Why does Islam degrade women by keeping them behind the veil?

Question

I posted this question about half an hour ago but for some reason the additional detailks didn't appear,
so here is the answer of the question
The status of women in Islam is often the target of attacks in the secular media. The ‘hijaab’ or the Islamic dress is cited by many as an example of the ‘subjugation’ of women under Islamic law. Before we analyze the reasoning behind the religiously mandated ‘hijaab’, let us first study the status of women in societies before the advent of Islam

1. In the past women were degraded and used as objects of lust

The following examples from history amply illustrate the fact that the status of women in earlier civilizations was very low to the extent that they were denied basic human dignity:

Babylonian Civilization:
The women were degraded and were denied all rights under the Babylonian law. If a man murdered a woman, instead of him being punished, his wife was put to death.

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Greek Civilization:
Greek Civilization is considered the most glorious of all ancient civilizations. Under this very ‘glorious’ system, women were deprived of all rights and were looked down upon. In Greek mythology, an ‘imaginary woman’ called ‘Pandora’ is the root cause of misfortune of human beings. The Greeks considered women to be subhuman and inferior to men. Though chastity of women was precious, and women were held in high esteem, the Greeks were later overwhelmed by ego and sexual perversions. Prostitution became a regular practice amongst all classes of Greek society.

Roman Civilization:
When Roman Civilization was at the zenith of its ‘glory’, a man even had the right to take the life of his wife. Prostitution and nudity were common amongst the Romans.

Egyptian Civilization:
The Egyptian considered women evil and as a sign of a devil.

Wait.....

Pre-Islamic Arabia:
Before Islam spread in Arabia, the Arabs looked down upon women and very often when a female child was born, she was buried alive.


2. Islam uplifted women and gave them equality and expects them to maintain their status.


Islam uplifted the status of women and granted them their just rights 1400 years ago. Islam expects women to maintain their status.


Hijaab for men

People usually only discuss ‘hijaab’ in the context of women. However, in the Glorious Qur’an, Allah (swt) first mentions ‘hijaab’ for men before ‘hijaab’ for the women. The Qur’an mentions in Surah Noor:

"Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty: that will make for greater purity for them: and Allah is well acquainted with all that they do."
[Al-Qur’an 24:30]

The moment a man looks at a woman and if any brazen or unashamed thought comes to his mind, he should lower his gaze.

Hijaab for women.

The next verse of Surah Noor, says:

" 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 (must ordinarily) appear thereof; that they should draw veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands’ fathers, their sons..."
[Al-Qur’an 24:31]

3. Six criteria for Hijaab.


According to Qur’an and Sunnah there are basically six criteria for observing hijaab:

Extent:

The first criterion is the extent of the body that should be covered. This is different for men and women. The extent of covering obligatory on the male is to cover the body at least from the navel to the knees. For women, the extent of covering obligatory is to cover the complete body except the face and the hands upto the wrist. If they wish to, they can cover even these parts of the body. Some scholars of Islam insist that the face and the hands are part of the obligatory extent of ‘hijaab’.

All the remaining five criteria are the same for men and women.

The clothes worn should be loose and should not reveal the figure.

The clothes worn should not be transparent such that one can see through them.

The clothes worn should not be so glamorous as to attract the opposite sex.

Wait still......

The clothes worn should not resemble that of the unbelievers i.e. they should not wear clothes that are specifically identities or symbols of the unbelievers’ religions.


4. Hijaab includes conduct and behaviour among other things


Complete ‘hijaab’, besides the six criteria of clothing, also includes the moral conduct, behaviour, attitude and intention of the individual. A person only fulfilling the criteria of ‘hijaab’ of the clothes is observing ‘hijaab’ in a limited sense. ‘Hijaab’ of the clothes should be accompanied by ‘hijaab’ of the eyes, ‘hijaab’ of the heart, ‘hijaab’ of thought and ‘hijaab’ of intention. It also includes the way a person walks, the way a person talks, the way he behaves, etc.

5. Hijaab prevents molestation


The reason why Hijaab is prescribed for women is mentioned in the Qur’an in the following verses of Surah Al-Ahzab:

"O Prophet! Tell thy wives and daughters, and the believing women that they should cast their outer garments over their persons (when abroad); that is most convenient, that they should be known (as such) and not molested. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."
[Al-Qur’an 33:59]

The Qur’an says that Hijaab has been prescribed for the women so that they are recognized as modest women and this will also prevent them from being molested.

6. Example of twin sisters


Suppose two sisters who are twins, and who are equally beautiful, walk down the street. One of them is attired in the Islamic hijaab i.e. the complete body is covered, except for the face and the hands up to the wrists. The other sister is wearing western clothes, a mini skirt or shorts. Just around the corner there is a hooligan or ruffian who is waiting for a catch, to tease a girl. Whom will he tease? The girl wearing the Islamic Hijaab or the girl wearing the skirt or the mini? Naturally he will tease the girl wearing the skirt or the mini. Such dresses are an indirect invitation to the opposite sex for teasing and molestation. The Qur’an rightly says that hijaab prevents women from being molested.

. Capital punishment for the rapists


Under the Islamic shariah, a man convicted of having raped a woman, is given capital punishment. Many are astonished at this ‘harsh’ sentence. Some even say that Islam is a ruthless, barbaric religion! I have asked a simple question to hundreds of non-Muslim men. Suppose, God forbid, someone rapes your wife, your mother or your sister. You are made the judge and the rapist is brought in front of you. What punishment would you give him? All of them said they would put him to death. Some went to the extent of saying they would torture him to death. To them I ask, if someone rapes your wife or your mother you want to put him to death. But if the same crime is committed on somebody else’s wife or daughter you say capital punishment is barbaric. Why should there be double standards?

8. Western society falsely claims to have uplifted women


Western talk of women’s liberalization is nothing but a disguised form of exploitation of her body, degradation of her soul, and deprivation of her honour. Western society claims to have ‘uplifted’ women. On the contrary it has actually degraded them to the status of concubines, mistresses and society butterflies who are mere tools in the hands of pleasure seekers and sex marketeers, hidden behind the colourful screen of ‘art’ and ‘culture’.

USA has one of the highest rates of rape


United States of America is supposed to be one of the most advanced countries of the world. It also has one of the highest rates of rape in any country in the world. According to a FBI report, in the year 1990, every day on an average 1756 cases of rape were committed in U.S.A alone. Later another report said that on an average everyday 1900 cases of rapes are committed in USA. The year was not mentioned. May be it was 1992 or 1993. May be the Americans got ‘bolder’ in the following years.

Consider a scenario where the Islamic hijaab is followed in America. Whenever a man looks at a woman and any brazen or unashamed thought comes to his mind, he lowers his gaze. Every woman wears the Islamic hijaab, that is the complete body is covered except the face and the hands upto the wrist. After this if any man commits rape he is given capital punishment. I ask you, in such a scenario, will the rate of rape in America increase, will it remain the same, or will it decrease?


10. Implementation of Islamic Shariah will reduce the rate of rapes


Naturally as soon as Islamic Shariah is implemented positive results will be inevitable. If Islamic Shariah is implemented in any part of the world, whether it is America or Europe, society will breathe easier. Hijaab does not degrade a woman but uplifts a woman and protects her modesty and chastity.

Thats it,

Answer 1

i'm muslim, but i dont like when i see muslims wearing the veil. i like the hijab but the veil, it so does create a barrier. i have no respect for muslims who wear the veil, i mean what do u want to acheive in life.

Answer 2

I see your arguments but if you look at history and read the Qu'ran then you would change your mind. The Qu'ran tells women and men to dress modestly but does not say they most cover their bodys and faces by wearing a veil. The Hijab is not Islamic, if you look at ancient carvings from before Islam you will see the women are covered on their head with a veil, this was merely a tradition the Hijab was adopted by the people in the middle east even when the Islam religion began to spread. Women back in that time who were Muslim had more rights than people up until the 1700s could even think of, right to choose husband, vote, own property, become leaders etc... if you dont believe they could become leaders look at history, part of the reason the Islamic faith split was due to the choice of who lead them, one group wanted Mohammed's(peace be upon him) relative who was a woman to be the leader, until the rival group killed off the family line. Islam does not degrade women, it never has the people who are Muslim and have a twisted view of the holy Qu'ran and cant distinguish between tradition and religion are the ones that degrade women. Even in the West for many centuries it was a custom for women to be veiled, even in ancient rome and greece, the nations in the middle ages also supported it, even until the 1800s women were supposed to be veiled in some way. It is not purely an Islamic belief, its not even definativly an Islamic belief, its merely a custom that can either be followed or not.

Answer 3

The reason those women wear hijabs is so a man will fall in love with her for who she is not how big her breasts are or how small her waist is.This is what is wrong with America, they critisize muslim women when they're women are prostitues and strip for the hell of it, and they don't give a damn about rapists. Like I watched something on t.v this guy raped 6 women and was only sentenced for 12 months even though they had proof.I laughed soo hard!!America says that women and men are equal when they're culture dislikes women who r over 80 pounds!!Omg. They don't care about how how beautiful a womans face is. As long as she is almost dying that Is what America is really like!!Now u see how Middle Easterns see you Americans.. Ofcourse u Americans will get pissed about my comment, because u all know that isn't true, I am Muslim and I don't think America is that bad. But why do u blame me for terrorism for something I didn't do?America has to face the facts they r wrong, not all m]Muslims r terrorists!!get over it!!I'm not saying this will end the war not by a long shot!!But I am soo sick of going to the store without people staring at me just becuz I am wearing a hijab!!

Answer 4

Wow -- that post is really too long.

Read Geraldine Brooks' "Nine Parts of Desire." It opened my eyes over ten years ago when I read it. Ms Brooks really explains a lot -- about how women are surviving and thriving under their veils (sometimes because of it!), as much as we in the West would like to marginalize their experiences and throw our values on them. The website for the author and book: http://www.geraldinebrooks.com/nine_parts_of_desire.shtml

Islam and the practices of Islamic Republics are two very different things. I'm so tired of people saying that hijab is a choice -- well, in Islam perhaps -- but when a government requires it OR ELSE, that is an altogether different matter, isn't it?

Answer 5

The only thing I have to say to that is that Saudi Arabia believe they are living by mandated Sharia...so do many other "Islamic" countries and yet women are treated far worse in those countries then in many unIslamic countries....

While i dont condone people to pass judgement on others based merely on what the media tells them...I also dont condone sticking our heads in the sand and refusing to see whats right in front of us...yes Islam, God, gave women rights they never had before...but what difference does that make to women when men find excuse after excuse to take those rights away? Its not only nonmuslims that find the claim that "we have more rights than any other women" hard to swallow....what use is it to make the claim when the fact and reality doesnt back it up?

Answer 6

I'm not Islamic however I do know for a fact that they keep some of the Laws of Yahweh found in the Holy Scriptures.

Being a student of Yahweh's Laws, I know that when a woman covers herself up she is showing love to brothers like me who is striving to overcome lust. Love is the keeping of Yahweh's Laws as found in 1 John 5:3.

Hatred is trying to get men to lust after you like the western women are taught, this is pure satanic teachings and all of you women need to know this.

Read what your Savior said regarding this.....

Mar 9:42 ¶ And whosoever shall offend (occasion to fall (of stumblin, offence, thing that offends, stumblingblock) one of [these] little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea.

Think of this the next time you put on that tank top and shorts.

Answer 7

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AsY2nofJffv67d0bUasB7Mfsy6IX?qid=20070723092358AAjhcxD&show=7#profile-info-5620070849a4404cb3556abd4975c699aa

Veil is a secondary matter of no great imprtance in Islam, like the male beard...

We can't talk about that while Muslim women are raped and their kids are killed in Palestine. Muslim Ladies:

Wear what you want to wear, Hijab, Niqab, Burka, No headdress but keep your modesty and shyness. That's all.. Hijab is between you and Allah Sobhhanaho wa Taa'ala.. not a gum in our mouths.

Answer 8

Its not only atrocities against women, but all living creatures human and non human.

lashes are still a form of punishment.

hands cut off for stealing and legs cut off for trying to escape after being caught.

food - the animals throat is slit, until its poor heart has pumped out all the blood thus killing it. only then is it cooked.
what a horrible and torturous method.

Answer 9

Honestly you're getting nowhere doing this.
This is supposed to be a question, not a lecture.
You've written so much I haven't even read it.
What's the point in that?
Are you just looking for people to agree with your fixed, narrow minded views?
If you ask a genuine QUESTION, lighten up & let us do the talking. If you want to LECTURE, go answer some questions...

Answer 10

I don't know enough about Islam to address this. Why is not really the question here. Obviously you already are convinced this is true and why it is true. You're phrasing your belief in the form of a question so that it can be seen and known. It's ok, I've done the same thing.

Answer 11

I agree. I've studied Islam for the better part of the last year.

One of the first things I discovered was that women are not "subjugated" under Islamic law. The veil is worn by choice, not by force.

I still don't agree with Islam's ways, but thanks to my studies I have a new-found respect for Muslims and Muslimahs.