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Current Affairs News
Women in Islam vs. Women in Judeo-Christian Tradition
INTRODUCTION
Before we start, I would like to emphasize that my purpose from
this presentation is not to denigrate Judaism or Christianity.
As Muslims, we believe in the divine origins of both. No one can
be a Muslim without believing in Moses and Jesus as great
Prophets of God, peace be upon them both. My goal is only to
vindicate Islam and pay a tribute, long overdue in the West, to
the final truthful Message from God to the human race. I would
also like to emphasize that I concerned myself only with
Doctrine. That is, my concern is, mainly, the position of women
in the three religions as it appears in their original sources
NOT as practiced by their millions of followers in the world
today. (1) Therefore, most of the evidence cited comes from the
Qur'an, the Bible, the Talmud , and the sayings of some of the
most influential Church Fathers whose views have contributed
immeasurably to defining and shaping Christianity. This interest
in the sources relates to the fact that understanding a certain
religion from the attitudes and the behaviour of some of its
nominal followers is misleading. Many people confuse culture
with religion, many others don't know what their religious books
are saying, and many others don't even care.
PART 1 - EVE'S FAULT
The three religions agree on one basic fact: Both women and men
are created by God the Creator of the whole universe. However,
disagreement starts soon after the creation of the first man,
Adam and the first woman, Eve. The Judaeo-Christian conception
of the creation of Adam and Eve is narrated in detail in Genesis
2:4 through (3):24. God prohibited both of them from eating the
fruits of the forbidden tree. The serpent seduced Eve to eat
from it and Eve, in turn, seduced Adam to eat with her. When God
rebuked Adam for what he did, he put all the blame on Eve: "The
woman you put here with me - she gave me some fruit from the
tree and I ate it." Consequently, God said to Eve: "I will
greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will
give birth to children. Your desire will be fore your husband
and he will rule over you." To Adam he said: "Because you
listened to your wife and ate from the tree . . . Cursed is the
ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it
all the days of your life . . . ". (2)
The Islamic conception of the first creation is found in several
places in the Qur'an, for example 7:19-25: "O Adam dwell with
your wife in the garden and enjoy as you wish but approach not
this tree or you run into harm. Then Satan whispered to them
your Lord only forbade you this tree lest you become angels and
he swore to them both that he was their sincere adviser. When
they tasted the tree their shame became manifest to them. Their
Lord called unto them did I not forbid you that tree...They
said: our Lord we have wronged our own souls and if You forgive
us not and bestow not upon us Your mercy, we shall certainly be
lost . . . " .
A careful look into the two accounts of the story of the
Creation reveals some essential differences. The Qur'an,
contrary to the Bible, places equal blame on both Adam and Eve
for their mistake. Nowhere in the Qur'an can one find even the
slightest hint that Eve tempted Adam to eat from the tree or
even that she had eaten before him. In the Qur'anic account, the
only one guilty of temptation is Satan. Eve in the Qur'an is no
temptress, no seducer, and no deceiver. Moreover, Eve isn't to
be blamed for the pains of childbearing. . (3) Almighty God,
according to the Qur'an, punish no one for another's faults.
Both Adam and Eve committed a sin and then asked God for
forgiveness and He forgave them both.
PART 2 - EVE'S LEGACY
The image of Eve as temptress in the Bible has resulted in an
extremely negative impact on women throughout the Judaeo-Christian
tradition. In order to understand how negative the impact on
women was we have to look at the writings of some of the most
important Jews and Christians of all time. Let us start with the
Old Testament and listen to excerpts from what is called the
Wisdom Literature in which we find: "I find more bitter than
death the woman who is a snare, whose heart is a trap and whose
hands are chains. The man who pleases God will escape her, but
the sinner she will ensnare....while I was still searching but
not finding, I found one upright man among a thousand but not
one upright woman among them all." (Ecclesiasticus 7:26-28 ).
One has to ask what is the wisdom in denying the existence of
even one upright woman on earth? In another part of the Hebrew
literature, which is found in the Roman Catholic version of the
Bible, we read, "No wickedness comes anywhere near the
wickedness of a woman . . . Sin began with a woman and thanks to
her we all must die". (Ecclesiasticus 25:19,24) Orthodox Jewish
men in their daily morning prayer recite: "Blessed be God King
of the universe that Thou has not made me a woman." The women,
on the other hand, thank God every morning for "making me
according to Thy will". . (4)
The same severe tone is found also in the New Testament. Listen
to (St.) Paul: "A woman should learn in quietness and full
submission. I don't permit a woman to teach or to have authority
over a man; she must be silent. For Adam was formed first, then
Eve. And Adam wasn't the one deceived; it was the woman who was
deceived and became a sinner, but women will be saved through
childbearing . . . " . (I Timothy 2:11-15). (St.) Tertullian was
even more blunt than (St.) Paul, while he was talking to his
'best beloved sisters' in the faith, he said: "Do you not know
that you are each an Eve? The sentence of God on this sex of
yours lives in this age: the guilt must of necessity live too.
You are the Devil's gateway: You are the unsealer of the
forbidden tree: You are the first deserter of the Divine Law:
You are she who persuaded him whom the devil wasn't valiant
enough to attack. You destroyed so easily God's image - man."
(St.) Augustine was faithful to the legacy of his predecessors,
he wrote to a friend: "What is the difference whether it is in a
wife or a mother, it is still Eve the temptress that we must
beware of in any woman." Centuries later, (St.) Thomas Aquinas
still considered women as defective: "As regards the individual
nature, woman is defective and misbegotten, for the active force
in the male seed tends to the production of a perfect likeness
in the masculine sex; while the production of woman comes from a
defect in the active force or from some material indisposition,
or even from some external influence." Finally, the renowned
reformer Martin Luther couldn't see any benefit from a woman but
bringing into the world as many children as possible regardless
of the possible side effects: "If they become tired or even die,
that doesn't matter. Let them die in childbirth, that's why they
are there" . Again and again all women are denigrated because of
the image of Eve the temptress, thanks to the Genesis account. .
(5)
If we now turn our attention to what the Qur'an has to say about
women, we will soon realize that the Islamic conception of women
is radically different from that of the Judaeo-Christian
tradition. Let the Qur'an speak for itself:
"For Muslim men and women, for believing men and women, for
devout men and women, for true men and women, for men and women
who are patient, for men and women who humble themselves, for
men and women who give in charity, for men and women who fast,
for men and women who guard their chastity, and for men and
women who engage much in God's praise For them all has God
prepared forgiveness and great reward." (Qur'an 33:35)
"Whoever works evil will not be requited but by the like
thereof, and whoever works a righteous deed whether man or woman
and is a believer- such will enter the Garden of bliss." (Qur'an
40:40)
"Whoever works righteousness, man or woman, and has faith,
verily to him/her we will give a new life that is good and pure,
and we will bestow on such their reward according to the best of
their actions." (Qur'an 16:97)
It is clear that the Qur'anic view of women is no different than
that of a man. They both are God's creatures whose sublime goal
on earth is to worship their Lord, do good deeds, and avoid evil
and they, both, will be assessed accordingly. The Qur'an never
mentions that the woman is the devil's gateway or that she is a
deceiver by nature. The Qur'an, also, never mentions that man is
created in God's image, all men and all women are his creatures
- that's all. According to the Qur'an, a woman's role on earth
isn't limited only to childbirth. She is required to do as many
good deeds as any other man is required to do. The Qur'an never
said that no upright women had ever existed. To the contrary,
the Qur'an has instructed all the believers, women as well as
men, to follow the example of those ideal women such as the
Virgin Mary 6 and the wife of Pharoah's (See Qur'an 66:11-13).
PART (3) - SHAMEFUL DAUGHTERS?
In fact, the difference between the Biblical and the Qur'anic
attitude towards the female sex starts as soon as a female is
born. For example the Bible states that the period of the
mother's ritual impurity is twice as long if a girl is born than
if a boy is (Leviticus 12:2-5). The Roman Catholic Bible
explicitly states that "The birth of a daughter is a loss" (Ecclesiasticus
22:3). In contrast to this shocking statement, boys receive
special praise: "A man who educates his son will be the envy of
his enemy". (Ecclesiasticus (3)0:(3)). A daughter is considered
a painful burden, a potential source of shame to her father:
"Your daughter is headstrong? Keep a sharp look-out that she
doesn't make you the laughing stock of your enemies, the talk of
the town, the object of common gossip, and put you to public
shame". (Ecclesiasticus 42:11)
It was this very same idea of treating daughters as sources of
shame that led the pagan Arabs, before the advent of Islam, to
practice female infanticide. The Qur'an severely condemned this
heinous practice:
"When news is brought to one of them of the birth of a female
child, his face darkens and he is filled with inward grief. With
shame does he hide himself from his people because of the bad
news he has had! Shall he retain her on contempt or bury her in
the dust? Ah! what an evil they decide on?" (Qur'an 16:59)
It has to be mentioned that this sinister crime would have never
stopped in Arabia if it were not to the power of the scathing
terms the Qur'an used to condemn this practice (see 16:59,
43:17, 81:8-9). The Qur'an, moreover, makes no distinction
between boys and girls. In contrast to the Bible, the Qur'an
considers the birth of a female as a gift and a blessing from
God, same as the birth of a male. The Qur'an even mentions the
gift of the female birth first: "To God belongs the dominion of
the heavens and the earth. He creates what he wills. He bestows
female children to whomever he wills and bestows male children
to whomever he wills". (Qur'an 42:49)
PART 4 - FEMALE EDUCATION
The difference between the Biblical and the Qur'anic conceptions
of women is not limited to the newly born female, it extends far
beyond that. Let's compare their attitudes towards a female
trying to learn her religion. The heart of Judaism is the Torah
- the Law. However, according to the Talmud, "women are exempt
from the study of the Torah". In the first century C. E. 7,
Rabbi Eliezer said: "If any man teaches his daughter Torah it is
as though he taught her lechery". The attitude of (St.) Paul in
the New Testament isn't much brighter: "As in all the
congregations of the saints, women should remain silent in the
churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in
submission as the law says. If they want to inquire about
something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is
disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church." (I Corinthians
14:34,35). How can a woman learn if she is not allowed to speak?
How can a woman grow intellectually if she is obliged to be in a
state of full submission? How can she broaden her horizons if
her one and only source of information is her husband at home?
(8)
Now, to be fair, we should ask: is the Qur'anic position any
different? One short story narrated in the Qur'an sums its
position up concisely. Khawlah was a Muslim woman who lived at
the time of the Prophet Muhammad, may God bless him and give him
peace. Her husband, Aws, at a moment of anger pronounced this
statement: "You are to me as the back of my mother". This was
held by pagan Arabs to be a statement of divorce which freed the
husband from any conjugal responsibility but didn't leave the
wife free to leave the husband's home or to marry another man.
Having heard these words from her husband, Khawlah was in a
miserable situation. She went straight to the Prophet of Islam,
may God bless him and give him peace, to plead her case. The
Prophet, may God bless him and give him peace, told her that she
should be patient since there seemed to be no way out. Khawlah
kept arguing with the Prophet, may God bless him and give him
peace, in an attempt to save her suspended marriage. Shortly
afterwards, God intervened and revealed some Qur'anic verses to
the Prophet; so Khawlah's plea was accepted. The Divine verdict
abolished this iniquitous custom. One full chapter of the Qur'an
(Chapter 58 ) whose title is al-Mujadilah, or The Woman Who
Pleads, was devoted to this incident:
"God has heard and accepted the statement of the woman who
pleads with you ( i.e. the Prophet) concerning her husband and
carries her complaint to God, and God hears the arguments
between both of you for God hears and sees all things . . .".
(Qur'an 58:1)
A woman in the Qur'anic conception has the right to argue even
with the Prophet of Islam himself. No one has the right to
instruct her to be silent. She is under no obligation to
consider her husband the one and only reference in matters of
law and religion.
PART 5 - ADULTERY
Women's position, role, rights, and duties in the Qur'an are
very different from those found in the Bible. Let us take some
examples. Adultery and fornication are considered sins in all
religions. The Bible decrees the death sentence for both the
adulterer and the adulteress (Leviticus 20:10). Islam also
equally punishes both the adulterer and the adulteress (Qur'an
24:2). However, the Qur'anic definition of adultery is very
different from the Biblical definition. Adultery, according to
the Qur'an, is the involvement of a married man or a married
woman in an extramarital affair. The Bible only considers the
extramarital affair of a married woman as adultery (Leviticus
20:10, Deuteronomy 22:22, Proverbs 6:20-7:27). The extramarital
affair of a married man isn't per se a crime in the Bible. Why
this dual moral standard? According to Encyclopedia Judaica, the
wife was considered to be the husband's possession and adultery
constituted a violation the husband's exclusive right to her;
the wife as the husband's possession had no such right to him.
The New Testament echoes the same attitude in Matthew 5:31-32,
where it is attributed to Jesus, peace be upon him, to have
said: "I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for
marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and
anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery." Why
didn't he label the man who divorces his wife and marries
another woman as adulterer? To the present day in Israel, if a
married man indulges in an extramarital affair with a woman, his
children by that woman are considered legitimate. But, if a
married woman has an affair with another man, her children by
that man are not only illegitimate, but are forbidden to marry
any other Jews except converts and other bastards. This ban is
handed down to the child's descendants for ten generations until
the taint of adultery is presumably weakened.
The Qur'an, on the other hand, never considers any woman to be
the possession of any man. The Qur'an eloquently describes the
relationship between the spouses by saying:
And among His signs is that He created for you mates from among
yourselves, that you may dwell in tranquillity with them and He
has put love and mercy between your hearts: verily in that are
signs for those who reflect (Qur'an 30:21)
This is Qur'anic conception of marriage: love, mercy, and
tranquillity, not possession and double standards.
PART 6 - BEARING WITNESS
Another issue in which the Qur'an and the Bible disagree is the
issue of whether a woman is allows to bear witness and the
validity of her testimony. It is true that when dealing in
financial transactions, people are required to get two male
witnesses or one male and two females (Qur'an 2:282). However,
it is also true that the Qur'an in other situations accepts the
testimony of a woman as equal to that of a man. 9 In fact the
woman's testimony can even invalidate the man's. If a man
accuses his wife of unchastity, he is required by the Qur'an to
solemnly swear five times as evidence of the wife's guilt. If
the wife denies and swears similarly five times, she isn't
considered guilty and in either case the marriage is dissolved
(Qur'an 24:6-11).
On the other hand, women were not allowed to bear witness in
early Jewish society. Women in today's Israel are not allowed to
give evidence in Rabbinical Courts because the Talmud says:
"Women are temperamentally light-headed" . The Rabbis, also,
justify why women can't bear witness by citing Genesis 18:9-16,
where it is stated that Sarah, Abraham's, wife had lied. The
Rabbis use this incident as evidence that women are unqualified
to bear witness. It should be noted here that this story
narrated in Genesis 18:9-16 has been mentioned more than once in
the Qur'an without any hint of any lies by Sarah (see Qur'an
11:69-74 and 51:24-30).
If a man accuses his wife of unchastity, her testimony will not
be considered at all according to the Bible. The accused wife
has to be subjected to a trial by ordeal (Numbers 5:11-(3)1). In
this trial, the wife faces a complex and humiliating ritual
which was supposed to prove her guilt or innocence. If she is
found guilty after this ordeal, she will be sentenced to death.
Also, if a man takes a woman as a wife and then accuses her of
not being a virgin, her own testimony will not count. Her
parents had to bring evidence of her virginity before the elders
of the town. If the parents could not prove the innocence of
their daughter, she would be stoned to death on her father's
doorsteps. If the parents were able to prove her innocence, the
husband will only be fined one hundred shekels of silver and he
must not divorce his wife as long as he lives (Deuteronomy
22:13-21). Why should the poor woman live with the man who
slandered her in public for the rest of his life?
Additionally, it should be mentioned that a very high percentage
of the Islamic hadith literature was narrated by women. The
hadith literature contains the sayings, actions and approvals of
the Prophet Muhammad, my God bless him and give him peace, and
thus constitutes the largest body of sacred literature of Islam.
The hadith literature, the large majority of which consists of
Divine revelation, is second only to the Qur'an in authenticity
and authority. Keeping this in mind, it is interesting to note
that all Muslims scholars have accepted hadiths which were
narrated through women who were know to be God- fearing and
pious just like they only accepted narrations through men who
were God-fearing and pious. Actually, A'isha, one of the wives
of the Prophet Muhammad, my God bless him and give him peace, is
considered by most hadith scholars to be one of the most
reliable of hadith narrators. This is because she lived in the
Prophet's, my God bless him and give him peace, household for
many years, and had the best opportunity to witness his daily
life.
PART 7 - FEMALE INHERITANCE
One of the most important differences between the Qur'an and the
Bible is their attitude towards female inheritance of the
property of a deceased relative. According to Numbers 27:1-11,
widows and sisters don't inherit at all. Daughters can inherit
only if their deceased father had no sons. Otherwise the sons
receive the entire inheritance. Among the pagan Arabs before
Islam, inheritance rights were confined exclusively to the male
relatives. The Qur'an abolished all these unjust customs and
gave all the female relatives their just share (see Qur'an 4:7,
11, 12 and 176).
PART 8 - THE PLIGHT OF WIDOWS
Because of the fact that the Old Testament recognized no
inheritance rights to them, widows were among the most
vulnerable of the Jewish population. The male relatives who
inherited all of her deceased husband's estate were to provide
for her from that estate. However, widows had no way to ensure
this provision was carried out and lived on the mercy of others.
Therefore, widows were among the lowest classes in ancient
Israel and widowhood was considered a symbol of great
degradation (see Isaiah 54:4). But the plight of a widow in the
Biblical tradition extended even beyond her exclusion from her
husband's property. According to Genesis 38, a childless widow
must marry her husband's brother, even if he is already married,
so that he can produce offspring for his dead brother, thus
ensuring his brother's name will not die out. The widow's
consent to this marriage is not required. The widow is treated
as part of her deceased husband's property whose main function
is to ensure her husband's posterity. This Biblical law is still
practiced in today's Israel. The pagan Arabs before Islam had
similar practices. The widow was considered a part of her
husband's property to be inherited by his male heirs and she
was, usually, given in marriage to the deceased man's eldest son
from another wife. The Qur'an scathingly attacked and abolished
this degrading custom:
And marry not those women whom your fathers married, except what
hath already happened (of that nature) in the past! 10 Lo! It
was ever lewdness and abomination, and an evil way. (Qur'an
4:22)
Widows and divorced women were so looked down upon in the
Biblical tradition that the High Priest must not marry a widow,
a divorced woman, or a prostitute (Leviticus 21:13). In Israel
today, a descendent of the Cohen caste (the High Priests of the
days of the Temple) cannot marry a divorcee, a widow, or a
prostitute. In the Jewish legislation, a woman who has been
widowed three times with all the three husband's dying of
natural causes is considered "fatal" and forbidden to marry
again. The Qur'an, on the other hand, recognizes neither castes
nor fatal persons. Widows and divorcees have the freedom to
marry whomever they choose. There is no stigma attached with
divorce or widowhood in the Qur'an (see 2:231, 232, 234, 240).
PART 9 - POLYGAMY
Let's now tackle the important question of polygamy. Polygamy is
a very ancient practice found in many human societies. The Bible
does not condemn polygamy. To the contrary, the Old Testament
and Rabbinical writings frequently attest to the legality of
polygamy. King Solomon is said to have had 700 wives and 300
concubines (1 Kings 11:3). Also, King David is said to have had
many wives and concubines (2 Samuel 5:13). The Old Testament
does have some injunctions on how to distribute the property of
a man among his sons from different wives (Deuteronomy 22:7).
The only restriction on polygamy is a ban on taking a wife's
sister as a rival wife (Leviticus 18:18 ). The Talmud advises a
maximum of four wives. European Jews continued to practice
polygamy until the sixteenth century. Oriental Jews regularly
practiced polygamy until they arrived in Israel where it is
forbidden under civil law. However, under religious law which
overrides civil law in such cases, it is permissible.
What about the New Testament? According to Father Eugene
Hillman, in his insightful book Polygamy Reconsidered: "Nowhere
in the New Testament is there any explicit commandment that
marriage should be monogamous or any explicit commandment
forbidding polygamy." Moreover, Jesus u hasn't spoken against
polygamy though it was practiced by the Jews of his society.
Father Hillman stressed the fact that the Church in Rome banned
polygamy in order to conform to the Greco-Roman culture (which
prescribed only one legal wife while tolerating concubinage and
prostitution). He cited (St.) Augustine: "Now indeed in our
time, and in keeping with Roman custom, it is no longer allowed
to take another wife". To this very day, African churches and
African Christians often remind their European brothers that the
Church's ban on polygamy is a cultural tradition and not an
authentic Christian injunction. The Qur'an, too, allowed
polygamy, but not without restrictions:
"If you fear that you shall not be able to deal justly with the
orphans, marry women of your choice, two or three or four but if
you fear that you shall not be able to deal justly with them,
then marry only one." (Qur'an 4:3)
The Qur'an, contrary to the Bible, limited the maximum number of
wives to four under the strict condition of treating the wives
equally and justly. It should not be understood that the Qur'an
is exhorting the believers to practice polygamy, or that
polygamy is considered as an ideal. In other words, the Qur'an
has "tolerated" or "allowed" polygamy, and no more. But why? Why
is polygamy permissible or allowed? The answer is simple, there
are places and times in which there are compelling reasons for
polygamy. Islam as a universal religion suitable for all places
and all times couldn't ignore these compelling reasons.
In most human societies, females outnumber males. In the U.S.
there are, at least, eight million more women than men. In a
country like Guinea there are 122 females for every 100 males.
In Tanzania, there are 95.1 males per 100 females. What should a
society do towards such unbalanced sex ratios? There are various
solutions, some might suggest celibacy, others would prefer
female infanticide (which does happen in some societies in the
world today !). Others would think the only outlet is that the
society should tolerate all manners of moral decadence :
prostitution, sex out of wedlock, homosexuality, etc., etc.
Other societies, like most African societies today, would see
the most honourable outlet is to allow polygamous marriage as a
culturally accepted and socially respected institution. The
point that is often misunderstood in the West is that women in
other cultures don't necessarily look at polygamy as a sign of
women's degradation. For example, many young African brides
(whether Christians, Muslims or otherwise), would prefer to
marry a married man who has already proved himself to be a
responsible husband. Many African wives urge their husbands to
get a second wife so that they don't feel lonely and to share in
domestic chores. The problem of the unbalanced sex ratios
becomes truly problematic at times of war. Native American
Indian tribes used to suffer highly unbalanced sex ratios after
wartime losses. Women in these tribes, who in fact enjoyed a
fairly high status, accepted polygamy as the best protection
against indulgence in indecent activities. European settlers,
without offering any other alternative, condemned this Indian
polygamy as uncivilized.
After the Second World War, there were 7,300,000 more women than
men in Germany ((3).3 million of them were widows). There were
100 men aged 20 to 30 for every 167 women in that age group.
Many of these women needed a man not only as a companion but
also as a provider for the household in a time of unprecedented
misery and hardship. The soldiers of the victorious Allied
armies exploited these women's vulnerability. Many young girls
and widows had liaisons with members of the occupying forces.
Many American and British soldiers paid for their pleasures in
cigarettes, chocolate, and bread. Children were overjoyed at the
gifts these strangers brought. A 10 year old boy on hearing of
such gifts from other children wished from all his heart for an
"Englishman" for his mother so that she need not go hungry any
longer. We have to ask our own consciences at this point: What
is more dignifying to a woman? An accepted and respected second
wife as in the native Indians' approach, or a virtual prostitute
as in the "civilized" Allies approach? In other words, what is
more dignifying to a woman, the Qur'anic prescription or the
values based on the culture of the Roman Empire?
The World today possesses more weapons of mass destruction than
ever before and the European churches might, sooner or later, be
obliged to accept polygamy as the only way out. Father Hillman
has thoughtfully recognized this fact: "It is quite conceivable
that these genocidal techniques (nuclear, biological,
chemical..) could produce so drastic an imbalance among the
sexes that plural marriage would become a necessary means of
survival . . . Then contrary to previous custom and law, an
overriding natural and moral inclination might arise in favour
of polygamy. In such a situation, theologians and church leaders
would quickly produce weighty reasons and Biblical texts to
justify a new conception of marriage" .
It has to be added also that polygamy in Islam is a matter of
mutual consent. No one can force a woman to marry a married man.
The Bible, on the other hand, sometimes resorts to forcible
polygamy. A childless widow must marry her husband's brother,
even if he is already married, regardless of her consent
(Genesis (3)8 ).
It should be noted that in many Muslim societies today the
practice of polygamy is rare since the gap between the numbers
of both sexes is not huge. One can, safely, say that the rate of
polygamous marriages in the Muslim world is much less than the
rate of extramarital affairs in the West!!! In other words, men
in the Muslim world today are far more strictly monogamous than
men in the Western world!
PART 10 - THE VEIL
Finally, let us shed some light on what is considered in the
West as the greatest symbol of women's oppression and servitude,
the veil or the head cover. Is it true that there is no such
thing as the veil in the Judaeo-Christian tradition? Let's set
the record straight. According to Rabbi Dr. Menachem M. Brayer
(Professor of Biblical Literature at Yeshiva University) in his
book The Jewish Woman in Rabbinic Literature, it was the custom
of Jewish women to go out in public with a head covering which,
sometimes, even covered the whole face leaving one eye free. He
quotes some famous ancient Rabbis saying: "It is not like the
daughters of Israel to walk out with heads uncovered" and
"Cursed be the man who lets the hair of his wife be seen . . . a
woman who exposes her hair for self-adornment brings poverty" .
Rabbinic Law forbids the recitation of blessings or prayers in
the presence of a bareheaded married woman since uncovering the
woman's hair is considered "nudity". Dr. Brayer also mentions
that: "During the Tannaitic period the Jewish woman's failure to
cover her head was considered an affront to her modesty. When
her head was uncovered she might be fined four hundred zuzim for
this offense." Dr. Brayer also explains that veil of the Jewish
woman wasn't always considered a sign of modesty. Sometimes, the
veil symbolized a state of distinction and luxury rather than
modesty. The veil personified the dignity and superiority of
noble women. It also represented a woman's inaccessibility as a
sanctified possession of her husband. It is clear in the Old
Testament that uncovering a woman's head was a great disgrace
and that's why the priest had to uncover the suspected
adulteress in her trial by ordeal (Numbers 5:16-18 ).
What about the Christian tradition? It is well known that
Catholic Nuns have been covering their heads for hundreds of
years, but that's not all. 11 (St.) Paul in the New Testament
made some very interesting statements about the veil:
"Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ,
and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.
Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered
dishonours his head. And every woman who prays or prophesies
with her head uncovered dishonours her head it is just as though
her head were shaved. If a woman doesn't cover her head, she
should have her hair cut off; and if it is a disgrace for a
woman to have her hair cut off or shaved off, she should cover
her head. A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the
image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man. For
man didn't come from woman, but woman from man; neither was man
created for woman, but woman for man. For this reason, and
because of the angels, the woman ought to have a sign of
authority on her head." (I Corinthians 11:(3)-10)
(St.) Paul's rationale for veiling women is that the veil
represents a sign of authority of the man, who is the image and
glory of God, over the woman who was created from and for the
man. (St.) Tertullian in his famous treatise On The Veiling Of
Virgins wrote: "Young women, you wear your veils out on the
streets, so you should wear them in the church, you wear them
when you are among strangers, then wear them among your brothers
. . . " . Among the Canon Laws of the Roman Catholic Church
today, there is a law that require women to cover their heads in
church. Some Christian denominations, such as the Amish and the
Mennonites for example, keep their women veiled to the present
day. The reason for the veil, as offered by their Church
leaders, is: "The head covering is a symbol of woman's
subjection to the man and to God". The same logic introduced by
(St.) Paul in the New Testament.
From all the above evidence, it is obvious that Islam didn't
invent the head cover, but Islam endorsed it. The Qur'an urges
the believing men and women to lower their gaze and guard their
modesty and then urges the believing women to extend their head
covers to cover the neck and the bosom:
"Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and
guard their modesty . . . And say to the believing women that
they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they
should not display their beauty and ornaments except what
ordinarily appear thereof; that they should draw their veils
over their bosoms . . . " . (Qur'an 24:(3)0,(3)1)
The Qur'an is quite clear that the veil is an essential part of
a recipe designed for the purposes of modesty, but why modesty?
The Qur'an is still clear:
"O prophet, tell your wives and daughters and the believing
women that they should cast their outer garments over their
bodies (when abroad) so that they should be known and not
molested . (Qur'an (3)(3):59)
This is the whole point, modesty is prescribed to protect women
from molestation or simply, modesty is protection. Thus, the
only purpose of the veil in Islam is protection. The Islamic
veil, unlike the veil of the Christian tradition, is not a sign
of man's authority over woman nor is it a sign of woman's
subjection to man. The Islamic veil, unlike the veil in the
Jewish tradition, is not a sign of luxury and distinction of
some noble married women. The Islamic veil is only a sign of
modesty with the sole purpose of protecting women, all women.
The Islamic philosophy is that it is always better safe than
sorry. In fact, the Qur'an is so concerned with protecting
women's bodies and women's reputation that a man who dares to
falsely accuse a woman of unchastity will be severely punished:
"And those who launch a charge against chaste women, and produce
not four witnesses (to support their allegations) Flog them with
eighty stripes; and reject their evidence ever after: for such
men are wicked transgressors . (Qur'an 24:4)
Compare this strict Qur'anic attitude with the extremely lax
punishment for rape in the Bible: "If a man happens to meet a
virgin who is not pledged to be married and rapes her and they
are discovered, he shall pay the girl's father fifty shekels of
silver. He must marry the girl, for he has violated her. He can
never divorce her as long as he lives" . One must ask a simple
question here, who is really punished? The man who only paid a
fine for rape, or the girl who is forced to marry the man who
raped her and live with him until he dies? Another question that
also should be asked is this: which is more protective of women,
the Qur'anic strict attitude or the Biblical lax attitude?
Some people, especially in the West, would tend to ridicule the
whole argument of modesty for protection. Their argument is that
the best protection is the spread of education, civilized
behaviour, and self restraint. We would say: "Fine, but not
enough". If the so-called "civilization" is enough protection,
then why is it that women in some parts of North America dare
not walk alone in a dark street or even across an empty parking
lot? If education is the solution, then why is it that many
respected universities the United States and Europe have "Walk
Home Services" for female students on campus? If self restraint
is the answer, then why are cases of sexual harassment in the
workplace on the news media every day? A sample of those accused
of sexual harassment, in the last few years, includes: Naval
officers, managers, university professors, Senators, Supreme
Court Justices and the President of the United States! I
couldn't believe my eyes when I read the following statistics,
written in a pamphlet issued by the Dean of Women's office at
Queen's University:
* In Canada, a woman is sexually assaulted every 6 minutes;
* 1 in (3) women in Canada will be sexually assaulted at some
time in their lives;
* 1 in 4 women are at the risk of rape or attempted rape in her
lifetime;
* 1 in 8 women will be sexually assaulted while attending
college or university; and
* A study found 60% of Canadian university-aged males said they
would commit sexual assault if they were certain they wouldn't
get caught!!!
Something is fundamentally wrong in the society we live in. A
radical change in the society's life style and culture is
absolutely necessary. A culture of modesty is badly needed,
modesty in dress, in speech, and in manners of both men and
women. Otherwise, the grim statistics will grow even worse day
after day and , unfortunately, women alone will be paying the
price. Therefore, a society like France which expels young women
from schools because of their modest dress is, in the end,
simply harming itself.
CONCLUSION
In the light of the evidence presented above, there is no doubt
that Islam has immensely improved the status of women compared
to the Judaeo-Christian tradition. The Qur'an has offered women
dignity, justice, and protection which ,for long, have remained
out of their reach. That's why it is no surprise to find that
most converts to Islam, today, in a country like Britain are
women. In the U.S. women converts to Islam outnumber men
converts 4 to 1. The problem is that the majority of the
population in the West do not know these facts. They easily
believe the media's distorted image of Islam. Therefore, it is a
must that we change our defensive attitude towards the whole
issue of women in Islam. We must stop being apologetic. We have
nothing to be ashamed of. What the Qur'an has given to women is
unparalleled in the history of religion. Instead of always
reacting to the consistent barrage of articles defaming Muslim
women, we have to take the initiative. We have to act first and
let others react. We should boldly initiate discussions with our
friends and colleagues regarding the true status of women in
Islam. Tell them how the Qur'an has ended so many injustices
against women found in other scriptures. We have to talk to the
media, write to the press, and invite the whole world to read
the Qur'an, read other scriptures and compare for themselves. It
goes without saying that the woman's role is far more important
than the male's in this respect.
FOOTNOTES
(1) - This is an important point, because the large majority of
people in the world today who claim to be Jews or Christians do
not subscribe to the view of women as articulated in the
writings that they consider to be sacred scripture. On the
contrary, many of them go so far as saying that they believe the
scriptural view to be "wrong", "unjust", "out-dated", etc. So
much for following what (they think) God has revealed! Whether
they will admit it or not, suffice it to say that the everyday
values that most people who claim to be Jews and Christians
follow are the God-less values of Western humanism and
liberalism that have become so widely accepted since the
Renaissance. Due to this, it seems that Islam is the only
religion that can be followed and practiced as revealed, and
still be applicable to human beings in the Twentieth Century.
Additionally, it seems as though Islam is the only religion that
still has followers that are following the "Way of Abraham" and
accepting their religion as it is, instead of rejecting anything
that offends their likes, desires or Western sensibilities.
(2) - It should also be mentioned that I Timothy 2:14 also makes
it abundantly clear that the Bible, and thus the Judaeo-Christian
tradition, places the blame for the "original sin" squarely on
Eve. This verse reads: "And Adam was not deceived, but the woman
being deceived was in the transgression".
(3) - It should be mentioned that the Qur'an does not portray
the pains of pregnancy and childbirth as a punishment, but
rather enjoins people to respect their mothers for the pain they
suffered. Thus we read: "We have enjoined on man Kindness to his
parents: in pain did his mother bear him and in pain did she
give him birth". (Qur'an, Chapter 46 - "The Curved Sandhills",
Verse 15.)
(4) - It is also interesting to note each religion's view in
regards to the woman's attendance at the place of congregational
worship, i.e. the synagogue, church or mosque. In Orthodox
Judaism, women are not allowed to go to the synagogues at all.
In Christianity, as I Corinthians 14:(3)4-(3)5 clearly shows, a
woman is allowed to go to Church, but she is not allowed to
speak. Also, according to the teachings of the New Testament,
Christian women are expected to cover their heads when they
attend church (as Part 10 of this article will discuss). The
activities of most - if not all - Christians today stand in
stark contrast to these obligations. To the best of my
knowledge, all Christian denominations allow women to speak in
church, and many denominations allow women to be ministers,
pastors, deacons and/or priests! Not only this, but in most
cases any sort of conservative dress is almost completely
ignored. Even in the more conservative churches where women are
encouraged to wear long dresses, many still come in the latest
fashions and are still more-or-less "dressed to impress".
(5) - Islam, in many ways stands as a "middle way" between the
rigidness of Judaism and the "lawlessness" of Christianity. In
Islam, women are allowed to perform their worship in the mosque,
and while in the mosque they are allowed to talk, have
discussions, read the Qur'an and even teach men - as long as
proper modesty is maintained. In traditional Christianity, only
men were allowed to be priests and administer the sacraments of
the Church, even though this "tradition" has been brushed aside
by many modern churches. Even though Islam has no priesthood,
nor any "sacraments" per se, it does have rituals of worship
(such as the five daily prayers) that are more-or-less
"sacramental" in the sense that they are rituals which were
revealed by God so that human beings can become closer to Him
and receive His Grace. In Islam, a woman is allowed to lead the
five formal daily prayers (Arabic: salat) if only women and
children are present. So even though a woman cannot lead the
salat when men are present, since one of the men would be the
prayer leader (Arabic: Imam) instead, she is allowed to lead the
salat under certain circumstances - where in Judaism or
Christianity women are completely forbidden from leading the
formal religious rituals. This is one additional proof that in
Islam women are spiritual equals in the site of God, and that
they are not excluded from certain religious duties because they
are considered "dirty", "evil" or "corrupt". One last point -
since I mentioned the "lawlessness" of Christianity above, this
statement may need some clarification. (St.) Paul, as is well
known, believed that Christians are not obliged to follow Old
Testament Law, and went so far as to call God's revealed Law a
"curse" (Galations (3):1(3)). In spite of this, he came up with
his own brand of "dos-and-don'ts", which are basically the same
thing as a "law", especially if one believes that his words were
inspired by God - as Christians do. However, the point in using
the word "lawlessness" to describe Christianity is not only to
touch on this point, but to also to bring out the fact that the
overwhelming majority of Christian churches do not even follow
the rulings of (St.) Paul on these matters, much less the
teachings of the Old Testament.
(6) - Qur'an 3:42 says that Almighty God chose Mary, the mother
of Jesus, "above the women of all creation".
(7) - C. E. stands for "Common Era", and corresponds to A. D.
(Anno Domino). Muslims usually use C. E. in lieu of A. D., since
A. D. refers to "the Year of Our Lord" - meaning Jesus. Even
though Muslims revere Jesus as a great prophet and messenger of
God, they do not consider him to be "Lord", since Muslims only
have One Lord - Almighty God.
(8) - It should also be mentioned that Muslim women are
encouraged to read the Qur'an and hadiths, and to acquire as
much religious knowledge as possible. Since the time of the
Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, women have taught the
Qur'an to men. This stands in stark contrast to Orthodox
Judaism, where until this day many of its adherents believe that
a woman is not allowed to read the Torah - and even that she is
not allowed to touch it! According to Islam, the only time that
a woman is not allowed to touch the Qur'an is when she is in a
state of "ritual impurity". However, in Islam "ritual impurity"
applies to both men and women, the only difference is that a
woman can become "ritually impure" for more reasons than a man,
i.e. due to her monthly period or childbirth. It should be noted
that the reason we use the term "ritual impurity" here is
because the person is only considered "impure" in the sense that
they are not allowed to perform certain acts of worship - such
as formal prayer (Arabic: salat) or reading the Qur'an. However,
they are not considered "impure" in any other sense - spiritual,
physical or otherwise. The causes of "ritual impurity" are
clearly described in Islamic Law, and they apply to both men and
women, as do the methods for removing the "ritual impurity". One
eliminates his or her state of "ritual impurity" by a full bath
(Arabic: ghusl) or by partial washing (Arabic: wudhu) -
depending on the circumstances, but these have nothing to do
with being male or female.
(9) - According to Islamic Law, a woman's testimony is more
valid than a man's when it is in regards to issues where women
have more experience. This proves that the Qur'anic verse
requiring two female witnesses is not based upon a belief in the
inferior mental capacity of women, but on the wisdom that
witnesses should be experienced with that which they testify to.
(10) - Meaning before the advent of Islam and the revelation of
this verse.
(11) - It is also interesting to note that all of the graven
images that Christians produce that are supposed to be the
likeness of the Virgin Mary, may God be pleased with her, show
her with a veil (Arabic: hijab) covering her head. In most
Western people's minds, the "veil" is okay in regards to Nuns
and the Virgin Mary, but when a Muslim woman wears it, it is
seen as "oppressive" and "degrading"!
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