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Submission, Marriage, Sex, and Slavery Part 6 of a Series on the Foundational Doctrines of Islam Islamic doctrine governing women is based on the principle of submission. As we have shown in the previous parts of this series, there is a sharp difference in the chapters of the Koran revealed in the first 13 years of Muhammad’s revelations in Mecca and the chapters revealed in Medina during the final 10 years of his life. The difference in the Meccan and Medinan chapters of the Koran was also a turning point for Islamic teachings on the role and status of women....

Recent results of the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion and Public Life multi-year survey of beliefs and practices by the world’s Muslims that were published 8 August 2012 are remarkable in a number of respects. First of all, the broad scope of the project—based on 38,000 face-to-face interviews conducted with Muslims in 39 different countries and territories—ensured a wide range of opinions from a diverse sampling of Muslim communities. The results, however, show a high level of agreement about one of the most debated issues concerning Islam: Whether Muslims believe Islamic teaching is subject to various “interpretations” or only...