This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

Muhammad, Liberator of Women

An article written to clear up the misconception and misunderstandings of the religion of Islam and their behavior towards women.

What comes to mind when I say the word Islam? Jihad? Terrorists? Osama Bin Laden? Al Qaida? Possibly women? Women’s right in Islam is perhaps one of the most controversial topics in the minds of people against Islam. Islam is also one of the most misunderstood religions in the world. The media portrays the news and events of the Islamists doing something bad and they say it’s in the name in God. This is what they’ve made Islam to be for themselves.

Everywhere in the media they show some Muslim woman getting beat up, burned or as a victim of domestic violence, most of whom unfortunately are living in Islamic countries. Most of these countries are ruled by “Islamists” who have misinterpreted Quranic teachings to formulate their version of Shariah. This is why the name of Islam has been disgraced and everybody assumes that this is what Islam teaches.

I recently read an article in the reader’s digest magazine about a little girl named Nujood. She was a schoolgirl about 10 years old and was married off without her consent to a 30 year old man. Her husband physically abused her. Yes ladies and gentlemen, this is a very tragic event and yes, these people were Muslims in the Middle East. But is this what Islam teaches us? Is this what the Holy Quran says? No! Indeed these are ignorant Muslims who have morphed Islam into a religion of their will.

Find out what's happening in Alpharetta-Miltonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

At the time of the birth of the Holy Prophet of Islam (pbuh) the Arabs were sunk to a very low state. Girls became such a shame among them that they would bury their infant girls alive for fear of disgrace. Women also were considered a property to be inherited by their husbands. The Holy Prophet Hadrat Muhammad (saw) stopped this insanity. He warned the people of the wrath of Allah and that girls were just as equal as boys.

The Holy Prophet (pbuh) equalized men and women way back in the 1400s since the beginning of Islam. The Holy Prophet (pbuh) worked very hard to improve the condition of women in society. Islam was the first religion, which bestowed upon women the right of inheritance. This is clearly a much earlier time period from when the U.S. filed the 19th amendment which gave women the right to vote, in the 20th century. In the West women were granted the right to vote in the late 1900s and even then giving women this right was frowned upon until now.  

Find out what's happening in Alpharetta-Miltonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Allah almighty emphasizes in The Holy Quran that men and women have been created of the same species. It is written as said, “O mankind, be mindful of your duty to your Lord, Who created you from a single soul and from it created its mate and from the two created and spread many men and women.”(4:2).

The countries that which are ruled by the morphed Sharia law, men are regarded as a higher standard species. However, in the Quran it states that men and women were created equal but, they each have different duties given from God. God made men and women a little different for a reason and he knows what is well for us. Think of this analogy, a husband and wife are a team. However, in a team their can only be one leader and one manager. They are both equally important in their own ways. Similarly women have their own duty and men have their own. It’s just like a team project. 

In a PBS interview with Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, was asked the question, “What about interpretations regarding women, in particular? We find, in many parts of the world that tend to be populated by Muslims, it seems that women are getting the short end of the stick.” To this Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf responded that what we regard as inequities are really cultural societies just practicing Islam in their own way. When Islam spread throughout the countries, each country had their own customs. Therefore, the customs influenced their Muslim way of life, not what was written in the Quran.

Not all Muslim are oppressed and powerless. One of the many influential women in Islam is Anousheh Ansari. She is from the U.S.A. and is currently an astronaut. The unique thing about her is that she made headlines on Septermber 18, 2006 as the first female private space explorer and she is also a Muslim. Anousheh used to reside in Iran and as a little girl had a dream of going to space. She didn’t let the negative attitude of people stop her. Now she speaks to different people to inspire them to live their dream. She is a very good example of how influential Muslim women can be in society. 

The members of Azizah magazine are also some powerful examples of how Muslim women influence the society. The editors and member of al Azizah magazine work hard to show the true side of the American Muslims and what it really means to be Muslim. Unfortunately some women aren’t allowed to participate in the social world because of the Islamists leading the country and their views.  May Allah enable these theocratics to stride onto the right path of Allah and find what Islam truly teaches about women. Ameen.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Alpharetta-Milton