How Does Islam Really View Women?
Illustrative picture. (Photo: © Reuters)
If you do any reading at all about women in Islam, you are sure to be quick to realize that there are typically two camps of thought on the matter. One that expresses an almost overly respectful view of women, and the other that takes the opposite view, i.e. that women are essentially slaves to men. But, of course, both of these views cannot be correct, and most likely, the truth is somewhere in the middle. So, what is the truth of the matter?
This is the question that a writer at Swissinfo recently sought to gain some insight in by interviewing three Swiss women who are Muslim converts. These women claim to have comprehensive knowledge of the Quran. In the article, we learn that while things like Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) are not Islamic in origin, men are allowed to have multiple wives (up to four) as authorized by the Quran.
As for the ever controversial head garb, the women state that a hijabis required, whereas a veil or niqab is not. Also, women are allowed to work, but are not required to, unlike men who are required to work and provide for their families.
Unfortunately, while these things may be backed by the Quran, they are not exactly what many Muslims believe. A recent poll conducted by the Pew Research Center found that “Muslims in most countries surveyed say that a wife should always obey her husband. In 20 of the 23 countries where the question was asked, at least half of Muslims believe a wife must obey her spouse.”
The analysis accompanying the poll highlights the fact that “attitudes toward gender issues may be influenced by the social and political context in which Muslims live.” Interestingly enough, however, the analysis also states that “overall, the survey finds that Muslims who want sharia to be the law of the land in their country often, though not uniformly, are less likely to support equal rights for women and more likely to favor traditional gender roles.”
Without doing an in depth study of the Quran and Hadith (the compiled sayings of the Islamic prophet Mohammed) it is impossible to gain a comprehensive understanding of the role of women in Islam.
But we can gain some important insights from these analyses and polls -- most importantly, that some views of women that are thought to be Islamic actually stem from the cultures in a given country and not the religion itself. This means that the two, culture and religion, interact with each other and create new social mores, thus making it more difficult to identify where certain attitudes and beliefs come from. While this may seem obvious, it is something that many of us fail to remember.
It is important to realize that there are more factors than just religion. We can refrain from making wrongful assumptions and exacerbating the unstable relationship that Islam and the West currently have. In addition, this realization can also to help us find better solutions in our fight against extremism.
After all, before one can solve a problem, one must properly identify it.
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