

As pointed out in this blog post, Rifflet is a Doctor of Laws, journalist for the RTBF, and Professor Emeritus not only in International Politics but also Comparative Religions. He is often called upon by the Belgian government to speak to soldiers starting their missions, but also in more diplomatic roles. So Rifflet is “expert” on Islam who forgets, among other glaring omissions, that in Islam, the future spouse gives the dowry, not the wife’s family. And he’s still talking, most recently in late February for a Belgian organization called Food For Thought, specializing in “setting up stylish, personalized sessions at exclusive locations for a socially aware audience.”

These are the people that are allowed speak for Islam. Food for thought, indeed.

Previous Post

March 9, 2010

Drastic Plastic: emel Focuses on Women and Body Image

Next Post

March 11, 2010 Reading Religion and Canadian Identity: Sheema Khan's Of Hockey and Hijab

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Advertisements Art/Theater Books/Magazines Cinema Comics/Cartoons Culture/Society Events Fashion Film Friday Links Merchandise/Commodities MMW Announcements MMW Highlights Music/Radio News Photography Politics Profile Ramadan 2012 Ramadan 2013 Ramadan 2014 Ramadan 2015 Roundtable Satire Social Media Sports Technology/Science Television Uncategorized Video Web

Select a Month November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

True or False: James says that whoever keeps the whole law but stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.

Select your answer to see how you score.

TRUE FALSE