Transcript Women in Islam - Peace Islands Institute

Women in Islam
Dr. Nuray Tugrul Yurt
Director,
Interfaith Dialog Center, Central New Jersey
www.idcnj.org
OVERVIEW
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The Role of Women
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Misconceptions about Muslim Women
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In 7th century (Before Islam)
In Islam
In Today’s World
Do Muslim women feel oppressed because of religion ?
Is there inequality between men and women in Islam ?
How can we explain different verses from Qur’an that
appears to place women in an inferior position?
Q&A
The Role of Women
Women in early 7th century
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Arabia Peninsula
Europe
Roman civilization
Athens
England
Can not buy/sell
 Can not marry by her freewill
 Can not vote, teach or tutor
 Can not own
Totally dependent on her father or husband
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Arab women in
4-6th century
Sources: Encyclopedia Britannica,
Sufism: An Inquiry, worldmap.com,
New World Encyclopedia
Islam arrived to Arabia Peninsula in early 7th century
After the arrival of Islam, women were
acknowledged as equals with men in Quran.
 given the right to decide on their marriage,
education/family/kids.
 gained right to own property/wealth.
 gained right to be part of social life.
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And their Lord has accepted (their prayers)
and answered them (saying): “Never will I
cause to be lost the work of any of you, be he
male or female. You are members, one of
another” Quran 3:195 33:35 66:19-21
*Understanding/application changes one society to another
based on different attributes of each society
( agriculture vs technology oriented, history, economy,
emphasize on education and etc..)
Source: Dr. Ahmet Kurucan
Arab women in 8th century
Source: wikipedia
Women received rights as equals to Men only earliest
during 19th century in most of the world.
1919- women were granted the right to hold
a public office
1929- women was declared as persons.
1982-nodiscrimination/equal pay
(Canada)
1882- married women were able to
exercise separate rights over their
inheritance, earnings and property.
(England, France)
1926- women are granted legal
majority.
(Turkey)
1870- women began serving as
juries.
1893-1918, women gained the
right to vote.
1963- equal pay act is passed.
(USA)
Source: www.infoplease.com,www.womenshistory.about.com,The Canadian Encyclopedia, wikipedia.com, www.justmaps.com
Misconceptions about Muslim
Women
Do Muslim women feel oppressed because of
religion ?
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In Islam, women are equal to men in
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bearing personal and common responsibilities
 receiving rewards for her deeds
 the pursuit of education and knowledge
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When Islam enjoins the seeking of knowledge upon Muslims, it
makes no distinction between man and woman
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Aisha, wife of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) is one of the first
teachers of Islam to male/female scholars.
Are we mixing religion with culture/social pressure?
Source: www.muslimwomen.org
Is there inequality between men and women in
Islam ?
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Quran and teachings of Prophet don’t take woman and
man as separate creatures
All are equal before God.
The rights and responsibilities of a woman are equal to
those given to man.
Quran describes , Man and Woman as complementary to
each other.
•Is it fair to blame religion based on some government’s
rulings ? Examples : Middle East / Afghanistan vs Egypt /
Endonesia
•Can we define men and women as same? Will this be
equality?
Source: Living in the shade of Islam,Dr.Ahmet Kurucan
ISLAMIC WORLD
How can we explain different verses from Qur’an
that appears to place women in an inferior
position?
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Example: Inheritance
Daughter
1/3 inheritance
Son
1/3 inheritance
1/3 inheritance
Daughter in
law
Daughter is the sole owner of the
inheritance.
Son needs to give the half to his
wife. In Islam, men has to provide
for the family. Women’s wealth
belongs to herself, but men’s
wealth belongs to the family.
*When a woman is the mother, sister ,
aunt , grandma or with no husband but
with kids, inheritance will be a lot more
complex.
Is it fair to judge based on the partial image without looking at
the whole picture ?
Source: Dr. Ahmet Kurucan
Any Questions?
Back-up ( For Information Only)
How come men can have 4 wives in Islam?
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First of all, by Quran everybody has to abide by their government’s rules.
Quran does not say they should marry with 4 women. In Quran, just like the alcohol issue, we see different
verses in this issue to help people make the translation from their current situation( Society’s current state). After
giving the permission for 4 wives, Quran states that men should be very just to their wives and treat them
equally. Then on another verse Quran states in short it is not possible for men to be just and equal so the best is
to have one wife only.
Also, this permission actually put responsibility on men and protects women rights. Instead of having relations
outside of marriage like today, they have to claim the responsibility of the second woman so second woman
would not left alone later. And definitely being for fair to the first wife, since she will have the first hand
information and can choose to approve or disapprove the situation instead of discovering later or maybe never.
Does not Qur’an say you can beat your wife in case of an disaggreement?
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First of all, the word “darb” has different meanings not only to beat.
“ Darb” ‘s exact translation can be said as “scold” not to beat. We see the same word is used for our Prophet
(pbuh), when he was talking to his friends about their inappropriate behavior. Again , it is important to understand
this verse in the context. In a society where men do not communicate with their wives and divorce or just send
them back to their family’s home, this verse can be taken as encouragement for communication. This protects
women’s right as well as family’s well-being.
Why women has to wear hijab?
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Hijab is not new to the world. In Judaism, Christianity and other religions we see a form of hijab. Main point is
being modest and instead of acting as a female act just as a person. Definition of modest and applications of
hijab again can be very different from society to society. However , as for all other rules of any religion, if we
except the Islam/any religion we have to base our definitions of modest, acceptable ways of prayer and etc. to
the book we believe in, in this case Quran.
Even though men does not have to cover as mush as women, they also have to cover and obey a certain dress
code. This is a social issue. You can not wear anything you like in a work environment. Because , we have to pay
attention how others are perceiving ourselves. There are dress codes even at the hotels. So having a broad
dress code for a religion is nothing new to any society.