Reading the memoirs of Dr. Qanta Ahmed brought me back memories of my three years of working in Saudi Arabia. In those three years, I came to understand Islam more: as a way of life, as politics and as the core of being a Muslim. Dr. Ahmed however introduced me to Wahhabism, the restrictive Islamic doctrine founded by Muhammad Ibn Abd al-Wahhab. As an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) in Saudi Arabia, I have become familiar with how restrictive the society is for women. Women are not allowed to walk in the streets by themselves unaccompanied by their husbands. There has to be a "kadma" to accompany foreign women workers for "souk" or shopping days, else the "muttawa" had to go after them with a stern warning that is represented by a baton dangling on their belts along with "tasbeeh" or prayer beads.
In a way, I see parallels between Islam, in general, and Christian fundamentalists: the glorious Koran and the holy Bible. Both religions would easily label freethinkers as infidels or pagans. Nevertheless, I would tell a female bible thumping friend that she is lucky to have been born a Christian otherwise she would forever be subjugated by male relatives and later on by her husband had she been born a Muslim woman, especially in Saudi Arabia
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