Muslims and such...(oooo, touchy subject, I know..)?

Question

I'm writing a paper on the Islam and the way they treat women. I've heard that its a myth that they degrade women and I've also heard that they do. In my paper I have to support one way or the other so what I need of you, is to state if you think muslims do or do not degrade women, and if possible give resources or give a legit reason why I should listen to you (i.e. "I have a BA in Middle-eastern reliegons and worldveiw from Stanford" or "I AM a muslim..." ) Now, if you are a muslim, please do not give a bias answer. I'm not looking to shoot down your beliefs or anything. Just a research paper. Thanks

-C

"Islam gives more rights to women then any other, In UK white women are convertign everyday to ISLAM, u ask urself why, thats proof there, Islam gives more respect to women then anyone, u have to study the KORAN and study ISLAM as a whole to understand this, u wud get negative views by anti-muslim ppl here, and if u fall fotr thse things and media who are anti muslim then ur weak minded person and gullable, proof is women from all over the world are convering to ISLAM and some ppl cant stand and accept this"

can anybody back this up with a web page or anything? I know that it's been said that 'Islam is the fastest growing religion' but is there anything besideds statistics to that?

Answer 1

Tough question. The answer is really - It Depends.

Don't confuse 'Islam' with the various sects of Islam - Just like Christianity and Judaism have many different interpretations, so does Islam.

The varieties of Islam that are somewhat stricter with women's behavior and dress are usually those that follow strict Sharia Law - (Link attached), particularly the Wahabbi (Link attached) sects.

Many tribal groups (such as those in Wazaristan in Pakistan and the Taliban - a strict Sunni group) are fairly brutal towards women, including forcing them to wear a Burkha (or Hijab or Naquib - basically a sack to one degree or another), not go out without a male relative and the like. Shiites aren't usually as strict.

Many traditional Islamic courts will not accept the testimony of women unless corroborated by Males and even when they DO accept it will often discount it to some degree or another. In several famous cases in Iran, teenage girls were sentenced to death for defending themselves against their rapists.

This sort of double-standard gives rise to the 'degrades women' statements. It depends upon the group you're looking at and to what degree. In Saudi Arabia, for instance, women are banned from government and are not allowed to drive. Modern Western democracies do not see this sort of double-standard against Women - but it may still exist within the Islamic culture within those countries, again, depending upon which sect and which location.

It should also be noted that Pornography - often seen as degrading women (and by others to be liberating for women) is banned pretty much universally by Islam. They see forcing women to wear the burkha as protecting them from being ogled by men.

But...how much of this is due to religious dictate and how much is cultural within the Arabic or Persian cultures? And those parts that ARE religious dictate, how much of that is really based within the Koran and how much is interpreted?

Hope this helps!

EDIT: Islam is a very fast growing religion - Demographically, it's very young (as befits a religion that is popular in many developing nations) and encourages breeding - Back when Catholicism was in the same place, THEY were the fastest growing. It's a demographic thing, not a 'attracting more converts' thing.
I've added some links at the end of the SOURCES area to help you out with this. The last link has a very good summary as well as a good look at the demographics at the end.

The person in your quote is, again, confusing 'ISLAM' with his particular sect of Islam. It's not a monolithic faith by any means. here are some links with information about women's rights in Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Pakistan:

"In interviews with roughly 100 Saudi women academics, educators and medical professionals, Human Rights Watch documented how male guardianship of adult women denies women the right to employment, education, health, and freedom of movement. Government policy often explicitly requires male consent for a range of everyday activities. This system, premised on the idea that women have limited or no legal capacity to act on their own behalf, affects all Saudi women across economic or social divides. While guardianship is construed as a form of protection for women, in fact, it fails to protect some of their most basic rights. " - http://hrw.org/english/docs/2007/02/17/saudia15353.htm

"In Iran, women can vote and run for Parliament and are not prohibited from traveling freely, but they are also subject to police beatings and torture for violating perceived social norms, are not protected from domestic violence, and are discriminated against in other subtle ways (such as inheritance law).

* Iran Curbing Women's Rights
* Iran: Police Violently Disperse Crowd Celebrating International Women's Day
* Profile: Shadi Ghadirian
* Fashion Crackdown in Iran
* Gender Roles in Iran"
--- http://civilliberty.about.com/od/internationalhumanrights/p/iran101.htm

"...that odiously punished rape victims while making it difficult to convict the perpetrators. The amendment was passed over strong opposition from hardline Islamic groups, and for not bowing to such pressure, Gen. Musharraf deserves great credit."
----http://www.washtimes.com/op-ed/20061116-090021-3966r.htm

"This set of laws, enacted in 1979, makes rape victims liable to prosecution, and has led to thousands of women being imprisoned for so-called “honor” crimes. The laws rendered most sexual assault victims unable to seek redress through the criminal justice system, deeming them guilty of illegal sex rather than victims of unlawful violence or abuse."
----http://hrw.org/english/docs/2006/11/14/pakist14576.htm

Enjoy!

Orion

Answer 2

Islam gives more rights to women then any other, In UK white women are convertign everyday to ISLAM, u ask urself why, thats proof there, Islam gives more respect to women then anyone, u have to study the KORAN and study ISLAM as a whole to understand this, u wud get negative views by anti-muslim ppl here, and if u fall fotr thse things and media who are anti muslim then ur weak minded person and gullable, proof is women from all over the world are convering to ISLAM and some ppl cant stand and accept this,.

Answer 3

You must make a clear separation between the best islamic teaching as a life guide (holy Qur'an and Hadeth) and the wrong implementation of the life guide in several countries where muslims is the majority of its population.If you study well the holy Qur'an and Hadeth as an explanation from Muhammad pbuh which has been collected by Bukhari and Muslim you would know that Islam does not degrade women.Islam gives more respect to women than jahiliyah followers did.

Answer 4

While a lot of what people are saying here is true, it's important to know that within the Muslim population, like within any population, there are sub groups, some of which differ greatly from one another. I rad an article not to long ago about Muslims in the US, and how some of them are quite different than what you'd expect. This particular group was down right feminist. They believed that the man was responsible for bringing in the income for the household, but that the woman had an equal right to the money, and therefore an equal say in how it is spent. They also believed that every woman had the option of working out of the home (but only if she wanted to) and that the money she made belonged entirely to her.

Like Christianity, people interpret their holy books in different ways, which means different values and different practices.

Answer 5

I recently heard an interview on the bbc news in the uk.
It was a conversation between a bbc guy, a uk labour/socialist & a muslim woman. The socialist was fighting to allow muslim women into mosques in the uk, stating that this was sexist, not to allow women in. Funnerly enough the muslim woman who wanted access to the mosque didn't view it as sexist, but as a muslim issue!
I found it quite funny that the socialist that had spent the last twenty years or so fighting for the rights of these people, was now fighting against them.....................lol...
Talk about coming full circle...

Answer 6

I can give you my experience when I was in Saudi Arabia during the first Gulf War. I witnessed first hand these things.

1. A Saudi man and his small boy in the cab of his pick up while his four wives sat in the back going down the road.

2. A Saudi woman glance up and look at us while we were passing her vehicle on the road and her husband showing her the back of his hand across her face.

3. Women walking 20 paces behind their husbands. (I saw that allot)

To be fair I did see a few Saudi men that treated their wife with respect too, but on the whole I saw the former much more than the latter.

Answer 7

Based on the justice system in the Middle East, I think it's pretty obvious that they degrade women.

Polygamy is the ultimate form of female degradation. A woman deserves to be loved whole heartedly by a man, not one of several wives. There are many more piece of evidence but I think this is the best example.

Answer 8

I saw first hand in Somalia the men hold hands and the women walk covered up about 20 feet behind their husbands while walking through the town.The women clean, cook , collect firewood ,sell fruit in the markets while the men watch and drink tea.
Also they circumcise the girls there at 12 years old ( cut off their clitoris) They pray over loud speakers night and day. I was glad to come back to a home with plumbing and electricity and peace.

Answer 9

Much depends on what you might mean by "degrade". In Saudi Arabia (where I spent five years), women are not allowed to drive, vote, or hold office, or work in any venue which is frequented by men. Nor are they supposed to be out on the street without a male (family) escort. As for me, I would call this degrading.

Answer 10

I am no Muslim, but I agree, Women in middle eastern countries can't choose the women of thier choice. They get raped or killed if they don't wear those blankets over thier head. They are %100 percent controlled by men. Its disgusting that we put up with religion in general. Then again Catholics and Christians are just as bad in thier own way. When priests molest little children, they just turn thier head.

Answer 11

In Saudi Arabia and some other Muslim nation like that do not value women .Because some women much smarter than those stupid looking king and prencess.But my country in TURKEY every women have equal right as men .You have to read MUSTAFA KAMEL ATATURK REVOLUTIONS AFTER WORLD WAR I.Turkish women had right to vote before some European nations women`s