Muslim Women In Today’s World Essay Example for Free

Muslim Women In Today’s World Essay It is true that Muslim women are now discovering freedom from their old traditions and today the veil, as it is often called by the Western population has adopted many meanings for the Muslim woman. Some Muslims think of the veil as a symbol of modesty, while others place a huge emphasis on the hijab as a religious statement by Muslims. Many Americans pull back from the image of the way Muslims dress and think of it as a sign of terrorism and aggression which targets people who aren‘t Muslims, while some feminists, who are mainly American, while many Muslims, view the hijab with other signs of significance, which is the oppression and control of Muslim women. Ideas about Muslim women have been born by television programs that display women in Afghanistan, who are shrouded in a burqa, while being beaten because they are showing an ankle or a portion of their skin. Many Muslim men also are expected to dress in a modest style, wearing a turban, and other flowing garments. The way women Muslims dress is seen as sign of the larger restrictions they have to abide by in many under Muslim countries. About 10 % of the Muslim women population wears the veil or hijab. We realize that these amounts may be increasing while more people change to the Islamic religion. Its not for certain how many Muslim women wear the hijab out of the 10,000 Muslim women. Almost every Muslim woman who is asked, say that wearing the hijab was a decision they reached on their own. The Quran which is the Muslim holy book doesnt mandate that all Muslim women wear coverings on their heads. We learn from the Quran 4:124 that, â€Å"Misinformation and misconception about Muslim women proliferate in the world today among non-Muslims and Muslims. I hope that instead of falling into the typical stereotypes and cultural innovation, the information here will pique your interest and help you to understand the true stance Islam takes on gender issues and the role of women. † The topics concerning of women Muslim in Islam is extremely controversial. Various offerings and opinions about women Muslims must be should dealt with using caution due of the alternate opinions. We realize that the rights of Muslim women in the Quran and by the prophet Muhammad have made vast improvements when you compare the laws pertaining to women who live in Arabia before the change of Islam which was only after the death of the Prophet, while the rules directed at the women in Islam started to decrease, then turn back to the pre-Islamic ways. While the womens movement of the West started to increase in strength, during the twentieth century we know that the exact event took place, in the lives of the Muslims. Feminists who fight for the rights of women in the Muslim world during the twentieth century, up until around the 1980’s, usually were women with money. These modern day Muslim women used their feminism that was molded after the feminists who were from the West. The modern Muslims world that was brought on prior to the colonial period which was in the twentieth century began to turn from the Western models that were evident in society. The feminism that was apparent in the Muslim world started adopt Islamic styles that mocked the Western feminist ideas. This pertains not only to Muslim women. It pertains to all women throughout the whole portion of the third world. After removing the restraints that were present during the colonial imperialism, Muslim females living in the third world are growing rapidly, resistant against the cultural imperialism sold by Westerners. Women who live in the third world are finally coming to the conclusion that even though they have many ideas that are similar, because of the hard fight of Euro-American feminists, we realize that what is best for Euro-American women isn’t, of course, going to be the best solution for Muslim women. Muslim women have lately started to develop a Islamic feminism that was molded from the growing concerns of the higher classed Euro American females. The variances between Western feminism and Islamic feminism deals with the topic of the veil. The veil is a scarf or head covering that is usually worn by female Muslims. Many people view this veil as oppressive to women; a sign of a female Muslims obedience. It is often a surprise to Western feminists when they see that the hijab has started to become common throughout the Muslim world. You can see the veil worn by college women who display the veil as an important symbol of their Islamic identity. We learn from Islamic scholar, Dr. Zeenat Ali, that, (Zeenat, 2007) â€Å"The Mission of The New Muslim Woman is to help new Muslim women from all around the world in gaining knowledge about different issues in Islam from learning how to pray to the roles women have In Islam. We also learn that â€Å"The Mission of The New Muslim Woman is to help new Muslim women from all around the world in gaining knowledge about different issues in Islam from learning how to pray to the roles women have In Islam. Giving support and helping each other strive hard in pleasing our Rabb (Lord). Knowledge is the cure for ignorance. The more we learn and grow in our understanding of Islam, the more we can Insha Allah (God Willing) increase in Emaan(Faith). † We understand from listening to Isobel Coleman, that (Coleman, 2006)â€Å"The Mission of The New Muslim Woman is to help new Muslim women from all around the world in gaining knowledge about different issues in Islam from learning how to pray to the roles women have In Islam. Giving support and helping each other strive hard in pleasing our Rabb(Lord). Knowledge is the cure for ignorance. The more we learn and grow in our understanding of Islam, the more we can InshaAllah (God Willing) increase in Emaan (Faith). † We also understand that, â€Å"The Mission of The New Muslim Woman is to help new Muslim women from all around the world in gaining knowledge about different issues in Islam from learning how to pray to the roles women have In Islam. Giving support and helping each other strive hard in pleasing our Rabb (Lord). Knowledge is the cure for ignorance. The more we learn and grow in our understanding of Islam, the more we can InshaAllah (God Willing) increase in Emaan (Faith). † These criticisms are not without merit, and the ambiguity of the new constitution is a cause for concern. The centrality of Islamic law in the document, however, does not necessarily mean trouble for Iraqi women. In fact, sharia is open to a wide range of understanding, and across the Islamic world today, progressive Muslims are seeking to reinterpret its rules to accommodate a modern role for women. Iraqs constitution does not specify who will decide which version of Islam will prevail in the countrys new legal system. But the battle has already begun. Victory by the progressives would have positive implications for all aspects of the future of Iraq, since womens rights are critical to democratic consolidation in transitional and war-torn societies. Allowing a full social, political, and economic role for women in Iraq would help ensure its transition to a stable democracy. Success for women in Iraq would also reverberate throughout the broader Muslim world. In every country where sharia is enforced, womens rights have become a divisive issue, and the balance struck between tradition and equality in Iraq will influence these other debates. Prime Minister Tony Blair and author Salman Rushdie praised a British official on Tuesday for raising the difficult issue of whether Muslim women visiting his office should remove their veils. The comment by Jack Straw, a former foreign secretary who now is leader of the House of Commons, has plunged Britain into a debate over Islamic integration. Its important these issues are raised and discussed, and I think its perfectly sensible if you raise it in a measured and considered way, which he did, Blair said of Straw during an interview with British Broadcasting Corp. television outside his office. I think we can have these discussions without people becoming hysterical either way about it. Rushdie, (Rushdie, 1989) whose book The Satanic Verses, once led to death threats against him by Islamic clerics, told BBC radio that Straw was expressing an important opinion, which is that veils suck, which they do. I think the veil is a way of taking power away from women. Straw said in a newspaper column published Thursday that he believes the veils favored by some Muslim women inhibit communication and are a sign of division in society. At his constituency office, Straw said he asks that veiled women reveal their faces, adding that the women have always complied, and a female assistant is always present. On Friday, British media quoted Straw as going further, saying that he would prefer that Muslim women not wear veils at all. I just find it uncomfortable if Im trying to have a conversation with someone whose face I cant see, Straw told the BBC. Many Muslims in Straws parliamentary district of Blackburn, in northwestern England, reacted with outrage. The uproar also left many questioning whether Britains multicultural ideals can withstand the strains of a cultural divide that is increasingly tormenting much of Europe. The difficulty of the issue was obvious during the Blair interview when he was asked if he would prefer a Muslim woman he met took off her veil. Once led to death threats against him by Islamic clerics, he told BBC radio that Straw was expressing an important opinion, which is that veils suck, which they do. I think the veil is a way of taking power away from women. Straw said in a newspaper column published Thursday that he believes the veils favored by some Muslim women inhibit communication and are a sign of division in society. At his constituency office, Straw said he asks that veiled women reveal their faces, adding that the women have always complied, and a female assistant is always present. The difficulty of the issue was obvious during the Blair interview when he was asked if he would prefer a Muslim woman he met took off her veil. The veil represents a symbolic set of rules for the Muslim Woman and many choose to do away with the scarf, in order to voice their opinions about how they feel about wearing it, and the symbolic meaning behind the veil. We understand that, (Manarj, 1998)â€Å"There are some Muslims who make a big deal about trivial issues that border on ignorance. For example, we are told that the use of nail polish invalidates one’s ablution wudo hence, some women perform wudu before applying nail polish as a workaround. Also, we are told that perfume which may contain alcohol must not be applied to one’s skin, because it can get into the pores, and this is equivalent to drinking it (i. e. the alcohol); moreover, owning a TV or camera has also been deemed prohibited (haram) by some, and so on. In fact, there are those who do not tolerate anything that was not practiced or known to the inhabitants of seventh-century Arabia. These are strange ideas to associate with the most universal and rational religion in the world. Obviously, these alien notions fossilize Islam and constitute a serious misreading of the true Islamic messages. † There is a clear understanding that Muslim women think they must keep their bodies pure and by wearing nail polish and other feminine products, in some cases they feel that they are damaging their bodies by using harmful products. Modern Muslim women are changing their ideas about the way they live and dress as they adopt more western ideas and start to become modernized, in society. We learn that some of the most serious problems that we American Muslim women face include: domestic violence, abuse of divorce and child custody laws, abuse of the polygamy system, and isolation and exclusion from various aspects of Muslim life. We are going to provide a few anecdotal cases simply to illustrate the depth of the problems. We have given the women in the stories names to make it more personable, but their identities have been changed and their confidentiality is protected. The stories are shared simply to illustrate and give life to the specific suffering of American Muslim women today. These are true stories, these are real women who have suffered. These stories were compiled by speaking with Muslim community leaders, social workers, psychologists, lawyers, doctors, mostly in southern California, but throughout the United States. We also obtained information from a thing called Sistersnet, which is an E-mail network of Muslim women throughout the United States and other countries. But unfortunately, there is no database, there is no accurate information that exists as to the frequency of any of these abuses that occur. Further research of these issues is desperately needed Many Muslim are facing serious social changes as they mesh into society as a modern Muslim woman. They have came a long way from past traditions and have adopted a new way of thinking and style that reflects these changes. American Muslim women face many unique additional hurdles. We are discriminated against by both non-Muslims and Muslims in America. For instance, a woman who wears hijab, which is the traditional head-covering, is often taunted at work and on the street, and the careers of a lot of these women are actually jeopardizedthey are discriminated against at work and they are not given jobs. And, women who wear hijab in the United States are obvious targetsthey are obviously Muslims, and because of this they bear the brunt of the ignorance about Islam; they face sexual harassment, and often their actual physical safety is jeopardized. Muslims come from different backgrounds. In America, we have immigrant Muslims, who face a whole host of problems such as xenophobia. In the U. S. in recent times, there has been a growing hostility toward immigrants, and they are often erroneously blamed for all of the socio-economic problems that we face in the U. S. , and are harassed because of that. And we have a large African-American Muslim population, and they face additional hurdles, because being part of a racial minority in the United States, they have had to deal with the problems of racism, discrimination, segregation and the vestiges of slavery.