― Shafiqah Othman
The Malay Mail Online
FEBRUARY 17, 2015
FEBRUARY 17 ― Your blatant disrespect for other faiths (or people) increasingly infuriates me and I cannot help but finally pen this down. I have, in many occasions, dismissed your rude statements, but it has come to a point where I no longer can stand your nonsense.
Don’t get me wrong, I am all for freedom of speech. By all means, go ahead, run amok and pollute Malaysian minds with your ignorance, but that also means I should be able to speak against the trash that I think you are spouting.
First, what you said on women’s bodies was just plain disturbing.
You say that women’s bodies attracts rapists because “the logic is simple”. Women’s bodies are arousing and alluring. Then you go on to say “If it’s fated that many of those who cover their ‘aurat’ are raped, then it’s fate”, and the only reason loosely-clothed woman are more commonly raped is because their article of clothing is more easily removed as compared to tight clothing.
Are you serious? The fallacies in your logic are mind-blowing, sir! I don’t mean to be the one to point this all out to you, but please:
A huge percentage of rapes are committed by acquaintances, friends or relatives. It is undoubtedly true that a lot of rapes are also committed by strangers, but what are you trying to say about the people who were raped by their own family members? How mentally ill does one have to be to get “turned on” by your own kin?
Rape is not all about sex and getting aroused. Rape is not an over-spill of sexual energy. Arousal plays little to no part in rape, and it mostly has to do with dominance over the other party. People rape those they think are weaker than themselves, and this is the reason why there are people raping children, babies, and even men raping other men. What is your solution to this problem? Or are you just going to tell a mother that it was fated her son was molested?
Considering the diversity of women’s bodies, could you say that all women’s bodies are arousing and alluring to you? I have many male friends who do get aroused by women, but not to the point of rape. One has to be a real devil to rape, and how shallow are you to think that getting aroused immediately leads to rape? Again, the problem is not in what the women are wearing, but in the way the men react to her. Just because you are aroused by someone in public does not mean you run towards her with an erection and penetrate her without her consent.
Rape can be prevented, yes, by raising boys into respectable men. Not by restricting what women can or cannot wear. How else then will you explain the high rape cases in Middle Eastern countries where women are so heavily-clad from top to bottom? Is it because their clothes can be easily removed? If we’re following this logic, shouldn’t nude beaches be scenes of mass orgy and rape considering the fact that there is nothing to remove in the first place? But no. Apparently these people handle their sexual drives better than we do, don’t they? These… these “uncircumsized” people, as you put it.
Which brings me to my next point.
You’ve really outshone yourself this time by calling all non-Muslims uncircumsized. That just goes to show how much you know about other religions. Do you honestly think that Islam is the only religion that circumsizes? In fact, did you know that Judaism was the first religion to start the tradition of circumcision? Well, now you do.
It just appals me to no end how you are practically putting all the blame on women. If you wear tight clothes, it’s your fault if you get raped. If you wear loose clothes, it’s fate that you were raped. Either way, there’s no winning, is there? Just happy paedophiles and rapists waiting to emerge because there will always be people like you who will be defending their case. It’s unacceptable when a man rapes a baby, a child, an animal or even another man, but the moment a man rapes a woman, there are bigots like you who ask “What was she wearing?” and doing the victim-blaming.
If your son raped, would you reprimand him or blame the girl for arousing him? If your daughter was raped, would you just tell her that it was fate? I can only imagine what a horrible confidant you would be when people who are traumatised by rape come to you for consolation.
I would like to end by redirecting one of your quotes back to yourself,
“In brief, don’t be a smart aleck or act like a ‘know-it-all.’ It’s damaging to your own faith.”
And I sir, honestly think that you are the damage to your faith.