Richard Mourdock rape scandal: spot the difference between the Christian social conservatives and the Islamic fundamentalists.

QUIZ: Who Said It, a Christian Social Conservative or an Islamic Fundamentalist Leader?

QUIZ: Who Said It, a Christian Social Conservative or an Islamic Fundamentalist Leader?

Who's winning, who's losing, and why.
Oct. 26 2012 3:23 PM

Richard Mourdock or Abu Hamza?

Spot the difference between the Christian social conservatives and the Islamic fundamentalists.

Muslim Cleric Abu Hamza and U.S. Senate Candidate Richard Mourdock.
Muslim Cleric Abu Hamza and U.S. Senate candidate Richard Mourdock.

Photos by Bruno Vincent/Getty Images and Scott Olson/Getty Images.

This week, Indiana Senate candidate Richard Mourdock became the latest in a string of Republicans to say really, really stupid things about women while campaigning for office in 2012. In a debate with Democratic opponent Joe Donnelly, Mourdock sought to explain his abortion stance by saying that “even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that is something that God intended to happen.” Prior to that, Pennsylvania Senate candidate Tom Smith compared rape to having a baby out of wedlock, saying if you “put yourself in a father’s situation” it’s a similar kind of thing. And we all remember Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin telling an interviewer “if it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.”

What do all these men have in common aside from the fact that they are GOP standard-bearers for the U.S. Senate? To one degree or another, they are Christian fundamentalists.

The sheer number of these types of quotes that we’ve seen in 2012 got us wondering: Who says more antiquated things about women and families, Christian fundamentalists or Islamic fundamentalists? Here are nine stupid, backward, and often misogynistic quotes from nine different Islamic fundamentalist and Christian social conservative leaders. See if you can spot which one is which.

"Bring up your daughters with manners, otherwise they're going to be divorced in the first week of their marriage."
Abu Hamza, former fundamentalist Imam awaiting trial in the United States on charges of supporting al-Qaida

Islamic Fundamentalist

Social Conservative

"Radical feminists succeeded in undermining the traditional family."
Rick Santorum, former Pennsylvania senator and candidate for president

Islamic Fundamentalist

Social Conservative

"A child who disrespects his parents must be permanently removed from society in a way that gives an example to all other children of the importance of respect for parents. The death penalty for rebellious children is not something to be taken lightly."
Charlie Fuqua, Republican candidate for Arkansas State House of Representatives, in his book God's Law: The Only Political Solution

Islamic Fundamentalist

Social Conservative

"Woman possesses the weapon of seduction and temptation."
Tajeddin Hilali, Australian Sunni Muslim leader

Islamic Fundamentalist

Social Conservative

"Women are simply not endowed by nature with the same measures of single-minded ambition."
Pat Buchanan, political commentator

Islamic Fundamentalist

Social Conservative

"[A girl] can read a useful book, prepare her homework, join a charity, and spend her time doing things that are useful to her in this world and the world to come, instead of thinking about satisfying her urges."
Yusuf al-Qaradhawi, an Egyptian Islamic theologian on the risks of female masturbation in a lecture for Qatar TV

Islamic Fundamentalist

Social Conservative

"The strength of a woman lies in her ability to seduce man."
Dr. Ahmad al-Tayyeb, President of Al-Azhar University and former Mufti of Egypt

Islamic Fundamentalist

Social Conservative

"Women cannot handle power. It is not within them to handle power. ... The real and true power comes from God and God is the one that gave man the power and the authority over the wife."
Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson, a popular Christian fundamentalist pastor, in his Sunday service webcast "How Liberal Women are Building a Shameless Society"

Islamic Fundamentalist

Social Conservative

"It's like having a flower, or a rose. You water it and keep it at home for yourself, to look at it and smell it. It is not supposed to be taken out of the house to be smelled."
Syed Ghaisuddin, Taliban minister of education, when asked why women needed to be confined at home

Islamic Fundamentalist

Social Conservative

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Chris Kirk is a web developer at New York magazine and Slate’s former interactives editor. Follow him on Twitter.

Jeremy Stahl is a Slate senior editor. You can follow him on Twitter.