"Debate" has nothing to do with accepting each other's "choices". It has to do with the criticising and defending the substance of each other's positions. It has to do with the evidence, or lack of it, that, in practice, significantly many Muslim women are physically and/or psychologically abused.

Bush-basher

In Australia, significantly many Women of all ethnic back grounds, (including Anglo), are physically and/or psychologically abused. This is not a religious/ethnic phenomena – but rather a global male cultural phenomena.

Why do the men who do abuse women do so? Because they can. When will this abuse end? When the men who are not abusive take responsibility to change this No-longer turning a blind eye when they know their colleague/ mate / boss / brother is abusing their spouse. BY SAYING to them IT IS NEVER OK to abuse women.

Billy C, you may be right or wrong, but I think the point is that you're arguing the right point. What I think is the wrong point is someone simply claiming "you should respect my choice".

I respect Ayaan Hirsi Ali's choice to leave Islam for atheism. I respect Shakira Hussein's choice of remaining in Islam. I don't respect the choices of people who tell lies to gain asylum in Western countries and then join far-Right anti-immigration parties whilst making movies with confirmed anti-Semites and Holocaust deniers.

I say we give Ayaan Hirsi Ali a year. She'll have been kicked out of the American Enterprise Institute for her pro-abortion views. Then she'll be writing a book called "The Caged Republican".

Yes, well, I'd be more convinced if I saw Muslim women leading an active movement to assert the "moderate" interpretations of the Koran. But even so would women ever have equal rights under sharia law ? for instance, would women also be allowed to marry more than one husband ? would they be allowed to chastise disobedient hubbies ? would men be expected to cover their hair to avoid the lustful eyes of women (as if!)? I don't think so. And I have waited a long time to see Muslim women and the mullahs and sheikhs actively denouncing and disowning the hideous practice of genital mutilation, which is pre-Islamic but still regarded by millions as part of Islamic culture in countries like Egypt, Sudan, etc. I guess once you've had your clitoris cut out and your face covered and you're not allowed to leave home by yourself, you're more beaten animal than human and in no condition to be politically active. So unfortunately women of huge courage and strength like Hirsan Ali and Fatima Mernissi are rare as diamonds.

By the way, being anti-immigration is not "right wing" or nasty. Maybe people should stay in their own countries and fix up the mess there rather than come here, where Anglo-Celtic women have struggled for a century to win equal rights. How I hate to see women in the veil in my suburb, because to me it means women are going back to some dark age of oppression by a brutal patriarchal society.

I see this article as yet another islamic whinge. debate the woman mate that is if you are game! While you are at it have a bloody look around this globe and see where there is gutless terrorism and see where the followers of the religion of peace are 99.99% of all stupid, insane terrorists including the craven clowns who blow themselves up along with innocent bystanders. Then see what idiotic, dictatorial nations have state enforced misogyny which includes female mutilation. You mate are lucky you live in a Judeo/Christian or Christian/Judeo nation and enjoy all the blessings that this belief engenders. I can well understand you and yours constantly carping and whinging you follow the one true? (pagan) god and this god should be blessing islamics but just look at what nations have decent free democratic strong viable Governments the islamics - NO mate the abhorred, by islamics, pigs and monkeys or the followers of the God of Abraham/Isaac & Jacob - the real Abraham, Isaac & Jacob not the ones stolen by the islamics. Regards, numbat