Every person is a story – Women, Beliefs and Islam
On No Man’s Blog: Every person is a story that needs to be told: read it, it’s very nice. I was reminded of this:
Every person is a story. We all carry an unwritten book about in us. Everything is to be found in our lives. We can just produce it. All things are found in everything. As people we are very similar to one another. The greatest drama passes you by without your seeing it.
(Svend Wiig Hansen, Painter of the Human Condition).
when I read the following text on Tipping the Balance from a Muslim woman with some serious doubts and questions:
don’t read this if you can’t cope with my bitterness!
is there a scale balance in my head which determines whether i’m a muslim? every now and again all of the things i find difficult about islam gang up and threaten to tip the balance. i can’t deal with a god who has decided that:
* you need two women as a witness, but only one guy: i know it’s ‘only for financial transactions’ but it’s not good enough. my ‘emotional fragility’ is good enough to allow me to function as a doctor – to save your life, for god’s sake – but not to remember whether you paid someone else some money?
* i can’t say no to sex, but zawji can
* capital and corporal punishment is ok
* gay men and women are not natural and should be punished
* if i have a daughter, i should sacrifice one sheep, but a son gets two
* women can’t travel by themselves
* despite poverty, world injustices and oppression, god really, really cares whether i’ve got a scarf on my head.
* i have to obey my husband, because ‘he’s better than me’. he can stop me travelling, he can stop me working, he can stop me seeing my family. officially.
* there is a disciplinary procedure which a husband can go through with his wife, but there’s not one vice versa.
* dogs are bad.
* pigs are bad.
* music is bad.
* female circumcision is good. all four madhabs encourage female circumcision to some degree or other.
* female leadership is bad, especially if she doesn’t wear a headscarf.
* good people who aren’t muslim will still go to hell.
* prophets have to be men.
* women can’t lead prayer.
* other points i can’t remember.does god really think these things? for all time? in all places? if i don’t believe all those things, do i stop being a muslim? i believe in one god. i believe in his prophets. i feel like packing it all in sometimes. how can i defend these things?
Important and very honest question from a person who, I think, enjoys being a Muslim something which does not prevent her to have some serious doubts about the way Islam gives meaning to certain (gender-related) aspects of life. Also read the interesting discussion below that post.
Perhaps, as told on Truth & Beauty, the emergence of female scholars might be answer for her:
At the WISE conference many liberal, feminist, moderate and conservative Muslim women agreed that promoting a “Qur’anic feminism†based solidly on a thorough knowledge of religious sources, can make the egalitarian relationship between the sexes outlined in the Qur’an and embodied in the Prophet’s life (peace and blessings upon him) a reality in our lives.
In much of the Muslim world, religion, faith, and spirituality still matter deeply. And in contrast to what many secularists believe, we don’t have to let go of Islam in order to achieve emancipation or the benefits of modernization – but we do have to study and understand our religion in order to strengthen ourselves and to face down injustice in its name or anyone else’s.
Paradoxically, Islam’s greatest strength has always been its diversity. Surprising though it may seem to non-Muslims (and even many Muslims!), Muslims don’t all practice their religion in the same way. The challenge then has always been to retain unity in diversity without imposing uniformity. Sometimes we just have to agree to disagree.
[…]
The wave of Muslim women is rising all around us – remember, we are already changing the world, every single day.
The question is if the wave of Muslim women can create a revised story of islam and female women.
salut
Dear All,
It is very sad to see how much the concept of Islam i.e. recognition of Allah in everything in our selves and the universe has shrunk.
he main and ultimate meaning of Islam is the love and compassion that fill our heart when we have recognised our place in this large puzzle, the reste is nothing but details, often confusion and misleading detail.
Like a child opening her christmas present that get engrossed in the wrapping paper instead of looking at the content, her true present.
We are extremely lucky and priviledged in the West as we can easiuly sort out the packaging from the real present. It is tru that from time to time we get caught out in commenting about the wrapping…but we should always remember the true gift is on the inside… sometimes the packaging is christianity, hinduism, Budhism, humanism…and many “isms”…
But the gem is the recognition of Allah and our true and only purpose: His worship, throught love, that metaphysical love that can encompass the entire universe.
Others can do all they want, the ultimate choice: to be distracted or not to be distracted is ours! The ultimate beauty of it all is that ALLAH knows exactly what is in our hearts. What we wear (hijab mijab stuff…is irrelevant, what men do or not is they business, if husband are bad they too will suffer from an unhappy union, anyway you do not have to be married, people can be horrible and judgemntal: change your social circle…there is ALWAYS a CHOICE, even in prison you have a choice (albeit limited). So let’s us TIME or our lifetime carefully it is our only capital. the day of judgement you will not be asked what your husband did nor what your neighbours and friends did but what YOU did… Be self full and concern yourself with what you do, the whole picture will clear and you will made healthy decisions with only ALLAH in mind. Best wishes, fi amani ALLAH.
Dr Bouteina Matheson.
There can be no islamic or qur’anic FEMINISM. because feminism by definition is an idiocy, seeing men as the enemy and the problem… Woman are no angel some are worst than some evil men.
The problem is NOT men or woman but injustice , evil, haram in all itsa forms. So it is not islamic feminsm that will give us a cure but Islam alone, qur’an alone. Provinding it is understood correctly.
This is the crux of the matter as most muslim do not know anything about Islam, letting their ego get between them and true altruistic compassionate submission to the Almighty…Our souls are neither male nor female though our physical envelops are..but this is of no big significance. At Aqidah level we are equal, we pray the same worship the same… wordly matters are different, and good too (no boredom) but wether we eat curry or roast beef, sushi or millet we are equal in value we are human, the best of creation, because capable of recognising and understanding our ultimate purpose: recognising ALLAH through HIS creation and WORSHIPING HIM. I am a woman and I am a muslim, i have no need of feminism or any other “ism” for that matter to liberate me, I see ALLLH my lord everywhere and al hamdulliah I realised that only I can oppress or liberate m,yself, and guess which one I chose?
This realisation give me endless joy and satisfaction. I busy myself trying to recognise Allah’s attributes in his magnifiscent creation.
I pray for you my sisters muslim, agnostic etc… to stop fighting shadows and take the time to meditate and ponder these issues, stop insulting/attacking men…you will realise that most have no axe to grind with you and do not wish you any harm. Many, like you, are trying to make sense of the world to… Peace to all. Islam=Peace the clue is the name, once we understand we automatically are at Peace. It is not a mere formula we throw at each other when we meet.
Boteina MATHESON.