Re: [SG 2] Infantry weapons combinations

On Wed, 22 Dec 2004, John Atkinson wrote:

> On Tue, 21 Dec 2004 18:33:08 EST, Warbeads@aol.com <Warbeads@aol.com>
wrote:
> > Laserlight, so I can know for my IF mercs in the IC service -- does
the IF
> > take female soldiers?  I'll include them if the IF sends them.
>
> It would take a total sea change in Islamic culture for there to be
> females in any meaningful role other than farm labor and childbearing.

As other have already pointed out, "Islamic culture" isn't quite that
monolithic... I know they're a minority, but some of the Sufi groups
have
very 'modern' ideas about women & society - female saints & religious
leaders, for instance.

The Muslim woman who taught the Islamic History course I took at
university was Sufi; they're the Quakers/Protestants of the Muslim
sphere.

The Wahabi (sp?) & Talibastards aren't, thankfully, the whole of
Islam.

> And they havn't changed, nor can they change as they are explicitly
> stated in the Quran.

There's lots of bumpf 'explicitly stated' in the Bible that nominally
Christian western societies have always ignored; interpretations of the
Quran also differ - currently Islam has a large reactionary element to
it,
but this hasn't always been the case...

Take a look at Moorish Spain, for instance. You could almost argue that
Spain was never better of than when the Moors ran the place...

> Perhaps in the more enlightened emirates women might be permitted to
> get driver's licenses,

And in the few Sufi colonies - which may be part of the Alarishi
wierdness
- you might be surprised what women are 'allowed' to do...

Brian.