ASHIK MAHMUD

Roll: 70

Don’t pretend like the sexism we see in radical Islam

doesn’t also exist in North American culture and religion.

Political cartoon: Malala Yousafzai reads a book called ‘Knowledge is Power’ while her hijab

turns into an arm, labeled “Radical Islam”, pointing a gun at her head

Website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bettie_Page_driving.jpg

ASHIK MAHMUD

Roll: 70

The following political cartoon is clearly purposeful to ridicule Islam in the

banner of “Radical Islam” making a myth of contradiction between Islam and

intellectuality. In addition to that myth, this very political cartoon represents

Malala Yousafzai (one of the most deliberated person of the year 2012) on

behalf of millions of Muslim girls in different countries who cannot escape the

conservative and fundamental Islamic society despite they are filled with

enough will and courage to enlighten themselves. The power that thinks about

security and protection may turn into the very killer; the cartoon shows that

The concept of “radical Islam” insists on ‘purdah’ or ‘hijab’ to save young

Muslim ladies from vulgar eyes with a view to save the society whereas that

“radical Islam” does not show any sympathy to kill same young ladies if they

try any path of enlightenment with Worldly especially Western knowledge.

The scary face of Malala is also a kind of scary version of Western and

American interpretation of “radical Islam”. Making one villain and making

another hero is only a game of international selfish politics.

However, from the very origin of Islam, this religion has been an enemy of

Christian religion which has gradually turned into a political rivalry due to the

history of many wars between European and Muslim countries. Western

concepts of democracy and freedom have many contradictions with radical

Islamic concepts and as a result the issue of female education, freedom and

rights have been a strong weapon for Western power politics to create

distorted concepts about Islamic culture in contrast of American or European

culture.

Moreover, this cartoon represents the same distorted version of sexism in

Islam hiding or standardizing western sexist behavior towards women. Power

determines the knowledge, spectacle to watch, frequency to hear and

standard to adapt- that power is now in the hand of America who has

ASHIK MAHMUD

Roll: 70

provided those weapons too used by the terrorists, ironically those terrorists

are also a creation for the sake of American politics. In a documentary made

on George W. Bush and his family, one can easily notice that how Bush family

maintained a warm relationship with Arabian business families especially

with Bin Laden and his family.

Hence, liberal behavior to women rights in North America is just eyewash

which is virtually a pipeline for women empowerment and in real- a gateway

to manipulate women to secure male-governed power gathering common

sympathy. The media in North America depends on advertisement for their

income where representation of women is just to more than liberal to use

women body as only a commodity overcoming the sense of respecting women

as a part of human species. I think , the marginalization of women in north

America is even severe than radical Islam and it looks like white women are

provided only a little more opportunity and respect than Afro-American

people whereas black or coloured women are doubly marginalized unless

they are eligible enough to be used as commodity or medium of

entertainment.

In addition to that, the market of pornography along with weird fashion

shows use women to entertain the totalitarian democracy of patriarchal

power holder who are hungry with corrupted sensual appetite. New arrivals

of stylish cars in the American market need “women-washer in bikini” as a

marketing strategy to pump up another patriarchal notion of domination as

riding the car, controlling it and driving own way. Ideological domination is

the best way to dominate human race and thus the American invention of

‘beauty contest” makes American girls obsessed with all the delusion of being

beauty maintaining the flow of patriarchal domination and sexist

empowerment. The world statistics shows that America is one of those

country where women are most vulnerable in of social security causing

frequent rapes and harassments.

ASHIK MAHMUD

Roll: 70

Interpretation of Islam as radical Islam is just another musk of world media

ideology to criticize Islam on behalf of American strategy to evaluate their

version of sexism better than radical Islamic version where American women

may be willingly compelled to be hegemonized that they should be satisfied

and grateful as they are given spaces to live a better life than many others.