[jaxie]

Originally Posted by Toy Soldier

But Brillo... Do you genuinely believe that all or most Muslim men are sexist? Do you see a Muslim man and immediately assume that he is sexist? More importantly - as per the school thread - do you see people with a middle eastern opinion, assume that they are Muslim, and THEN assume sexist motives? Also... Do you think that it's ONLY Muslims who are sexist? Because I know a lot of extremely sexist old pigs (work hazard) and 90% of them are white and British born. Yes, one of the worst is a Muslim guy, who doesn't even like to be served by female staff - BUT - there are at least a dozen other Muslim customers or customers "with the appearance of someone who may be Muslim" who are polite, respectful, chatty and cheerful. You just can't go around judging a whole group of people based on the most extreme examples? Because like I said, there are still plenty of disrespectful, aggressively sexist British men around but you wouldn't judge all British men based on their behaviour.

That's the difference and that's what makes it - shudder to use the term - pretty racist. You make sweeping assumptions about individuals based on what they look like, or where they are from. That's the issue here.

I think you've decided that people don't care about sexism in Muslim communities or that it isn't a problem. Yes, it is a problem. Yes, it should definitely be addressed and not ignored, but if anything your valid points get completely lost as soon as you start making these generalisations... Am I guilty of ruining some of your threads? Probably, yeah, but nowhere near as many as you ruin yourself by losing the focus of the issue and making it about "all" or "most" of a group.

I'll answer your question about sexism if I may. I wouldn't say all men are sexist or all men in any one religion. What I will say is that most religion teaches and promotes sexism. Men of faith are often raised to see women as inferior. For me that is a huge issue.