Beware the ‘brothers’ of Hyde Park!

Having just read an article on the salafi exploitation of women and the double standards many of these men live by, I was reminded of my experiences a few years back when I used to visit and listen to the more-than-slightly nutty ‘preachers’ in Speakers’ Corner, Hyde Park.

Despite their preaching, claiming to be oh-so-religious, making a big show of their ‘religiousity’ by parading around in what is seen and believed (though perhaps only by them) to be ‘Islamic clothing’, as well as making a big display of themselves by praying smack bang in the middle of the speaking area (much to everybody else’s annoyance and sometimes amusement) I soon found that several of them lived very different lives to the ones they portrayed. 

There was the one who was known for marrying and divorcing women in quick succession, who would feast his eyes quite hungrily on women visitors, despite standing on his box preaching the supremacy of the Islamic way of life. Then there was the one who decided that despite the fact his wife was so clearly against the idea, he was in need of a second wife to curb his insatiable demands and stop him from doing anything forbidden in Islam, such as sleeping around. Never mind that causing such distress to the wife he already had was forbidden, that notion was pushed aside when set against his lustful desires and need for fresh meat, sorry, ‘second wife’. I was first duped into giving him my number when he spoke to me about some forthcoming lectures he would be giving, and then told me I could call if I needed advice on anything Islamic, due to him having studied the religion in depth for a number of years and myself being a fairly recent convert. Some days later I had a hysterical phone call from the man’s wife informing me of what an awful person I was for giving out my number to married men (naturally it was my fault, despite not knowing the jerk was married or even ever intending to call him for anything anyway, let alone anything sexual!) The fact that I was a 20 year old girl and he was a maybe 50 year old (am I being too kind? Possibly older) married man with a bundle of kids really didn’t do that much for me, but she wasn’t having it. After reassuring her I was in no way interested in her husband, I managed to get her off the phone. The following week I was confronted by Mr Insatiable who so kindly apologised for me having to put up with accusations from his wife. He then went on to tell me he was worried he couldn’t control his desires and in order to curb them, would I consider becoming his second wife! If this ‘man’ was so worried about his lack of self-control, perhaps he should have shut himself away for a while and learned to behave like a normal human being, instead of trying to make his desire to put it about a bit seem legitimate. It’s this type of man who believe women need to be covered head to toe (as was his wife) and hidden away (wifey in question wasn’t allowed to come to Speakers’ Corner…wonder why that was) instead of realising that actually THEY are the problem. Anyway…. told him I wasn’t interested, even more so due to the fact his wife was clearly unhappy about the whole idea. It didn’t seem to bother him that I was more concerned for his wife than he was. That didn’t really bode well for a blissful marriage and future life together.

That wasn’t the last I heard from his wife, as I was then spied on every week in the park by her informant-son and would receive phone call after phone call. If I had the audacity to be at work when she needed to talk, and be unable to answer I would be called non-stop until I did. At one point I got on the train home after a long day to find I had 26 missed calls. The only reason I would answer the calls was to try and put her mind at rest, explain I was really as interested in her husband as I was in pouring custard into my eyes, yet I was still seen by this wonderful salafi sister as a bad Muslim for tempting her husband and hanging around in men’s places such as parks! Much to her annoyance, I refused to stop going until I was ready.

Once over that little drama, I decided the loonballs as Speakers’ Corner were really no fun anymore and I moved on. Some time later I received an email from another lovely salafi ‘brother’. At first he was all sweetness and light. “Dear sister, I’m so shy to speak with you” blah blah blah. Mr Shy soon found his more confident and aggressive side once told I wasn’t too pleased about people passing around my email address and that I’d appreciate it if he didn’t contact me again. That didn’t go down too well, surprisingly. Whereas most men take a little ‘rejection’ like that as nothing serious and merely laugh it off, Mr Pious Muslim didn’t appreciate having his advances turned down. Determined to have the last word, he continued to email insults to me, despite agreeing that yes, he shouldn’t be emailing a ‘sister like me’ (one that speaks her mind and answers back?) Weirdly, not quite getting the whole ‘I’m not into men with archaic attitudes’ thing, he then sent me his picture as proof that he’s not a ‘freak like my people’. (Really? You reckon?) Quite what he meant by that I don’t know, but I’m sure most women would much rather go with one of our freaks than that dinosaur anyday.  I was told I should behave myself and not write back, as he did not want to make me cry. LOL!  I did have a little chuckle at that. Here’s a little sneaky peak

Aaaand finally…  

Perhaps these salafis ought to get off their high horses and realise they can’t continue to abuse women and call it ‘Islam’. In doing so they’re no better than the anti-Islam and anti-Muslim groups they cry about so often. They all believe Islam to be the same intolerant ideology that the rest of us normal people (Muslims and others) reject.

February 5, 2011 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: hyde park, salafi, sexist, speakers corner | Leave a comment