** Harold V. Cordry, The Multicultural
Dictionary of Proverbs, McFarland
 Inc., Jefferson, N.C., 1997.
pp: 286, 288, 63.

Atrocities against humanity are a continuing epidemic. Monitoring,
reporting and condemnation of human rights violations against political
dissidents, ethnic groups and women, have become a ritual of humanitarian
western institutions. Occasionally those reports are followed by financial
and political pressure exerted by western countries. Although these efforts
are essential and laudable they are insufficient. Usually financial and
political pressure does not bring desired change. The targeted country's
ruthless and oppressive regimes and their supporters become more defiant
and arrogant. Those who suffer from economic embargos are consequently the people humanitarian efforts are meant to help. Using their monopoly on the media, oppressive regimes invoke the nationalistic pride of their citizens and successfully use international pressure for their advantage. The
authoritarian governments of Muslim countries such as Iran, Iraq, Libya,
Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Sudan are current examples of
failed western policies. Crimes against humanity cannot be stopped without
eliminating the sources and factors that generate human rights violations.

Many questions need to be answered. Why is finding democracy in Muslim
countries as difficult as finding a palm tree in the North Pole? Why do
some countries have long-lasting human tragedies such as, tyranny,
corruption, ethnic fighting, religious oppression, etc.? Why are Muslim
women subjected to oppression and humiliation? Why does international
terrorism find support from some states and their citizens? Why do those
who are oppressed by their governments themselves become oppressors when they obtain power?

To find satisfactory answers to these questions we must carefully examine
and analyze the factors contributing to these tragedies. This may provide
us with a better way of fighting against human rights violations and go
beyond the watch-report-condemn cycle.

In this paper I will be pointing out the latent elements that create
fertile conditions for oppression and discrimination. I will focus on
women's rights, especially in Muslim countries and my homeland, Turkey.
After exposing those elements I will invite human rights organizations to
support cultural and religious reformation. Here I will focus on the
triarchy (3 Ps) that I think defines a country's human rights record:

1. Patriarchy (through folklore and proverbs)
2. Priesthood (through religious teachings)
3. Preceptors (through public or private education)

1. Patriarchy/folklore and proverbs

Proverbs with their linguistic devices such as rhythm, rhyme, assonance,
alliteration, metaphor, inversion, contrast, etc., capture attention and
mesmerize an audience. Passed from generation to generation, they are
important factors in creating and preserving a national attitude towards
other nations, races, religions, women, etc.

After I scanned several collections of proverbs, I found an international
cultural consensus regarding the status of women: women were diabolic
witches and only sticks could break their spell over mankind. They were
analogous to horses, dogs, asses, and devils. When I checked the key words "wives, daughters, girls and woman," I was appalled to see that almost every proverb degraded and insulted women. Among them I could find only three proverbs that were exalting women which I listed in bold fonts. The examples presented here are just a sample of hundreds of existing negative proverbs about women.

Woman are necessary evils. (British, Latin, Serbian, Slovenian)
Beat a woman to drive the seven devils out of her. (Bulgarian)
Who does not beat his doughtier will beat his breast. (Croatian)
A woman has long hair but short brain/wits. (Estonian, Slovenian, Swedish)
Woman is an invalid. (French)
A woman is a very perfect devil. (French)
What the devil cannot do a woman can. (German)
A bone for my dog; a stick for my wife. (Hungarian, Argentine)
When women reigns the devil governs. (Italian)
Women resist in order to be conquered. (Italian)
Both a good woman and a bad woman need the stick. (Italian)
The devil himself doesn't know where women sharpen their knives. (Lettish)
My wife is my mule. (Montenegrin)
When the devil is at his wits' end he sends a woman. (Polish)
Beat your wife before dinner and again before supper. (Russian)
The more you beat your wife, the better will be the soup. (Russian)
Beat your wife with the butt end of an ax; if she falls down, sniffs and
gasps, she is deceiving, give her some more. (Russian)
Beat a woman with a hammer and you'll make gold. (Russian)
A lucky man's first child is a daughter. (Spanish)
The threshold weeps forty days when a girl is born. (Arabic)
Woman are the snares of Satan. (Arabic)
A good girl is worth more than seven boys. (Armenian)
A girl is worth one-tenth of a boy. (Chinese)
A man can have a wife for five dollars, for a donkey he must give fifteen. (Chinese)
When an ass climbs a ladder, we may find wisdom in women. (Hebrew)
To educate a woman is like placing a knife in the hands of a monkey. (Hindi)
Woman is the chief gate to hell. (Hindi)
If women manage a village it will become a desert. (Hindi)
A woman's wisdom is under her nose. (Japanese)
It is better to be a male for one day than a female for ten. (Kurdish)
The god of women is a man, therefore all women must obey man. (Persian)
Whoever doesn't beat his daughters will one day strike his knees in vain.
(Turkish)
A woman is like a horse, he who can drive her is her master. (Nigeria)
Consult to your wife and act contrary to her advice. (Moorish, Tunisian)
Woman is a king. (Sotho) (FN 1)

Wolfran Mieder, in his remarkable book on proverbs confirms my observation:
 

"Almost every proverb that touches on women contains a severe negation of the value of women in society." (FN 2)  After citing some examples, he
continues:

"These examples amply show that the proverb makers of past centuries were misogynists, who in the bitterness of old age and regret could seemingly think of nothing better to do than to discredit with proverbial invectives the women who most likely served them very well." (FN 3)

Proverbs (FN 4)  have still great influence in many non-western countries,
where patriarchal authority is not challenged and oral tradition is still
thriving. (FN 5)  Though proverbs intend to convey wisdom, they are
occasionally used to brainwash generations. The teachings of dead ancestors are used to manipulate oppressed masses economically and politically by misinforming them with stereotypical denunciations and false
generalizations. Mineke Schipper, the author of Source of All Evil, on the
manipulative power of proverbs writes:

"The use of proverbs gives the speaker prestige. In oral cultures, people
are impressed by those who have many proverbs at their disposal and know how to use them at the right moment. The audience's moral acceptance of
the proverbs strengthens the speaker's message: the proverb is associated
with the authority of wisdom. Referring to the wisdom's unquestioned
validity, the speaker deserves respect and authority himself. . . . The man
who exhibits his wisdom confirms traditional values and the existing power
relations. Thus, he 'gets what he wants.' " (FN 6)

Tha glorification of brutality has dire consequences and societies pay
dearly in terms of bloodshed and armed conflicts. For instance the Somalian proverb, "Strike the whip next to a fool, if he doesn't get the hint,
strike him on the head." (FN 7)  most likely played a role in the civil war
in early 1990's. Teenagers who carried machetes and held guns in their
hands had this and similar proverbs in their heads. By planting this and
similar literal viruses in their minds, their ancestors granted them the
propensity to fight, oppress and destroy.

I still remember the statement made by the Turkish general who took over
the government by force in 1980. In a radio speech he was justifying the
widespread police mistreatment and torture by a popular proverb: "Those who do not understand from reason deserve stick. " (FN 8) And he was the one with the stick. Rhetorically, he employed folklore and proverbs to glorify
his own power and the legitimacy of the military regime. Instantly, he was
able to make a crucial connection in the minds of his audience. In Turkish
folklore the government is a "baba" (patriarch or father) and according to
the culture, father had absolute authority over his children. People,
already sedated by Turkish proverbs and intimidated by guns, did not raise
any objection when the military commander jailed leading politicians,
intellectuals and authors and then carried a systematic campaign of murder
and torture to neutralize his opponents. (FN 9)  The general was soon a
hero.

Though the following observation by S. Topalian was written around 1950 it
is still true for the most part of the Turkey.

"In Turkey no conversation takes place without one or more proverbs being
mentioned, and it is amazing to see the influence that they make on an
audience; as soon as a proverb is recited all heads nod in approval and all
arguments cease, a suffering or loss becomes bearable and even death loses its sting, for proverbs embody the crystal truth found by long and painful experience, and even though it may sometimes be bitter, it is in an
acceptable form." (FN 10)

There are numerous proverbs praising conquest and war. Young generations who are raised with these unquestioned dogmas, unfortunately become vulnerable to repeat the past atrocities and oppression. For example, Hitler and his propaganda machine Joseph Goebbels were well aware of the power of folklore to appeal the masses. German folklore was misused and manipulated to support the racist theories of National Socialism. Wolfgang Mieder allocates a full chapter on the role of proverbs in Nazism's
success.

"Verbal folklore forms especially, such as fairy tales, tall tales,
legends, jokes, wellerisms, and proverbs, were analyzed and quoted to prove that the "healthy" folk mind had long recognized the negative qualities of Jews who threatened the racial purity of the Aryans as well as the National Socialist regime. . . . If they could find quotations, slogans, phrases,
and proverbs that were clearly anti Semitic in nature, they could use them
to spread stereotypical views of the Jews." (FN 11)

Wolfgang Mieder quotes some anti-Semitic proverbs with their German
originals, such as:

Just as the owl can not bear the light so the Jew can not bear the truth.
All ways are acceptable to the Jew; as long as it leads to money.
The Jew is the child of selfishness, he does nothing where he gains
nothing.

The Jews knows how to support himself and how to clip others.
Don't trust a Jew's oath or a wolf on the green heath.
Whoever betrays a Jew gets a preferred place in heaven.
Jews you are and Jews you will remain.
For Jews and ravens all bathing is in vain.
Beat on him it is a Jew.
In case of Jews and lice only a radical cure helps. (FN 12)

I believe that educating people regarding the negative messages embedded in their language and folklore will help to create a generation sensitive to human rights.

Proverbs, supported by religious teachings, can create strong societal
norms and attitude that may resist formal education and corrective
legislation. Without harmony and concord of the 3 Ps, expectations for
compliance to human rights is unrealistic, since the violations of human
rights are both horizontal and vertical.

Priests/religious teachings

False religious teachings and proverbs usually promote similar values (!)
that degrades and insults women. This agreement is the exclusive work of
males who lived centuries or thousands years ago.

Today's Islam has nothing to do with the Quran, the only book delivered by
Prophet Muhammad. Clerical teachings and medieval collections of narration have incredibly distorted the original message. (FN 13)  Being a researcher on the subject, I am shocked by the amount of contradiction between the traditional Islam and the teaching of the Quran. (FN 14)  Today's mainstream Islam, unfortunately, does not recognize freedom of expression and religion. It humiliates women, forces them to wear the veil and deprives them from such basic rights as divorce, education, employment, etc. Here are a sample of some well-known tradition that is narrated by Sunnis' two holy books, Bukhari and Muslim (FN 15) :

* The intelligence and the religion of women are incomplete. * If a monkey,
a black dog, or a woman passes in front of a praying person, his prayer is
nullified. * To find a good woman among women is similar to finding a white
crow among a hundred crows. * If anybody has been required to prostrate
before others beside God, the woman should prostrate before her husband. *
I have been shown the dwellers of hell; the majority of them were women. *
If the body of the husband is covered with pus and his wife licks it with
her tongue, she still will not be able to pay her debt to him. *

Ann Elizabeth Mayer, Professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law
School, contrasts these women-bashing narration with the teachings of the
Quran:

"[A]nd it is noteworthy that the Quranic changes in women's status are in
the direction of enhancing their rights and elevating their status and
dignity. In an environment where women were so devalued that female
infanticide was a common and tolerated practice, the Quran introduced
reforms that prohibited female infanticide, permitted women for the first
time to inherit, restricted the practice of polygamy, curbed abuses of
divorce by husbands, and gave women the ownership of the dower, which had previously been paid to the bride's father. . . . It is natural that
contemporary Muslim feminists, when they look at the history of their
religion, are very skeptical when assured that Islam, which initially aimed
to remove disabilities women had suffered in pre-Islamic Arabia, provides
the rationale for keeping women in a subjugated, inferior status." (FN 16)

Unfortunately, Muslim clerics, exclusively male, succeeded in distorting
the meaning of some verses in order to preserve their patriarchal system.
For instance, they unanimously mistranslated or misinterpreted verse 4:34
to justify male dominance and wife-battery. (FN 17)  They mistranslated the
word "khumur" (cover) in 24:31 to force women to wear head-covers and even a veil. (FN 18)

An Iranian cleric, in his commentary on the Universal Declaration of Human
rights, defends pre-Islamic Arab culture as definitively Islam. The
following excerpt depicts the picture of women in the mind of a typical
Sunni or Shiite religious scholar. This cleric denies women the right to
divorce in the name of God and tries to justify this oppressive rule with a
self-fulfilling male paranoia.

"The freedom which Article 16 section 1 aims to confer on all women is
therefore an outright contradiction of Islamic commandments and can in no
circumstances be accepted by us in its present form or even in an amended
form. To us it is wrong from start to finish. . . . The reason is that
women are touchy and hasty, volatile and imprudent. If therefore women are
given equal rights to institute divorce proceedings, some of them might be
prone to rush precipitately into such action for the smallest offense or
the tiniest of displeasures. Men, on the other hand, are generally more
sagacious and level-headed and not prone to rush into an action so final as
divorce. . . . Another reason why women should not be granted the right is
that the generality of them are more gullible and credulous. Sexual desire
may make a woman easy prey for the blandishments of salacious individuals who trap her into divorcing her husband merely in order to fulfill their own lasts, and then leave her to rue the consequences when they have
attained their nefarious end. A man is not so easily fooled nor lightly
trapped into precipitate action by lustful feelings or sexual fancies. . .
. But to open the door to divorce too wide, by giving women equal rights
with men to initiate proceedings, would cause the utmost confusion the
institution of marriage." (FN 19)

Christianity is no different. St. Paul, the real founder of Christianity
(FN 20),  condemns women to silence and absolute subordination to men. His teaching is still alive and is one of the contributors in the
male-chauvinistic attitude of Christian societies:

"A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a
woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent. For
Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. But women will be saved through childbearing--if they continue faith, love and holiness with propriety." (FN 21)

These religious teachings and medieval proverbs reinforce and justify each
other. In the western world, however, secularization and democratic
liberties is powerful enough to reduce the harm of proverbs and false
religious teachings. Secular public education and progressive legislation
keep those antiquated social attitude under control. (FN 22)

In many so-called Muslim countries, clergymen (Mullahs, Ulamas, Khojas,
Mawlanas, etc.) are usually either the sanctifying puppets of oppressive
governments or the spiritual leaders of terrorist organizations. They use
God's name to justify discrimination, torture, and oppression. Their
influence within the political sphere comes from their shared fate with
kings, sultans, emirs and totalitarian leaders of their countries.  (FN 23)

Saudi's top clergymen, Abdul Aziz b. Ba'z, wrote a book claiming that the
earth was flat and still. The book is full of references to hadith
(narrations falsely attributed to the Prophet Muhammad) accompanied by
murderous instructions:

"If the earth is rotating as they claim, the countries, the mountains, the
trees, the rivers, and the oceans will have no bottom and the people will
see the eastern countries move to the west and the western countries move
to the east. . .  Those who claim that the earth is round and moving around
the sun are apostates and their blood can be shed and their property can be taken in the name of God." (FN 24)

This "authoritative" book was not published by a private publishing house
but, by the Islamic University of Medina, a prestigious university in
modern Saudi Arabia in 1975, years after men landed on the moon. You may see this as an example of harmless nonsense or amusement. Unfortunately, for those who live in Saudi Arabia or who dare to criticize such corrupt and oppressive religious teachings, the issue is not amusing. When clerics are united, every corner of the planet might become the target of their fatwa. Let me give just one example:

In February 19, 1989 a group of scholars (38 members according to the
newspaper reports) met in Saudi Arabia to discuss the issue of Salman
Rushdi. When they issued their fatwa (religious decree) it became a
headline news in Muslim countries, including my homeland Turkey. (FN 25)
Their fatwa was: "both Rashad and Rushdi are apostate." The world knew
Rushdi but who was Rashad? Dr. Rashad Khalifa, a biochemist resident of
Tucson, Arizona became a popular figure in Muslim countries after he
discovered a secret mathematical system in the Quran via computer analysis in the early1970s. (FN 26)  The consequence of the mathematical code was too difficult to be accepted by the Muslim clergymen. (FN 27)
Consequently, they issued fatwas calling for his assassination.

Although it was not as bold as Khomeyni's fatwa, it sent a clear message to
the fanatical followers of those clergymen, that Rashad and Rushdi should
be killed. (FN 28)  Religious muslims know very well that the teachings of
the Sunni and Shiite sects demand capital punishment for apostates. (FN 29)

Guess who was the chairman of that international committee of clerics? It
was Abdul Aziz b. Ba'z, the same priest who wrote a book declaring that the
earth was flat and still.

Often, dissident priests, who are in power, use that power to promote
international terrorism. Omar Abdurrahman, an Egyptian cleric who recently
became popular in western media, is such an example. Egypt has never had a democratic system by western standards and its oppressive regime has
produced a myriad of militant religious factions of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Egypt's corrupt and totalitarian system has created many local and
international heroes out of clerics such as Omar Abdurrahman. This Egyptian cleric who had immigrated to the U.S.A., did not hesitate to encourage his followers to agitate against the very country (U.S.A.) which provided refuge for him and some of his followers.

"The obligation of Allah is upon us to wage Jihad for the sake of Allah. It
is one of the obligations which we must undoubtedly fulfill. . . and we
conquer the lands of the infidels and we spread Islam by calling the
infidels to Allah and if they stand in our way, then we wage Jihad for the
sake of Allah." (FN 30)

Many blamed the U.S. immigration officials or procedures for letting the
terrorists in U.S.A. I believe that the real blunder was not in
immigration, but in U.S.'s foreign policy. Supporting undemocratic or
totalitarian regimes, such as Iran's Shah or Egypt's current regime, was
and remains, a myopic policy: it puts the security of USA citizens, here
and abroad, in great danger.  How can US expect security from international terrorism while it does not care about the security of people living under
oppressive and corrupt governments?

In the beginning of this paper I criticized proverbs for fostering violence
and discrimination. Ironically, here I am tempted to quote two American
proverbs:

What goes around comes around.
They that sow the wind shall reap the whirlwind.  (FN 31)

Militant clerics, whether they are the collaborators with the totalitarian
regimes or are the dissidents, should be taken seriously. Using the
language of religion, the proverbs of their forfathers, they can mobilize
gullible masses to bloody conflicts. The best way to deflate the power of
militant clergymen is (1) to support intellectual believers who promote
democracy and freedom, and (2) denounce and punish the oppressive leaders without favoring one to another, through international legal devices such as, freezing their assets in foreign countries and trying them in
international tribunals during their reign or after they are ousted from
power.

Donna E. Arzt, Professor of Law at the Syracuse University College of Law,
in a law review article provides us with some recent examples of repression
of religious dissidents-apostates and blasphemers, heretics and renegades, and infidels-in so-called Muslim countries. He groups the repression into three categories: "(1) officially state-sanctioned enforcement actions; (2) extra-legal enforcement of apostasy decrees issued by vigilante extremist groups; and (3) mixed cases." (FN 32)  Professor Arzt, concludes his article with the following caveat:

"Throughout Muslim history, and particularly in contemporary Muslim states,
much of the persecution of alleged apostates, heretics, and infidels, and
other violations of international standards of religious human rights has
been politically motivated, designed to benefit hegemonic, orthodox groups
who have resorted to religious justifications to legitimize their abusive
power. It is improper to conclude that Islam is inherently militant,
violent, coercive, or intolerant." (FN 33)

I agree with the author that "Islam" does not advocate violence, coercion
or intolerance, (FN 34)  but he is vague regarding the chronology and the
source of the corruption. Religious justifications to legitimize political
abusive power became an integrated part of traditional or contemporary
Islam long ago. Repressive and oppressive religious instructions did not
remain external or optional interpretations, but unfortunately, were
labeled as "Hadith" (alleged narrations from the prophet), "Sunnah"
(alleged practice of the prophet), "Ijma" (consensus of leading scholars),
and "Ijtihad" (opinion of sectarian scholars) and were incorporated as part
of the original message, the Quran, as early as with Umayyad dynasty. (FN
35)  Today's sectarian Islam, with its volumes of hadith books (narrations
falsely attributed to Muhammad) and medieval sectarian jurisprudence, is
utterly incompatible with the standards of universal human rights as
defined in the Quran. Without a reformation of traditional Islam, there
will always be a door open for abuse by tyrants and corrupt clergymen.

Noticing this fact, Professor Arzt finished his article with a genuine
invitation:

"Muslim dissidents and religious minorities in Muslim lands, however, do
need and deserve more support from international human rights movements. The same is true for those within orthodox Muslim circles who are
willing-but for their fear of persecution-to criticize abuses of human
rights by their governments. Similarly, the international media must avoid
giving undue prominence to violent Muslim militants, which in reality are
small in number, and give proportional attention to liberal Muslim groups,
albeit fledgling, who oppose violence, favor democratization and seek to
promote accommodation and reform."  (FN 36)

I applaud this invitation and I believe that extending such international
support to Muslim dissidents and reformers will hasten a paradigmatic
change in the minds of people subjected to religious ad political tyranny.
The importance of religion in the lives of people cannot be ignored.
Secular intellectuals might reconsider its positive power:

"Modern human rights laws will provide no panacea to the world crisis in
the next century, but they will be a critical part of any solution.
Religions will not be easy allies to engage, but the struggle for human
rights cannot be won without them." (FN 37)

Preceptors/education

The history of Muslim countries, especially those in the Middle East, are
full of religious and tribal wars. Their textbooks usually distort and
sanctify these bloody histories with virtually no criticism. As written,
this history of the third world is a major source of national pride. This
nationalistic pride is used by corrupt and failing governments as "opium
for the masses." What can be expected from the next generation if their
role models are those who knew nothing but the sword, and did nothing but
kill their opponents and conquer others' lands?

In this short paper I cannot provide references. If a person reads the
high-school history textbooks of oppressive regimes, he will find repeated
praises for the kings, caliphs and sultans who had oppressed their own
people. These books refer historically to their present day neighbors as
enemies. Textbooks continue to promote totalitarianism, fanaticism,
animosity and racism. How can respect for human rights be expected from
those who are "educated" by these textbooks?

A paper written by members of the Consultation Group on Religion and the
Roots of Conflict, concluded with some reflections on religion and
violence. Here is an excerpt from the conclusion:

"An attempt to develop the resources of religious traditions against
religious violence must deal with the phenomenon which some have termed the "reemergence of history" in the late 20th century. . . . Historical goals,
now pursued with a militancy and mass-organizational character born of the
modern ideology of nationalism, are supported by new communications and
weapons technologies, and they are fostered by the complications of trying
to build modern economies for modern states. Part of the irony of
contemporary religious conflict is that religious factors in group life are
at one and the same time among the most constructive and the most
destructive forces in human affairs." (FN 38)

We cannot promote human rights in Muslim countries without knowing and
acknowledging the negative impact of textbooks justifying racism and
aggression. Human rights institutions must cooperate with dissident
intellectuals of these countries to push for reformation in education.

The Triarchy Duplicates Old Social and Political Habits

In many Muslim countries, clergymen are still powerful and have an
increasing appetite to attain political power. In countries where clergy is
powerful, a child's mind is shaped and indoctrinated through three parallel
channels. He/she will most likely receive messages similar to the
following, throughout their schooling:

Patriarch: "Women are mentally sick, thus they deserve stick"

Priest: "It is narrated by Abu Hurayra who saw the holy Prophet pointing to
a group of women and saying: 'women, like black dogs, are devil; the
majority of the hell is occupied by women.' "

Preceptor: "Respect your elders. Don't question your fathers. Have faith in
your religion."

Or, a nationalistic/racist message:

Patriarch: "Friendship from a Greek is as bad as the skin of pig"

Priest: "It is narrated that friendship with infidels is the sign of the
end of the world."

Preceptor: "Eighty years ago Greeks brutally massacred hundreds of
thousands of our countrymen; they raped our women. The founder of our
country, the great hero slaughtered them and tossed them into the ocean."

Little will change even if legislation stray away from the direction of
this cultural triarchy. The influence of patriarch/priest/preceptor is so
powerful in the early years of progenies, there is little hope that they
will appreciate the universal declaration of human rights.

Conclusion

The thriarchy-patriarchs, priests, preceptors-need to be a focus of
international human rights watch groups. Reforming these three institutions
will take a long time, however, it is the only way for a long-term solution
for violations of human rights. Changes in legislation and even in a
government's treatment of citizens will not stop horizontal violation of
human rights in non-western countries where patriarchy and priests are
powerful.

We must support authors, poets, priests, educators who are not happy with
their countries' human rights record. The Nobel Peace prize is a good
device to promote peace and human rights but it is not sufficient. Less
costly but more awards and activities should be arranged.  Human rights
organizations, might pick one of the three elements and provide support in
domestic efforts toward reformation in closed societies.

In most Muslim countries the religious element is dominant. Any
reformation, or more accurately any revolution in that element will have a
domino effect on the others. There is a desperate need for reformation in
Islam. Fortunately, small groups of intellectuals have emerged recently all
around the world who advocate reformation in Islam. Authoritarian
governments and their accomplices clergymen have been trying very hard to suppress their voice. Nevertheless, this reformation movement which
promotes building open societies, democracy and respect for human rights
has great potential. Human rights institutions should contact and support
those intellectuals. That's the only sure way of eradicating the brutal
repetition of past atrocities and securing international community from the
international terrorism which usually incubates in places where human
rights are violated the most.

------------------------------------

FOOTNOTES:

*  The author is an activist for building open societies in Muslim
countries through democratization, secularization, education, civil rights
and especially reformation in Islam. The author has written scores of books
in both Turkish and English on religious, political and philosophical
issues and currently is a 3rd year student at the University of Arizona
College of Law. The author is grateful to Rachel Singer for her assistance
and helpful comments on this article.

1. These 36 proverbs are quoted from: Selwyn Gurney Champion, M.D., Racial Proverbs, Barnes & Noble, New York, 1950.

2. Wolfrang Mieder, Proverbs Are Never Out of Season, Oxford University
Press, New York, 1993, p. 65.

3. Id.

4. The author of Racial Proverbs provides the following definition: "A
proverb in my opinion is a racial aphorism which has been, or still is, in
common use, conveying advice or counsel, invariably camouflaged
figuratively, disguised in metaphor or allegory." (Supra note 1, at xv).
Another author suggested three characteristics: "Definitions generally
emphasize three characteristics of the proverbs: (1) its concise fixed
artistic form; (2) its evaluative and conservative function in society; (3)
its authoritative validity." (Mineke Schipper, Source of All Evil: African
Proverbs And Sayings on Women, Ivan R. Dee, Chicago, 1989, p. 1).

5. "Readers in the West perhaps believe that proverbs are no longer alive
in the society, but the Penguin Dictionary of Proverbs (1986:197) reminds
of their lasting impact: 'Though the proverb is abandoned, it is not
falsified.'" (Mineke Shcipper, supra note 4, at 1.)

6. Mineke Schipper, Source of All Evil: African Proverbs And Sayings On
Women, Ivan R. Dee, Chicago, 1989, p. 3.

7. The original of this Somalian proverb is: "Doqon usha ku ag dhufo,
hadday garan weydana gugga u geli."

8. The Turkish original: "Us ile uslanmayanin hakki kötektir."

9. As a young university student, I  was one of the many who were subjected
to the brutal and inhuman treatment by the military government. I suffered
four years in prison for criticizing the government and advocating a mass
revolution in two published articles.

10. Champion, supra note 1, p. civ. (S. Topalian's introduction for the
Turkish collection).

11. Mieder, supra note 2, at 226.

12. Id, at 242-244, 248.

13. See: Edip Yuksel, 19 Questions For Muslim Scholars, Monotheist
Productions International, Tucson, Arizona, 1990. See: Kassim Ahmad,
Hadith: A Re-evaluation, Universal Unity, Fremont, California, 1997. I also
highly recommend Abdullahi Ahmed An-Naim's book Toward an Islamic
Reformation, Syracuse University Press, New York, 1990. An-Naim is Law
Professor at Emory and himself survived a religious repression by Nimeiri's
regime in Sudan. His mentor Mahmud Muhammad Taha, founder of the Republican Brotherhood, was executed by the so-called Islamic government in 1985.

14. For instance, the traditional sects of both Sunni and Shiite prescribe
stoning the married adulterers to death, while the Quran recommends public
humiliation (24:1-10). Cutting off hands of thieves is misinterpretation,
since the Quran offers a range of less severe corporal punishment (5:38,
12:31). Punishing those who drink alcoholic beverages, intercession,
idolization of Muhammad, forbidding menstruating women from worshipping, circumcision, issuing death penalty for those they consider apostate and many practices and teachings are in clear contradiction to the Quran. A list of these contradictions can be found at the last pages of 19 Questions For Muslim Scholars. (see: note 13)

15. Bukhari and Muslim are two of the so-called Six Authentic Hadith Books. These books which contain teachings contradictory to the Quran are accepted as the second source of Islam. Shiites' traditional sources are no
different than Sunnis regarding women and promotion of violence.

16. Ann Elizabeth Mayer, Islam and Human Rights: Tradition and Politics,
Westview Press, Boulder and San Francisco, 1995, p. 94.

17. I have written a book arguing this and similar distortions. See: Edip
Yuksel, Türkçe Kuran Meallerindeki Hatalar (Errors in Turkish Quran
Translations), Gösterge Yayinlari, Istanbul, 1992. An English booklet
titled Unorthodox Articles contains an article on verse 4:34. It can be
found at my web site: www.quran.org/yuksel.htm

18. Id.

19. Sultanhussein Tabandeh, A Muslim Commentary on the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, F.T. Goulding & Company, London, 1970, pp.
38-39,48.

20. Biblical and historical evidences demonstrate that today's Christianity
has dramatically distorted the original message of Jesus, the Messiah.
Christianity, with all its countless sects and denominations, is basically
a product of St. Paul, a Pharisee son of Pharisee and the organized
Clergymen. See:Edip Yuksel, 19 Questions For Christian Scholars, Monotheist Productions International, Tucson, 1993. (also see:
http://www.quran.org/yuksel.htm)

21. New Testament, 1 Timothy 2:11-15.

22. Nevertheless, in modern western civilization women are abused in a more subtle way; usually as objects of sex. See: Feminist Legal Theory, edited by Katharine T. Bartlett & Rosanne Kennedy, Westview Press, Oxford, 1991. Jameela Jafri, a Muslim women residing in New York, provides some examples or consequences of commodification of women in western world: "Unlike women in the United States, we are not measured by how short our skirts are or how we look. Eating disorders, liposuction, breast implants and cosmetics are not multi-million dollar businesses in the Muslim community. Just because Muslim women cover our hair doesn't mean we cover our brains." (The Chanel Under the Chador, The New York Times Magazine, May 25, 1997, Letters section.)

23. UN's Fourth World Conference on Women was convened in Beijing in 1995 with the participation of 190 countries. A student note published in
Vanderbilt J. of Transnational Law evaluating the convention reported the
following fact about the so-called Muslim countries: "Thirty-seven states
made or recorded comments or reservations that were consensus-damaging on one or more points. States with predominantly Muslim populations represented the main block of countries objecting to portions of the Platform. Twenty-four states with a strong connection to Islam made consensus-damaging interpretive statements or expressed reservations to the Platform." Valerie A. Dormady, Women's Rights in International Law: A Prediction Concerning the Legal Impact of the United Nation's Fourth World Conference on Women, 30 Vand. J. Transnational L. 97, 106 (January 1997). At the footnote 48 of the note those countries are listed as: Algeria, Bahrain, Brunei Darrussalam, Comoros, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Moldives, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, United Arab