The Western world has many misconceptions about Islam especially when it comes to women and their roles. When people from the Westernized countries look at Islam they see a backwards society. The most controversial practices of Islam involve Muslim women. Hid behind a veil these women are seen as victims of a male dominated society. This is not the case; women play important roles in Islam and have more rights than most people think. ...
It is important to look at Islam in the historical environment it rose out of. Most of the women before Islam was established were slaves. ...
The most vital key to understanding the treatment and roles of women in the Islamic society depends on understanding the central beliefs of Islam. ... Islam is a religion of equality. ... When this is done both sexes are guaranteed a place in paradise (Lamya ‘ al-F’aruqi 3).
The reason Western society looks at Islamic women as being oppressed has much less to do with Islam than it does the country they live in. ... “It is more accurate to say what a particular country does not permit women to do than to say what Islam permits or forbids” (125). ... While this is true a lot of the things that a Westerner is told about Islam are true but are not understood within the social and cultural context of the Middle East. ... According to The Oxford History of Islam this is changing and more Islamic legal systems are accepting a woman’s testimony to be equal to a man’s. ...
Women’s Advancements through Islam
While Westerners see the concepts and practices of Muslims as backward the Quranic teachings were revolutionary advances in women’s rights during the time it arose. ... Doi talks about the situation of women in the pre-Islamic Arabian Peninsula:
Considering the fact that before the advent of Islam the pagan Arabs used to bury their female children alive, make women dance naked in the vicinity of the Kaba during their annual fairs, and treat women as mere chattels and objects of sexual pleasure -- possessing no rights or position whatsoever, these teachings of the Noble [Quran] were revolutionary. Unlike other religions, which regarded women as being possessed of inherent sin and wickedness, and men as being possessed of inherent virtue and nobility, Islam regards men and women as being of the same essence created from a single soul. ... This is described in the following passage from the Quran,
“Whosoever does good deeds, whether male or female, while being believers, they shall enter paradise” (Zepp 130). ... " (4)
Another way Islam displays its undying admiration for mothers are its acknowledgement and elevation of the Virgin Mary. ... (Zepp 169-170) Through all this it is no wonder that “the Muslim mother has consequently a great feeling of security about the type of care and consideration she can expect from her children when she reaches old age” (Role as Mother 2).
The Veil as Protection
Western culture views the veil (purdah or hijab) as a symbol of oppression. ... The veil is a tool for female liberation. ... (1-2)
Once this concept is understood it is quite easy to realize the veil is protecting beauty and worth of a woman. There is only one verse in the Quran that addresses this issue but it is very important in the accepting of the veil. ... The following passage from Chopra’s essay “Liberation by the Veil” explains the equality in modest values:
According to the [Quran], the same high standards of moral conduct are for men as it is for women. ... Islam also commands proper behavior and dress of men, in that they are not allowed to make a wanton show of their bodies to attract attention onto themselves, and they too must dress modestly.
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