One question I always want to ask religionists: so if God is “the father,” just how big is His Willy? Looks like a whole passle of ladies aren’t going to find out.

By DONNA ABU-NASR, Associated Press Writer Thu Sep 7, 2:25 PM ET
JIDDAH, Saudi Arabia - Officials are considering an unprecedented proposal to ban women from performing the five Muslim prayers in the immediate vicinity of Islam’s most sacred shrine in Mecca. Some say women are already being kept away.

The issue has raised a storm of protest across the kingdom, with some women saying they fear the move is meant to restrict women’s roles in Saudi society even further. But the religious authorities behind the proposal insist its real purpose is to lessen the chronic problem of overcrowding, which has led to deadly riots during pilgrimages at Mecca in the past.

It was unclear why the step was being considered now, but officials say they have growing concerns about overcrowding, particularly at Mecca’s Grand Mosque. The mosque contains the Kaaba, a large stone structure that Muslims around the world face during their daily prayers.

The chief of the King Fahd Institute for Hajj Research, which came up with the plan, told The Associated Press Thursday that the new restrictions are already in place. There have been word-of-mouth reports of women being asked to pray at new locations away from the white-marbled area surrounding the Kaaba in recent weeks.

But Sheik Youssef Khzeim, deputy chief of the Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques Affairs, a Saudi government organization in charge of implementing the proposal, denied the reports, saying the old arrangements that allow women to pray in the Kaaba’s vicinity are still in effect. He said if any woman were asked to move to the back “it’s only to maintain order.”

“This is still a study and nothing has been implemented,” Khzeim told the AP.

Such discrepancies are not unusual in Saudi Arabia and could signal an attempt to introduce the controversial arrangements slowly.

Many Saudis say the proposal, released two weeks ago in the form of a study, violates the spirit of Islam.

“The prophet, who is the first leader of Muslims, didn’t do it,” said Mohsen al-Awajy, an Islamist lawyer and cleric. “Those who are proposing the change after him have to come up with legal justification for it.”

Snort. “Legal” justifications. I’m sure God will send the proper holy inspiration to some jurist just in time. ‘

I’m in a nasty mood today, but I don’t want anyone to think that I’m just picking on Islam. I could post misogynist aspects of various popular religions all day long. I’ll never forget the first time had a discussion with a monk about gender and divinity, or the feeling of complete dissatisfaction I had with his answers to my questions. They boiled down to “you don’t have a penis, and thus you’ll never be perfect.” He was a Buddhist, no less.

Sigh. Science is cool, and doesn’t ever make claims it can’t back up, and if you have problems with them, you can check them out for yourself. And it’s also helped us understand that things like skin color and hair texture don’t have anything to do with what makes a human being of value. If the Saudis tried this shit with white Muslims, the West would go to war over it for real.

Why people (specifically women) continue to defend “traditions” that allow men to treat them like shit and call it “holy” is just beyond me. Props to the women in the article who are fighting back, but if you ask me, it’s like asking for cucumber instead of a wet noodle for a knife fight. I weep to think of what their brains could be focused upon were they not so busy defending their right to stand closer to a rock.