Chapter 9
Is Islam Misogynistic?
"A majority of the dwellers of hell will be women, who curse too much and are ungrateful to their spouses."--Muhammad Imran, Ideal Woman in Islam
Today we began class by, not attempting to directly answer the question italicized directly beneath the chapter number, but by analyzing smaller pieces of the whole. What I find to be one of the most controversial topics when speaking about Islamic traditions, and I'm sure many other people do as well, is the question of whether or not women are forced by Islamic religion to wear a Hijab/Niqab, and if they do, for what reasons exactly are they supposed to? Is it to spare men from lustful thoughts by the women hiding most of their bodies except for their eyes or face? And if it is, why aren't men under the same pressure to conceal their physique to protect them from the lustful thoughts of women? Or if not lustful thoughts, just protection from the judgement of character based off of appearances? The discussion leader showed a very enlightening video clip that allowed us to listen at Muslim women attempting to answer those very questions:
Next, we moved on to the bigger picture; a look at whether or not women truly are oppressed by the word of Allah spoken in the Qua-ran, and is it our place to judge? With current Islamic states in what we view as a constant state of turmoil, it seems to me that the Islamic faith, and those who practice it, are given a bad rap, at least by a lot of westerners. The real question here, is whether or not these Islamic states are oppressive towards women because that's what the Qua-ran says, or because that is their abstract interpretation of it. The class discussion leader then showed us a video of a converted British women speaking on behalf of Muslim women, and another Muslim woman who grew up in one of these Islamic states, witnessing first hand the kinds of laws created based off of the religion.
After the video we discussed whether or not it was our place to judge the Islamic faith, based off of just a few of the radical events we've witnessed, and I think the general consensus the class came to was that, while we have no right to judge and draw conclusions, it's often hard not to. Relating to this though, the question was brought up on whether or not Western society places just as much pressure on women and there appearances--surgical enhancements, weight-loss medications, makeup, etc. So who's to say we're not the oppressive ones?
These issues are not irrelevant to our everyday lives. What happens in those Islamic states, and what Muslim radicals do, directly affects the lives of Muslims here in the United States, many who are just trying to live normal lives and practice their religion in peace. It's important that we educate ourselves on what Islamic religion means to them, and not patronize their practices with a pretentious mindset in an attempt to "liberate" them. Below is a link for a CNN article about an Islamic American teenager who chooses to wear a hijab, and what its affects are on her lifestyle, and what it means to her.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.