Re: Apology

["Joan (Jody) Crowley" <jcrowley@xxxxxxxx>]

> In regard to Islamic presence in Kosovo, I'm very sorry, but I forgot the
> 50 years of Communism which has intervened for both Kosovo and Albania. 
> This no doubt explains quite a lot, altho it still would be helpful to
> have the consequences of that mentioned in re the current catastrophe.
> Cecelia Sudia csudia@erols.com
> 
I have taught comparative criminal justice systems for several years now, and 
have made a particular study of the status of women in Islamic society.  Let 
me comment, respectfully, about the implications of the rape campaign going 
on in Kosovo.  

In some places, notably Poland, communist domination made adherence to 
the traditional faith stronger, an underground resistance of sorts.  I don't know 
about Yugoslavia, but it seems that part of the ethnic strife focuses around the 
religious affiliations of the Serbs (Orthodox), Croatians (Catholic), and the 
Albanians (predominately Muslim).

Actually, the issue of a campaign of rape is particularly tragic in an Islamic 
community.  I say this not to discount the suffering which forcible rape 
creates for women in other cultures.  Family honor, including strict chastity, is 
a much more explicitly central element of Islamic life than we experience in 
Christianity, where celibacy and separation from the worldly family has been 
considered a sign of holiness.   Adultery is a Had, a crime against god, 
punishable by death.  Fornication,  (sex between unmarried persons) is 
considered a form of adultery punishable by 100 lashes. 

In many Islamic countries, rape is believed to sully the family honor in a way 
that cannot be cleansed unless the rape victim dies, usually at the hands of a 
male relative like her father or brothers.   In others, even if the family is not 
expected to kill the victim to restore family honor, the woman is considered 
shamed and unmarriageable.  If she is already married, her husband may be 
expected to shun her.  She may be cast out from her family, including her 
children. There were many reports of raped Bosnian Muslim women being 
rejected by their families when they tried to return home.  The rape victim's 
family is also shamed because they could not protect her virtue.  Even in a 
secularized Islamic state, sexual crimes have more devastating implications 
for a wider range of people in the family and the community than we 
experience in the West.  

The perpetrators know all this, let me assure you.  Rape is used to destroy not 
only the woman but her extended family. It is a deliberate program of cultural 
terrorism.  

Jody Crowley

Joan (Jody) Crowley
Assistant Professor
Department of Criminal Justice
New Mexico State University
Box 30001, Dept 3487
Las Cruces, NM 88003-0001
505-646-5376