Standing in front of the mirror, I look at myself. A Black-haired, bronze-skinned and brown-eyed lady stares back at me. The name is Mona Al-Mokhtar, and I'm a lady with a story to tell. I was born in the City of Baalbek in the Republic of Lebanon, and have lived in the City of Ottawa, Province of Ontario, for the past eleven years. I am forty two years old, and today my divorce is finalized. I've put in a lot in forty-odd years. University of Ottawa Master's degree in Business Administration holder. Ontario Association of Progressive Muslim Women President. And now, former wife of Ibrahim Al-Mokhtar of Syria, and divorced mother of twenty-year-old Fatuma, who is now studying business at the University of Texas in Austin. Yes, I have worn many hats, so to speak.
No one's life is truly one-dimensional, I think. I can add something else to the list. I recently made the decision to become an Apostate. To walk away from Islam. I am no longer Muslim. For this, any Muslim reading this shall hate me or even seek to do me harm. I don't care. I've put in my time for faith, family, country and culture. When does my life belong to me? I honestly don't know. That's what I am trying to find out. My ex-husband has decided to return to Syria to support the enemies of Bashar Al-Assad, the again making the mistake of supporting super religious revolutionaries in the Arab Spring. The militant Islamists are the ones who oppose men like Mubarak, Al-Assad and the late, great General Gadhafi. Under the rule of these dictators, Arab women enjoyed far more freedom because the dictators are seldom the most religious of men.
In Egypt, Turkey and Syria, women and religious minorities rights will be threatened by the super religious rebels who are toppling the progressive and secular dictators and replacing them with ultra-conservative Islamic governments. Gadhafi was tolerant of Christians, as was the former leader of Turkey and as is Al-Assad himself. The militant Islamists are going to take away women's rights and the rights of non-Muslims the moment they get to power after toppling the so-called dictators. And the foolish men and women who rule North America and Europe are helping put these anti-Western mindsets in positions of power throughout the Muslim world. It's almost as if North Americans and Europeans don't understand anything about Arab politics at all. What a bunch of fools. They are digging their own graves. Better a secular, pro-woman and pro-religious minority dictator in charge of an Arab nation than a super-religious and democratically elected 'former rebel'. So-called bad men like Gadhafi, Al-Assad and Mubarak don't support religiously based warfare against Western powers, super religious Arab militants do. The West is replacing dictatorship with fundamentalism. Poor fools.
I visited the Nation of Turkey three years ago, before the revolution, and I saw a thriving nation where Christian churches and Muslim mosques existed side by side, a secular government separated church/mosque and state, and protected the rights of women. Nowadays, Turkish women will lose all their rights because the super religious rebels are now in charge and they hate the very idea of secular government, they also hate feminism and they most definitely hate Christianity. The same thing shall happen in Egypt. And if the foolish West doesn't stop, it will watch helplessly as Syria falls into the hands of religious fundamentalists who hate democracy, women's rights and religious pluralism. The naivety of Americans, Europeans, Australians and New Zealanders when dealing with the Arab world is simply mind-boggling. I almost pity these fools. Almost. But what can I do? I am only one woman. I am thankful to God that I live in the Confederation of Canada, where women's rights and religious freedoms are defended by stalwart men and women who believe in democracy.
When I decided to become an Apostate and walk away from Islam, I lost a lot of friends. In the Arab community of metropolitan Ottawa, Ontario, my life is considered forfeit. I am now a pariah. Muslim men and Muslim women whom I considered my friends for years and even decades now shun me as if I had suddenly become radioactive or toxic. I cried myself to sleep over this turn of events for a long time. Today, I decided to just live my life. My daughter Fatuma Al-Mokhtar claims to understand. You see, in a way, my Apostasy has led us to become closer. A few months before I decided to divorce my ex-husband, our daughter told us that she was a lesbian. Like the super religious freak and ultra-conservative, intolerant bastard he's been all his life, Ibrahim wanted to hurt our daughter. I got so frightened that he might kill her that I went to the police. I didn't care what my irate husband might do to me. This year, a criminal case involving the dysfunctional Shafia Family made waves around Canada and all over the world. Mohammed Shafia along with his wife and oldest son killed his daughters because they were leading a Western lifestyle and that offended his Muslim sense of family honor. The three of them were convicted and sent to prison. The case is still fresh in the minds of Canadians. I went to the Ottawa Police Service station downtown and spoke to a sergeant overseeing domestic abuse cases. I told her about my fears. She helped me get a restraining order against my husband. I still didn't want to take chances, though. I sent Fatuma to study at the University of Texas in the City of Austin, Texas. I also told her to close her Facebook and Twitter accounts because I didn't want her father to be able to track her down. When it comes to my daughter's life, I'm not taking any chances.
