That interview made me cry. What an extraordinary woman. I feel so powerless to help her. What can be done?

Oh yes.. I know a boy who is very liberal politically, and just came back from fighting in Iraq due to an injury. Not that I was surprised, but he just had horrible things to say. Women's rights getting worse. All sorts of chaos and corruption being promoted by Americans for their short-term gain. American soldiers shooting at children, Americans being ordered to shoot first and ask question later, all the time. I feel so proud of this kid for holding a big presentation for our college only a couple of months after he returned home.

When I was a student, I was dressed like a modern girl and I wore long shorts. That is part of the past. . . . The first losers in all of this were women.

Reading this interview reminded me of a chilling comment a professor made once in a women's history class: that often in times of chaos, war, or any sort of social/cultural upheaval, gender roles--and the maintenance of a binary gender system (and straight sexuality)--suddenly become THE focus, or at least a major focus of the political and cultural struggle.

It's frightening to think how vulnerable women's equality--and a less rigid conception of gender--are if, in the face of chaos, THAT is what people focus on to fix. It's amazing to me that gender and sexuality are that powerful in people's psyches.

Thank you for sharing this piece. Such amazing courage and wisdom in a time of declining rights.

Anorak- I don't know the direct actions to support the women of OWFI, though I'm sure $ can be contributed. Equally important, I think, is making this story public. The experiences and conditions of individual women as well as larger social trends should be investigated and reported by our major media. This is a horrible failing of this war and should be identified as such.

I'm looking for a way to donate money, but no luck yet. If anyone else has found contact information for OWFI, can you let us know?

Yanar sounds like an awesome lady. It's times like this that I wish I could speak Arabic, Persian etc. For all the danger, I still want to go to Iraq or Afghanistan and DO SOMETHING!

I'm looking for a way to donate money, but no luck yet. If anyone else has found contact information for OWFI, can you let us know?

Yanar sounds like an awesome lady. It's times like this that I wish I could speak Arabic, Persian etc. For all the danger, I still want to go to Iraq or Afghanistan and DO SOMETHING!

I did leave a comment previously but is hasn't appeared, I don't know why? I run the website for the International Campaign Against Honour Killings. We work closely with OWFI, particularly with Houzan Mahmoud, who I count as a friend. The best way to donate to OWFI is through MADRE. And please can you look at the website at stophonourkillings.com to see a very important current campaign started by OWFI relating to murdered teenager Du'a Khalil Aswad. I'm submitting this without links in the hope that this time it appears.

I did leave a comment previously but is hasn't appeared, I don't know why? I run the website for the International Campaign Against Honour Killings. We work closely with OWFI, particularly with Houzan Mahmoud, who I count as a friend. The best way to donate to OWFI is through MADRE. And please can you look at the website at stophonourkillings.com to see a very important current campaign started by OWFI relating to murdered teenager Du'a Khalil Aswad. I'm submitting this without links in the hope that this time it appears.

Is Aisha, the warrior wife of the Prophet to be reborn as the champion of Muslim women?
Is she the long awaited Mahdi, but a female Mahdi?
Is she…well…a Muslim version of Joan of Arc?
Is she the much needed Muslim version of a Martin Luther?
Has it already happened?
Is she already here?

Here’s what I’ve been able to find out.
It’s an early 12th century prophecy by a Berber chieftain and mystic named Muhammed ibn Tumart. It’s only recently been discovered by a scholar visiting Morocco on a Fulbright grant. Has it been suppressed all this time or simply lost in the archives of the Hassan Mosque in Rabat? No one’s sure.

Is the document genuine? Yes. No question. It’s written on vellum in the same hand as many other extant writings of ibn Tumart. Does it really refer to that Aisha, the favorite wife of the Prophet Mohammed (pbuh) even though it does not say her name? Again, no question. It refers to her as The Lady of the Camel after The Battle of the Camel in which she led an army against those who tried to corrupt her husband’s teachings.

Here is the text of the prophecy.

“The Lady of the Camel will come, born again, to show men that they have fallen into error. She comes to raise up the women of Islam. She comes to teach and she comes to bring justice. It is not revealed when, but she will come. She will be of the East, but turn your eyes to the West because that is where her banner will unfurl. She will have grown up among you, dressed in white, pure of heart, until the day when she reaches full womanhood. The flame-haired angel, Qaila, sent to guide her and protect her, will, on that day, reveal to her that she is the Lady of the Camel reborn. She will know that it is true and she will come. She will speak to all nations with words writ on wind. Her words will ride the lightning. They will be as shooting stars. And the angel, Qaila, will be with her, sword in hand. Woe to those who would deny the truth of her words. Woe to those who would silence her. Woe to those who would slay her. The angel, Qaila, will send them to hell.�

Several more “Woe to those� admonitions were found in the same sheaf, but these seem to have been added later, perhaps by one of ibn Tumart’s wives. They reflect a lot of anger over how the rights of women, as championed by the Prophet (pbuh) himself, had been chipped away in the decades after his death. Ibn Tumart, by the way, was very much a protector of those rights. As was Aisha in life.

Note some of the language of the prophecy. It almost seems to foretell the Internet.
“She will speak to all nations with words writ on wind. They will ride the lightning. They will be as shooting stars.� Maybe the internet is all she’s been waiting for. Or maybe not. But it’s fun to wonder. Look how this thing is spreading already.

The angel Qaila is a new one on me. No one’s been able to find any reference to her elsewhere. Is Qaila female? One suspects so. One likes to hope so. But the text isn’t clear.

At least one blogger has claimed that she’s already come and that her “handmaidens� are now gathering around her. True? Maybe not. But who knows? Another blogger, however, has made a good point. She’s written, “If it isn’t true, it ought to be true. Maybe it will take the women of Islam to stand up with one voice and end all this madness.�

“The women of Islam?� Amend that. My Christian and Jewish friends have commented as well. They say that this is a feminist issue that goes well beyond any religious belief.

Your thoughts? All are welcome. Not just Muslims.