Request to my (formerly) Muslim readers

The open letter below offers an interesting perspective on the current cultural debate, especially since we secular Dutch don't hear too much of what's going on inside Islam. In the same way, nobody ever heard what was going on in the orthodox corners of Dutch protestantism until people like Maarten 't Hart wrote it down. That alone makes this letter valuable, even if you don't agree with it.

Therefore, I'd like to invite other liberal Muslims and former Muslims to mail me their stories and experiences. If I feel they add to the current debate, I will be glad to put them up here or to link to them.

Since the author of the open letter explicitly referred to both female and male submission, this invite extends to both genders.

9:14

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Open letter to Ayaan Hirsi Ali

There are more liberated Muslim women in the world, and not all of them agree with the approach Dutch MP Ayaan Hirsi Ali is taking. Here's an open letter from a Moroccan woman who grew up in Amsterdam, where she nearly died on the hands of her brother. Essential quotes:

'Ironically my brother, the one who beat me senseless at mother's orders, fell madly in love with a non-Muslim girl later on. My mother again felt compelled to intervene and forced him to marry a distant cousin, who she recognized as the perfect submissive mate. Never mind the fact that my brother already fathered a child in secret with his beautiful intelligent non-Muslim girlfriend. Amazingly enough his marriage turned out to be a success, which I personally attribute solely to a union between two submissive individuals. No doubt, my darling brother who constantly followed mother's orders, regardless what his heart told him, is indeed relentlessly submissive.

So you see in just two examples I mentioned, I was rescued by valiant Muslim MEN not women.'

Read more here.

9:03

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