Muslim Students Stressed by Gender Mingling

According to a report in the New York Times, it appears that a definable battleground in the conflict between feminism and Islam is emerging on American college campuses. Specifically, Muslim Student Associations are being internally stressed because there are just too many women coming in contact with men.

Arguments within Muslim groups are frequent. As an example, the Muslim student group at University of California, Davis, organized a coed barbecue last year and the chapter president had to answer complaints about unmarried men and women physically bumping into each other. Another example:

Fatima Hassan, 22, a senior at the Davis campus, organized a coed road trip to Reno, Nev., two hours away, to play the slot machines last Halloween. In Islam, Ms. Hassan concedes, gambling is "really bad," but it was men and women sharing the same car that shocked some fellow association members.

Okay, the fact that strict followers of Islam have problems with women is old news. However, the fact that it has become a localized conflict on college campuses throughout the U.S. is somewhat fresh. And, although it's only anecdotally covered by the Times, the gender disagreements within Muslim student groups will likely become more contentious over time even as the leadership, reportedly, is "gradually relaxing a bit" on strict interpretations of Islam.

Speculatively, for any conflict on American college campuses between smart women and strict followers of Islam, barring any legal mandates and fear tactics, my wager is on the women. First of all, women outnumber men on campuses and 99 percent won't cover up or shut up when ordered by a man. Secondly, even the smartest of men can be sculpted like warm putty in the perfumed and lotioned hands of a smart woman.

Companion post at The Jawa Report.