No words describes how sad this makes me and how much it makes me distrust religion.

This is absolutely disgusting.

<a href="http://www.gangstarrgirl.com"

This is not religious. It's cultural. Nothing to do with Islam. American Muslims don't do this. AFrican muslims don't do this. Chinese muslims don't do this…etc.

African muslims just cut off your clit.

Solitaire, stop with your racist BS against Muslims. I've been seeing nothing but hateful comments from you whenever Stereohyped has an article about Muslims. If you want to take your racist BS, go somewhere else.

Some cultural practices are just bad. This is why cultural relativism does not work. We have to call wrong, wrong no matter who it is and not allow people to continue to get away with "well, that is their culture" as an excuse for unacceptable crimes against others

Obviously, I can't really speak for Abbey, but it seems like her point was not to excuse the honor crimes, but to make a distinction between the extent to which culture vs. religious doctrine plays a factor in facilitating these crimes.

Oh piss off deaf feminist twit. The last I checked islam was a religion, and not a race, so that squashes your racism bullshit.

I haven't said untrue about muslims on this site. African muslims do routinely cut off the clits of women, and that is a FACT.

@ Solitaire

Its not just African Muslims that do this, as your statement seems to imply. Heck, its not just Muslims either.

Except, less white people are Muslim than Christian… some people who hate muslims only do so because they hate the ways of non-whites. In a way, it is racism. And maybe you should grow up and stop telling "twits" (a very kind Stereohyped regular) to "piss off." Anyway, "bigotry" may have been a better word, but that mistake does not squash the "racism bullshit." Although I wasn't offended by your statement, it could come off as a cruel simplification.
I am offended by your statement about Jamaicans, though.

I agree with Tariq. The same practice of maintaining a family's honor by killing someone was the same rationale used by the Indian man who killed his African-American daughter-in-law because having a black person in the family is shameful.

These have been prevalent in the UK. I had no idea that it had reached state side though I'd heard of people driving their female relatives to commit suicide.

@Solitaire, FGM is practiced by non-muslims. My understanding is that it has more to do with culture than religion as it is far more common in nomadic people in Africa than in Muslim people. Also, it happens in the middle East too. In Egypt, technically in Africa but considered "Middle Eastern", 96% of married women have been mutilated. This mutilation of course varies from group to group. I know in some people, they cut the labia minora which American women are doing now to get their genitals to look like those they see in Playboy. In other groups, they cut off the labia minora and the hood of the clitoris. In others, they remove pretty much everything external and sometimes even sew the labia majora together which of course causes a LOT of life long issues with urination, menstruation, sex and child birth. There's scarring and infections. Katouche Niane's sister and cousin died after theirs was done.

abbey
This is not religious. It's cultural. Nothing to do with Islam. American Muslims don't do this. AFrican muslims don't do this. Chinese muslims don't do this…etc.

Cosign, I think people are forgetting that these people had a culture and religions before they became muslims.

Solitaire- African Female circumsion is not something that happens only among musilims. The practice is not linked to any religion actually.

I think people are forgetting that these people had a culture and religions before they became muslims.

And it takes education from others to tell them that this practice is wrong

Tariq, it takes lady balls (in Stephen Colbert's words). Waris Dirie knew that what was done to her was wrong just as she knew that marrying some old dude in her early teens is f-ed up. She went through with the cutting but ran away when it came to the marriage. She didn't have any education at the time.

Egyptian women and girls are probably far more educated than the many nomads and village GIRLS who run away when faced with the cutting.

…which is significant because only 2 in 50 married Egyptian women have the external genitalia they were born with.

Solitiare, why don't YOU "piss off" and try to educate yourself before making ignorant, hateful, bigoted comments? You sure you're not some white trash redneck? Cos you sure sound like one from where I live.

No, you piss off deaf feminist TWIT. Which is exactly what you are, and you scream it with each of your idiotic posts.

@ Solitaire & DFP

I come on this site all the time and rarely do I ever comment. I hope the two of you realize how serious this topic is and how childish and hurtful your comments are. These are women whose lives are being threatened because of these honor killings. You should stay focused on that and be thankful that you don't have to walk a day in their shoes.

"white trash redneck"
Those are racist remarks…

think people are forgetting that these people had a culture and religions before they became muslims.

And it takes education from others to tell them that this practice is wrong

I agree, but I think the message would hold more weight if the elder or more respected women in the village were to the ones to do most of the teaching. Having an outsider, especially a male outsider, talking to women about their genitals will be met with resistance.