I read the news story about the Islamic Sheik in Australia who caused a stir because of a line he used during a sermon defending the practice of women wearing head covering. Here’s the quote: “If you take out uncovered meat and place it outside … without cover, and the cats come to eat it … whose fault is it, the cats’ or the uncovered meat’s?” The Sheik (Taj Aldin al Hilali) took a lot of flack for that from various luminaries, including the Australian Prime Minister. And to be fair, a number of other Muslim leaders condemned this statement, and the Sheik later conceded that women in Australian society have the right to dress as they choose.

Most of the criticism focuses on the Sheik’s “whose fault is it” line, which seems to say that if a woman is raped, it’s her own fault for flaunting her charms. I myself am amused at the good Sheik’s high estimation of a woman’s sexual power, and his low estimation of a man’s self control. He seems to see us all as totally overwhelmed by sexuality, totally out of control before it. The only way we can be Godly is by brutally repressing this sexuality; and since women are the source of sexual energy, they must bear the brunt of this repression.

I’ll be the first to admit that humanity is not totally above its animal heritage. Unfortunately, there are too many places and circumstances where people become the equivalent of dumb animals (and even worse, as they still have a conniving brain). I can think of one situation where the Sheik’s advice makes sense; my employer runs an annual summer program to familiarize high school youth with the world of criminal justice. One part of this program involves a tour of a jail. And every year, without fail, one of the young female participants shows up for this tour with a sexy, revealing outfit on. Obviously, they are sent home; we aren’t about to start a prison riot.

But for the most part, we here in the western world would like to think that the laws and notions of civilized society hold, in most instances. Sexuality is all over the place here, because it greases the skids of capitalism. But to be honest, I find that all the T&A; on TV and the movies and on the Internet has an “inoculation” effect. It honestly becomes boring after awhile. We still have way too much rape, unfortunately (1 rape is too much). But although I’m not an expert on sexual assault, it seems to me that rape is generally not a matter of being overwhelmed by sexual desire; it’s usually a pathological exercise in domination, control, and humiliation. The sex is almost incidental.

Personally, I’m not totally opposed to women wearing head coverings and long baggy robes that hide everything – if they so choose. I know a woman at work who faithfully dresses this way, as a sign of dedication to her heritage and to her spirituality. She’s a crime victim counselor. You can’t help but sense her sincerity and her holiness (and yet her smile and her sense of humor still shine thru). And there’s something to the argument that American society puts too much emphasis on judging women by their appearance, whereby the old Islamic tradition of making all women look alike perhaps levels the playing field and gives all women a better chance to manifest their inner qualities. Unfortunately, however, “old school Islam” also keeps women from developing those inner qualities, e.g. by denying schooling and career opportunities to them.

But Sheik Hilali’s words reflect an unhealthy mindset regarding women, sexuality, and humankind in general. I admire Islam in its insistence upon a fervent reliance and trust in God’s will. But when that fervor describes men and women as something even lower than sinners, as mere animals out of control and in need of harsh and strict husbandry, then I think there’s a big problem. You want to ask some of those old-school imams and ayatollahs, “does Allah make junk?”

P.S., Christianity hasn’t had such a great track record with regard to sexuality and women either. But I doubt if Islam could accommodate the story regarding a 7th Century monk named Vitali. According to legend, Vitali compiled a list of all “women of ill repute” within Alexandria, Egypt. During the day he worked for cash, and at night he visited the brothels – but not for the obvious. Vitali supposedly gave his hard-earned money to the lady de la nuit and shut himself in her room. . (Guess he paid enough to hire her for the evening). Vitali then begged the hooker to lie down and sleep, while he spent the entire night in the other corner in prayer to God for her sins. He did this long enough to “hit” every prostitute in town, more than once. Because of his faith, many of these women left the trade; some married, others went to a monastery and others got day work.

Well, who knows if that could be true or not (or mostly true, but perhaps Vitali slipped once or twice??). All I’m saying is that Christianity often assumes that people can and should get their sexuality under control and sublimate it to godly causes. Feminine sexuality is not seen as an inherently corrupting force. Although, it wasn’t all that long ago that the Roman faith required women to wear head cover in its churches; and women still can’t become priests. So, both Christianity and Islam have yet a long way to go.