why is it ok for muslim men but not women?

Question

2 questions:
1. I see many postings by muslims saying that it is ok for a man to marry a non muslim, but not for a woman to do so. Why is that? From what I gather, even Mohamed had Jewish wives.

I dont intend for this to sound like I am bashing Muslims, but I just dont understand it. Are women not equal in marriage? Why can a man chose who he wants, but women cant? What is the reasoning for this? Also, to the women & men: do you think it is fair? Why?

2. I know it is not practiced by all Muslims, but for those that do: why can men have several wives? I understand that it is a cultural thing that the US does not practice & I am fine with that. My question is similar to question #1, why cant women do it also? Part 2 to ques. (as a joke): why would you want more than 1? I have enough problems with the 1 I have! LOL

Please dont take these questions as attacks on Muslims! This is not like the questions the athiests ask here, just to anger. this is real.

loki:
a man has just the same risk of HIV as a woman if they have multiple partners. Your gender has nothing to do with your risk. That is assuming that all are remaining within that circle.

agogdata:
didnt make much sense & dont hold your breath.

mlaheji:
if according to the koran, from what I understand, Muslims are enemies of Jews & Christians b/c they dont believe the same. I dont mean that as an insult, just what I have seen & I ask out of sincerity.

to all:
I guess I didnt think through the whos the daddy issue, so that is clear now.

what if the man converts to the other religion? the woman can convert the man to Muslim? Is she not allowed to have the same chance to convert him?

Answer 1

1. A Muslim man can marry women from among "The People of the Book", ie Jews and Christians.

Yes, Muhammad had a Jewish wife (who converted after marriage). Muhammad is a man, and shes a woman.

This is probably because the woman is more likely to take on the religion of her husband than the other way round.
And of course, these marriages are done with the consent of both.

2. If you think about it, men don't get pregnant, men don't have periods.
If a woman with many husbands had a child, it would be hard to know who the father is.
And other reasons...

I wouldn't want to either :P

Answer 2

My answer will come from my opinions.

1. This something that I myself is not clear on. One argument is that a man would influence his wife's faith since he is the head of the household. However, many "liberal" Muslims are claiming that it is acceptable for a Muslim woman to marry a Christian or a Jew.

2. Before Islam, there was already polygamy. What was happening was that men were taking multiple wives. Islam put a stop to this by reducing the number of wives to four. Also, each wife has to be treated the same. For example, if a husband gives one of wives a diamond necklace then he must the other three diamond necklaces as well.
However, we must remember that although polygamy is allowed, it is highly discouraged. The man has to have his wife's permission first to marry another woman. If she says no then he can't do anything about it.

How do I feel about all this as a Muslim woman? Personally, I want to marry a Muslim man (my boyfriend) and that will help our relationship since we would be of the same faith. "A family that prays together stays together."
Also, I really don't want four husbands. When I get pregnant, how will I know who the father is? I love my boyfriend and he is the only man that I want in my life and I already made it clear to him that he won't be taking anymore wives after me.

Answer 3

Question 1- The children born out of the marriage between a Muslim man and a non-Muslim woman will usually take the religion of the father. That's why Muslim woman marry Muslim men only. Muslim woman can, and do choose who they wish to marry. The Muslim man has to take care of the woman and the children. Muslim woman don't have to maintain the house or cook if they don't want to, but they do it as a mercy to their husband (they get blessing for it). The responsibilities of a man and a woman are different. The fairness ties into the second question. Question 2- Because of man's nature and the way he was created, he can't control himself when dealing with the woman. A woman can control herself. Anyway, it protects woman (example; married man who cheats on wife, treated better by mistress but when married man dies mistress gets nothing). To avoid certain social discourse, certain activities are allowed. A woman who catches her husband (never mind a boyfriend) will forgive and to a certain extent, accept the situation (most woman would leave) however, a man will not go for it. Me personally, I just want one wife (Muslim men have to maintain a househould for EACH wife) that way I can enjoy my children.

Hope this was helpful. To find out more about Islam try this link; www.almasjid.com

I'm a NY native who lived in SC for a minute

Answer 4

1. No idea. That's just the way it is.

2. Men can have several wives because it is easier for 1 man to have 4 women get pregnant, than for 4 men to have 1 woman get pregnant. Think of it like a garden. If one man tills 4 fields, he will have 4 times the production. If 4 men try to till 1 field, eventually, one of them may get something, but the other 3 are S.O.L.

Part 2 - I wouldn't want more than one either. lol

As-salaamu alaykum - Peace be upon you

Answer 5

women can marry outside the religion, but some people who tend to think women are weaker do not think that this is acceptable because they do not want her to sway in her beliefs. however, this is not the though of all muslims.

men can have several wives ONLY if there was a terrible war or famine that killed many men and left women without a protector or provider. this is only in extreme cases and a man cannot have more wives than he can take care of. this is used to help women, not harm them.

Answer 6

No actually it isn't ok as it is said in the Quran. " Do not marry a non-believer no matter how much she may please you, nor give your daughter's hand in marriage to a non-believer no matter how much he may please you. "

For number two I don't really know why, but I'd like to point out that if a woman were to do that there is a high risk of getting HIV.

Answer 7

hey guys
i'm muslim and all the replays was bullsh*t
mohammed -peace be upon him- didn't marry a jewish woman..but he did marry a christian woman
and for all the 'why muslim men can marry any other religions' and 'why muslims men can marry more than one woman' and 'my *** is itching' just cuz its that..if u want a specicf answer go to muslim shikh..u'll find him in any mosque and stop asking some dumpa**es...hope i gave u the right answer and waiting for u to give me ..

Answer 8

The best answer is not here..if u wanna truly noe why..look under www.islamonline.net..there u can look for the answer and its very understandable and unbiased at all.

Answer 9

welll from what i read on some of them they seem to think they woman dont have a say but hey all kinds of sh!t on the internet just could be some kind of religion & spirituality thing we will never understand

Answer 10

As in most religions, women are second class citizens