|
Many of the resurgent pre-Islamic cultural practices
that have tragically come to be associated with Islam, such as forced
marriages, female genital mutilation, bridal (as opposed to groom-paid)
dowries, honor killings and the criminalization of rape victims, only
resurfaced following the disruption caused by colonialism and the resulting
disconnect between the common Muslims and their sources of knowledge. It is
always the learned scholars of Islam, men and women, who are the first victims
of any imperialist purge. Nevertheless, in light of the Quran and Sunnah, the veil
of misinformation cloaking the true status of women in Islam is easily removed.
Moreover, Islam continues to grow faster than any other way of life with women,
accounting for some 75% of all European and American reverts - ironic, given
the widespread Western prejudice that ‘Islam oppresses women!
‘Westerners despairing of their own society - rising in
crime, family breakdown, drugs and alcoholism - have come to admire the
discipline and security of Islam. Many converts are former Christians, disillusioned
by the uncertainty of the church and unhappy with the concept of the Trinity
and the deification of Jesus.’ (Lucy Berrington, “Why British women are turning
to Islam”, Times, 9/11/93)
These women have acknowledged the same truth that led
the Christian Negus of Abyssinia to embrace Islam following a speech in which
the Companions informed him: ‘God’s Messenger forbade us to speak evil of
women.’ (Ibn Hisham)
“Verily, those who slander chaste women; innocent unsuspecting
believing women: they are cursed in this world and the next. And for them will
be a great torment.” (Quran 24:23)
Today, many nuns and devout women of the Orthodox,
Catholic, Near Eastern and African churches still wear the Christian veil. The
Muslim woman too wears her hijab, declaring her faith in humility and
servitude before God. Only those given divine sanction - her immediate family
and other believing women - may view her bodily beauty. In effect, she is
saying: ‘Judge me for my faith, not my body - I give you no other choice.’ When
faithfully implemented, as it was by its earliest adherents, Islam offers women
the freedom, dignity, justice and protection that have long remained out of
their reach. Mankind inherited from the Prophet a great Islamic tradition when
he said:
‘The best of you (men) are those who best treat
their women.’
While Christian women inherited a tradition of misogyny
from both Jewish rabbinism and Greek thought. It was Western woman’s reaction
to this poor status afforded to her and to her ‘sexploitation’ that led to the
rise of the feminist movement.
“The believing men and women are protectors of one another. They
enjoin the good and forbid the evil; they establish prayer and give alms (to
the needy); and they obey God and His Messenger. These, God will have mercy on
them. Lo! God is Mighty, Wise.” (Quran 9:71)
Islam granted women contractual rights, conjugal rights,
the right to inherit, to initiate divorce, to independently own and control
wealth and property, to set up and run businesses, to earn and receive equal
pay, to retain their maiden names, etc., over 1400 years ago while the
democratic West granted similar rights only in the last 50 years of the 20th
century! In fact, besides casual abortion, much of what feminists still fight
for had already been sanctioned by Islam. Not to mention that Western-style
emancipation – essentially women copying men – has not only imposed impossible
demands on the weaker sex, but has also left womanhood without any intrinsic
value. As for the veiled Muslim celebrating her womanhood, she is but a
reflection of chastity, humility and dignity, a mirror of her devotion to and
belief in God - factors which liberate, not subjugate - and for this she can
expect a great reward.
“For Muslim men and women, for believing men and women, for
devout men and women, for truthful men and women, for patient men and women,
for humble men and women, for charitable men and women, for fasting men and
women, for men and women who guard their chastity, and for men and women who
engage much in God’s praise: for them has God prepared forgiveness and a great
reward.” (Quran 33:35)
|
