Yvonne Ridley, Washington post - London, USA
Monday, October 23, 2006
I used to look at veiled women as quiet, oppressed creatures -- until I was captured by the Taliban. In September 2001, just 15 days after the terrorist attacks on the United States , I snuck into Afghanistan , clad in a head-to-toe blue burqa, intending to write a newspaper account of life under the repressive regime. Instead, I was discovered, arrested and detained for 10 days. I spat and swore at my captors; they called me a "bad" woman but let me go after I promised to read the Koran and study Islam. (Frankly, I'm not sure who was happier when I was freed -- they or I.)
Back home in London , I kept my word about studying Islam -- and was amazed by what I discovered. I'd been expecting Koran chapters on how to beat your wife and oppress your daughters; instead, I found passages promoting the liberation of women. Two-and-a-half years after my capture, I converted to Islam, provoking a mixture of astonishment, disappointment and encouragement among friends and relatives.
Now, it is with disgust and dismay that I watch here in Britain as former foreign secretary Jack Straw describes the Muslim nikab -- a face veil that reveals only the eyes -- as an unwelcome barrier to integration, with Prime Minister Tony Blair, writer Salman Rushdie and even Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi leaping to his defense.
Having been on both sides of the veil, I can tell you that most Western male politicians and journalists who lament the oppression of women in the Islamic world have no idea what they are talking about. They go on about veils, child brides, female circumcision, honor killings and forced marriages, and they wrongly blame Islam for all this -- their arrogance surpassed only by their ignorance.
These cultural issues and customs have nothing to do with Islam. A careful reading of the Koran shows that just about everything that Western feminists fought for in the 1970s was available to Muslim women 1,400 years ago. Women in Islam are considered equal to men in spirituality, education and worth, and a woman's gift for childbirth and child-rearing is regarded as a positive attribute.
When Islam offers women so much, why are Western men so obsessed with Muslim women's attire? Even British government ministers Gordon Brown and John Reid have made disparaging remarks about the nikab -- and they hail from across the Scottish border, where men wear skirts.
When I converted to Islam and began wearing a headscarf, the repercussions were enormous. All I did was cover my head and hair -- but I instantly became a second-class citizen. I knew I'd hear from the odd Islamophobe, but I didn't expect so much open hostility from strangers. Cabs passed me by at night, their "for hire" lights glowing. One cabbie, after dropping off a white passenger right in front of me, glared at me when I rapped on his window, then drove off. Another said, "Don't leave a bomb in the back seat" and asked, "Where's bin Laden hiding?"
Yes, it is a religious obligation for Muslim women to dress modestly, but the majority of Muslim women I know like wearing the hijab, which leaves the face uncovered, though a few prefer the nikab. It is a personal statement: My dress tells you that I am a Muslim and that I expect to be treated respectfully, much as a Wall Street banker would say that a business suit defines him as an executive to be taken seriously. And, especially among converts to the faith like me, the attention of men who confront women with inappropriate, leering behavior is not tolerable.
I was a Western feminist for many years, but I've discovered that Muslim feminists are more radical than their secular counterparts. We hate those ghastly beauty pageants, and tried to stop laughing in 2003 when judges of the Miss Earth competition hailed the emergence of a bikini-clad Miss Afghanistan , Vida Samadzai, as a giant leap for women's liberation. They even gave Samadzai a special award for "representing the victory of women's rights."
Some young Muslim feminists consider the hijab and the nikab political symbols, too, a way of rejecting Western excesses such as binge drinking, casual sex and drug use. What is more liberating: being judged on the length of your skirt and the size of your surgically enhanced breasts, or being judged on your character and intelligence? In Islam, superiority is achieved through piety -- not beauty, wealth, power, position or sex.
I didn't know whether to scream or laugh when Italy's Prodi joined the debate last week by declaring that it is "common sense" not to wear the nikab because it makes social relations "more difficult." Nonsense. If this is the case, then why are cellphones, landlines, e-mail, text messaging and fax machines in daily use? And no one switches off the radio because they can't see the presenter's face.
Under Islam, I am respected. It tells me that I have a right to an education and that it is my duty to seek out knowledge, regardless of whether I am single or married. Nowhere in the framework of Islam are we told that women must wash, clean or cook for men. As for how Muslim men are allowed to beat their wives -- it's simply not true. Critics of Islam will quote random Koranic verses or hadith, but usually out of context. If a man does raise a finger against his wife, he is not allowed to leave a mark on her body, which is the Koran's way of saying, "Don't beat your wife, stupid."
It is not just Muslim men who must reevaluate the place and treatment of women. According to a recent National Domestic Violence Hotline survey, 4 million American women experience a serious assault by a partner during an average 12-month period. More than three women are killed by their husbands and boyfriends every day -- that is nearly 5,500 since 9/11.
Violent men don't come from any particular religious or cultural category; one in three women around the world has been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused in her lifetime, according to the hotline survey. This is a global problem that transcends religion, wealth, class, race and culture.
But it is also true that in the West, men still believe that they are superior to women, despite protests to the contrary. They still receive better pay for equal work -- whether in the mailroom or the boardroom -- and women are still treated as sexualized commodities whose power and influence flow directly from their appearance.
And for those who are still trying to claim that Islam oppresses women, recall this 1992 statement from the Rev. Pat Robertson, offering his views on empowered women: Feminism is a "socialist, anti-family political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians."
Now you tell me who is civilized and who is not.
Yvonne Ridley is political editor of Islam Channel TV in London and coauthor
of "In the Hands of the Taliban: Her Extraordinary Story" (Robson Books).
RESPONSES...
Articles of responses and replies in the media regarding Islam.
Priest Embraces Islam
Moved by Simplicity of Royal Funeral, Priest Embraces Islam
The funeral of King Fahd, which was conducted in a simple manner in Riyadh earlier this month, has encouraged a well-known Christian priest in Italy to embrace Islam, press reports said.
The priest, who watched the late king's funeral on satellite television, was impressed by the lack of pomp and pageantry in the royal funeral, Al-Riyadh Arabic daily reported without mentioning his name.
King Fahd was buried in Al-Oud graveyard the next day of his death after a solemn funeral ceremony attended by world leaders. Islamic preacher Dr. Abdullah Al-Malik said the simple funeral of the king had a dramatic effect on the priest's mind, which led him to Islam. "Although he had read several Islamic books before, they didn't have the same impact.
This is the second high-profile reversion to Islam by an Italian involving Saudi Arabia. Four years ago, Italian Ambassador to Riyadh Torquato Cardilli embraced Islam. "The priest watched the funeral of King Fahd and another person on television and did not find any difference," Malik said. "There was only a single funeral prayer for the two and both were buried in similar graves. This great example of equality influenced the priest and prompted him to embrace Islam," Malik said.
Muslim preachers in Italy had given the priest Islamic books and cassettes in the past 15 years, but what moved him was the simplicity of the royal funeral. "I had read several Islamic books and heard many Islamic cassettes over the past years, they never moved me. But the simple royal funeral shook me and changed my mind," Malik quoted the priest as saying. He said he believed the king's funeral would change the mind of many others. He urged Muslim media to focus on stories related to Islam's tolerance and equality in order to attract more people to the religion. "I will work the rest of my life for the propagation of Islam," the 62-year-old former priest said.
Badr Al-Olayan, director of the Islamic Education Foundation in Jeddah, said the priest's reversion to Islam was "very good news." He narrated the story of another Italian who came to IEF office to embrace Islam after being impressed by the large and orderly congregation of Muslims at the Grand Mosque in Makkah to perform prayers. "How can you assemble such a large number of people by just making a call. It's impossible. Only God can do that," he quoted the Italian as saying. Olayan urged Muslims to do more in order to take the message of Islam to other people. Ambassador Cardilli, 60, embraced Islam on Nov. 15, 2001. "I am fully convinced of the truth of Islam through my regular reading of God's final revelation, the Holy Qur'an," Cardilli was quoted as saying at the time.
The funeral of King Fahd, which was conducted in a simple manner in Riyadh earlier this month, has encouraged a well-known Christian priest in Italy to embrace Islam, press reports said.
The priest, who watched the late king's funeral on satellite television, was impressed by the lack of pomp and pageantry in the royal funeral, Al-Riyadh Arabic daily reported without mentioning his name.
King Fahd was buried in Al-Oud graveyard the next day of his death after a solemn funeral ceremony attended by world leaders. Islamic preacher Dr. Abdullah Al-Malik said the simple funeral of the king had a dramatic effect on the priest's mind, which led him to Islam. "Although he had read several Islamic books before, they didn't have the same impact.
This is the second high-profile reversion to Islam by an Italian involving Saudi Arabia. Four years ago, Italian Ambassador to Riyadh Torquato Cardilli embraced Islam. "The priest watched the funeral of King Fahd and another person on television and did not find any difference," Malik said. "There was only a single funeral prayer for the two and both were buried in similar graves. This great example of equality influenced the priest and prompted him to embrace Islam," Malik said.
Muslim preachers in Italy had given the priest Islamic books and cassettes in the past 15 years, but what moved him was the simplicity of the royal funeral. "I had read several Islamic books and heard many Islamic cassettes over the past years, they never moved me. But the simple royal funeral shook me and changed my mind," Malik quoted the priest as saying. He said he believed the king's funeral would change the mind of many others. He urged Muslim media to focus on stories related to Islam's tolerance and equality in order to attract more people to the religion. "I will work the rest of my life for the propagation of Islam," the 62-year-old former priest said.
Badr Al-Olayan, director of the Islamic Education Foundation in Jeddah, said the priest's reversion to Islam was "very good news." He narrated the story of another Italian who came to IEF office to embrace Islam after being impressed by the large and orderly congregation of Muslims at the Grand Mosque in Makkah to perform prayers. "How can you assemble such a large number of people by just making a call. It's impossible. Only God can do that," he quoted the Italian as saying. Olayan urged Muslims to do more in order to take the message of Islam to other people. Ambassador Cardilli, 60, embraced Islam on Nov. 15, 2001. "I am fully convinced of the truth of Islam through my regular reading of God's final revelation, the Holy Qur'an," Cardilli was quoted as saying at the time.
Rebuttal to the Editor of the Globe and Mail
The Canadian Society of Muslims wrote a Letter to the Editor of the Globe and Mail (a national newspaper in Canada) regarding a letter they published Aug. 29, 1998. They refused to publish the rebuttal, so CSM decided to publish it in their site. They have removed the name of the original letter writer and inserted "xxx" for privacy considerations.
To: The Editor -- Globe and Mail Included here is a rebuttal to xxx's letter entitled "Islam's Disingenuous Defenders" published by The Globe and Mail on Aug. 29.
Oh please! It sounds very much like xxx has bought into the media portrayal of Islam as a "violent and medieval belief system."
Mr. xxx seems to assume that the media is portraying Muslims accurately and that Muslims cannot convincingly defend their faith in light of this. When the first statement of an argument is false, it follows that the supporting arguments and conclusion are also false. We have all been fed a steady diet of junk food about Islam from the media. The media is unable to see its own distortions because it first needs to educate itself in an objective and unbiased way.
The media does not portray all Christianity as a 'violent and mediaeval' belief system when atrocities are perpetrated in the world today by Christians. The media does not condemn all Christians because of the IRA bombings both on and off Irish soil. The media does not condemn all Christians and all Christianity when far-right Christians murder and attack doctors who perform abortions or bomb public buildings in Ohio. Yet the media singles out Islam as the cause of corruption and violence in 'Muslim' countries while never blaming Christianity in 'Christian' countries (i.e. Mexico). They do not characterize all Christians as potential terrorists from the behaviour of organized 'Christian' groups such as the IRA, the neo-Nazis, the Bosnian Serbs, the Aryan brotherhood, the Ku Klux Klan, etc.
The reason the media does not condemn Christianity is because it is clearly not Christianity which causes these problems. The media recognizes this because they live within a predominantly Christian society. However, the media will not be able to portray Islam with any sort of accuracy until it steps back and looks at the forest instead of the trees. The media would do well to educate itself first before trying to inform the public.
As to Mr. xxx's assertion that the "Qur'an itself is filled with references to holy war, and the Prophet Muhammad was a warrior who used military power to establish the supremacy of his religion," I do not know how Mr. xxx could possibly make such an unfounded and ridiculous statement. Even a cursory examination of the historical facts will show that less than 500 people (all soldiers and no civilians) were killed in all the 'wars' during the Prophet Muhammad's lifetime (250 non-Muslims and less than 250 Muslims). The use of the word 'war' had a different connotation then than it does now. In the time of the Prophet 'war' meant what we would understand today as hand to hand combat staged on a battlefield. His battles were certainly not on the level of the two World Wars or even the Persian Gulf war. Using the word 'war' in this context is extremely misleading for the reason that to the modern day person it conjures up a mental image of the kinds of inhuman scale of mass murder of innocent civilians witnessed in recent times. For example 1) WW1 = 8,500,000 deaths; 2) WW2 = numbers vary from 35,000,000 to 60,000,000 deaths -- the statistical difference is of no small import! These numbers do not include the number of injuries or wounded because the numbers are impossible to compile.
All war is forbidden in Islam unless it is waged for a just cause ordained by the Divine law. The life of the Prophet provides reference to only three kinds of war: 1) defensive 2) punitive and 3) preventive. In his famous correspondence with the Emperor Heraclius of Byzantium, (in connection with the assassination of a Muslim ambassador in the Byzantine territory) the
Prophet offered him three alternatives: 1) Embrace Islam 2) if not, then pay the tribute 3) if still not, then the Emperor should not interfere with his subjects if they wished to embrace Islam. This then, is the 'holy war' of Muhammad, and his followers. His sole object was to provide the conditions whereby the Word of God would prevail and freedom of conscience would be established for all times. All else was and is illegal. There is absolutely no question that it is forbidden to wage war in order to force people to embrace Islam or to "establish the supremacy of the religion," as Mr. xxx puts it. That would be an 'unholy war'.
How faithfully the Muslims of later generations have followed these principles in running their governments is a matter of history. History will also judge Christian governments of later generations on their adherence to their principles.
If during the two world wars, European Christians were never blamed by the media for the monumental destruction which occurred, then how can anyone justify the media's blame on the religion of Islam and its teachings for the breaches committed by delinquent followers of Islam? When people like Yasser Arafat and Osama bin Laden, who (through their actions are clearly disobeying Islamic law) are analysed by the media, they are portrayed as somehow representing all Muslims and the end result of following the Islamic faith. This is absurd. That would be like saying that the sexual indiscretions of Bill Clinton, Princess Diana, Prince Charles and others somehow represents all Christians and is the end result of following the Christian faith. Come on now, nobody believes that.
The Canadian Society of Muslims
Letter to Oprah from Omani Woman
Dear Oprah,
We are writing you this letter in response to your show on women around the world, in which there was a lady from Saudi Arabia who was abused by her husband and you addressed the rights and freedom of women in Islam.
We believe that you are in a very influential position to clarify stereotypes and misconceptions about the Middle East and we are writing this letter because we have the utmost respect for you and really believe that your intentions were positive. However, as we are sure you and your producers are aware, Saudi women are not the only battered women and Rania al-Baz was more a representative of a battered women from anywhere around the world - there are women also in America as well as China who are abused and battered- and it was unfortunate to link it with her being a Saudi and a Muslim.
There is a serious misconception in the West about Islam as a religion, and the cultural practices in some countries that are predominantly Muslim. We think it would be extremely educational for your audience to learn a bit more about the rights of women in Islam, which is in fact one of the most liberating religions for women, however through the media it has been portrayed as quite the opposite - primarily due to a lack of understanding and political interest in maintaining an "enemy" in order to justify America's foreign policy with regards to the Middle East. It is a similar brainwashing of the masses as with the negative portrayal of African Americans in order to maintain slavery and dominance in the past.
There are two distinct issues that we would like to address; the first being the negative portrayal of Saudi Arabian Culture, and secondly, the link of these cultural practices to Islam.
Let us first address the Saudi Arabian culture. There is no denying that some of the practices in countries like Saudi Arabia do indeed seem bizarre to the Western world, however we can look at Western practices and also view them as bizarre and immoral. There is a famous anthropological article written in 1956 by Horace Miner entitled "Body Ritual Among the Nacirema", which discusses how the Nacirema people are so obsessed with their physical appearance that "they have extensive mouth rituals... the women bake their heads in small ovens for about an hour... and the men scrap and lacerate their faces with sharp instruments." The author of this article was describing North Americans and the primary message was to demonstrate that you can make any culture seem bizarre if you are looking at it as an outsider.
Most international cultural practices will differ from those in your home country. Different races have different traditions and as we have experienced over human evolution, that unfamiliarity breeds contempt. If we were to go back 40 years to the sixties, and imagine there was a famous talk show host, such as yourself, who had a show on different races with the aim of 'familiarizing Americans on what other people live like', the Caucasians were happy go lucky, but the African Americans were portrayed as dirty, immoral and barbaric. How would you have felt? Would you not have thought that it was a false accusation? That of course there are some African Americans who are dirty, immoral and barbaric, but is that message representative of the majority? Does that message help bring peace to the world? Or does it reinforce negative stereotypes that result in discrimination, racism, oppression and violence? We would have expected your show to dig deeper into the different cultures and explain why certain traditions exist, in order to increase awareness and understanding, to explain the unknown, and to truly break down barriers between Arabs and Americans. The question 'why?' was never asked on your show.
To give you another example of Middle Eastern way of living is our lives. We come from the Sultanate of Oman, a neighbouring country of Saudi Arabia, where the entire Omani population is Muslim. In Oman we have female Ministers, female ambassadors, female Directors of mutli-billion dollar businesses in addition to full time mothers, engineers and bankers. If we compare the way of life in Oman to Saudi Arabia it is quite different, however, we are still Arabs, and still Muslims.
The second point we would like to make, which is that we must differentiate between culture and religion. For some reason, Western media has decided that Muslims and Arabs are one and the same, regardless of the fact that according to CNN Islam is the fastest growing religion. One would question why this would be the case, why are so many people embracing Islam if it is a religion of terrorists who oppress women? The reason is because most of the people who convert do their homework, and learn to differentiate between Islam and some poor practices of individuals. In particular for females, through their homework, they come to realise that Islam is one of the most liberating religions to have ever existed for humanity, and it explicitly values femininity and the female. If we look at thousands of years of history from the Ancient Chinese, Hindus, Pharaohs, Babylonians, Assyrians, Pagans, Romans, Persians, Jews, Christians and current Western Civilisation - there is certifiable evidence that none of these civilizations or religions respected and protected women to the same extent as Islam does. This is because Islam recognised all of the oppressing behaviours of prior religions and civilizations and prescribed rules in order to abolish them. Furthermore, Islam is a religion for all time and its content is relevant to all generations, those of the past, the current and the future, as the human instinct does not change with time.
To give you a brief overview of some of the rights of women in Islam:
1. The rights of a wife - In order for a marriage to be valid in Islam, a man must first provide the woman with a wedding gift called the "mahr" which should be cash and could additionally include property, jewellery and clothing. This gift is to ensure that the woman is financially secure regardless of divorce. Even if they divorce the day after they consummate the marriage the gift is for her to keep.
Furthermore, a husband is obliged in Islam to financially provide for his wife and cover ALL household and clothing bills for his family. If he does not do so it is considered a sin. In return the wife is obliged to take care of his children and be intimate with him. She is not obliged to cook, clean and stay at home, it is her choice to do so if she wishes.
In Islam there are 5 core goals that a husband and wife should strive for in their marriage: 1. Tranquillity, 2. Affection, 3. Mercy, 4. To protect and give comfort (the direct translation is to be each other's clothing) and 5. To have and raise children. Everything that a husband and wife do in a marriage should have these goals in mind - therefore, physical abuse does not comply with mercy, adultery and arguing does not comply withtranquillity, abstaining from sex and ignoring one another does not comply with being affectionate. And of course the most controversial topic of all, polygamy does not comply with 3 of them, in fact, in Islam it is made clear to man that he can have up to four wives under certain conditions and only after he gets permission from his wife. Even if she agrees, he MUST treat them equally in all aspects - emotionally, financially, physically, which for a human is impossible and Islam recognizes this impossibility and says that those men who cannot fulfil that criteria will be punished -therefore discouraging polygamy as opposed to encouraging it.
Furthermore, a woman is not obliged to marry anyone she doesn't want to and the Sheikh (religious man) asks for her consent before conducting the wedding ceremony. In addition a woman in Islam does not take the name of her husband, but retains her own name and identity, and this is symbolic of the marriage in that it is a joining of two individuals who come together to enhance each others lives and not to become one.
2. The rights of women in divorce- There are clear rules with regards to divorce, conditions in which it is allowed, what the process is and the rights of the woman who is divorced. Most of these rules are there to protect the woman. An example is that a man who wants to divorce his
wife has to leave the house and he cannot kick her out, it is her choice if she wishes to remain in the residence.
3. Financial independence - Any money that a woman earns in her employment or inheritance is hers and she is not obliged to pay or contribute a cent to her husband or parents, it is her choice if she wants to lighten their financial load. If she financially contributes she is granted blessings from God, but if a man requests her to financially contribute he has committed a sin.
4. Inheritance rights of a woman- In Islam inheritance rights are stipulated in great detail in order to avoid arguments and disappointments. Furthermore, it is the first religion to clearly state the inheritance rights of women. This is in order to ensure her financial security. If
we look at the UK just over a century ago women were kicked out of their homes upon the death of their fathers or husbands and were not allowed to inherit. Islam prescribed these rules to protect her over 1400 years ago.
5. Mothers in Islam- Motherhood is seen as one of the most important roles of humans and mothers are given great importance and respect. In fact the Prophet says that "paradise is under the feet of mothers". Children are obliged to show the utmost respect for their parents. In
fact in Islam it says that first you must show respect and obedience to God, secondly his Prophet, thirdly the mother, fourth the mother, fifth the mother, sixth the father.
6. The Hijab (headscarf)- Women in Islam are seen as jewels that should not be exploited for the satisfaction of men. The Islamic dress code demands respect and preserves your self worth. It is in fact an interesting dichotomy that in the West the headscarf is seen as an oppression of women and we find it a liberation of women. In Islam, a woman has many different dimensions to her all of which have a time and place. When she is in an intimate relationship with her husband, she is obviously sexual and hence her beautiful and seductive attributes are
exposed, but there is no need for her to be sexy anywhere else. At work or in public she is viewed to have integrity, a mind, a voice, it is her soul which is displayed to the world as that is what they should be focussing on, not her sexuality. Perhaps it is a very simplistic way at looking at life, but we all joke that men can't multitask, and if they see a sexy woman they will certainly be thinking of one thing, instead of focussing on what she is actually there for, to work, to contribute, to think, to converse with. The Islamic dress code simplifies interaction between males and females and makes it clear what your purpose is through your dress. The dress code is also significantly correlated to the self esteem of a women. When a woman dresses modestly
in public there is no confusion as to whether she is given attention or opportunities because or her rights and capabilities or because of her sex appeal. Therefore the primary purpose of the Islamic female dress is to ensure that woman are not seen sexual objects to be exploited or
manipulated into believing that their only value comes from their sexuality.
7. The value of female capabilities as opposed to trying to be like a man- On a spiritual level men and women are considered equal, however on a physical level there is a difference between them and their strengths and weaknesses. In Islam a man and a woman are two different entities that have been created to complement one another. Both should be equally valued. The prime focus is that a woman does not need to behave like a man to be successful, worthy or valued. If she chooses to she could, but why would she want to? She has her own strengths and capabilities and that is what makes her valuable. Furthermore, men should also not behave like women. In Islam, a woman is not restricted to what type of job or role she can take on, but she is asked to give priority to being a mother if she has been blessed with children to ensure that her children receive the love and nurturing that they require.
8. Education- The first word of the Quran brought down to the Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) was 'Read!'. Education, reading, acquiring knowledge, travel and exploring and appreciating what the world has to offer is one of the fundamental values in Islam, and its importance is demonstrated by being the first thing that God communicated of the Quran. All Muslims are required to educate themselves regardless of being male or female, in fact the Prophet emphasised that women have a right to education.
9. The story of Adam and Eve. In the biblical story of Adam and Eve, Eve is portrayed as the temptress, who tempted Adam to eat the apple and hence they were expelled from heaven. In Islam, the story is quite different and symbolic. It states that they both ate from the apple, neither tempted the other and hence were equally guilty.
Above are just a few items we thought we should highlight, there are dozens or rules and examples in Islam that demonstrate the liberation and importance of women and one could write many volumes. Of course in practice, not all of these rules are applied all the time. Similarly, just because you are a Christian or a Jew, doesn't mean you won't lie, steal or kill. But there is a major distinction between the religion of Islam and the implementation of the religion by humans. It seems as though the media only focuses on poor implementation, but never looks at what is really expected of Muslims. It never focuses on the people or groups of people who correctly implement Islam. What was most disappointing about your show is that you reinforced this negative stereotype, when the purpose of that show was to create awareness. We truly believe that you had no negative intentions, and that it was either a miscommunication or a lack of education, hence we have written this letter to help you see a side that is rarely exposed in Western media.
For the many years of watching your show, we have seen that your goal is to try to help people, improve and change lives, a very noble cause, and we have seen that you have already had shows on Islam and on Muslim women, however this must be a continuous positive process, and one negative statement about Islam can nullify all the positive messages previously communicated. We believe that your help in clarifying some of the misconceptions about the Middle East and Islam will help spread peace and understanding across the world instead of perpetuate hatred and misunderstanding. If you are interested, we could arrange some speakers for you on the topic to help clarify some of the misconceptions, we could write an article for your magazine or even make a short documentary with the aim of clarifying misconceptions. It would be a pity for so many people to be left in the dark and it would be unfortunate if you did not share these learnings with your audience. Like you said on your show, you believe that peace will probably come through the work of women, let us turn that into a reality.
We are writing you this letter in response to your show on women around the world, in which there was a lady from Saudi Arabia who was abused by her husband and you addressed the rights and freedom of women in Islam.
We believe that you are in a very influential position to clarify stereotypes and misconceptions about the Middle East and we are writing this letter because we have the utmost respect for you and really believe that your intentions were positive. However, as we are sure you and your producers are aware, Saudi women are not the only battered women and Rania al-Baz was more a representative of a battered women from anywhere around the world - there are women also in America as well as China who are abused and battered- and it was unfortunate to link it with her being a Saudi and a Muslim.
There is a serious misconception in the West about Islam as a religion, and the cultural practices in some countries that are predominantly Muslim. We think it would be extremely educational for your audience to learn a bit more about the rights of women in Islam, which is in fact one of the most liberating religions for women, however through the media it has been portrayed as quite the opposite - primarily due to a lack of understanding and political interest in maintaining an "enemy" in order to justify America's foreign policy with regards to the Middle East. It is a similar brainwashing of the masses as with the negative portrayal of African Americans in order to maintain slavery and dominance in the past.
There are two distinct issues that we would like to address; the first being the negative portrayal of Saudi Arabian Culture, and secondly, the link of these cultural practices to Islam.
Let us first address the Saudi Arabian culture. There is no denying that some of the practices in countries like Saudi Arabia do indeed seem bizarre to the Western world, however we can look at Western practices and also view them as bizarre and immoral. There is a famous anthropological article written in 1956 by Horace Miner entitled "Body Ritual Among the Nacirema", which discusses how the Nacirema people are so obsessed with their physical appearance that "they have extensive mouth rituals... the women bake their heads in small ovens for about an hour... and the men scrap and lacerate their faces with sharp instruments." The author of this article was describing North Americans and the primary message was to demonstrate that you can make any culture seem bizarre if you are looking at it as an outsider.
Most international cultural practices will differ from those in your home country. Different races have different traditions and as we have experienced over human evolution, that unfamiliarity breeds contempt. If we were to go back 40 years to the sixties, and imagine there was a famous talk show host, such as yourself, who had a show on different races with the aim of 'familiarizing Americans on what other people live like', the Caucasians were happy go lucky, but the African Americans were portrayed as dirty, immoral and barbaric. How would you have felt? Would you not have thought that it was a false accusation? That of course there are some African Americans who are dirty, immoral and barbaric, but is that message representative of the majority? Does that message help bring peace to the world? Or does it reinforce negative stereotypes that result in discrimination, racism, oppression and violence? We would have expected your show to dig deeper into the different cultures and explain why certain traditions exist, in order to increase awareness and understanding, to explain the unknown, and to truly break down barriers between Arabs and Americans. The question 'why?' was never asked on your show.
To give you another example of Middle Eastern way of living is our lives. We come from the Sultanate of Oman, a neighbouring country of Saudi Arabia, where the entire Omani population is Muslim. In Oman we have female Ministers, female ambassadors, female Directors of mutli-billion dollar businesses in addition to full time mothers, engineers and bankers. If we compare the way of life in Oman to Saudi Arabia it is quite different, however, we are still Arabs, and still Muslims.
The second point we would like to make, which is that we must differentiate between culture and religion. For some reason, Western media has decided that Muslims and Arabs are one and the same, regardless of the fact that according to CNN Islam is the fastest growing religion. One would question why this would be the case, why are so many people embracing Islam if it is a religion of terrorists who oppress women? The reason is because most of the people who convert do their homework, and learn to differentiate between Islam and some poor practices of individuals. In particular for females, through their homework, they come to realise that Islam is one of the most liberating religions to have ever existed for humanity, and it explicitly values femininity and the female. If we look at thousands of years of history from the Ancient Chinese, Hindus, Pharaohs, Babylonians, Assyrians, Pagans, Romans, Persians, Jews, Christians and current Western Civilisation - there is certifiable evidence that none of these civilizations or religions respected and protected women to the same extent as Islam does. This is because Islam recognised all of the oppressing behaviours of prior religions and civilizations and prescribed rules in order to abolish them. Furthermore, Islam is a religion for all time and its content is relevant to all generations, those of the past, the current and the future, as the human instinct does not change with time.
To give you a brief overview of some of the rights of women in Islam:
1. The rights of a wife - In order for a marriage to be valid in Islam, a man must first provide the woman with a wedding gift called the "mahr" which should be cash and could additionally include property, jewellery and clothing. This gift is to ensure that the woman is financially secure regardless of divorce. Even if they divorce the day after they consummate the marriage the gift is for her to keep.
Furthermore, a husband is obliged in Islam to financially provide for his wife and cover ALL household and clothing bills for his family. If he does not do so it is considered a sin. In return the wife is obliged to take care of his children and be intimate with him. She is not obliged to cook, clean and stay at home, it is her choice to do so if she wishes.
In Islam there are 5 core goals that a husband and wife should strive for in their marriage: 1. Tranquillity, 2. Affection, 3. Mercy, 4. To protect and give comfort (the direct translation is to be each other's clothing) and 5. To have and raise children. Everything that a husband and wife do in a marriage should have these goals in mind - therefore, physical abuse does not comply with mercy, adultery and arguing does not comply withtranquillity, abstaining from sex and ignoring one another does not comply with being affectionate. And of course the most controversial topic of all, polygamy does not comply with 3 of them, in fact, in Islam it is made clear to man that he can have up to four wives under certain conditions and only after he gets permission from his wife. Even if she agrees, he MUST treat them equally in all aspects - emotionally, financially, physically, which for a human is impossible and Islam recognizes this impossibility and says that those men who cannot fulfil that criteria will be punished -therefore discouraging polygamy as opposed to encouraging it.
Furthermore, a woman is not obliged to marry anyone she doesn't want to and the Sheikh (religious man) asks for her consent before conducting the wedding ceremony. In addition a woman in Islam does not take the name of her husband, but retains her own name and identity, and this is symbolic of the marriage in that it is a joining of two individuals who come together to enhance each others lives and not to become one.
2. The rights of women in divorce- There are clear rules with regards to divorce, conditions in which it is allowed, what the process is and the rights of the woman who is divorced. Most of these rules are there to protect the woman. An example is that a man who wants to divorce his
wife has to leave the house and he cannot kick her out, it is her choice if she wishes to remain in the residence.
3. Financial independence - Any money that a woman earns in her employment or inheritance is hers and she is not obliged to pay or contribute a cent to her husband or parents, it is her choice if she wants to lighten their financial load. If she financially contributes she is granted blessings from God, but if a man requests her to financially contribute he has committed a sin.
4. Inheritance rights of a woman- In Islam inheritance rights are stipulated in great detail in order to avoid arguments and disappointments. Furthermore, it is the first religion to clearly state the inheritance rights of women. This is in order to ensure her financial security. If
we look at the UK just over a century ago women were kicked out of their homes upon the death of their fathers or husbands and were not allowed to inherit. Islam prescribed these rules to protect her over 1400 years ago.
5. Mothers in Islam- Motherhood is seen as one of the most important roles of humans and mothers are given great importance and respect. In fact the Prophet says that "paradise is under the feet of mothers". Children are obliged to show the utmost respect for their parents. In
fact in Islam it says that first you must show respect and obedience to God, secondly his Prophet, thirdly the mother, fourth the mother, fifth the mother, sixth the father.
6. The Hijab (headscarf)- Women in Islam are seen as jewels that should not be exploited for the satisfaction of men. The Islamic dress code demands respect and preserves your self worth. It is in fact an interesting dichotomy that in the West the headscarf is seen as an oppression of women and we find it a liberation of women. In Islam, a woman has many different dimensions to her all of which have a time and place. When she is in an intimate relationship with her husband, she is obviously sexual and hence her beautiful and seductive attributes are
exposed, but there is no need for her to be sexy anywhere else. At work or in public she is viewed to have integrity, a mind, a voice, it is her soul which is displayed to the world as that is what they should be focussing on, not her sexuality. Perhaps it is a very simplistic way at looking at life, but we all joke that men can't multitask, and if they see a sexy woman they will certainly be thinking of one thing, instead of focussing on what she is actually there for, to work, to contribute, to think, to converse with. The Islamic dress code simplifies interaction between males and females and makes it clear what your purpose is through your dress. The dress code is also significantly correlated to the self esteem of a women. When a woman dresses modestly
in public there is no confusion as to whether she is given attention or opportunities because or her rights and capabilities or because of her sex appeal. Therefore the primary purpose of the Islamic female dress is to ensure that woman are not seen sexual objects to be exploited or
manipulated into believing that their only value comes from their sexuality.
7. The value of female capabilities as opposed to trying to be like a man- On a spiritual level men and women are considered equal, however on a physical level there is a difference between them and their strengths and weaknesses. In Islam a man and a woman are two different entities that have been created to complement one another. Both should be equally valued. The prime focus is that a woman does not need to behave like a man to be successful, worthy or valued. If she chooses to she could, but why would she want to? She has her own strengths and capabilities and that is what makes her valuable. Furthermore, men should also not behave like women. In Islam, a woman is not restricted to what type of job or role she can take on, but she is asked to give priority to being a mother if she has been blessed with children to ensure that her children receive the love and nurturing that they require.
8. Education- The first word of the Quran brought down to the Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) was 'Read!'. Education, reading, acquiring knowledge, travel and exploring and appreciating what the world has to offer is one of the fundamental values in Islam, and its importance is demonstrated by being the first thing that God communicated of the Quran. All Muslims are required to educate themselves regardless of being male or female, in fact the Prophet emphasised that women have a right to education.
9. The story of Adam and Eve. In the biblical story of Adam and Eve, Eve is portrayed as the temptress, who tempted Adam to eat the apple and hence they were expelled from heaven. In Islam, the story is quite different and symbolic. It states that they both ate from the apple, neither tempted the other and hence were equally guilty.
Above are just a few items we thought we should highlight, there are dozens or rules and examples in Islam that demonstrate the liberation and importance of women and one could write many volumes. Of course in practice, not all of these rules are applied all the time. Similarly, just because you are a Christian or a Jew, doesn't mean you won't lie, steal or kill. But there is a major distinction between the religion of Islam and the implementation of the religion by humans. It seems as though the media only focuses on poor implementation, but never looks at what is really expected of Muslims. It never focuses on the people or groups of people who correctly implement Islam. What was most disappointing about your show is that you reinforced this negative stereotype, when the purpose of that show was to create awareness. We truly believe that you had no negative intentions, and that it was either a miscommunication or a lack of education, hence we have written this letter to help you see a side that is rarely exposed in Western media.
For the many years of watching your show, we have seen that your goal is to try to help people, improve and change lives, a very noble cause, and we have seen that you have already had shows on Islam and on Muslim women, however this must be a continuous positive process, and one negative statement about Islam can nullify all the positive messages previously communicated. We believe that your help in clarifying some of the misconceptions about the Middle East and Islam will help spread peace and understanding across the world instead of perpetuate hatred and misunderstanding. If you are interested, we could arrange some speakers for you on the topic to help clarify some of the misconceptions, we could write an article for your magazine or even make a short documentary with the aim of clarifying misconceptions. It would be a pity for so many people to be left in the dark and it would be unfortunate if you did not share these learnings with your audience. Like you said on your show, you believe that peace will probably come through the work of women, let us turn that into a reality.
A Woman's Reflection on Leading Prayer
by Yasmin Mogahed
"Given my privilege as a woman, I only degrade myself by trying to be something I’m not--and in all honesty--don’t want to be: a man. As women, we will never reach true liberation until we stop trying to mimic men, and value the beauty in our own God-given distinctiveness."
On March 18, 2005 Amina Wadud led the first female-led Jumuah (Friday) prayer. On that day women took a huge step towards being more like men. But, did we come closer to actualizing our God-given liberation?
I don’t think so.
What we so often forget is that God has honored the woman by giving her value in relation to God—not in relation to men. But as western feminism erases God from the scene, there is no standard left—but men. As a result the western feminist is forced to find her value in relation to a man. And in so doing she has accepted a faulty assumption. She has accepted that man is the standard, and thus a woman can never be a full human being until she becomes just like a man—the standard.
When a man cut his hair short, she wanted to cut her hair short. When a man joined the army, she wanted to join the army. She wanted these things for no other reason than because the “standard” had it.
What she didn’t recognize was that God dignifies both men and women in their distinctiveness--not their sameness. And on March 18, Muslim women made the very same mistake.
For 1400 years there has been a consensus of the scholars that men are to lead prayer. As a Muslim woman, why does this matter? The one who leads prayer is not spiritually superior in any way. Something is not better just because a man does it. And leading prayer is not better, just because it’s leading. Had it been the role of women or had it been more divine, why wouldn’t the Prophet have asked Ayesha or Khadija, or Fatima—the greatest women of all time—to lead? These women were promised heaven—and yet they never lead prayer.
But now for the first time in 1400 years, we look at a man leading prayer and we think, “That’s not fair.” We think so although God has given no special privilege to the one who leads. The imam is no higher in the eyes of God than the one who prays behind.
On the other hand, only a woman can be a mother. And God has given special privilege to a mother. The Prophet taught us that heaven lies at the feet of mothers. But no matter what a man does he can never be a mother. So why is that not unfair?
When asked who is most deserving of our kind treatment? The Prophet replied ‘your mother’ three times before saying ‘your father’ only once. Isn’t that sexist? No matter what a man does he will never be able to have the status of a mother.
And yet even when God honors us with something uniquely feminine, we are too busy trying to find our worth in reference to men, to value it—or even notice. We too have accepted men as the standard; so anything uniquely feminine is, by definition, inferior. Being sensitive is an insult, becoming a mother—a degradation. In the battle between stoic rationality (considered masculine) and self-less compassion (considered feminine), rationality reigns supreme.
As soon as we accept that everything a man has and does is better, all that follows is just a knee jerk reaction: if men have it—we want it too. If men pray in the front rows, we assume this is better, so we want to pray in the front rows too. If men lead prayer, we assume the imam is closer to God, so we want to lead prayer too. Somewhere along the line we’ve accepted the notion that having a position of worldly leadership is some indication of one’s position with God.
A Muslim woman does not need to degrade herself in this way. She has God as a standard. She has God to give her value; she doesn’t need a man.
In fact, in our crusade to follow men, we, as women, never even stopped to examine the possibility that what we have is better for us. In some cases we even gave up what was higher only to be like men.
Fifty years ago, society told us that men were superior because they left the home to work in factories. We were mothers. And yet, we were told that it was women’s liberation to abandon the raising of another human being in order to work on a machine. We accepted that working in a factory was superior to raising the foundation of society—just because a man did it.
Then after working, we were expected to be superhuman—the perfect mother, the perfect wife, the perfect homemaker—and have the perfect career. And while there is nothing wrong, by definition, with a woman having a career, we soon came to realize what we had sacrificed by blindly mimicking men. We watched as our children became strangers and soon recognized the privilege we’d given up.
And so only now—given the choice—women in the West are choosing to stay home to raise their children. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, only 31 percent of mothers with babies, and 18 percent of mothers with two or more children, are working full-time. And of those working mothers, a survey conducted by Parenting Magazine in 2000, found that 93% of them say they would rather be home with their kids, but are compelled to work due to 'financial obligations'. These ‘obligations’ are imposed on women by the gender sameness of the modern West, and removed from women by the gender distinctiveness of Islam.
It took women in the West almost a century of experimentation to realize a privilege given to Muslim women 1400 years ago.
Given my privilege as a woman, I only degrade myself by trying to be something I’m not--and in all honesty--don’t want to be: a man. As women, we will never reach true liberation until we stop trying to mimic men, and value the beauty in our own God-given distinctiveness.
If given a choice between stoic justice and compassion, I choose compassion. And if given a choice between worldly leadership and heaven at my feet—I choose heaven.
"Given my privilege as a woman, I only degrade myself by trying to be something I’m not--and in all honesty--don’t want to be: a man. As women, we will never reach true liberation until we stop trying to mimic men, and value the beauty in our own God-given distinctiveness."
On March 18, 2005 Amina Wadud led the first female-led Jumuah (Friday) prayer. On that day women took a huge step towards being more like men. But, did we come closer to actualizing our God-given liberation?
I don’t think so.
What we so often forget is that God has honored the woman by giving her value in relation to God—not in relation to men. But as western feminism erases God from the scene, there is no standard left—but men. As a result the western feminist is forced to find her value in relation to a man. And in so doing she has accepted a faulty assumption. She has accepted that man is the standard, and thus a woman can never be a full human being until she becomes just like a man—the standard.
When a man cut his hair short, she wanted to cut her hair short. When a man joined the army, she wanted to join the army. She wanted these things for no other reason than because the “standard” had it.
What she didn’t recognize was that God dignifies both men and women in their distinctiveness--not their sameness. And on March 18, Muslim women made the very same mistake.
For 1400 years there has been a consensus of the scholars that men are to lead prayer. As a Muslim woman, why does this matter? The one who leads prayer is not spiritually superior in any way. Something is not better just because a man does it. And leading prayer is not better, just because it’s leading. Had it been the role of women or had it been more divine, why wouldn’t the Prophet have asked Ayesha or Khadija, or Fatima—the greatest women of all time—to lead? These women were promised heaven—and yet they never lead prayer.
But now for the first time in 1400 years, we look at a man leading prayer and we think, “That’s not fair.” We think so although God has given no special privilege to the one who leads. The imam is no higher in the eyes of God than the one who prays behind.
On the other hand, only a woman can be a mother. And God has given special privilege to a mother. The Prophet taught us that heaven lies at the feet of mothers. But no matter what a man does he can never be a mother. So why is that not unfair?
When asked who is most deserving of our kind treatment? The Prophet replied ‘your mother’ three times before saying ‘your father’ only once. Isn’t that sexist? No matter what a man does he will never be able to have the status of a mother.
And yet even when God honors us with something uniquely feminine, we are too busy trying to find our worth in reference to men, to value it—or even notice. We too have accepted men as the standard; so anything uniquely feminine is, by definition, inferior. Being sensitive is an insult, becoming a mother—a degradation. In the battle between stoic rationality (considered masculine) and self-less compassion (considered feminine), rationality reigns supreme.
As soon as we accept that everything a man has and does is better, all that follows is just a knee jerk reaction: if men have it—we want it too. If men pray in the front rows, we assume this is better, so we want to pray in the front rows too. If men lead prayer, we assume the imam is closer to God, so we want to lead prayer too. Somewhere along the line we’ve accepted the notion that having a position of worldly leadership is some indication of one’s position with God.
A Muslim woman does not need to degrade herself in this way. She has God as a standard. She has God to give her value; she doesn’t need a man.
In fact, in our crusade to follow men, we, as women, never even stopped to examine the possibility that what we have is better for us. In some cases we even gave up what was higher only to be like men.
Fifty years ago, society told us that men were superior because they left the home to work in factories. We were mothers. And yet, we were told that it was women’s liberation to abandon the raising of another human being in order to work on a machine. We accepted that working in a factory was superior to raising the foundation of society—just because a man did it.
Then after working, we were expected to be superhuman—the perfect mother, the perfect wife, the perfect homemaker—and have the perfect career. And while there is nothing wrong, by definition, with a woman having a career, we soon came to realize what we had sacrificed by blindly mimicking men. We watched as our children became strangers and soon recognized the privilege we’d given up.
And so only now—given the choice—women in the West are choosing to stay home to raise their children. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, only 31 percent of mothers with babies, and 18 percent of mothers with two or more children, are working full-time. And of those working mothers, a survey conducted by Parenting Magazine in 2000, found that 93% of them say they would rather be home with their kids, but are compelled to work due to 'financial obligations'. These ‘obligations’ are imposed on women by the gender sameness of the modern West, and removed from women by the gender distinctiveness of Islam.
It took women in the West almost a century of experimentation to realize a privilege given to Muslim women 1400 years ago.
Given my privilege as a woman, I only degrade myself by trying to be something I’m not--and in all honesty--don’t want to be: a man. As women, we will never reach true liberation until we stop trying to mimic men, and value the beauty in our own God-given distinctiveness.
If given a choice between stoic justice and compassion, I choose compassion. And if given a choice between worldly leadership and heaven at my feet—I choose heaven.
Yasmin Mogahed is an Egyptian-American free-lance writer. She contributed this article to Media Monitors Network (MMN) from Wisconsin, USA.
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