Response to Hirsi Ali's Submission

Hirsi Ali’s Submission was a work close to her own heart, and it definitely resonates that way. Learning about her experiences with the Islamic culture sheds light on this provocative film. To me, Submission seems a narrow-minded, one-sided view albeit a very visually and artistically appealing one. Abuse of women seems to be pinned entirely upon the Koran and Allah’s words. Although I have very limited knowledge on the Koran, I would argue that, while abuse of women is indeed a major problem among some Islamic cultures, it is not necessarily a direct offshoot from the holy text. For example, Western cultures were partially ruled and founded by the followers of the Bible. Similar to the Koran, which Submission mentions dictates the whipping of adulterers, the Bible (Old Testament) dictates the stoning of adulterers to death. Personally, I do not hear of many adulterer deaths by stoning nowadays. And abuse of women is not uncommon even in the U.S., especially if one looks at the statistics in certain parts of the U.S. Admittedly, there seems to be a common thread where abuse is too common to be ignored in certain –and only certain—Islamic communities and individuals. This seems more a testament to the culture and practices in those communities rather than a problem singularly attributable to the Islamic religion. Still, it seems that many of the practiced abuse of women is substantiated by the Koran and until the culture of those certain Islamic communities and individuals rejects that practice, the Koran will be used as an excuse.

There seem to be many different views on Hirsi Ali’s work. Some regard it as a brilliant and shrewd work, while others think it demeaning, insensitive, and ignorant. Others straddle the fence: it brings issues to the forefront but was somewhat lacking. What it was lacking in depended on the reviewer. As I said before, I’m in this middle camp. I appreciate Hirsi Ali’s willingness to bring pressing social problems into the public view and her desire to stimulate debate but I have trouble seeing her film without trepidation at how she attributes the problems to the Koran and the Koran alone. Ceylan Weber (from the Al Nisa Foundation for Muslim Women) said that Hirshi Ali “has absolutely no clue of the complexity of domestic violence” and, while Submission is a short piece with a point to make, not an hour long documentary, I am inclined to agree. Religion is not the sole reason behind domestic violence in Islamic communities, although it seems it will be quoted as such.