Grabbing Headlines
"I will be wearing abaya every time I meet with my client and every time I appear in court if my client or others of the accused are present in the room." U.S. Lawyer Cheryl Bormann
It is a matter of respect. She is demonstrating her commitment to respecting the religious beliefs and cultures of others. Particularly those others whom she has been assigned by the U.S. justice system to defend. How, on the one hand, does one defend the indefensible, one wonders? Those worthy of respect, according to Ms. Bormann despite that they hold the religion and customs of others to be worthy of contempt.
So contemptible that they have dedicated their very lives in accordance with their beliefs, as warriors of Islam. Islam calls them to surrender their lives for the greater glory of destroying the 'enemies' of Islam. And, to them, human life is so valueless that they had no hesitation in destroying close to three thousand souls to satisfy their presumed commitment to Islam.
And these are the men - in particular Walid bin Attash, an al-Qaeda operative on trial as one of the conspirators involved in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania - for whom Ms. Bormann has nobly catered to their sensibilities.
Whose delicacy of feeling and disequilibrium in the presence of women who are not discreetly covered as judged necessary by Islamic custom must be respected, and is, by Ms. Bormann.
"There is nothing provocative about what I did. This is a religious issue and a cultural issue for (some of these defendants). I want him to be able to fully concentrate on the proceedings at hand without any kind of interference or loss of focus", she explained helpfully.
"My client has never seen my hair, has never seen my arms, has never seen my legs. All of the defence counsel, all of the guards, and everybody who works in Guantanamo Bay camp has seen me dressed like this ... I never thought in my wildest dreams that this would become an issue", she protested. The lady, then doth protest too much...
Not become an issue? Is she suffering from Stockholm Syndrome, or just plain stupid? Is this a kind of sacramental moral one-upsmanship on her part? Playing to their religious/cultural antipathies toward women?
Amina Saeed, president of the Muslim Bar Association of Chicago said herself she would never expect a lawyer to cater in such a way as a response to a demand such as this from any client. It isn't clear, because it has never been said, whether Ms. Bormann has acceded to a request from her client, but it doesn't appear to be the case.
"He should respect her for who she is and the services she provides. It has absolutely nothing to do with what she wears on her head and on her body", according to Amina Saeed. "I would never expect anyone to conform themselves like that in public to my beliefs."
On the other hand, expecting cold-blooded butchers who fantasize about their service to Islamist goals calling for the deaths of infidels to respect what someone representing that accursed godless society is intent on achieving, which is objective justice is rather absurd to begin with.
It is obvious that this conformation has less to do with respecting a religious/cultural belief and far more to do with a kind of perverted showmanship, irrespective of how fine a lawyer this woman is.
Labels: Conflict, Human Relations, Islamism, United States, Values, Viewpoint
posted by Pieface @ Thursday, May 10, 2012
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