8 posts tagged “feminism”
In my post, Responding to Namaah's questions, I was attempting to answer why covering one's hair is considered modest, among a few other questions. I was writing the response fast, because I had finals to study for and papers to write, so now I'd like to clarify a few things.
First, I think I left some sentences out at one point, and what read like this: "The Prophet Muhammad's wives complained to him that they did not know whose wives they were. So the Prophet asked his wives to cover themselves in public, so that they would not be harassed" should have said this:
The Prophet Muhammad's wives complained to him that they were being harassed in the streets when they went about their business. When Muhammad addressed the men who were harassing his wive, they said they did not know whose wives they were, but if they had been veiled, they would not have harassed the women. So the Prophet asked his wives to cover themselves in public, so that they would not be harassed.
Second, and most importantly, I want to focus on this statement:
In Yemen, on the other hand, where women are harassed if they don't cover their face, the veil is a symbol patriarchal rule.
I'm not sure if I was clear about my opinion. So, for the sake of my conscience, I want to say outright that it is not the veil, itself, which oppresses women. To summarize what my Saudi professor for my Women in Islam class told me: "Western women often pity Middle Eastern women, and consider them oppressed, because they do not work and cover themselves. Likewise, Middle Eastern women often pity Western women, because they must work and their bodies are used to advertise products." Yemen, however, is ranked 150 out of 177 countries for gender development in 2006. In fact, Yemen is the lowest scoring Middle Eastern country in terms of gender development (GDI for Yemen = .462), scoring lower than even Iran (GDI = .736) and Saudi Arabia (GDI = .744), which so many Westerners consider as backwards countries in terms of women's rights (more on myths about women in the Middle East by yours truly). While there are no doubt many women in Yemen who would wear a face veil whether it were required to avoid harassment or not, there is no Islamic reasoning for men to harass women because they are dressed a certain way. There is, in fact, a hadith in which the Prophet told a man to look away from a woman who drew his attention because of how she was dressed. He didn't tell the man to harass the woman, nor did he harass the woman himself. In the case of Yemen, the veil is a symbol of patriarchal rule because without it women are unable to go about their daily business free from harassment, which on occasion turns violent. Many women are caught in a double bind. Those who don't wear the veil are subjected to harassment, while those who do, but don't believe it is an Islamic practice, put their beliefs on hold to complete their public tasks.
In spite of all of this, however, Yemeni women are active in pursuing their rights, not complacent or submissive, or demure, or however else we might describe them in the West because of their veiled faces. You might be surprised to know that the Yemeni constitution of 1990 formally gives women more rights than in any other Middle Eastern country, and Yemeni women have been working to use those rights since the constitution was established. Yemeni women are working for better family planning and reproductive health, fighting terror, running for president, empowering women through technology and encouraging women to enroll in technology training programs as students, organizing self-employed women, working to end poverty and campaigning against early marriage of girls. Honestly, the list goes on and on, and however long I make the list, I will still do injustice to the amount of work Yemeni women are doing. So, like I said in December, these women don't need our pity, nor do they want or deserve it. And I am ashamed that I almost played into that by being so vague with my statement about the veil in Yemen.
Today is international women's day and, not coincidentally, blog against sexism day. I've been thinking about making a post outlining my position on various feminist issues, but haven't really executed the plan. Since I'm short on time, I'd like to just take a minute to briefly explain the way I feel about some issues. To keep things brief and clear, I've created a table to describe my thoughts. I've covered only six topics. Obviously, there are many more. Please feel free to share your opinions, especially about prostitution and pornography, as I am very conflicted over those. At the same time, you should know that nothing will change my opinions on the ERA, Abortion, or same-sex marriages. Happy International Women's Day!
|
Issue |
Political Stance |
Personal Belief |
|
Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to the Constitution of the United States of America |
I fully believe in and support the ERA. Until this country acknowledges that women are a fundamental part of American society by including them in the binding and legal document which upholds the republic, women (and men) will not be protected against sexism. |
All women and men are created equal. All women and men will be held accountable for their own actions on Judgment Day. |
|
Abortion |
Abortion is a public health issue. Abortion must be completely legal in every state. All women must have access to a variety of birth control methods, and these birth control methods must be affordable to every woman. Likewise, more research must be conducted on hormonal birth control for men. However, until women have absolute autonomy over their bodies, reproduction, and sexuality, women will suffer. Men should never dictate to women how, when or where they produce offspring. There should be no spouse- or parental-notification laws. |
Speaking strictly from a moral perspective, abortion is wrong. The Qur’an specifically prohibits feticide and infanticide. I acknowledge that religion and spirituality play a major role in many women’s sexuality and reproduction, and should not be ignored. However, these beliefs vary from woman to woman, and therefore cannot be dictated to society by a State. In my ideal world, all women and men would have access to birth control and would use it as they deem appropriate. Few women would have the need to seek abortions. |
|
Same-sex marriages |
All persons should be able to marry their partner of choice, as long as that partner is capable of making and expressing his or her commitment. This also means that persons seeking marriage must be of legal age. The State must acknowledge these unions and grant the persons involved the same privileges and rights that heterosexual unions receive under the law. Religious institutions do not need to endorse or approve of same-sex marriages. |
I do not believe that Islam prohibits same-sex relations, nor do I believe that Muslims are required to denounce same-sex relations as unholy and sinful. All people have a right to believe, or not to believe, in whatever religion they choose. For more information on Islam and same-sex relations please visit the following web sources. |
|
Modest Dress |
All women have a fundamental right to wear or not to wear whatever they want. No State should dictate to women how to dress or what to cover. Both the French and Turkish ban on the headscarf violate women’s rights, as well as laws, such as in Iran and Saudi Arabia, which force women to cover themselves. Covering is a choice. |
Covering is a choice. I do not however, believe that the full face veil, or niqab, is an Islamic practice, nor is the burqa. I prefer to dress modestly, but I do not always cover my hair. |
|
Prostitution |
Prostitution is a public health issue. Legalizing prostitution and regulating it would be a better way to keep women safe. It would also cull human trafficking. |
I absolutely, 100% detest and despise prostitution. This does not mean I feel any hatred towards women who sell themselves. On the contrary, I am saddened and enraged that women must resort to prostitution to feed themselves and their children. I am horrified and infuriated that men (fathers, brothers, husbands, uncles, cousins) sometimes force women into prostitution to make money. I am sickened at the thought that very young girls are sometimes sold to brothels, so that their family can have more money. |
|
Pornography |
Pornography is a public health issue. It should not be banned, as it is a form of expression. However, it should be regulated. Porn stars should wear condoms. Violent pornography (“snuff”) should remain illegal. |
The vast majority of pornography is denigrating to women. I find it disgusting. Humans should embrace their sexuality, but that doesn’t mean they should take advantage of anyone sexually. |
is that women are unlike men. They are " the
opposite sex" (though why "opposite" I do not
know; what is the "neighboring sex"?). But the
fundamental thing is that women are more like
men than anything else in the world.
-Dorothy L. Sayers
The Human-Not-Quite-Human
- Opposite versus Pairs
- Procreation versus Love making as a spiritual experience
- Marriage and Sex
- Heterosexism and Homophobia in Islam
With so much focus on body politics, modesty and the hijab, it is easy for non-Muslims, and indeed some Muslims, to believe that Islam is a hostile environment for sex: talking about it, doing it, appreciating it, and learning about it. In fact Islam frowns on monasticism and celibacy. As servants of God, Muslims are expected to interact with society and their environment. We are expected to educate ourselves and fully participate in the everyday conflicts of life. This is our jihad, or struggle. Secluding ourselves from the world is selfish. It does not benefit anyone but ourselves, and it certainly does not benefit God, who has given us the earth to care for it.
The word khalifa has several meanings: successor, steward, viceroy and guardian. It is often translated as ruler. As such, it is our duty to be active in the world, and part of this duty is to our partners and the future (information about how this is ultimately like to environmentalism).
"And when thy Lord said to the angels, I am going to place a khalifa in the earth, they said: Wilt Thou place in it such as make mischief in it and shed blood? And we celebrate They praise and extol Thy holiness. He said: Surely I know what you know not." Al Qur'an, 2:30.
Opposite versus Pairs
If there is one idea most feminists agree on, it is the idea that women and men are not, in fact, polar opposites of each other. The "opposite" argument stems from an anatomical examination of the male and female bodies. For a long time, women were considered the same as men, only inside out: imperfect, and lacking instead of having ("hole" versus "protrusion"). While this argument was sexist, it meant that pleasurable sex for women wasn't bad yet. That is, because it is necessary for men to orgasm in order for new life to begin (i.e., release of semen), it was believed that women also needed to have an orgasm to "complete the job", if you would. In fact, women were considered seductresses, with boundless passion and uncontrollable, irrational desire for flesh.This thought process changed completely by the end of the 1800s, as the results of an incident which occurred sometime in the 1700s.
A young man, who had been forced to become a monk due to poverty, came upon an inn on the country side. The owners of the inn were filled with grief because their only daughter, whose beauty was well known, had died. The parents asked the monk to watch over the body for the night, as she was not yet to be buried until the next day. The monk was curious about the girl's beauty, and lifted the shroud that covered her body to find not death and decay but the vibrant body of a young woman. The monk was overwhelmed by her beauty and "took the same liberties with the dead that the sacraments of marriage would have permitted in life." Afterwards he was ashamed of himself, and fled in the morning before the woman was buried. The burial went on as scheduled, but as the coffin was being lowered into the grave, someone noticed movement from inside. The lid of the casket was removed and the young woman began to stir. Her parents were thrilled she was alive, but were later displeased to find that she was pregnant and could not explain how she became that way. She was sent off to a convent. Approximately nine months later, the monk had returned, only much richer and no longer a monk, and after learning what happened to the young woman, he went to convent and asked her marry her. (You can read this story in the beginning of Chapter One of Thomas Laquer's Making Sex: Body and Gender from the Greeks to Freud, or in the London Medical Gazette, among other places)
Within a hundred years of this incident, the common perception of woman as a creature with uncontrolled sexual desires changed to a cold-hearted, emotionless, frigid creature who had no passion or joy in sexual intercourse at all. The idea that women and men were same, only women were "men turned outside in" (Aristotle's Master Piece, Arno Press ed., p.3.) was completely overturned: "Not only are the sexes different, bu they are different in every conceivable aspect of body and soul, in every physical and moral aspect' (Laquer summarizing Jacques-Louis Moreau).
Meanwhile, back on the deserts of seventh century Arabia, a young man was ascending into Prophethood and would, more than a thousand years before the Europeans were deciding that women were worth even less than they originally thought, reveal that women and men are equal to each other in every conceivable way. We begin with the story of creation.
This is the basic story of creation from the Qur'an. Amina Wadud dissects this passage practically word for word in her book Qur'an and Woman, but we don't need to go that deep for the purposes of this post. We just need to look at the two main words of this passage: nafs and zawj.Wa min ayathi an khalaqa-kum min nafsin wa wahidatin wa khalaqa min-ha zawjaha wa baththa minhuma rijalan kathiran was nisa'an.
And of His signs (is this:) that He created You from a single nafs, and created from (that nafs) its zawj, and from these two He spread countless men and women. (4:1)
The word nafs is, grammatically, a feminine word and has a common and a technical meaning. Commonly, nafs is translated as "self" (and the plural, anfus, as "selves"). Wadud points out that nafs "is never used in the Qur'an with reference to any created self other than humankind." The technical usage of the word nafs, however, is the single (genderless) nafs from which all of humanity ultimately come. That is, despite any and all differences between us: language, nation, tribe, skin color, we all have the same single origin.
The next, and final key, to our understanding of the creation of humankind, lies in the term "zawj." This word can mean mate, spouse, group, or pair. Grammatically, zawj is masculine, but conceptually, it has no gender and is used also to refer to the pairing of animals and plants as well.
Looking at verse 4:1 from the Qur'an with our new vocabulary, we can see that there is actually very little said about the creation of human kind. The entire creation is framed without the concept of gender ever entering the story. Wadud points out:
In general, I believe that what God doesn't say is just as important as what God does say. In the case of creation, God doesn't stipulate whom He created first, or that the second creation was formed from the flesh and bone of the first, making the second subservient to the first. The language God chooses to reveal the story of creation tells us that men and women are, in fact, created equally.
The absence of deail in the Qur'an indicates one or more of the following: 1. the reader already has enough details about a story to understand it and other details are unnecessary -- even redundant; 2. these details are unimportant to the point which the Qur'an is making at the particular time; 3. the Qur'an is referring to something Unseen, for which human language is already deficient.
A recurring theme of the Qur'an is dualism. 'And of all things We have created pairs, perhaps you [will all] reflect [on this fact].' (51:49). Earth and Heaven, Day and Night, Male and Female: Neither more essential than the other. Pairs
I know what you're thinking. Ok, what has this got to do with sex? Moving on.
Procreation versus Love making as a spiritual experience
When the Europeans discovered that women could become pregnant without having an orgasm, there was a radical reformation on the role of sex in the lives of women (and to think the women were never asked if they minded!). As I pointed out earlier, Biologists and physicians decided that women, in fact, didn't really have any exceptional feelings about sex and the Churches soon caught on to the trend. If women don't need an orgasm to make a child, then women's pleasure became unnecessary, frivolous and dirty. In fact, the story of the Innkeepers' daughter led some physicians to believe that men had some sort of control over how long gestation lasted (see London Medical Gazette). Women became even more of a commodity than they were before. Reproduction was only her duty, not her duty and her pleasure.
Islam, on the other hand, turned sex into a privilege for humankind. There are only a few stipulations about sex in Islam. For one, it must occur inside a proper marriage. Secondly, you're allowed to have it. There are no rules on position, however the vast majority of Muslim clerics agree that anal sex is forbidden, as well as sex while a woman is menstruating. There are several verses in the Qur'an pertaining to sex, and countless Hadith:
The interesting fact about sex in Islam is that every Muslim will tell you that sex is very important in Islam, and it is a blessing in marriage. But talking about sex remains taboo, and this taboo has become a serious hurdle for Muslims (some exceptions are the sex talk shows in Egypt and Pakistan). Muslims need to be reminded that Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, did not shy away from sexual topics, even when he was confronted by women who were troubled by their husbands' disinterest in sex. [For some recent public Muslim discussion on sex, visit Pamela Taylor's first post as a panelist Newsweek's "On Faith" section. Be forewarned: there are quite a few anti-Islamic comments in response to her very reasonable post. It seems there's all kinds of confusion going on between modesty and sex.]"And among His Signs is this, that He created for you mates from among yourselves, that ye may dwell in tranquility with them, and He has put love and mercy between your (hearts). Verily in that are Signs for those who reflect." Al Qur'an 30:21
"Your wives are a tilth unto you; so go to your tilth when or how you will." Al Qur'an 2:223
"Permitted to you, on the night of the fasts, is the approach to your wives. They are your garments and ye are their garments. Allah knoweth what ye used to do secretly among yourselves; but He turned to you and forgave you; so now associate with them, and seek what Allah Hath ordained for you, and eat and drink, until the white thread of dawn appear to you distinct from its black thread; then complete your fast Till the night appears; but do not associate with your wives while ye are in retreat in the mosques. Those are Limits (set by) Allah. Approach not nigh thereto. Thus doth Allah make clear His Signs to men: that they may learn self-restraint." Al Qur'an 2:187
"When you intend to have sex with your wife, do not rush because the woman (also) has needs (which should be fulfilled)." (Wasa'il, vol. 14, p. 40)
"Three people are cruel: . ..a person who has sex with his wife before foreplay.'' (Wasa'il, vol. 14, p. 40)
"When anyone of you has sex with his wife, then he should not go to them like birds; instead he should be slow and delaying." (Wasa'il, vol. 14, p. 82)
The Prophet said, "No one among you should have sex with his wife like animals; rather there should be a messenger between them." When asked about the messenger, he said, "It means kissing and talking." (Tahzibu'l-Ihya, vol. 3, p. 110)
Imam Ja'far as-Sadiq has been quoted as follows, "...there should be mutual foreplay between them because it is better for sex." (Wasa'il, vol. 14, p. 82)
"The best woman among you is the one who discards the armor of shyness when she undresses for her husband, and puts on the armor of shyness when she dresses up again." (Wasa'il, vol. 14, p. 14-15)
And now, I promise, this long post is almost over. I've got a lot to say about marriage, as marriage will never cease to be the absolute favorite patriarchal institution for feminists to pick on. Marriage can be oppressive. It can be a form of legalized prostitution, a method of trading. But marriage can also be liberating and sustaining. It can be a proclamation of love, commitment and respect just as well as it can be a simple monetary transaction. There is a lot to be said about marriage, but what I want to say right now, for the moment, is that marriage is not a patriarchal evil-- and this isn't just the Muslim in me saying this.
As a public health worker, I tend to view the world in terms of what's healthy and what isn't. Health isn't just a physical well being, it's also a mental, sexual, psychological, emotional and spiritual well being. For many people religion is a core aspect of their health, and any spiritual uneasiness can result in physical, emotional, or psychological illness. As a result, I often look at religion in terms of what's healthy. God doesn't want us to destroy ourselves, starve ourselves, eat our selves to death, get infections, spread diseases. God wants us to take care of ourselves and I believe that this is also part of our jihad, part of our struggle on our path. This is why God gives us rules and laws.
I know what the Qur'an says about fornication and adultery, and I believe that the punishment (100 lashes each) for these crimes is outdated. During a time when the moral fabric of the Muslim society was constantly under tension, it was very important for the Muslims to have a strong faith and not be tempted to return to the times of jahiliyya [ignorance of divine guidance]. However, now that the Ummah [Islamic community] is diverse, well formed, and very large, I think it is about time lashings and stonings were abolished [Yes, Iran. I am looking at you]. Some might argue that with such a large and diverse Ummah, it is more important than ever to stay away from bi'da [Innovation], and certainly that is true to an extent. But God gave us our brains specifically so that we could think about these issues so I don't think it's out of line for us to decide that we aren't going to violently punish transgressors.
Of course, Allah knows best.
[Expect part two... sometime later!]
"Allah's is the kingdom of the heaven and the earth. He creates what He pleases. He grants females to whom He pleases and grants males to whom He pleases. Or He grants them both males and females, and He makes whom He pleases, barren. Surely He is Knower, Powerful" (42:49-50)
Translation: Maulana Muhammad Ali
Commentary (also by Maulana Muhammad Ali): The birth of a daughter was looked upon by the Arabs as a calamity (see 16:58, 59), this being due to the low position which women held in society. The wonderful change brought about by Islam in the status of woman is clearly foreshadowed in this early revelation, where the daughter has the precedence over the son.
If you visit Quran.org, you will be able to view the four most popular translations of the Holy Qur'an all at once. I think it's interesting to look at these translations for the verse I quote above:
042.049
YUSUFALI: To Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth. He creates what He wills (and plans). He bestows (children) male or female according to His Will (and Plan),
PICKTHAL: Unto Allah belongeth the Sovereignty of the heavens and the earth. He createth what He will. He bestoweth female (offspring) upon whom He will, and bestoweth male (offspring) upon whom He will;
SHAKIR: Allah's is the kingdom of the heavens and the earth; He creates what He pleases; He grants to whom He pleases daughters and grants to whom He pleases sons.
KHALIFA: To GOD belongs the sovereignty of the heavens and the earth. He creates whatever He wills, granting daughters to whomever He wills, and granting sons to whomever He wills.042.050
YUSUFALI: Or He bestows both males and females, and He leaves barren whom He will: for He is full of Knowledge and Power.
PICKTHAL: Or He mingleth them, males and females, and He maketh barren whom He will. Lo! He is Knower, Powerful.
SHAKIR: Or He makes them of both sorts, male and female; and He makes whom He pleases barren; surely He is the Knowing, the Powerful.
KHALIFA: Or, He may have the males and the females marry each other, then render whomever He wills sterile. He is Omniscient, Omnipotent.
Now, this is going to be a short and sweet feminist spiel, because it's late, I'm tired, and I've been studying until my eye balls felt like walnuts in my head (the good news is, I finished my take home final for my stats course and tomorrow I'll present my GDI data and all that will be left is this torturous calculus exam on Friday). I read Qur'an every night before I go to bed, but tonight this verse really struck me, and I wanted to note it.
So, is this verse sexist? I imagine at least somebody will think so, but I don't. What the Qur'an is telling us here is that our offspring, or lack thereof, are God's blessing and God's will. God knows who our children are, and it is an insult to God and God's creations when we discriminate against children based on gender. It may seem insignificant to us now, but this revelation was a big deal in seventh century Arabia, because daughters were often not welcomed as blessings, but as a curse. There are actually three other verses in the Qur'an which also condemn female infanticide: 17:31, 16:58-59, and the most heart breaking: 81:8-9.
"And when the one buried alive is asked for what sin she was killed," (81:8-9).
Sura 81 is about Judgment Day. Maulana Muhammad Ali has this to say about the above verse:
The reference here is to the burying alive of daughters, a practice common among the pre-Islamic Arabs who, either for fear of hunger or disgrace, buried alive their female children. The questioning refers to the time when, with the predominance of Islam in Arabia, this barbarous practice was to be abolished. But the one buried alive may stand generally for the female sex, and the reference here may, therefore, be to the general tyranny of the male over the female, who has been kept in ignorance. See 17:31a [more of his commentary], where it is shown that the keeping ignorant of one's children is equivalent to killing them
Female infanticide is still an enormous problem today in India and China. While some feminists (whom I respect) have argued with me that they can have a preference for the sex of their baby without being sexist, I disagree on two levels. Logically: the most simplistic definition of sexism is having a preference for one sex over another. Spiritually: we cannot justify such preferences in our children, when it is God's miracle in the first place that we are gifted with any children at all. Our bodies build our babies' bodies, but it is God who gives them life and spirit. Preferring one creation over another is sheer arrogance in the face of God.
Feminists are obsessed with knowledge. There are a lot of reasons for feminists to obsess over knowledge. Knowledge is power. Much of the knowledge we have is male-centered (and Anglo centric) and, for centuries, was kept hidden from women, slaves, the disenfranchised, ethnic minorities and the lower classes. In the academic, theoretical and philosophical realm of feminism, creating knowledge has been a major plight of feminists. Feminists challenge the very structure of the institution of higher learning, of research and methodology and of academic writing and reporting. One of the most important causes feminists are leading at the moment is the right of girls to an education. So what does Islam have to say about knowledge?
The best place to start, of course, is the Qur'an. The Qur'an commands believers, over and over again, to seek knowledge:
"Read in the name of thy Lord Who created; He created man from a clot. Read and they Lord is more Honorable, Who taught to write with the pen, taught man what he knew not" (96:1-5)
"God will exalt those of you who believe and those who are given knowledge to high degrees" (58:11)
"And say, O my Lord! increase me in knowledge" (20:114)
"And whoever is is given knowledge is given indeed abundant wealth" (2:269)
I want to stress special importance on the first Qur'anic quote (96:1-5). It is universally accepted that the first five verses of chapter 96 of the Qur'an are the first revelation the Prophet ever received. It follows accordingly that Islam, or submission to God, in its purest form, begins with the pursuit of knowledge, both spiritually and intellectually. The four excerpts I've listed above, however, are not the only verses in the Qur'an which praise the knowledgeable, and the act of acquiring knowledge and distributing knowledge. Every chapter of the Qur'an contains such praise for knowledge, which leads me to my own conclusion that Islam is a very progressive religion, in that it asks, encourages and commands the Muslims to create and distribute knowledge to others. To explain what I mean, I'll give you an excerpt from Dr. Abd Al-Haleem Abu Shuqqah's article, "Pursuit of Knowledge, Meeting Scholars."
The pursuit of knowledge is an Islamic duty God requires every Muslim to fulfill, so that life in this world can be set aright and success is achieved in the life to come. This duty applies to every Muslim woman in the same way as it applies to every Muslim man. For a Muslim, man or woman, life in this world is the time when the ground is prepared, seeds are planted and trees and other plants are attended to, while the life to come is the harvest season. When Muslims dedicate themselves to build a sound and healthy human life on earth, they receive their full reward on the Day of Judgment.
Knowledge isn't just a major theme of the Qur'an, it is also a topic which the Prophet spoke of frequently:
Mailk ibn al-Huwairith said, The Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him, said to us: "Go back to your people and teach them." (Bukhari 3:25)
Ibns 'Abbas reported on the authority of the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him, "Let him who is present impart knowledge to him who is absent." (Bukhari 3:37)
Abu Sa'id Khudri said, The women said to the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him, The men have got an advantage over us in approaching thee therefore approach us for a day from thyself; so he promised them a day in which met them and he exhorted them and gave them commandments. (Bukhari 3:35)
Anas said, the Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him, said: "He who goes forth in search of knowledge is in the way of God till he returns." (Tirmidhi. 39:2).
"The learned ones are the heirs of the prophets--they leave knowledge as their inheritance; he who inherits it inherits a great fortune." (Bukhari 3:10).
Anas said, the Messenger of God, peace and blessings of God be upon him, said: "The seeking of knowledge is obligatory upon every Muslim." (Mishkat 2)
"Zaid ibn Thabit reported that, The Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him, commanded him to learn the writing of the Jews so that I wrote for the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him, his letters and read out to him their letters when they wrote to him." (Bukhari 94:40)
I think I got a little out of hand there with the Hadith. There are many more, and already I'd be surprised if you made it all the way down here. So, I have one last thing to say, and I think I'll say it through another quote from Dr. Abd Al-Haleem Abu Shuqqah.
This keen desire to pursue knowledge enabled such early Muslim women to question men scholars among the Prophet’s companions concerning their rulings. [...] By contrast, Muslim men sought to learn the Prophet’s practice from his wives. Anas ibn Malik reports: “Three men came to the Prophet’s homes asking his wives about his voluntary worship.” (Related by Al-Bukhari and Muslim.)
From the very beginning, Muslim men and Muslim women have worked together in the pursuit of truth and knowledge. They have reminded each other, taught each other and learned from each other, even inside the same room. Feminism is, by all means, not about waging some metaphorical war between men and women. Ultimately, it is about mutual respect and cooperation without discrimination. Western male philosophers looked down on the cognitive abilities of women well into the 20th century (e.g. Nietzsche, Freud). Some of them still do (see: recent Harvard president scandal). All observant Muslims, however, should know that when the Taliban (for example) use violence to try to keep girls out of schools, they are acting very un-Islamically. Why the Taliban don't know this, I'm not sure. Maybe they just don't know how to read?
Well, it finally happened. It was bound to happen. Honestly, I was just waiting patiently for it, with all my arguments and faith ready to be tested. Somebody finally said to me, "Honestly, I don't understand how you, a huge feminist, could convert to Islam." Gee, like we haven't seen that question before.
If I wrote about how Islam and Feminism are a perfect match for me, and touched on all the subjects I wanted to, this blog entry would probably be volumes long. I don't have time to write something so long all at once. And You don't want to read something that long. So, I'll just post on topics as they come up. You can expect at least the following topics to come up:
- Abortion (earlier post on abortion)
- Modesty
- Marriage
- Sexuality
- Prayer
- Clergy (and the lack thereof)
- Peace
- Science and Knowledge
- Inheritance
- Spiritual Equality
- Pluralism
- Mysticism
I think it's important for feminists to realize that first and fore-most feminism is about choice. We can argue up and down about the meaning of choice, who really has choice, and what an informed decision is, but when a women tells you she chose something, we should believe her. If we don't believe her, then what are we even fighting for? It's not my job to criticize every woman's choice, whether I think it oppresses her or not. It's not any feminists job to do that. I converted to Islam by choice. I read the Qur'an, read many Hadith, read Muslim feminists (note: also read a lot of sexist Muslims), spoke with Muslims, prayed with Muslims, cooperated with Muslims through student run organizations on my university's campus, took a class about women in Islam, and thought for a very long time, and very hard, about spirituality. This is what I chose: after being raised Catholic, after reading some Starhawk, after exploring Buddhism, Taoism, after discussing religion with Hindus and Jews, after reading about Sikhism, I decided that Islam is my way, and that is that. It's not as big of a deal as some people would think.
There are many Muslims who reject the notion of feminism. They reject feminism not on the basis of its goals on equality, but rather see it as Westernization of their culture. This isn't any different from the rejection of feminism by other non-Western cultures, which ultimately resulted in Third World feminism.
To conclude this terribly boring introduction to my life as a Muslim feminist, I will tell you the end of the story about the woman who asked me how I could convert to Islam. I was slightly disappointed when she stopped paying attention to me and never really asked about it again. It wasn't that I was looking forward to the question. Sure, I was ready for it, but I wasn't looking forward to it. Religion is very personal to me and it takes a lot of guts for me to talk about it (blogging about it is difficult, but not so much). I was disappointed that she lost interest essentially when I said "Islam is the most feminist religion." Like it was such an outlandish statement, because "everything she's ever heard about Islam has told her otherwise" (she literally told me that). And I thought.. is this feminism? This woman, who knows so well my beliefs and values systems about gender, sexuality, race, is questioning my own feminism because I don't fit the anti-Muslim propaganda she (and every one else in the US) hears everyday? I could have only been more hurt if my own sister had disowned me for converting-- after all, aren't we all sisters in feminism? Where is our sisterhood?
Tonight I stumbled across a couple posts here on Vox about America's perception of the Middle East, and the perception of women living in the Middle East. It got me thinking. Actually, I think about the role of women in the Middle East a lot lately because of this project I am doing for one of my classes. I'm not ready to give any hard data analysis on this stuff, but I've got a few things to say. Mostly, this a rant, so if you get lost, I apologize.
I want to start off with saying that for one, the definition of the "Middle East" is fairly arbitrary and tends to vary by academic circle. This region is not monolithic at all: the countries and societies change with time, and in general, gender development continues on a positive slope. Moreover, the status of women in the Middle East varies, just like the status of women in the "West" varies.
I tend to use the the United Nations' gender development index to gauge the status of women in a country. It's a pretty fair index, but certainly doesn't give you much detail, as it is only a number ranging from 0 to 1, 1 meaning "complete gender equality." This is the UN's definition of GDI:
The GDI – gender-related development index – is a composite indicator that measures the average achievement of a population... adjusting for gender inequalities."
I've prepared this nifty little table for your convenience. Please note that the 2006 UN Human Development Report (HDR) ranks Norway first in the world in terms of gender development, with a GDI of .962. The US is ranked ranked 8th, with a score of .946 . A total of 177 countries were rated based on data from 2004 for the 2006 HDR. Also, not all countries I've included are considered Middle Eastern, however, they are often lumped together with the Middle East anyhow. The UN does not have data on Iraq and Afghanistan, presumably because of the wars.
|
Country |
GDI Score, 2004 |
GDI Rank |
|
.849 |
39 |
|
|
.900 |
29 |
|
|
.634 * |
111 |
|
|
.736 |
96 |
|
|
… |
… |
|
|
.925 |
23 |
|
|
.747 |
86 |
|
|
.864 |
33 |
|
|
.737 * |
78 |
|
|
.785 |
56 |
|
|
… |
46 |
|
|
.744 |
76 |
|
|
.702 |
107 |
|
|
.829 |
49 |
|
|
.462 |
150 |
|
|
… |
100 |
|
|
… |
… |
|
|
.513 |
134 |
|
|
.701 |
110 |
|
|
.772 |
79 |
*Score from 2003 Human Development Report
To best understand these data, we would also need to look at the Human Development Index (HDI), which rates overall Human Development. This is beyond the scope of this blog rant.
I'll just point out a few of my own quick observations.
- There is great variability in GDI score and rank among the "Middle Eastern" countries. The highest scoring and highest ranking country is Israel, with a score of .925 and a rank of 23. The lowest scoring and lowest ranking country is Yemen, with a score and rank of .462 and 150, respectively.
- Five of these countries scored at least a .800, which is considered high development.
- Only one country (Yemen) falls under .500, below which any score is considered low development.
- Six of the 18 Middle Eastern countries in the HDR (therefore excluding Iraq and Afghanistan) are ranked in the top 50 countries.
- Eleven of 18 Middle Eastern countries in the HDR are ranked in the top 50th percentile-- that is, they are ranked higher than fifty-percent of the remaining countries.
- Of the predominantly Muslim countries in the Middle East, the highest score is .864 (Kuwait).
So what does this mean? Well, like I said before, there is no single "status" of women in the Middle East. Gender equality varies by country. But even so, I think it is evident with just a simple eyeballing of the data that the "backwardness" of the Middle East in terms of women's rights is a myth. Of course these countries need work. I'm not saying life is all lollipops and gummy bears for women in the Middle East, but for the most part these women do exercise their own free will in their day to day lives. When we look down on Middle Eastern women as hostages of their own countries and religion, we are their oppressors by ripping out their voices and nullifying every choice they've ever made.These women don't need pity or prejudices, they only need the "oh-so-egalitarian" West to stop looking at them like caged birds.
I've been blogging since I was thirteen. In fact, I was blogging before the word blog was even invented (according to Wikipedia, the term blog was coined in 1997). So much has changed since then, and while I never want to be thirteen again, I wish I still had the courage to write the way I wrote then. At thirteen, my blog was very simplistic. It was mostly white text on a black background, separated by dates. I called each entry a rant. Eventually, the pages were so long I started dividing them into pages labeled "stuff 1" "more stuff" "stuff you don't need" etc. I didn't exactly have what people now call avatars or icons, but I had themed pages fulls of pictures of things I liked. Disney characters, animals, anime characters, flowers... all kinds of things. Sometimes they had captions, sometimes they didn't, and almost all of them were pirated.
My first blog was also the beginning of my journey into feminism. I had a huge page devoted to something called "I AM WOMAN" (I never knew Helen Reddy, but I with the way the media has a tendency to get into people's minds without us ever knowing, I wouldn't be surprised if that's where I stole the title from) where I wrote all about how women are awesome, powerful and beautiful. I was obsessed with Goddesses, especially Norse Goddesses, so much of my writings were focused on empowerment through feminine spirituality. Of course, at the time I had no idea what I was talking about. I didn't know what feminism was, or what it meant to be empowered. Actually, I was scared silly of being a woman. I didn't know what to do about my period or how to tell my dad I had one, and when he approached me about it (it was quite obvious I had gotten a period) I got angry and yelled at him and stormed off. I was so afraid of what it meant to become a woman that I lost all interest in myself and started looking outward for approval. I think that's when my "blog" started turning into cryptic cries for help and sometimes obvious lies to myself and others.
When I learned how to password protect my "journal," as I called it then, I became a bit more honest again. By then I was a sophomore in high school and seriously troubled by teenage angst and mental health issues I wouldn't uncover until the ripe age of twenty. I wrote a ton of crappy poetry and ridiculous prose. I was obsessed with writing, really. I had a little notebook I took with me everywhere and every remotely creative thought I had ended up as white text on a black background in my online journal. Once I started "dating," everything changed.
I didn't want to write about my boyfriends. Mostly, I didn't want them ever to know I even "published" things online. And by boyfriends, I mean boyfriend, and by boyfriend, I mean Rohan. So I didn't write until we broke up even though my journal was password protected. And now, even after the migration to LiveJournal, and even though my current relationship is about 2.5 years in the making and still going strong, I still can't write when I'm in love. It's like I'm afraid I'll break everything with words.I don't entirely understand my inability to write when I'm in love, but this is what I'm going to explore in this new blog. I want to keep my LiveJournal life separate from my Vox life, and I think it makes perfect sense, even considering the names of the services. My LiveJournal can chronicle my life, and my Vox blog can chronicle my pursuit of, well... my voice.
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