Bombing Sexual Frustrations

I have written about the attempts to link sex and family structures with terrorism before and I want to add two cents, triggered by (but mostly not at odds with) this quote by Andrew Sullivan discussing the future of Iraqi women in light of the work on the draft constitution:

I do believe that the repression of women's social rights is integral to the pathologies that have bred Islamo-fascism. Sexual repression, misogynist theology, males treating women as property to be fought over or raped, honor killings: all these lead to cultures in which many frustrated young males turn to extreme religious faith or violence. Liberating Muslim women is critical to liberating the Middle East, which in turn is critical to protecting the West from more religious terror.

If we are talking war and terror, young men’s horny minds are certainly not anything the west has to bring a remedy for; some would even argue that it is the west’s idea of liberated sexuality that spin the young men’s head into trouble; they are trying to make some sense out of the contrasts. Still, if sexual frustrations have any part to play in the psychology of terrorists, it is a small part of the puzzle and we might excuse ourselves and leave it on the shelf where it properly belongs.

Arab women have to be ‘liberated’ yes, but they also need to define their liberty themselves. Human Rights are universal and should be a part of the new Iraqi constitution; its drafters though are giving priority to Islamic law, because that is the legal code people adhere too. Yes things will change but Arab societies will have a different construction than western societies even in the future. It will be based on common perceptions of what is good and bad, right and wrong. We should not imagine Arab people in general are harboring a dream about western society that they are almost bursting to live out. They do not dream of more divorces than marriages; more people living alone than together; young women living alone; young men butt-kicking the fathers of their girlfriends; young men telling their fathers to piss off; etc. etc. etc.

If that dream exists it is only in the minds of western people who want to make the world fit to the order they know. But instead of discussing societies, listen to what the Arab people say are making young men become terrorism: a) it is the war (Palestine); b) it is the war (Iraq); c) it is the war (Afghanistan). This three-in-one answer need a qualification: they perceive great injustice but they’re also informed by biased media and dictators who are blaming all national problems on the west to hide their own flaws. There is more to say about this issue but let’s stay here, at this point, where wars and injustice matters, and deal with it because it is what needs to be dealt with.

When we’re done with that and our dinners and washing up, we can look for the small parts in our puzzle again and be perplexed about the link between ‘the other people’ and bombs. Because there is a link, but it is not very important.

Not more important than it is when we are trying to solve the troubling puzzle of American Christian fundamentalism and internal terrorism.