veiled4allah: Muslims are not all alike veiled4allah: Muslims are not all alikeIran and Saudi Arabia are often lumped together as being fundamentalist Islamic states. However, according to the documentary Adventure Divas: Behind Closed Cha-dors, 60% of the university population in Iran is female; women have important government positions. The educational system is based on a what we would call a liberal arts model and one of the biggest vigils on September 11, 2001 outside of the US was in Tehran. The lead off articles also demonstrate an engagement, although in a highly circumscribed way, with modernity. Oddly enough, none of the above can be said for our great friend and ally Saudi Arabia. What I've said above should not be construed as an endorsement of the notion of vilayat-e faqih, rule by the jurisconsult; I believe Khomeini's theory of the state is a perversion of the role the Ithna'ashri ulama are too play in the absence of the Imam. However, to assume that countries like Saudi Arabia and Iran are equivalent, misses very important realities on the ground. Iranians are interested in an engagement with the US, yet as a matter of policy we isolate them, and indirectly support the theocracy. Saudi Arabia, and Saudi Arabians, have demonstrated a deep and abiding hatred of the US, yet we continue to give them as much as they need. Why? The very things we say we find distasteful about Iran are to be found in Saudi Arabia, but too a much greater degree. The things we hated in the Taliban have their origin in the Wahhabi faith.Too often commentators seem to treat all Muslims as being identical, without understanding either the historical development of various Muslim countries or different trends and movements within Islam. Islam is not a monolith. Understanding the differences among different Muslim groups will help you do much better in seeking to engage the Muslim world.
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