Iranian-American journalist Lisa Daftari has claimed on last Friday that Sharia law is already being practiced in the United States and other Western countries through those who adhere to radical Islam.
According to Michael Dorstewitz of BizPac Review, the investigative journalist and frequent Fox News contributor argued that Americans should be concerned about happens in Middle Eastern countries, most particularly anything related to Sharia law. She addressed an audience at the Conservative Women's Network at the Heritage Foundation.
"Some might ask, 'Why should Americans care about what goes on in those countries?'" Daftari said. "How about tolerance for other practices; respect for Sharia law - the cultural and religious differences?"
Daftari added that the answer is "not just contained to that part of the world," noting that "it's here" in the U.S. already. According to Penny Starr of CNS News, Daftari claimed that Sharia law has infiltrated the West.
"It's in Europe. It's in our cities. It's in our places of work. It's in our schools," Daftari said. "Yes, Sharia law is here in the U.S., and this too is a war on women."
She described the practice of honor killings to the audience and provided specific examples, according to Dorstewitz.
"Every year, about 26 women are killed in the U.S. by a relative in the name of family honor," Daftari said. "On Jan. 1, 2008, teenage sisters Amina and Sarah Said were shot to death by their own father. It later came to light that these murders were premeditated as honor killings in retribution for [Amina] rejecting an arranged marriage to a man in Egypt."
Dorstewitz reported that the investigative journalist described her overall point, which was that Sharia law was being used in the U.S. "as an excuse to brutalize and murder women." She cited an example of the practice of Sharia law in Iran.
"The real war on women is about the women of Iran who cannot dress as they want, dance as they want, attend the schools or obtain the jobs that they want," Daftari said. "They cannot file for divorce, even from a violent spouse, and even if they do, custody of all their children will go to the husband."
According to Starr, the Fox News contributor also elaborated on "the real war on women" across the Middle East and Africa, most notoriously on the inhumane practice of genital mutilation.
"The real war on women is about the millions of women throughout the Middle East and the continent of Africa who are forced to undergo genital mutilation," Daftari said. "In 2013, 3.6 million were mutilated in these parts of the world. In Somalia, FGM (female genital mutilations) is at 99 percent."
Daftari added that the war on women also included the plight of Christians and other minorities in Muslim-dominated countries.
"The real war on women is about the many religious minorities who stand firmly behind their faith and beliefs in Muslim-dominated countries - Christians, Jews, Bahi's and others facing minority taxes, imprisonment, persecution," she said.
According to Starr, the journalist warned that based on her investigative reporting, Muslim groups were promoting radical Islam on college campuses across the U.S.
Daftari has posted her entire speech regarding radical Islam and its war on women on YouTube.
