dani13 said:
I understand that there are many misconceptions when it comes to women’s oppression and Islamic beliefs.
Is it true that it is more cultural that some women are abuse?
Assalam-o-Alaikum Dani,
This is correct. What you see people practicing is culture, not Islam. Are women being abused. Yes. Is that Islam. No. what is sadly true is that there is, currently, no true Islamic state in the sense that they would be applying
complete Islamic Law[i.e. Shariah].
Women’s rights in Islam should be judged according to the authentic sources [Quran and authentic hadith], and not what individual Muslims do, or what the Muslim society does. In Islam, the role of a man and woman… it is complimentary, it is not conflicting & it is that of a partnership. There is so much that needs to be said as the topic is so wide. From this fact of culture to the fact that the middle east, historically speaking, just got thier independence from colonialism either from the british, french etc. Its been 30, 40, 50 years only. People are starting to learn Islam again and striving to put the laws back into place that were once there. Look at america, they have had 200 years, and they are at the point where they are but it is a fact that women still get less paid for a particular job compared to men. Give the middle east some time, God-willing they will get the laws in place.
Is there versus in the Quran’ that show that women should be treated with respect and in an appropriate manner?
I will give an example. The Quran says to respect the womb that bore you(4:1).Furthermore, t
he only criteria for judgment in the sight of Allah is ‘Taqwa’[i.e. God consciousness, righteousness, piety] (49:13). I want to go one step further as this is not a complete answer;not by a long shot since to explain it all, i would have to write a book-length answer. what you really need is a lecture & i have just the thing. Personally, i would like everyone to watch these. These videos are free for download. The link to the following website will take you to a list of names of learned people of our times who have lectured over the world. You can watch all you want.
http://www.aswatalislam.net/CategorySelectionMadeP.aspx?CatID=1006
But i will guide you to what you need to hear to understand the issues at hand. There is an american woman in that list who's name is
Aminah assilmi. She was a southern baptist who studied islam so that she could convert muslims to christians but ended up becoming muslim. Now she lectures to muslims about Islam and also removes misconceptions that westerners have about women in Islam especially because of movies like 'not without my daughter'. Watch the first one atleast entitled '
Aminah Assilimi - American Women And The Western Perception'. This a lecture with a Q & A session at the end. The second one is a debate between her and Deborah scroggins. if you have time, by all means, watch this as well. I recommended her because she is a (western)woman and she knows the issues first hand and people rather hear about women's issues from women.
Still, there is a man i would like you to watch and listen to as well. He is a well-known man named Dr. Zakir naik. He was born in india, is a medical doctor, the Founder of the Islamic Research Foundation (IRF) and has lectured through out the world removing misconceptions about Islam.
His name is at the bottom of that link i gave above. Once you click on his name you will come to another page with some of his lectures. There are many lectures on various topics but the one concerned with your question is entitled '
Women's Rights in Islam - Modernising or Outdated' and is at the bottom of this page. There are four files you will need to downlaod. If i recall correctly, the first two are the complete lecture and the latter two are the Q & A session where muslims and non-muslims alike ask questions and answers are given.
Hope they help you to understand.
