The Caged Virgin: An Emancipation Proclamation for Women and Islam (22 page)

7
The three main shortcomings:
listed in the United Nations’ 2002–2003
Arab Human Development Report.

8
Only about 330 foreign books: Stichting Speurwerk, Titelproductiestatistiek,
1997.

9
The United Nations reports: Trouw,
October 2, 2003.

10
“Stay quietly in your homes”:
Koran, Surah 33, verse 33 (Abdullah Yusuf Ali, translator).

11
“And say to the believing women”:
Surah 24, verse 31.

12
“Oh Prophet!”:
Surah 33, verse 59.

13
The eleventh-century imam:
in his book
Wie luidt de doodsklok over de Arabieren?
(
Who Tolls the Bell for the Arabs?
), Marcel Kurpershoek.

14
According to the Koran:
Koran, Surah 4, verse 34.

15 Customs and Morals in Islam:
Gewoontes en zeden in de Islam.

16 Guide to Islamic Upbringing:
Gids tot de islamitische opvoeding.

17 A Glimpse of Hell:
Een glimp van de hel.

18
Nobody who has been following the debates:
The original version of this article appeared in the “Letter & Spirit” section of
Trouw
newspaper on March 16, 2002. Also published in
De zoontjesfabriek
(2002).

19
The writer Leon de Winter:
In an article of November 10 in the “Letter & Spirit” section of
Trouw
newspaper.

20
In addition, Muslims in Europe:
Marcel Kurpershoek (
NRC Handelsblad,
November 3).

21
In the Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe:
Afshin Ellian.

22
This is “religion as a culture-forming factor”:
T. von der Dunk, “De West en de Rest: over de gelijkwaardigheid van culturen [“The West and the Rest: On the Equality of Cultures”], in
Socialisme en Democratie,
vol. 58 no. 9, September 2001, pp. 391–399.

23
In the year 2000 these Dutch communities:
All figures taken from
Integratie in het perspectief van immigratie
[
Integration from the perspective of immigration
]. Government Report, January 18, 2002, p. 66.

24
Muslims now form the biggest ideological category:
Netherlands Scientific Council of Government Policy,
Nederland als immigratiesamenleying
[
The Netherlands as an immigration society
]. Reports for the government no. 60, The Hague, 2001.

25
“The vast majority, especially those who come”
: from economist Arie van der Zwan.

26
“Their demographic profile is traditional”:
A. van der Zwan, “Waar blijft de ombuiging in het immigratiebeleid?” [“When will immigration policy change”], in
Socialisme en Democratie,
vol. 59 no. 4, April 2002, pp. 43–54. See also: A. van der Zwan, “Alarmerende uitkomsten! De wrr-studie integratie van etnische minderheden” [“Alarming outcomes! The WRR think tank study on the integration of ethnic minorities”], in
Socialisme en Democratie,
vol. 58 no. 9, September 2001, pp. 421–425.

27
Frank Bovenkerk and Yucel Yesilgöz:
F. Bovenkerk and Y. Yesilgöz, “Multiculturaliteit in de strafrechtpleging?” [“Multiculturalism in the administration of criminal justice?”], in
Tijdschrift voor Beleid, Politiek en Maatschappij
[
Periodical for Policy Politics and Society
], (1999) no. 4, p. 232.

28
This is not surprising:
according to the two Italian researchers, Allievi and Castro, who attribute the lack of a deeper sociological analysis.

29
There is also very little sociological research:
S. Allievi and F. Castro, “The Islamic presence in Italy: social rootedness and legal questions,” in S. Ferrari and A. Bradney (eds.),
Islam and European Legal Systems,
Vermont, 2000, p. 198. There seem to be no studies within the Islamic world of the sociogenesis and psychogenesis of Muslim culture, which are comparable to the work of the German sociologist Norbert Elias. On the basis of Elias’s theory of civilization, the process of social integration can be described as the creation of, more or less, mutually dependent situations in an ever more complex society. The psychological component of this social change tends toward the development of steady and automatic self-control, which helps people with the growing demands of life. This increased self-control is shown by the fact that over the centuries European manners and morals have become more relaxed and refined. Initially social institutions imposed new codes of conduct, but over time this process became internalized. According to Elias, this trend began during the early Middle Ages, when—as they were forced to stay at the court—the free and independent knights gradually became dependent on the king. Here they learned to control their feelings and to be diplomatic. This court culture was at first imitated by the higher classes and spread to large sections of the population in the course of the twentieth century, following a big push for civilization. This did not just happen “of its own accord.” Laborers and peasants were forced to adjust to the demands of a modern industrial society (through among other things, the introduction of compulsory military service and education, through having to learn the standard language, et cetera). N. Elias,
Het civilisatieproces: Sociogenetische en psychogenetische onderzoekingen
[The process of civilization: Socio-genetic and psycho-genetic investigations], Amsterdam, 2001 (1939).

30
The Islamic identity (view of mankind and the world):
Pryce-Jones defines the specific concept of honor in the Islamic world as follows: “Honor is what makes life worthwile: shame is a living death, not to be endured, requiring that it be avenged. Honor involves recognition, the openly acknowledged esteem of others which render a person secure and important in his or her own eyes and in front of everyone else. […] Honor and its recognition set up the strongest possible patterns of conduct, in a hierarchy of deference and respect.” (Pryce-Jones,
The closed circle,
1989, p. 35).

31
And marrying family members:
The recently published
Arab Human Development Report
evaluates the demographic situation in 22 Arab countries. The total population of these countries amounts to 280 million, of which 38 percent are between the ages of 0 and 14, and only 6 percent are over 60. The report offers two possible scenarios for the future until 2020. According to the first scenario, the Arab population will reach an estimated 459 million by 2020; the second predicts 410 million. UNDP,
Arab Human Development Report,
New York, 2002, p. 37.

32
This premodern culture closely resembles:
which was developed by Jan Romein. Van der Loo and Van Reijen summarize the key elements of the GHP.

33
Doing nothing is a luxury:
H. van der Loo and W. van Reijen,
Paradoxen van modernisering
[
Paradoxes of modernization
], Bussum, 1997, p. 70.

34
The monotheism of Islam:
K. Armstrong,
Islam. Geschiedenis van een wereldgodsdients
[
History of a world religion
], Amsterdam, 2001, p. 58. See also: K. Armstrong,
Een Geschiedenis van God. Vierduizend jaar jodendom, christendom en islam
[A History of God. Four thousand years of Judaism, Christianity and Islam], Baarn, 1993.

35
In
The Closed Circle: D. Pryce-Jones,
The closed circle.

36
The Muslims created a multiethnic:
Lewis,
What went wrong? The clash between Islam and modernity in the Middle-East,
Londen, 2002, p. 6.

37
This all too simple response:
B. Lewis,
What went wrong?,
p. 158.

38
According to the report:
UNDP,
Arab Human Development Report.

39
The result is a general stagnation:
H. Jansen, “Bush versus Bin Laden, het Western tegen de islam?” [“Bush versus Bin Laden, the West against Islam?”], in
International Spectator,
nr. 11, November 2001.

40
There is corruption and apathy:
N. N. Ayubi,
Over-stating the Arab state: politics and society in the Middle-East,
New York, 1995, p. 125.

41
If we define culture as the repertoire:
N. Wilterdink and B. van Heerikhuizen,
Samenlevingen: een verkenning van het terrein van de sociologi
[
Societies: an exploration of the sociologist’s territory
], Groningen, 1993, p. 24.

42
The Islamic world has seen little progress:
A. van der Zwan, “Waar blijft de ombuiging in het immigratiebeleid?”

43
The group’s disadvantages are considered:
P. de Beer, “PvdA moet terug naar de oorsprong” [“PvdA must return to its roots”], in
NRC Handelsblad
July 6, 2002.

44
Galenkamp argued that this would be impossible:
M. Galenkamp, “Multiculturele samenleving in het geding” [“Multicultural society under discussion”], in
Justitiële Verkenningen
[
Judicial Explorations
], (2002) nr. 5.

45
Referring to the study by the Netherlands:
Netherlands Scientific Council of Government Policy,
Nederland als immigratiesamenleving
[
The Netherlands as an immigration society
].

46
In a Dutch newsmagazine: HP/De Tijd
Rob Oudkerk.

47
If he really said to the Dutch weekly: Vrij Nederland.

48
Thou shalt have no other:
An interview by Arjan Visser as published in the series “The Ten Commandments” in the daily newspaper
Trouw.
“The Ten Commandments” is a series published in a daily newspaper in the Netherlands that interviews many prominent people following the format of the commandments. Copyright © 2003 Arjan Visser.