Inside the Medieval Mind

Like "outrage" over underwear abuse and "outrage" over Qur'an flushing, the AP obediently warns us of other things that "outrage" Islamists. Saudis outraged over women-drive proposal.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Consultative Council member Mohammad al-Zulfa's proposal has unleashed a storm in this conservative country where the subject of women drivers remains taboo. There even have been calls to kick al-Zulfa from the council and strip him of his Saudi nationality.

The uproar may be astounding to outsiders.

Not really.

But in Saudi Arabia, where the religious establishment has the upper hand in defining women's freedoms, the issue touches on the kingdom's strict Islamic lifestyle.

Conservatives,

Y'know, like George Bush, Bill Frist, and Priscilla Owen,

who believe women should be shielded from strange men, say driving will allow a woman to leave home whenever she pleases and go wherever she wishes. Some say it will present her with opportunities to violate Islamic law, such as exposing her eyes while driving or interacting with strange men, like police officers or mechanics.

"Driving by women leads to evil," Munir al-Shahrani wrote in a letter to the editor of the Al-Watan daily. "Can you imagine what it will be like if her car broke down? She would have to seek help from men."

But al-Zulfa contends neither the law nor Islam bans women from driving. Instead, the ban is based on fatwas, or Islamic edicts, by senior clerics who say that any driving by women would create situations for sinful temptation.

Carefully omitting who would be sinfully tempted. What would proper journalists do without the passive voice?

It is the same argument used to restrict other freedoms. Without written permission from a male guardian, women may not travel, get an education or work. Regardless of permission, they are not allowed to mix with men in public or leave home without wearing black cloaks, called abayas.

I'm not going to whine about "human rights violations," because this empty, hackneyed phrase has lost all meaning, covering anything from summary execution to someone feeling offended.

The real problem here is, Islam absolves men of any and all responsibility to control their own base impulses. It is a woman's duty to hide under a pile of blankets and stay out of the way. If she fails to, she brings dishonor on the family, redeemed only if she is beaten or murdered.

MEMRI TV has subtitled many revealing clips from Arab television in which the propriety of wife-beating and the culpability of rape victims remain subjects of contentious debate. Please watch a few.