Fans of JQWorld know that I am pretty tough on the MSM, including the Washington Post, for the way in which they have covered (or not covered) stories of demonstrably vital importance, and particularly, issues related to Islamism, and the war that militant Islamists have declared on us (and especially its domestic manifestations). An example of a previous instance in which I took the Washington Post to task for its coverage of a vital issue is located here.
But today, I was very pleasantly surprised by a story that was right there on the front page of the Washington Post:
For Some Muslim Wives, Abuse Knows No Borders; Traditional Pressures Can Persist in U.S.
By Pamela Constable, Washington Post Staff Writer
The article tells the story of several Muslim women here in America who have suffered both intimidation from their families and culture, and brutal beatings at the hands of their husbands, not as some abnormality, but as a significant outgrowth of Islamist indoctrination in their home nations, which has metastasized into America. Excerpt:
"My husband beat. He show knife. I am scared for him, for all family," said Shamim, 21, the Pakistani bride, who was rescued by police. She is being sheltered and tutored in English at a private home. "They say no money, no call mother at home. I cook for all, I not eat. I not know 911 what is. I think I go crazy."
Shireen, the woman in Maryland, speaks with articulate chagrin about how the crushing weight of social expectation kept her in a relationship that soon turned violent. Both women's last names are being withheld at their request.
"I was perfectly happy living alone, but the family kept pushing me to marry. I wanted to show them I was a good Muslim girl," said Shireen, now 37 and divorced. When her husband became abusive, she said, relatives told her to be a better wife. When she took him to court, she said, "everyone abandoned me. I was the one who had done something wrong."
Domestic abuse is hardly unique to Muslim immigrant communities; it is a sad fact of life in families of all backgrounds and origins. Yet, according to social workers, Islamic clerics and women's advocates, women from Muslim-majority cultures face extra pressure to submit to violent husbands and intense social ostracism if they muster the courage to file charges or flee...
In the case of Shamim, it took a series of contacts with sympathetic relatives and women's rights activists for her to summon the nerve to call 911. When she finally did, the police came in a patrol car, helped her pack while her husband and in-laws watched in astonishment, and escorted her to a friend's home.
"Now I am freedom," Shamim said, grinning broadly as she took a tea break recently from her English studies. "I stay America. Not go home. In home, everyone blame woman, it is my culture. Everyone blame me."
Read it all, here. And maybe even send a supportive email to the writer, and to the Post.
Fairness means being critical (brutally, when necessary), but also giving credit where it is richly due.
Today, the Washington Post and Ms. Constable get a big tip-of-the-hat from JQWorld, for showing the courage that is necessary to bring these issues to light, right there on page 1 of one of America's most important and influential newspapers.
And while not trying to sound cynical, here's also hoping that the Washington Post will stand its ground when the inevitable attacks from CAIR, MPAC and certain leftist advocacy groups are directed at it (as they most surely will), for its "insensitivity," "bias," and possibly even "racism."
These false charges are the currency that Islamists have been taught to use to cow truth-tellers and critics of radical Islamism into submission. And judging from their long, substantive string of recent successes (here, here), there's good reason for them to believe that they may be successful with the Washington Post, too.
Don't back down, Washington Post. We need more of the reporting that you provided today --- not less.
Original content is © Copyright 2007 by Jon Quixote. Email to jonquix@hotmail.com
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