Malaysia: No tomboys allowed

October 24, 2008
Recall Iranian Hitler proclaiming there are no homosexuals in Iran. He was referring to men. Now Malaysia is going after "tomboys" - the code word for short-haired, sweatshirt-wearing, man-behaving lesbians. From the AP.

The National Fatwa Council [Malaysia's main body of Islamic clerics ] forbade the practice of girls behaving or dressing like boys.

Harussani [Muslim legal expert] said an increasing number of Malaysian girls behave like tomboys, and that some of them engage in homosexuality. Homosexuality is not explicitly banned in Malaysia, but it is effectively illegal under a law that prohibits sex acts "against the order of nature."

[I wonder if this was directed at bestiality.]

"It doesn't matter if it's a law or not. When it's wrong, it's wrong. It is a sin," Harussani told The Associated Press. "Tomboy (behavior) is forbidden in Islam."

Under the edict, girls are forbidden to sport short hair and dress, walk and act like boys, Harussani said. Boys should also not act like girls, he said.

"They must respect God. God created them as boys, they must behave like boys. God created them as girls, they must act like girls," he said.

A well-known Malaysian Muslim actress caused an uproar last year when she shaved her head bald for a film. Harussani and other muftis urged Muslims not to watch the movie, arguing that the actress had violated Islam by making herself look like a man.

It was not immediately clear what kind of punishment awaited those who violate the tomboy edict, or "fatwa." Malays generally follow the council's "fatwas" out of deference, but violators rarely get into trouble unless the edict is incorporated into national or Shariah law.

Is that the actual word they use "tomboy"? How is this new requiring a fatwa? And what about alopecia or chemotherapy-induced baldness? It's hard to believe they haven't been punishing them for years. Do they still stone people? Can you imagine being buried up to your neck, having men whipping stones at your head, all the while chanting Praise Allah! until you mercifully die? And all the husband has to do is allege adultery. It's curious, isn't it, what is "forbidden" under Islamic law and what is sanctioned? Death to Infidels! No short hair! No walking like boys! Who determines this? And what about effeminate men? If it has been forbidden under Islamic law, then it has been forbidden for 13 centuries. So what is the need for a fatwa?

What matters is the women haven't, aren't or aren't capable of doing something about it. What if the women of al Qaeda refused to lay down with them to have more hate-filled babies? Who controls the population? What kind of women continue to give birth knowing their sons will grow up hating and aspiring to kill people they don't even know in a country they have never lived in under the ungodly cover of jihad? How does one reconcile this? The women of al Qaeda and all the other terrorist organizations hold the key to ending the violence. The question is where do they stand and what will they do? How many women truly want their sons to be martyrs? How many are truly proud of who they are as wives, mothers, sisters, daughters, grandmothers? How soon will the women start fighting their own battle so it doesn't spill over to peace-seeking nations? Hate-filled murderers do not raise themselves.