Dr. Hayat Sindi is a Saudi Arabian medical scientist and a woman who has earned respect for extraordinary accomplishments in a country that denies women basic liberties. She is not only an award-winning scientist but one of the first female members of the Consultative Assembly of Saudi Arabia. Ranked by Arabian Business as the 19th most influential Arab in the world and the ninth most influential Arab woman, it is not surprising that Harvard University has brought her to the country as a visiting scholar. However, a nasty lawsuit in King County has raised deeply disturbing allegations about Sindi’s efforts against women who she accuses of hacking her emails. According to counsel for one of those women, Sindi worked to have another woman flogged for writing on Facebook that she had had an affair with her husband. On the other side is Samia El-Moslimany, a women’s activist and photographer who lives in the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, who is fighting to keep Sindi from forcing the disclosure of the women, who would face medieval Sharia justice in Saudi Arabia.
All of this began when El-Moslimany posted statements on social media in 2012 alleging that Sindi had had an affair with her husband. Sindi responded with a Saudi defamation case and, according to an affidavit submitted by El-Moslimany’s lawyer, she wanted El-Moslimany flogged. The effort backfired. A Saudi judge decided last year that El-Moslimany should spend four days in jail for the public defamation while Sindi should spend two months in jail for forming an illicit relationship with El-Moslimany’s husband. Neither has served their sentences.
Sindi however has continued to try to force disclosure of the names of the women commenting on the Internet under the claim that she was hacked. A King County Superior Court judge decided Friday not to sentence a Burien woman to jail or to levy a $500 fine for each day of withholding the names in light of the danger to these women.
Judge Mariane Spearman denied Sindi’s request to hold El-Moslimany in contempt of court because Sindi’s new lawyer could not specify which Facebook comments might be a basis for investigating any of the women.
The idea of a Harvard academic fighting to have women flogged for alleged defamation is deeply troubling. The fact that Saudi Sharia law allows for medieval justice does not excuse a demand for such justice over the exercise of free speech. Even if such speech was defamatory, it should not be a criminal matter subject to flogging. Whatever the truth of the adultery, it should not be relevant to Harvard or anyone else other than those involved in these families. However, flogging for posting matters on the Internet raises significant issues of due process and free speech.
Should Harvard be involved in such dispute when one of its faculty seeks to have women flogged under Sharia law or this is simply a private matter under the laws of another country?
Nick-You and me both. I’m more effective at 5 am than 5 pm. Give the Atlantic article a read and let me know what you think.
Edward, I’m sharper in the morning than @ night. I’ve bookmarked the Atlantic piece and will read it in the morning. Maybe we will get an answer from po on the rather straightforward, simple question by then. He learns of a terrorist plot by a fellow Muslim. Will he call the police? To date, the silence is deafening. Or, did I miss it? Has po answered that simple question?
WWPD? He learns of a plot by a fellow Muslim that will kill innocent people. I think I know what just about anyone here would do. They would call the police. But, WWPD?
Sorry for the double post as the first one did not post do I thought it was lost.
I can’t pull down the quote on my iPhone but I would cite where you state that Sharia law and the “rule of law” would require that the woman be flogged. Also that you would like to see Sharia law be imposed as you have a list of people you would like to see flogged.
What I did not see is where you said that this is barbaric and wrong.
So I have to assume that you have no problem with this.
Because you are the type of Moderate Mudlim that goes for this crap.
Olly-Glad you liked it! Thought it was an interesting article. It’s not as “insightful” as the regularly instigated food fight some people insist on instigating, but definitely worth a read.
When one starts calling other commenters here “pigs” it’s time to leave the party.
http://issuu.com/entmagazineme/docs/entrepreneur_middle_east_february_2/32
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c155/samiaelmo/EntrepeneurMagazineSindiEnglish_zps6e482073.jpg
I identified you Olly.
Thank you for identifying the subject of my last post Inga. That was actually far easier than I expected.
I can not pull down the quote on my IPhone but I would cite where you quote Sharia law and “rule of law” that would require the flogging. What I don’t see is where you said that this barbaric and wrong.
i don’t expect to see that because I think in your heart you think this is just fine.
Great contribution Olly, so insightful of you.
If ever a quote fit a thread, this would be that quote and this would be that thread.
“I learned long ago, never to wrestle with a pig. You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it.” George Bernard Shaw
Edward,
Great link at 8:05p! Thank you
Po, that’s the way these people operate. The truth is simply inconvenient to them.
Inga
Wade,
We can only hope that there was less ‘guess work’ in his testimonies.
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Inga, wonder how many cases were thrown out based on his skilled detectiving?
Trope, keep repeating it, it is about to become true. 50% more repeating would do the trick.
Wade,
We can only hope that there was less ‘guess work’ in his testimonies.
Remember that po is defending this so called scholar who is trying to have a woman flogged. He is defending Sharia law and “wishes” that we all be subject to it as he has a list of people he would like to she flogged. This is what the looney left Jumps to defend.
Think about that for a moment.
He is what the loons term a “moderate Muslim.”