Islam

WOMEN IN ISLAM

Islam, unfortunately, is one of the most scorned religions on Earth. It is misunderstood by many people in the world, especially after the attacks on the US during 9/11. Although women in many other religions suffer gender conflicts and battle male dominance, women of Islam have the added visual of wearing veils, hijab, and sometimes the burqa. These serve as reminders of their difference from their men and alerts other people right away what religion these women follow. This makes it much harder for women to quietly observe Islam in peace outside of Muslim-dominant countries.

Although the Bible literally reads that Eve was made from a rib of Adam, and implies that women in a sense are inferior to men, it does not hold quite as harsh a view as the Koran. The Koran reads and interprets women as made almost just for the carnal use of men (Gunasekara). This sets the stage for the complete superiority of men in Islam, and puts women at a great disadvantage. The covering of female private parts is then interpreted by more conservative people as hiding away their women from curious eyes, especially male eyes from outside of the family.

 

The roles of women in Islamic religious ceremonies is thus extremely restricted as compared to other religions of the world. Men (1st picture above), will generally never have a problem finding a mosque to pray in. Women, on the other hand, will often be denied access completely, or restricted to a tiny, cramped, curtained section or a whole separate room entirely (2nd picture). This is surprisingly more common in the United States than many think. Women of different Muslim countries trying to pray in US mosques are sometimes shocked to find that views of women in these sacred places took a turn for the more conservative ways of older Islamic generations. One argument for this is:

“Mosques in the United States weren’t initially established as mosques – they were private homes, basements or apartment buildings that were remodeled,” said Omar Abu Namous, the grand cleric, or imam, of the Islamic Cultural Center of New York, citing that as one of the causes of inappropriate worship space for women (Rezk).

The frustration of US-based Muslim women has made many stand up and protest or form groups to reform. The video below is an example of this  conflict happening in the US.

The most ironic aspect of all this is that during the time of the Prophet, genders were not segregated at the mosque. Men and women, in fact, prayed next to each other. This can still be found in places like Mecca, but numbers are still in the minority. Because of such restrictions, some Muslim women pay more attention to other aspects of Islam, such as fasting, divination, and healing. Thus, women are in higher numbers and hold more power in these areas (Smith). Over the years, more and more Muslim women are getting more education and rising up to reform these male-dominant views. They protest against many aspects and are slowly gaining ground for themselves and for future generations.

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Gunasekara,Victor. “The Position of Women in Islam.” VGWeb. <http://vgweb.org/manussa/IslamWomen.htm&gt;

Rezk, Rawya. “Muslim Women Seek More Equitable Role in Mosques”, in The Columbia Journal. The Journalism School, Columbia University. 2007

Smith, Jane I. “Religious Practices of Egyptian Muslim Women,”  in Mormons and Muslims: Spiritual Foundations and Modern Manifestation. ed. Spencer J. Palmer, Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2002. Print

Esposito, John L. The Islamic World: Past and Present. Oxford University Press, 2004. Print