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Assignment #12

In the piece “Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving” by Lila Abu-Lughod discusses the ethics about the current war on terrorism. She also explains how cultural difference causes a strong divide in people and causes people to judge others based off of what they believe in. Ever since the terrorist attacks on 9/11, Muslims have been attacked for their beliefs and are the cause to all terrorist activities around the world. The kind of questions that news programs posed on women after 9/11, showed how they were being magnified for everything they believed in. Did Islam allow this activity? What did Muslim women believe in? The question being posed is why are people looking into the culture of a region, particularly beliefs and religion, as if it would help explain why these terrorist attacks occur.On the topic of the cultural mode of explanation, she explains how Muslim women were symbolic of the war on terror. In the speech given by Laura Bush, she wanted Muslim women wanted to justify American bombing. This would allow women to live in fear without punishment, and how the war on terrorism also involved the fight for the rights of Muslim women. The discussion of the veil or burqas displays the importance that this holds to women in Muslim society. The wearing of the burqas is a big sign in the oppression against women. Although, it is sign of oppression against women, it is also a sign of respect to the Muslim religion. Muslim women are not gonna throw their burqas on the floor to symbolize rebellion. Taking off the burqa does not give them freedom. The Taliban did not invent the burqa, it was meant to symbolize a women’s modesty. It protected women against the strangers in society. A women throwing off a burqa would essentially cause a woman to disrespect herself and lose her modesty. The culture is essentially voluntary, not forced on women. The certain cultures such as wearing a burqa is a choice made by the Muslim women and not by society.