moderating fundamentalist countries

I had an odd brainstorm this morning while listening to Speaking of Faith on NPR. The story was about Muslim women who wear veils in. The guest was discussing why she and other westernized Muslim women have gone back to wearing a veil. I have heard similar stories before. To summarize (major paraphrase and oversimplification) many in the new generation wear the veil in part to show how they ARE empowered. There parents and community in the intelligentsia have rejected veils, so this shows how they are different. In the US, it is to show how there are different from the general community. So wearing veils is almost like a form of rebellion and empowerment, not conformity and oppression.


Interesting take. Ironically, this is kind of the explanation I give about why I keep Kosher. It is not because I feel obligated, but because it shows that I independently made a decision to do it, and I get to explain what this means to my non-Jewish friends, students, and colleagues.

But the public policy brainstorm I had was something bigger. My thought was that we should encourage children of the leaders in fundamentalist countries (i.e. Iran) to come to the US for extended periods of time. Many of them will develop more moderate (perhaps western) views of various aspects of their fundamentalism. Then when they go back, the general population will be exposed to them. With enough critical mass, perhaps they will spread like viruses and move the population more moderate.

Do you think it would work? Share your views.