WOMEN IN ISLAM VERSUS WOMEN IN THE JUDEO-CHRISTIAN
TRADITION:
THE MYTH & THE REALITY
WWW URL: http://www.qucis.queensu.ca:1999/~fevens/info.html Friday
khutbah by Br. Sherif Muhammad <sherif@eleceng.ee.queensu.ca> Kingston,
February 10, 1995
Four and a half years ago, I read in the Toronto Star issue of July 3,
1990 an article titled "Islam isn't alone in patriarchal doctrines", by
Gwynne Dyer. The article described the furious reactions by the participants
of a conference on women and power held in Montreal to the comments of
the famous Egyptian feminist Dr. Nawal Saadawi. Her politically incorrect
statements included : "the most restrictive elements towards women can
be found first in Judaism in the Old Testament then in Christianity and
then in the Qur’an"; "all religions are patriarchal because they stem from
patriarchal societies"; and "veiling of women isn't a specifically Islamic
practice but an ancient cultural heritage with analogies in sister religions".
The participants couldn't bear sitting around while their faiths were being
equated with Islam. Thus, Dr. Saadawi received a barrage of criticism.
"Dr. Saadawi's comments are unacceptable. Her answers reveal a lack of
understanding about other people's faiths", declared Bernice Dubois of
the World Movement of Mothers. "I must protest" said panelist Alice Shalvi
of Israel women's network, "there is no conception of the veil in Judaism."
The article attributed these furious protests to the strong tendency in
the west to scapegoat Islam for practices that are just as much part of
the west's own cultural heritage. "Christian and Jewish feminists were
not going to sit around being discussed in the same category as those wicked
Muslims" wrote Gwynne Dyer. I wasn't surprised that the conference
participants had held such a negative view of Islam, especially when women's
issues were involved.
Islam is believed , in the West, to be the symbol of the subordination
of women par excellence. In order to understand how firm this belief
is, it is enough to mention that the Minister of Education in France, the
land of Voltaire, has recently ordered the expulsion of all young Muslim
women wearing the veil from French schools [1]! What intrigued me
the most about the conference was one question : Were the statements made
by Saadawi, or any of her critics, factual ? In other words, do Judaism,
Christianity, and Islam have the same conception of women? Are they different
in their conceptions ? Do Judaism and Christianity , truly, offer women
a better treatment than Islam does? What is the Truth?
It is not easy to search for and find answers to these difficult
questions. The first difficulty is that one has to be fair and objective
or, at least, that one does one's utmost to be so. This is what Islam teaches.
The Qur’an has instructed us to say the truth even if those who are very
close to us don't like it: "Whenever you speak, speak justly, even if a
near relative is concerned" (6:152) "O you who believe stand out firmly
for justice, as witnesses to Allah, even as against yourselves, or your
parents or your kin, and whether it be (against) rich or poor" (4:135).
The other great difficulty is the overwhelming breadth of the
subject. Therefore, during the last few years, I have spent many hours
reading the Bible, the Encyclopedia of Religion, and the Encyclopedia Judaica
searching for answers. I have also read several books discussing the position
of women in different religions written by scholars, apologists, and critics.
Today, I am here to present some of the important findings of this
humble research. I don't claim to be absolutely objective. This is beyond
my limited capacity. All what I can say is that I have been trying, throughout
this research, to approach the Qur’anic ideal of "speaking justly".
Before we start, I would like to emphasize that my purpose from
this presentation is not to denigrate Judaism or Christianity. As Muslims,
we believe in the divine origins of both. No one can be a Muslim
without believing in Moses and Jesus as great prophets of Allah. My goal
is only to vindicate Islam and pay a tribute ,long overdue in the West,
to the final truthful Message from God to the human race. I would also
like to emphasize that I concerned myself only with doctrine. That
is, my concern is, mainly, the position of women in the three religions
as it appears in their original sources not as practiced by their millions
of followers in the world today. Therefore, most of the evidence
cited comes from the Qur’an, the Bible, the Talmud , and the sayings of
some of the most influential Church Fathers whose views have contributed
immeasurably to defining and shaping Christianity. This interest in the
sources relates to the fact that understanding a certain religion from
the attitudes and the behaviour of some of its nominal followers is misleading.
Many people confuse culture with religion, many others don't know what
their religious books are saying, and many others don't even care.
1. Eve's fault ?
The three religions agree on one basic fact : Both women and
men are created by God The Creator of the whole universe. However, disagreement
starts soon after the creation of the first man, Adam and the first woman,
Eve. The Judeo-Christian conception of the creation of Adam and Eve is
narrated in detail in Genesis 2:4-3:24. God prohibited both of them from
eating the fruits of the forbidden tree. The serpent seduced Eve to eat
from it and Eve, in turn, seduced Adam to eat with her. When God rebuked
Adam for what he did, he put all the blame on Eve "The woman you put here
with me --she gave me some fruit from the tree and I ate it." Consequently,
God said to Eve "I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with
pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband
and he will rule over you." To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your
wife and ate from the tree .... Cursed is the ground because of you; through
painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life..."
The Islamic conception of the first creation is found in several
places in the Qur’an, for example 7:19-25 "O Adam dwell with your wife
in the garden and enjoy as you wish but approach not this tree or you run
into harm. Then Satan whispered to them your Lord only forbade you this
tree lest you become angels or such beings as live forever. And he swore
to them both that he was their sincere adviser. So by deceit he brought
them to their fall: when they tasted the tree their shame became manifest
to them... Their Lord called unto them did I not forbid you that tree...They
said: our Lord we have wronged our own souls and if You forgive us not
and bestow not upon us Your mercy, we shall certainly be lost..."
A careful look into the two accounts of the story of the Creation
reveals some essential differences. The Qur’an, contrary to the Bible,
places equal blame on both Adam and Eve for their mistake. Nowhere in the
Qur’an can one find even the slightest hint that Eve tempted Adam to eat
from the tree or even that she had eaten before him. Eve in the Qur’an
is no temptress, no seducer, and no deceiver. Moreover, Eve isn't
to be blamed for the pains of childbearing. God, according to the Qur’an,
punish no one for another's faults. Both Adam and Eve committed a sin and
then asked God for forgiveness and He forgave them both.
2. Eve's legacy
The image of Eve as temptress in the Bible has resulted in an
extremely negative impact on women throughout the Judeo-Christian tradition.
In order to understand how negative the impact on women was we have to
look at the writings of some of the most important Jews and Christians
of all time. Let us start with the Old Testament and listen to excerpts
from what is called the Wisdom Literature in which we find," I find more
bitter than death the woman who is a snare, whose heart is a trap and whose
hands are chains. The man who pleases God will escape her, but the sinner
she will ensnare....while I was still searching but not finding, I found
one upright man among a thousand but not one upright woman among them all."
(Ecclesiastes 7:26-28) One has to ask what is the wisdom in denying the
existence of even one upright woman on earth ? In another part of the Hebrew
literature which is found in the Catholic Bible we read," No wickedness
comes anywhere near the wickedness of a woman.....Sin began with a woman
and thanks to her we all must die"(Ecclesiasticus 25:19,24) Orthodox Jewish
men in their daily morning prayer recite "Blessed be God King of the universe
that Thou has not made me a woman." The women, on the other hand, thank
God every morning for "making me according to Thy will" [2].
The same severe tone is found also in the New Testament.
Listen to St. Paul," A woman should learn in quietness and full submission.
I don't permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must
be silent. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam wasn't the one
deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner, but women
will be saved through childbearing...."(I Timothy 2:11-15) St. Tertullian
was even more blunt than St. Paul, while he was talking to his 'best beloved
sisters' in the faith, he said," Do you not know that you are each an Eve?
The sentence of God on this sex of yours lives in this age: the guilt must
of necessity live too. You are the Devil's gateway: You are the unsealer
of the forbidden tree: You are the first deserter of the divine law: You
are she who persuaded him whom the devil wasn't valiant enough to attack.
You destroyed so easily God's image ,man." St. Augustine was faithful to
the legacy of his predecessors, he wrote to a friend, " What is the difference
whether it is in a wife or a mother, it is still Eve the temptress that
we must beware of in any woman." Centuries later, St. Thomas Aquinas still
considered women as defective, "As regards the individual nature, woman
is defective and misbegotten, for the active force in the male seed tends
to the production of a perfect likeness in the masculine sex; while
the production of woman comes from a defect in the active force or from
some material indisposition, or even from some external influence." Finally,
the renowned reformer Martin Luther couldn't see any benefit from a woman
but bringing into the world as many children as possible regardless of
the possible side effects," If they become tired or even die, that doesn't
matter. Let them die in childbirth, that's why they are there" [3]. Again
and again all women are denigrated because of the image of Eve the temptress,
thanks to the Genesis account.
If we now turn our attention to what the Qur’an has to say about
women, we will soon realize that the Islamic conception of women is radically
different from that of the Judeo-Christian tradition. Let the Qur’an speak
for itself. "For Muslim men and women, for believing men and women,
for devout men and women, for true men and women, for men and women who
are patient, for men and women who humble themselves, for men and women
who give in charity, for men and women who fast, for men and women who
guard their chastity, and for men and women who engage much in Allah's
praise-- For them all has Allah prepared forgiveness and great reward"(33:35)
"Whoever works evil will not be requited but by the like thereof, and whoever
works a righteous deed -whether man or woman- and is a believer-
such will enter the Garden of bliss"(40:40) "Whoever works righteousness,
man or woman, and has faith, verily to him/her we will give a new life
that is good and pure, and we will bestow on such their reward according
to the best of their actions"(16:97)
It is clear that the Qur’anic view of women is no different than
that of a man. They, both, are God's creatures whose sublime goal
on earth is to worship their Lord, do righteous deeds, and avoid evil and
they, both, will be assessed accordingly. The Qur’an never mentions that
the woman is the devil's gateway or that she is a deceiver by nature. The
Qur’an, also, never mentions that man is God's image, all men and all women
are his creatures, that's all. According to the Qur’an, a woman's role
on earth isn't limited only to childbirth. She is required to do as many
good deeds as any other man is required to do. The Qur’an never said that
no upright women had ever existed. To the contrary, the Qur’an has
instructed all the believers, women as well as men, to follow the example
of those ideal women such as the Virgin Mary and the Pharoah's wife (66:11-13)
3. Shameful daughters ?
In fact, the difference between the Biblical and the Qur’anic
attitude towards the female sex starts as soon as a female is born.
For example the Bible states that the period of the mother's ritual impurity
is twice as long if a girl is born than if a boy is (Leviticus 12:2-5).
The Catholic Bible does state explicitly that "The birth of a daughter
is a loss" (Ecclesiasticus 22:3) In contrast to this shocking statement,
boys receive special praise, "A man who educates his son will be the envy
of his enemy." (Ecclesiasticus 30:3) A daughter is considered a painful
burden, a potential source of shame to her father "Your daughter is headstrong?
Keep a sharp look-out that she doesn't make you the laughing stock of your
enemies, the talk of the town, the object of common gossip, and put you
to public shame."(Ecclesiasticus 42:11)
It was this very same idea of treating daughters as sources of
shame that led the pagan Arabs, before the advent of Islam, to practice
female infanticide. The Qur’an severely condemned this heinous practice
"When news is brought to one of them of the birth of a female child, his
face darkens and he is filled with inward grief. With shame does he hide
himself from his people because of the bad news he has had! Shall he retain
her on contempt or bury her in the dust? Ah! what an evil they decide on?"(16:59)
It has to be mentioned that this sinister crime would have never stopped
in Arabia if it were not to the power of the scathing terms the Qur’an
used to condemn this practice (16:59, 43:17, 81:8-9). The Qur’an, moreover,
makes no distinction between boys and girls. In contrast to the Bible,
the Qur’an considers the birth of a female as a gift and a blessing from
God, same as the birth of a male. The Qur’an even mentions the gift of
the female birth first," To Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and
the earth. He creates what he wills. He bestows female children to whomever
he wills and bestows male children to whomever he wills"(42:49)
4. Female education ?
The difference between the Biblical and the Qur’anic conceptions
of women is not limited to the newly born female, it extends far beyond
that. Let's compare their attitudes towards a female trying to learn her
religion. The heart of Judaism is the Torah, the law. However, according
to the Talmud, "women are exempt from the study of the Torah." In the first
century C.E., Rabbi Eliezer said: "If any man teaches his daughter Torah
it is as though he taught her lechery" [4]. The attitude of St. Paul in
the New Testament isn't brighter "As in all the congregations of the saints,
women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak,
but must be in submission as the law says. If they want to inquire about
something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful
for a woman to speak in the church."(I Corinthians 14:34,35) How can a
woman learn if she is not allowed to speak? How can a woman grow intellectually
if she is obliged to be in a state of full submission? How can she broaden
her horizons if her one and only source of information is her husband at
home?
Now, to be fair, we should ask: is the Qur’anic position any
different? One short story narrated in the Qur’an sums its position up
concisely. Khawlah was a Muslim woman whose husband Aws at a moment of
anger pronounced this statement: "You are to me as the back of my mother."
This was held by pagan Arabs to be a statement of divorce which freed the
husband from any conjugal responsibility but didn't leave the wife free
to leave the husband's home or to marry another man. Having heard these
words from her husband, Khawlah was in a miserable situation. She went
straight to the Prophet of Islam to plead her case. The prophet was
of the opinion that she should be patient since there seemed to be no way
out. Khawla kept arguing with the prophet in an attempt to save her suspended
marriage. Shortly, the Qur’an intervened; Khawla's plea was accepted. The
divine verdict abolished this iniquitous custom. One full chapter (Chapter
58) of the Qur’an whose title is Almujadilah or "The woman who is arguing"
was devoted to this incident, "Allah has heard and accepted the statement
of the woman who pleads with you (the prophet) concerning her husband and
carries her complaint to Allah, and Allah hears the arguments between both
of you for Allah hears and sees all things...." (58:1). A woman in the
Qur’anic conception has the right to argue even with the Prophet of Islam
himself. No one has the right to instruct her to be silent. She is
under no obligation to consider her husband the one and only reference
in matters of law and religion.
5. Adultery
Women's position, role, rights, and duties in the Qur’an are
very different from those found in the Bible. Let us take some examples.
Adultery and fornication are considered sins in all religions. The Bible
decrees the death sentence for both the adulterer and the adulteress (Leviticus
20:10). Islam also equally punishes both the adulterer and the adulteress
(24:2). However, the Qur’anic definition of adultery is very different
from the Biblical definition. Adultery, according to the Qur’an, is the
involvement of a married man or a married woman in an extramarital affair.
The Bible only considers the extramarital affair of a married woman as
adultery (Leviticus 20:10, Deuteronomy 22:22, Proverbs 6:20-7:27). The
extramarital affair of a married man isn't per se a crime in the Bible.
Why this dual moral standard? According to Encyclopedia Judaica,
the wife was considered to be the husband's possession and adultery constituted
a violation the husband's exclusive right to her; the wife as the husband's
possession had no such right to him [5]. The New Testament echoes
the same attitude in Matthew 5:31-32, where it is attributed to Jesus to
have said," I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital
unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries
the divorced woman commits adultery." Why didn't he label the man who divorces
his wife and marries another woman as adulterer? To the present day in
Israel, if a married man indulges in an extramarital affair with a woman,
his children by that woman are considered legitimate. But, if a married
woman has an affair with another man, her children by that man are not
only illegitimate but are forbidden to marry any other Jews except converts
and other bastards. This ban is handed down to the child's descendants
for 10 generations until the taint of adultery is presumably weakened [6].
The Qur’an, on the other hand, never considers any woman to be
the possession of any man. The Qur’an eloquently describes the relationship
between the spouses by saying," And among His signs is that He created
for you mates from among yourselves, that you may dwell in tranquillity
with them and He has put love and mercy between your hearts: verily in
that are signs for those who reflect" (30:21) This is Qur’anic conception
of marriage: love, mercy, and tranquillity, not possession and double standards.
6. Bearing witness
Another issue in which the Qur’an and the Bible disagree is the
issue of women bearing witness. It is true that the Qur’an has instructed
the believers dealing in financial transactions to get two male witnesses
or one male and two females (2:282). However, it is also true that the
Qur’an in other situations accepts the testimony of a woman as equal to
that of a man. In fact the woman's testimony can even invalidate the man's.
If a man accuses his wife of unchastity, he is required by the Qur’an to
solemnly swear five times as evidence of the wife's guilt. If the wife
denies and swears similarly five times, she isn't considered guilty and
in either case the marriage is dissolved (24:6-11).
On the other hand, women were not allowed to bear witness in
early Jewish society [7]. Women in Today's Israel are not allowed to give
evidence in Rabbinical courts because the Talmud says: "Women are temperamentally
light-headed" [8]. The Rabbis, also, justify why women can't bear witness
by citing Genesis 18:9-16, where it is stated that Sara, Abraham's wife
had lied. The rabbis use this incident as evidence that women are unqualified
to bear witness. It should be noted here that this story narrated in Genesis
18:9-16 has been mentioned more than once in the Qur’an without any hint
of any lies by Sara (11:69-74, 51:24-30).
If a man accuses his wife of unchastity, her testimony will not
be considered at all according to the Bible. The accused wife has to be
subjected to a trial by ordeal (Numbers 5:11-31). In this trial, the wife
faces a complex and humiliating ritual which was supposed to prove her
guilt or innocence. If she is found guilty after this ordeal, she will
be sentenced to death. Also, if a man takes a woman as a wife and then
accuses her of not being a virgin, her own testimony will not count. Her
parents had to bring evidence of her virginity before the elders of the
town. If the parents couldn't prove the innocence of their daughter, she
would be stoned to death on her father's doorsteps. If the parents were
able to prove her innocence, the husband will only be fined one hundred
shekels of silver and he must not divorce his wife as long as he lives
(Deuteronomy 22:13-21). Why should the poor woman live with the man
who slandered her in public for the rest of his life?
7. Female inheritance
One of the most important differences between the Qur’an and
the Bible is their attitude towards female inheritance of the property
of a deceased relative. According to Numbers 27:1-11, widows and sisters
don't inherit at all. Daughters can inherit only if their deceased
father had no sons. Otherwise the sons receive the entire inheritance.
Among the pagan Arabs before Islam, inheritance rights were confined exclusively
to the male relatives. The Qur’an abolished all these unjust customs and
gave all the female relatives their just share (4:7,11,12,176).
8. Plight of widows
Because of the fact that the Old Testament recognized no inheritance
rights to them, widows were among the most vulnerable of the Jewish population.
The male relatives who inherited all of her deceased husband's estate were
to provide for her from that estate. However, widows had no way to ensure
this provision was carried out and lived on the mercy of others.
Therefore, widows were among the lowest classes in ancient Israel and widowhood
was considered a symbol of great degradation (Isaiah 54:4). But the
plight of a widow in the Biblical tradition extended even beyond her exclusion
from her husband's property. According to Genesis 38, a childless widow
must marry her husband's brother, even if he is already married, so that
he can produce offspring for his dead brother, thus ensuring his brother's
name will not die out. The widow's consent to this marriage is not required.
The widow is treated as part of her deceased husband's property whose main
function is to ensure her husband's posterity. This biblical law is still
practiced in today's Israel [9]. The pagan Arabs before Islam had similar
practices. The widow was considered a part of her husband's property to
be inherited by his male heirs and she was, usually, given in marriage
to the deceased man's eldest son from another wife. The Qur’an scathingly
attacked and abolished this degrading custom (4:22).
Widows and divorced women were so looked down upon in the biblical
tradition that the high priest must not marry a widow, a divorced woman,
or a prostitute (Leviticus 21:13). In Israel today, a descendent of the
Cohen caste (the high priests of the days of the Temple) cannot marry a
divorcee, a widow, or a prostitute [10]. In the Jewish legislation, a woman
who has been widowed three times with all the three husband's dying of
natural causes is considered 'fatal' and forbidden to marry again [11].
The Qur’an, on the other hand, recognizes neither castes nor fatal persons.
Widows and divorcees have the freedom to marry whomever they choose. There
is no stigma attached with divorce or widowhood in the Qur’an (2:231,232,
234, 240).
9. Polygamy
Let's now tackle the important question of polygamy. Polygamy
is a very ancient practice found in many human societies. The Bible didn't
condemn polygamy. To the contrary, the Old Testament and Rabbinic
writings frequently attest to the legality of polygamy. King Solomon is
said to have had 700 wives and 300 concubines (1 Kings 11:3) Also, king
David is said to have had many wives and concubines (2 Samuel 5:13). The
Old Testament does have some injunctions on how to distribute the property
of a man among his sons from different wives (Deut. 22:7). The only restriction
on polygamy is a ban on taking a wife's sister as a rival wife (Leviticus
18:18). The Talmud advises a maximum of four wives [12]. European Jews
continued to practice polygamy until the sixteenth century. Oriental Jews
regularly practiced polygamy until they arrived in Israel where it is forbidden
under civil law. However, under religious law which overrides civil law
in such cases, it is permissible [13].
What about the New Testament? According to Father Eugene Hillman
in his insightful book Polygamy Reconsidered, "Nowhere in the New Testament
is there any explicit commandment that marriage should be monogamous or
any explicit commandment forbidding polygamy" [14]. Moreover, Jesus hasn't
spoken against polygamy though it was practiced by the Jews of his society.
Father Hillman stressed the fact that the church in Rome banned polygamy
in order to conform to the Greco-Roman culture (which prescribed only one
legal wife while tolerating concubinage and prostitution). He cited St.
Augustine, "Now indeed in our time, and in keeping with Roman custom, it
is no longer allowed to take another wife" [15]. African churches and African
Christians often remind their European brothers that the Church's ban on
polygamy is a cultural tradition and not an authentic Christian injunction.
The Qur’an, too, allowed polygamy, but not without restrictions,
" If you fear that you shall not be able to deal justly with the orphans,
marry women of your choice, two or three or four but if you fear that you
shall not be able to deal justly with them, then only one"(4:3). The Qur’an,
Contrary to the Bible, limited the maximum number of wives to four under
the strict condition of treating the wives equally and justly. It should
not be understood that the Qur’an is exhorting the believers to practice
polygamy, or that polygamy is considered as an ideal. In other words, the
Qur’an has "tolerated" or "allowed" polygamy, and no more, but why? Why
is polygamy permissible or allowed? The answer is simple, there are places
and times in which there are compelling reasons for polygamy. Islam as
a universal religion suitable for all places and all times couldn't ignore
these compelling reasons.
In most human societies, females outnumber males. In the U.S.
there are, at least, eight million more women than men. In a country like
Guinea there are 122 females for every 100 males. In Tanzania, there are
95.1 males per 100 females [16]. What should a society do towards such
unbalanced sex ratios? There are various solutions, some might suggest
celibacy, others would prefer female infanticide (which does happen in
some societies in the world today !). Others would think the only outlet
is that the society should tolerate all manners of moral decadence : prostitution,
sex out of wedlock, homosexuality ...etc. Other societies (like most
African societies today) would see the most honorable outlet is to allow
polygamous marriage as a culturally accepted and socially respected institution.
The point that is often misunderstood in the west is that women in other
cultures don't necessarily look at polygamy as a sign of women's degradation.
For example, many young African brides (whether Christians or Muslims or
otherwise), would prefer to marry a married man who has already proved
himself to be a responsible husband. Many African wives urge their husbands
to get a second wife so that they don't feel lonely [17]. The problem
of the unbalanced sex ratios becomes truly problematic at times of war.
Native American Indian tribes used to suffer highly unbalanced sex ratios
after wartime losses. Women in these tribes, who in fact enjoyed a fairly
high status, accepted polygamy as the best protection against indulgence
in indecent activities. European settlers, without offering any other alternative,
condemned this Indian polygamy as 'uncivilized' [18].
After the second world war, there were 7,300,000 more women than
men in Germany (3.3 million of them were widows). There were 100 men aged
20 to 30 for every 167 women in that age group [19]. Many of these women
needed a man not only as a companion but also as a provider for the household
in a time of unprecedented misery and hardship. The soldiers of the victorious
Allied Armies exploited these women's vulnerability. Many young girls and
widows had liaisons with members of the occupying forces. Many American
and British soldiers paid for their pleasures in cigarettes, chocolate,
and bread. Children were overjoyed at the gifts these strangers brought.
A 10 year old boy on hearing of such gifts from other children wished from
all his heart for an 'Englishman' for his mother so that she need not go
hungry any longer [20]. We have to ask our own consciences at this point:
What is more dignifying to a woman? An accepted and respected second wife
as in the native Indians' approach, or a virtual prostitute as in the 'civilized'
Allies approach? In other words, what is more dignifying to a woman, the
Qur’anic prescription or the theology based on the culture of the Roman
Empire?
The world today possesses more weapons of mass destruction than
ever before and the European churches might, sooner or later, be obliged
to accept polygamy as the only way out. Father Hillman has thoughtfully
recognized this fact," It is quite conceivable that these genocidal techniques
(nuclear, biological, chemical..) could produce so drastic an imbalance
among the sexes that plural marriage would become a necessary means of
survival....Then contrary to previous custom and law, an overriding natural
and moral inclination might arise in favor of polygamy. In such a situation,
theologians and church leaders would quickly produce weighty reasons and
biblical texts to justify a new conception of marriage" [21].
It has to be added also that polygamy in Islam is a matter of
mutual consent. No one can force a woman to marry a married man. The Bible,
on the other hand, sometimes resorts to forcible polygamy. A childless
widow must marry her husband's brother, even if he is already married,
regardless of her consent (Genesis 38).
It should be noted that in many Muslim societies today the practice
of polygamy is rare since the gap between the numbers of both sexes is
not huge. One can, safely, say that the rate of polygamous marriages
in the Muslim world is much less than the rate of extramarital affairs
in the West. In other words, Men in the Muslim world today are far more
strictly monogamous than men in the Western world !
10. The Veil
Finally, let us shed some light on what is considered in the
west as the greatest symbol of women's oppression and servitude, the veil
or the head cover. Is it true that there is no such thing as the veil in
the Judeo-Christian tradition? Let's set the record straight. According
to Rabbi Dr. Menachem M. Brayer (Professor of Biblical Literature at Yeshiva
University) in his book 'The Jewish woman in Rabbinic literature', it was
the custom of Jewish women to go out in public with a head covering which,
sometimes, even covered the whole face leaving one eye free [22]. He quotes
some famous ancient Rabbis saying," It is not like the daughters of Israel
to walk out with heads uncovered" and "Cursed be the man who lets the hair
of his wife be seen....a woman who exposes her hair for self-adornment
brings poverty." Rabbinic law forbids the recitation of blessings or prayers
in the presence of a bareheaded married woman since uncovering the woman's
hair is considered "nudity" [23]. Dr. Brayer also mentions that "During
the Tannaitic period the Jewish woman's failure to cover her head was considered
an affront to her modesty. When her head was uncovered she might be fined
four hundred zuzim for this offense." Dr. Brayer also explains that
veil of the Jewish woman wasn't always considered a sign of modesty. Sometimes,
the veil symbolized a state of distinction and luxury rather than modesty.
The veil personified the dignity and superiority of noble women. It, also,
represented a woman's inaccessibility as a sanctified possession of her
husband [24]. It is clear in the Old Testament that uncovering a woman's
head was a great disgrace and that's why the priest had to uncover the
suspected adulteress in her trial by ordeal (Numbers 5:16-18).
What about the Christian tradition? It is well known that Catholic
Nuns have been covering their heads for hundreds of years, but that's not
all. St. Paul in the New Testament made some very interesting statements
about the veil," Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is
Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.
Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head.
And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors
her head - it is just as though her head were shaved. If a woman doesn't
cover her head, she should have her hair cut off; and if it is a disgrace
for a woman to have her hair cut off or shaved off, she should cover her
head. A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory
of God; but the woman is the glory of man. For man didn't come from woman,
but woman from man; neither was man created for woman, but woman for man.
For this reason, and because of the angels, the woman ought to have a sign
of authority on her head." (I Corinthians 11:3-10) St Paul's rationale
for veiling women is that the veil represents a sign of authority of the
man, who is the image and glory of God, over the woman who was created
from and for the man. St. Tertullian in his famous treatise 'On The Veiling
Of Virgins' wrote," Young women, you wear your veils out on the streets,
so you should wear them in the church, you wear them when you are among
strangers, then wear them among your brothers..." Among the Canon laws
of the Catholic church today, there is a law that require women to cover
their heads in church [25]. Some Christian denominations, such as the Amish
and the Mennonites for example, keep their women veiled to the present
day. The reason for the veil, as offered by their Church leaders, is "The
head covering is a symbol of woman's subjection to the man and to God"
: The same logic introduced by St. Paul in the New Testament [26].
From all the above evidence, it is obvious that Islam didn't
invent the head cover, but Islam endorsed it. The Qur’an urges the believing
men and women to lower their gaze and guard their modesty and then urges
the believing women to extend their head covers to cover the neck and the
bosom "Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and
guard their modesty......And say to the believing women that they should
lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display
their beauty and ornaments except what ordinarily appear thereof; that
they should draw their veils over their bosoms...." (24:30,31). The Qur’an
is quite clear that the veil is an essential part of a recipe designed
for the purposes of modesty, but why modesty? The Qur’an is still clear
"O prophet, tell your wives and daughters and the believing women that
they should cast their outer garments over their bodies (when abroad) so
that they should be known and not molested" (33:59). This is the whole
point, modesty is prescribed to protect women from molestation or simply,
modesty is protection.
Thus, the only purpose of the veil in Islam is protection. The
Islamic veil, unlike the veil of the Christian tradition, is not a sign
of man's authority over woman nor is it a sign of woman's subjection to
man. The Islamic veil, unlike the veil in the Jewish tradition, is not
a sign of luxury and distinction of some noble married women. The
Islamic veil is only a sign of modesty with the sole purpose of protecting
women, all women. The Islamic philosophy is that it is always better safe
than sorry. In fact, the Qur’an is so concerned with protecting women's
bodies and women's reputation that a man who dares to falsely accuse a
woman of unchastity will be severely punished," And those who launch a
charge against chaste women, and produce not four witnesses (to support
their allegations)- Flog them with eighty stripes; and reject their evidence
ever after: for such men are wicked transgressors"(24:4).
Compare this strict Qur’anic attitude with the extremely lax
punishment for rape in the Bible " If a man happens to meet a virgin who
is not pledged to be married and rapes her and they are discovered, he
shall pay the girl's father fifty shekels of silver. He must marry the
girl, for he has violated her. He can never divorce her as long as he lives"
(Deut. 22:28-30). One must ask a simple question here, who is really punished?
The man who only paid a fine for rape, or the girl who is forced to marry
the man who raped her and live with him until he dies? Another question
that also should be asked is this: which is more protective of women, the
Qur’anic strict attitude or the Biblical lax attitude?
Some people, especially in the West, would tend to ridicule the
whole argument of modesty for protection. Their argument is that the best
protection is the spread of education, civilized behavior, and self restraint.
We would say: Fine but not enough. If 'civilization' is enough protection,
then why is it that women in North America, dare not walk alone in a dark
street - or even across an empty parking lot ? If Education is the solution,
then why is it that a respected university like ours has a 'walk home service'
for female students on campus? If self restraint is the answer, then
why are cases of sexual harassment in the workplace on the news media every
day? A sample of those accused of sexual harassment, in the last few years,
includes: Navy officers, Managers, University professors, Senators, Supreme
Court Justices, and the President of the United States! I couldn't
believe my eyes when I read the following statistics, written in a pamphlet
issued by the Dean of Women's office at Queen's University:
* In Canada, a woman is sexually assaulted every 6 minutes",
* 1 in 3 women in Canada will be sexually assaulted at some time
in their lives",
* 1 in 4 women are at the risk of rape or attempted rape in her
lifetime",
* 1 in 8 women will be sexually assaulted while attending college
or university, and
* A study found 60% of Canadian university-aged males said they
would commit sexual assault if they were certain they wouldn't get caught."
Something is fundamentally wrong in the society we live in. A
radical change in the society's life style and culture is absolutely necessary.
A culture of modesty is badly needed, modesty in dress, in speech, and
in manners of both men and women. Otherwise, the grim statistics
will grow even worse day after day and , unfortunately, women alone will
be paying the price. Therefore, a society like France which expels
young women from schools because of their modest dress is, in the end,
simply harming itself.
Conclusion
In the light of the evidence presented above, there is no doubt
that Islam has immensely improved the status of women compared to the Judeo-Christian
tradition. The Qur’an has offered women dignity, justice, and protection
which ,for long, have remained out of their reach. That's why it is no
surprise to find that most converts to Islam, today, in a country like
Britain are women. In the U.S. women converts to Islam outnumber men converts
4 to 1 [27]. The problem is that the majority of the population in the
West do not know these facts. They easily believe the media's distorted
image of Islam. Therefore, it is a must that we change our defensive
attitude towards the whole issue of women in Islam. We must stop being
apologetic. We have nothing to be ashamed of. What the Qur’an has given
to women is unparalleled in the history of religion. Instead of always
reacting to the consistent barrage of articles defaming Muslim women, we
have to take the initiative. We have to act first and let others
react. We should boldly initiate discussions with our friends and colleagues
regarding the true status of women in Islam. Tell them how the Qur’an has
ended so many injustices against women found in other scriptures. We have
to talk to the media, write to the press, and Invite the whole world to
read the Qur’an, read other scriptures and compare for themselves.
It goes without saying that the sisters' role is far more important than
the brothers' in this respect.
The Qur’an is an incredibly powerful book and it is our task to
spread its impressive message to the world. But, are we up to this task
?
Notes
1. The Globe and Mail, Oct. 4,1994.
2. Thena Kendath, "Memories of an Orthodox youth" in Susannah
Heschel, ed. On being a Jewish Feminist (New York: Schocken Books,
1983), pp. 96-97.
3. For all the sayings of the prominent Saints, see Karen Armstrong,
The Gospel According to Woman (London: Elm Tree Books, 1986) pp.
52-62. See also Nancy van Vuuren, The Subversion of Women as Practiced
by Churches, Witch-Hunters, and Other Sexists (Philadelphia: Westminister
Press) pp.28-30.
4. Leonard J. Swidler, Women in Judaism: the Status of Women
in Formative Judaism (Metuchen, N.J: Scarecrow Press, 1976) pp. 83-93.
5. Jeffry H. Togay, "Adultery," Encyclopedia Judaica, Vol. II,
col. 313. Also, see Judith Plaskow, Standing Again at Sinai: Judaism
from a Feminist Perspective (New York: Harper & Row Publishers, 1990)
pp. 170-177.
6. Lesley Hazleton, Israeli Women The Reality Behind the Myths
(New York: Simon and Schuster, 1977) pp. 41-42.
7. Swidler, op. cit., p. 115.
8. Hazleton, op. cit., p. 41.
9. Ibid., pp. 45-46.
10. Ibid., p. 47.
11. Ibid., p. 49.
12. Swidler, op. cit., pp. 144-148.
13. Hazleton, op. cit., pp 44-45.
14. Eugene Hillman, Polygamy Reconsidered: African Plural Marriage
and the Christian Churches (New York: Orbis Books, 1975) p. 140.
15. Ibid., p. 17.
16. Ibid., pp. 88-93.
17. Ibid., pp. 92-97.
18. John D'Emilio and Estelle B. Freedman, Intimate Matters:
A history of Sexuality in America (New York: Harper & Row Publishers,
1988) p. 87.
19. Ute Frevert, Women in German History: from Bourgeois Emancipation
to Sexual Liberation (New York: Berg Publishers, 1988) pp. 263-264.
20. Ibid., pp. 257-258.
21. Hillman, op. cit., p. 12.
22. Menachem M. Brayer, The Jewish Woman in Rabbinic Literature:
A Psycho-social Perspective (Hoboken, N.J: Ktav Publishing House,
1986) p. 239.
23. Ibid., pp. 316-317. Also see Swidler, op. cit., pp. 121-123.
24. Ibid., p. 139.
25. Clara M. Henning, " Cannon Law and the Battle of the Sexes"
in Rosemary R. Ruether, ed., Religion and Sexism: Images of Woman
in the Jewish and Christian Traditions (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1974)
p. 272.
26. Donald B. Kraybill, The Riddle of the Amish Culture (Baltimore:
Johns Hopkins University Press, 1989) p. 56.
27. The Times, Nov. 18, 1993.