A Blog by the Editor of The Middle East Journal

Putting Middle Eastern Events in Cultural and Historical Context

Friday, April 23, 2010

Women's Dress, Earthquakes, the Internet, etc.: Protest Busting Out

If you're easily offended, don't click the links. I'm just reporting the news. In the wake of this story, on the Iranian cleric who blamed earthquakes on provocatively dressed women, the Internet has of course done what it does so well, and reacted with this story, with the idea originating here, and has spread to Facebook and, inevitably, Twitter. The goal is to get as many women as possible to show as much cleavage as possible on the Internet [apparently in public, not online] on Monday. It has acquired the name "boobquake." (If you're in the fatwa issuing business, it's neither my term nor my idea.)

I rather suspect this is not what the Hojatolislam expected. Under the law of unintended consequences he will probably be chagrined (or feel vindicated), but the protest may be, um, busting out all over.

I'll not dwell on this further; I'm not trying to titillate my readers. Just trying to keep them abreast of the latest news, so to speak.

If there are earthquakes Monday, we'll know why.

1 comment:

Reverend Tim said...

There are two key theological flaws with the boobquake protest.

In the matter of Divine retribution for sins both real and imagined, there is broad ecumenical agreement across faiths.

First, retribution is not immediate.
Second, it is not targeted at the actual evildoers.

On the first point, we can turn for guidance to the careful scriptural exegesis of the Commonwealth's Reverend Pat who pointed out that the recent earthquake in Haiti was the result of a pact made with the Devil more than 200 years ago. Not by Pat, by the Haitians.

Similarly, Reverend Pat and Pastor Jerry conclusively demonstrated on 9/13 that 9/11 was the result of a compounding of offenses beginning if I remember correctly with literacy for women. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMkBgA9_oQ4

Second, in exacting retribution, the Divinity does not use "smart" weapons apparently preferring to employ the spiritual equivalent of the Grad missile. The just are just as likely to be hit as sinners. On that matter, we can turn to one of the televangelists who pointed out that Katrina was the just punishment for a single act of bestiality committed in the State of Washington.