Women and Islam--A Westerner's Perspective

ChronWatch ^ | 04 June 2003 | Doc Farmer

[DocFarmer]

"Women and Islam--A Westerner's Perspective"

Posted by Doc Farmer Wednesday, June 04, 2003

I've lived in the Middle East region for over five years now. And although I'm not a female nor a Muslim, I think I've got a bit of an understanding of the position of women as regards the religion of Islam.

It's not what you've been led to believe, either.

First, let's get this misconception out of the way straight up. Female circumcision is NOT sanctioned or supported by Islam. There are some cultures that did this practice far before the rise of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), and there is nothing in my research of the Noble Qur'an that suggests it is in any way discussed or permitted, with the exception of a very rare medical condition. Male circumcision is allowed, partly due to the roots of Islam going back to Abraham (Ibrahim), and partly because of hygiene. Trust me, when you live in a desert, there are certain areas you want sand to avoid.

Women do have rights in Islam, folks. Note that I said Islam. I did not mention specific Middle Eastern cultures. That's where the conflict, and some of the confusion comes in. I'll try to be as accurate as I can be regarding this, although I'm sure there will be exceptions to the rule. There always are. In Judeo-Christian religions as well...

Women have the right to get a divorce. So do men. Their divorce laws actually seem to take the kids into the equation as the primary concern, though. Western laws SAY they are for the kids, but we all know that's a load of hooey. The courts do not beggar ex-husbands, but the men must take their fatherly responsibilities (financial and emotional) to heart. And by in large, they do. Those who don't are not well thought of by their peers. Their male peers.

In that same regard, women generally hold custody of the children during their younger, more formative years. Boys until age 6, girls until age 9. Then custody is normally transferred to the father. However, it is important to note that custody is not exclusive. The children are afforded all rights to visitation by the non-custodial parent under Sharia law (the law set forth in the Noble Qur'an). There are, of course, cases of parents kidnapping their kids. This seems to be a phase of parental selfishness that transcends religion, however. It is not supported in Islam, Judaism, Christianity or any other faith that I'm aware of.

Women can and do work outside the home. But their primary responsibility is the care of the family - especially the kids. The money they earn is for themselves, and not for the household. That's the husband's responsibility. The wife can, voluntarily, contribute to household needs, but can never be compelled. The same goes for a wife's inheritance.

Some countries here in the Middle East have separate sections in restaurants. One section is for single men, and the other section is for single women and families. Malls and shopping centres have ''family days'' when single men are not allowed to shop (see also: gawk at the babes). This is partly cultural, but it also has an Islamic element in that women are protected from the unwanted advances or attentions of single men.

Islam does permit polygamy, but with limits. For example, a man cannot have more than four wives, and only if local laws permit. And also if the other wives permit. Yes, they have a say in the matter, folks. The husband has to ensure that he treats ALL wives equally in matters of finance, support, love and care of their children. The husband has to prove that he can afford to do this before he can bring in wife number two, three or four.

And for those of you who think that this is nothing more than sexual Olympics for the male, consider this. With increased nookie comes also the increase in nagging, complaining and general annoyance that come as standard equipment with a female spouse. Usually the increase in the latter is the square (or more often, the cube) of the former. Men must think long and hard about that before taking in more wives.

Me? Bitter after my divorces? Of COURSE not...

Then there is the veil. Or, more accurately, the covering of the head. The veil (covering of the face) is more an outgrowth of the nomadic tribes of pre-Islam Arabia. It is a sense of protection and privacy again. The covering of the head is a sign of respect shown in most religious cultures. Islam and Judaism share this concept. Hasidic Jews cover their heads - males with the yarmulke, females with a scarf. The same is true for Islam, just using different items or names for those items. According to my sources, the wearing of a headcovering is required for females. Men are not required to cover their heads, but it is a generally accepted practice. The veil is NOT required under Sharia law.

As to the abaya or burkha, that's one that I have to admit confuses me a little. I can understand that women would want to hide themselves from unmarried males in public places. Males are generally jerks (no matter what religion or culture) and Islam seems to understand this. But the abaya is not, from my admittedly limited study of Islam, a mandated thing. Islam states that women, and men, must dress modestly and conservatively, but that's about it. For guys here in the Middle East, it's traditionally the thobe and guttrah (see also: the dress and the tablecloth with the fan belt on top). For gals, it's generally a dress or suit that doesn't show cleavage, shoulders, legs or arms down to the wrist.

Personal opinion here, but I think that ladies wearing basic black, in the middle of summer, in the middle of a desert where the temperatures top 50 degrees Celsius (122F), may need some bit of a cultural re-think in the Middle East. But that's cultural, not religious. Even Coco Channel, the apocryphal inventor of the ''little black dress'', would have to admit that it's not always a good idea to be your own Easy-Bake Oven. Here in Doha, many women wear the abaya and the veil. But many more don't. And they're not arrested or harassed for it. And those who are Muslims are no less Muslim because they don't wear the veil.

I'm kind of hoping that those women in the West, who want to ''liberate'' the women of Islam, fail. Frankly, their ''liberation'' of Western women has resulted in higher divorce rates, lowering morality, higher crime rates, the destruction of the traditional (for over 6,000 years), family and the murder of over 40 million innocent babies. This, to my mind, is not something they should proudly try to export.

http://www.chronwatch.com/featured/contentDisplay.asp?aid=2955

[Lady Heron]

A woman would be a fool to become a muslim!!!!!!! No thankyou.

[Lady Heron]

Should this not be in the religion section?? What does this have to do with news?

[AdmSmith]

My guess is that the writer is a muslim as he writes "Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), and there is nothing in my research of the Noble Qur'an"

pubh = "peace be upon him" is not something a non-muslims writes neither is "Noble Qur'an", furthermore the spelling Muhammad also is a clue.

So the big question is why does he claim that he not is a muslim?

[DocFarmer]

I didn't even know there WAS a religious section. There wasn't any selection of that listed under "topics". Sorry for the error...

[Mamzelle]

This is quite a shallow examination. Which Muslim countries do you porport to explain? Life for women is very different in Iran than it is in Egypt. Egyptian women have come under increasing oppression just in the past ten or fifteen years. But Iranian women can vote, work professionally, and I think can hold office. In Turkey, women have more opportunity. As for female "circumcision"--Mohammed allowed it, but did not proscribe it. Men do not need permission from first wives, in Palestine, to take a second. Honor killings (killing a disgraced woman in one's family) are also common among the Palestinians. Under the Ayatollah, nine-year-old Iranian girls can become legal wives--the Shah had made this illegal.

There are many variations from country to country.

[FierceDraka]

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)...

Got this far and slammed on the brakes. This guy is no Westerner. Maybe by birth, but his soul is now with the barbarian savages that inhabit that wretched part of the world.

I pay no heed to the apologists for the enemy.

[mikeIII]

Good catch! I wonder how many fell for this sterilized crap!

[MalcolmS]

What about the part where a woman's testimony is only worth half of a man's in court?

[eleni121]

Apart from his obvious insecurity with western liberated women, Mr. Farmer has some valid points to make about the relative joys of western women as compared to women living under the Islamic yoke and yoke is what it is no matter how much he tries to whitewash it.

[DocFarmer]

FierceDraka,

First of all, I'm not an apologist for the enemy. ISLAM is not the enemy. The misuse of Islam is. And I've found that most of the Muslims in the region that I've spoken to are seriously honked off about 9/11, Al Qaeda, Usama bin Laden et al. If you'd seen their reaction to 9/11 the way I had, you'd know that the crap they showed on TV in the States was the extreme minority.

And no, I'm not Muslim. However, I hold their beliefs in respect, as I hold the beliefs of Christianity and Judaism in respect. For Muslims, it is repectful to use the (pbuh) after the name of one of the great prophets. Including Jesus. I emulate that respect, since some of the folks who read my columns are Muslims. Not because they'll chop my head off, or someother 'barbarian' savagry, but because of respect.

Perhaps you should go back now and read the entire article.

Many thanks.

Doc Farmer

[DocFarmer]

Mamzelle,

You're painting all of Islam with a pretty broad brush here. My article was not about different cultures, it was about a single religion. Would you like me to portray all Catholics by the acts of a few paedophile priests? Would you like to know how the Holy Bible actually sanctions slavery? Christianity has been misued too...

Your point about the other countries and cultures is very valid. And I happen to agree with you and deplore those acts. But they are not the acts of ISLAM, they are the acts of cultures using religion as an excuse without any basis.

As for a shallow examination, what do you expect? I'm only a man...

Doc Farmer

[jedwardtremlett]

Good article, Doc.

Where in the Middle East ARE you, btw? I'm over in Dubai in the UAE.

J

[John Locke]

Male circumcision is allowed, partly due to the roots of Islam going back to Abraham (Ibrahim), and partly because of hygiene. Trust me, when you live in a desert, there are certain areas you want sand to avoid.

No, I don't trust you. I lived for 3 years "in the desert" - well, actually, in a city on the southern edge of the Sahara - and had no problems with sand under the foreskin.

[Mamzelle]

re: You're painting all of Islam with a pretty broad brush here. )))

I think I gave examples of how Muslim countries differ in their treatment of women. The best place for a woman in any largely Muslim ME nation would be Turkey, and Turkey has attempted a secular government.

All the nations are basing their cultural treatment of women on Sharia law, to one extent or another. The Shia tend to treat women a little better than the Sunni, but unfortunately the Sunni represent the majority of Islam. The Sauds, our "friends" probably treat women the worst, now that the Taliban is defunct.

As for Islam being distinct from the culture, I've made it my business to read the Koran, some of the al Hadish and writings from Mohammed. Being from a Christian evangelical culture, myself, I put great emphasis on original texts as an indicator of authentic ideology.

And the more I read, sadly, the worse it gets.

[DocFarmer]

Doha, Qatar for almost a year now. Before that, I lived and worked in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for 4.5 years.

[Mamzelle]

Had a lot of contact with Muslim women, have you? Opportunities for conversation?

[FierceDraka]

Okay, I'll respect your words because you seem sincere. But until I see a widespread (and by widespread I mean mass rallies in the streets) denunciation of the use of terror as a means of proseletizing, an end to honor killings, and the end of the inflammatory rhetoric demanding the mass killings of anyone who believes differently, I shall regard Islam and its followers as the greatest menace faced by Western civilization since the Nazis and the Soviets. AND I shall behave accordingly.

I grant tolerance to those who grant me the same courtesy - no touchy-feely love-thine-enemy from me.

[Pan_Yans Wife]

When speaking of burkhas, I am reminded of the television coverage of King Hussein's funeral, in Jordan.

Queen Noor stood in the street, with the masses of subjects, as they mourned the death of their king. She wore a white scarf. Someone mentioned that white is the color for mourning, in the Middle East (or at least Jordan), not black, like we wear in the West.

So, this might explain why women are not covered in lighter colors, regardless what common sense and high temperatures would dictate. I would imagine it would be difficult to get these women to wear black for mourning. I do suggest, that lighter colors would be a big improvement for the health of the woman!

[jedwardtremlett]

Of course, re-reading the article I now see that you're in Doha (smacks self) Duh.

: )

J