Women & Islam

Muslim Women & Islam

I often read about this thingy or even hear it with my own ears on :

* Wearing the Muslim veil is far from being a symbol of modesty. Iit has become a symbol of the oppression of women, of extreme religious bias. (????????)

Question arises : Where has this image come from? That makes Islam seem so violent, so aggressive, so uncompromising in its dealings with others??? And as we know, daily news coverage always brings to our screens images of extreme violence on Islam itself. The image that many give to the world is a false image of Islam! Islam is not violent. Actually, the idea of a ‘Muslim terrorist’ is abhorrent to true Islam!

On top of that, the Orientalists also, often disguise as women in veils and long black clothes, seek to penetrate forbidden worlds. That is extremendously a false image of Islam!

So, in this related subject, I am trying to clear away some of the obstacles which might prevent us from understanding what Muslim women really are. Remember, humans make mistakes. We are not angels and we are influenced by all sorts of things.

Non-muslims cannot be introduced to Islam without us saying a few words about certain ways of behaving that seem strange. We must say at the start about the Islam treats women. Or rather, we need to say something about what people think it says. Remember, different cultures and different backgrounds look at different things in different ways. It doesn’t make them right or wrong. It’s just different.

Okay, let me give an analogy. If I look at a painting from the front, I will see something totally different from someone who looks at it from the back although we are both looking at the same object. And it is depending on where we are coming from. Then, will influence how we understand. Is that clear?

Let us give another example. Muslim women in the gulf states, Iran and Afghanistan for example, are swathed in black from head to toe. Exposing only their hands and part of their face or maybe vice versa (fully veiled). If one is not used to this, he would instantly see it as cruel. How oppressive. How old fashioned. How odd, he would say. This mindset sees women swathed in black as wrong.

The truth is, Islam requires men and women to wear modestly and it is common sense, which recognizes that man and women have feeling towards each other that can lead to immodest ways of behaving. Islam offers a way for both men and women to live in a modest and chaste way.

For most Muslim women, this would mean by wearing the Muslim veil in front of all men who are not a part of the family. From the other side of view, in other Muslim societies, women cover completely when they are outside their homes. How come these both happen altogether in different ways? Let us try this idea : Maybe that women want to give themselves totally to the one they love. So much so, that the only one they want even to see them is their husband. The idea from this point of view is quite romantic. Isnt it?

Islam also gives the rights to women. Her marriage dowry (mas kahwin/mahar) remains completely hers and cannot be touched by her husband. A wife is entitled by right to be provided for. She doesn’t need to work if she doesn’t want to. The right and respect which Islam gives to women were revolutionary when they were first introduced into the Arabian Peninsula. If you go down to any local market in Cairo or in Arab world or any Arab women in any local market, you will see the rights of women in action.

The husband will be carrying two shopping bags or more, his son will be sitting on his shoulder and his young daughter will be holding his hand while his wife will be walking ahead of them, looking for vegetables and stuffs etc. See, lived reality isn’t all what the newspapers would have us believe!!!

The Prophet said, what translated means : Syurga itu di bawah tapak kaki ibu.

Yes, paradise lies at the feet of your mother.

It is a fact of our human condition that we are always looking for someone to blame.

“Somebody should do something about it,” we often hear this, aren’t we?

Life is always pointing out to us our shortcomings, telling us how we, somehow don’t quite make the mark. So, if one happens to be worse than us, it means that we are not the worst. We look for wrongdoers and convince ourselves that maybe we are not so bad. True.

Even politicians too, anxiously looking for someone else to be blamed, absolving themselves, and us of all blame. Unfortunately life isn’t that simple. Hmmm…

Perhaps we should point a finger or two at ourselves first, and the wrong things we’ve done before we jump into conclusions and start looking to blame others. Any objection?

Yours,

Ruqayya