Islamic Feminism, The Ultimate Contradiction
Posted by Moiz Khan in Atheism, ReligionApr 20th, 2009 | 4 responsesA few weeks ago, I was discussing the Hindu practice of sati with a fellow classmate in school. I was beginning steer the talk into the direction of the relationship of certain religions and the lack of women rights. The minute I mentioned Islam, someone who had been sitting around apparently eavesdropping on the conversation interjected with the common phrase of “its the culture not religion.” As the discussion was now between three people, I learned she was a self-described “Afghani Muslim Feminist.” Immediately, perhaps rudely, I interjected that a “Islamic Feminism” is a contradiction in terms. It seems she was not ready for such a retort and she looked dumb founded for a moment, gave me dirty look, and got up and left. Though, it is notable that she did not wear the Qur’an-mandated hijab, and so to me it was obvious that she probably was one of those who cherry-picked verses out of the Qur’an. Unfortunately, this ability to simply brush off criticism and act if it never happened is extremely common with religious folk, and even more so the case with Muslims.
I have already gone through and discussed specific passages of the Qur’an. So, I will not do that again, but just to summarize, in one chapter alone (the fourth), the Qur’an states that women are inferior to men, are worth half as much with regards to property, and creates the justification for the subjugation of women. Men are allowed to beat their wives and lock them away until they submit to them. In the following chapters it reinforces this imaginary inequality by forcing them to wear veils and references fairy tales that would be despicable to any person of reasonable morals. From what I have experienced, there are only two ways that Muslims attempt to get around it. The first is the assertion that I am taking passages out of context, this of course can mean two things. Either historical context or literary context. In the case of historical context, the argument is completely void as the Qur’an is the final revelation, and what ever was true for then, is true for eternity (or until judgement day). In the case of literary context, it is a bit more tricky, but nowhere near a convincing argument as, the overwhelming theme of the Qur’an establishes a separation between man and woman, even if it is not for purposes of superiority/inferiority, it is always clearly stated that men and women are not equal, and it goes on to say that women are inferior. So, it is not the case that I am taking the passages out of context, and thus the first objection is done with. The second objection is an odd one, but it is very common. It is usually coupled with criticism of Arabs. It happens to be the case that the Islam not only creates the inequality between men and women, but Arabs and Non-Arabs as well. So the argument goes, this female suppression is due to Arab-culture influence. This is often espoused by those liberal Muslims who are attempting to go against the grain and secularize Muslim countries (notably not the Arab countries). I do not think I need to insult the intelligence of those who read this by criticizing that point.
I hear this argument of “its the culture not the religion…” or “its the people, not the religion…” so often I feel I should address it again. To make sure I do not run into the same criticism again, I will concede (far more than I need to), that perhaps pure Islam does not contain the most vile sexist nonsense, and that it is indeed entirely a construct of local culture. Now, to be clear, I do not in anyway hold that position, and I am conceding it merely for the sake of argument. Now, the argument would go “don’t criticize the religion, but rather the culture/people.” The minute one attempts to criticize the person who engaged in say, the forced marriage of a 6 year old girl to a 40 year old man, they automatically turn to the life of Muhammed as justification. There are only two ways to counter that, either to say, Islam is wrong or, it doesn’t really say that. In either case, it is impossible to avoid Islam in the conversation. It happens to be the case that, Islam does create the justification for a man to marry a young girl, and for me that leaves only one response. Islam is wrong.
Islam is not a religion of peace and it does not give respect to women, for respect is not something that can just be “given.” Islam does the exact opposite of giving respect to women, it belittles their intellect and treats them as the property of men. It was originally intended to favor the interests of the illiterate and disgusting men who created it. While it may be convenient for a male such as myself to support something so clearly in my favor, it just would not be intellectually honest. Karl Marx once said… “Anyone who knows anything of history knows that great social changes are impossible without feminine upheaval. Social Progress can be measured exactly by the social position of the fair sex…” These words were true then, and remain true to this day. If we atheists and rationalists are serious about changing society, working to support the global feminist cause is absolutely crucial to success.
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4 Responses to “Islamic Feminism, The Ultimate Contradiction”
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I feel that without becoming a scholar of the Qur’anic texts and understanding the language you cannot make any judgment on the translation that you may or may not be taking out of context. You say that you feel that the “Afghani Muslim Feminist” was cherry-picking verses from the Qur’an but your argument is hypocritical because you do the same thing when you only look at half of the religion’s basis. The Qur’an is only half of the Islamic religion, while the other half is contained with the life and history of their last prophet. The historical context which you mention is not thoroughly evaluated. This can only be done by combining the Qur’anic text and seeing how it was translated into real people’s lives through their last prophet’s life and the people who were his direct followers and descendants. You cannot talk about Islam in the manner that you do as an outsider because any Muslim can argue that every statement you make can be countered with the fact that you make you opinions based on limited “knowledge” extracted from no reliable sources and ultimate ignorance.
Many times middle eastern culture is seen as inhibitory towards freedom of women in society and is thought to adhere to the myth of the eternal feminine through religious restrictions such as the veil worn by Muslims. In fact, many Muslim women do not see the veil as a restriction but an opportunity to overcome the myth of the eternal feminine. This is because the veil allows them to do away with the symbolic connotations of being a woman. The veil covers up beauty and the idea of seduction and mystery is reduced. With the veil on, women feel that they can be looked at as just another human being and they can speak their mind and be regarded as an equal intellectual without being judged first. Even though this may have been the purpose of the veil, it does not mean middle eastern society has reduced the effects of the myth of the eternal feminine. Because the society is still male dominated, women are still seen as inferior human beings and thus do not have the deserved freedom, but this is not due to religion but is a definitely a result of the global male dominated society.
“I feel that without becoming a scholar of the Qur’anic texts and understanding the language you cannot make any judgment on the translation that you may or may not be taking out of context.”
This is a standard rhetorical argument this is meant to shutdown debate. It has no other purpose but to shut down any sort of debate on intellectual issues, so any intelligent person can not comment on the religion without having the “proper” understanding. Let’s right here and now burn their clerical effigy that is the spirit of Islam avoiding coming to terms with our time. Let us make clear that the Quran says very little on how to be a Muslim. The rest of the details are filled by the pious clergy who apparently have anointed themselves with “full” understanding. In order for Islam to be a religion for the people, the people should be allowed to reason what is in their best interest outside of what is written in the Quran.
“You say that you feel that the “Afghani Muslim Feminist” was cherry-picking verses from the Qur’an but your argument is hypocritical because you do the same thing when you only look at half of the religion’s basis.”
Half of the basis according to whom? As understood by your local Mullah? As understood through fiqh? Most likely you are referring to fiqh if you wish to have any credibility. Fair enough, who created fiqh? Was it by divine providence? Did Allah create fiqh? Read the history of fiqh and then get back to me on that. Basically, men made fiqh, perhaps intelligent men, but intelligent men who were very much affected by the context of their time and things happening around them. This is why culture, Arab culture especially, and even South Asian culture (depending on the school), filters so heavily into how Islam is practiced. So what is a full or complete understanding of Islam is very much culturally dependent and every community should have the right to define Islam using the tools that were used to invent fiqh in the first place, those being analogy and community.
“The Qur’an is only half of the Islamic religion, while the other half is contained with the life and history of their last prophet.”
No the other half consists of fiqh, which is based on analogy perhaps taken from the life of the prophet. Anyone can make an analogy, and there is no requirement to make them consistent with any one of the schools. If Islam is to have another golden age, it will never look like the golden age it had hundreds of years ago.
“The historical context which you mention is not thoroughly evaluated. This can only be done by combining the Qur’anic text and seeing how it was translated into real people’s lives through their last prophet’s life and the people who were his direct followers and descendants.”
No, Muslim jurists based on their whims and perhaps incorporating ideas from stories which were attributed to the prophet made analogies which then made judicial rulings. These rulings them were forced on the people who were made to follow them and create our understanding of historical Islam.
“You cannot talk about Islam in the manner that you do as an outsider because any Muslim can argue that every statement you make can be countered with the fact that you make you opinions based on limited “knowledge” extracted from no reliable sources and ultimate ignorance.”
There are only two reliable sources, the Quran and Sunnah. Anyone may make analogies from the Quran or Sunnah and attempt to create a consistent system which may be referred to as Islam. This is the historical perspective that produced what is historical Islam in the first place. To deny one these tools is a major crime against Islam as it would never have existed without these tools.
I personally want to write a long article about the difference between equality and abuse and why equality may actually reduce women to the commons. That relationships imply ownership. As long as that ownership is equal, it’s not a problem. That men are generally expected to initiate relationships, and therefore declare or attempt to declare their ownership of someone else. Might try to do that later.
Sami, thank you for responding to the first comment. I would have answered the same way.
When you write that article, post the link in whatever is my latest blog post at the time.