What comes to your mind when
you think of a Muslim woman? A mysterious, veiled victim of male oppression,
awaiting Western liberation? A slogan-shouting terrorist? An uneducated
foreigner with whom you have little or nothing in common? Unless your social
circle includes Muslim friends and acquaintances, the chances are that your
impressions of Muslim women have largely been formed by negative media
stereotypes - images that usually have little to do with real life, and may have
been designed to attract more viewers, sell more products, or gain support for
someone's political agenda. How much do you really know about Muslim women's
lives or views, and why does it matter? Well, for one thing, Muslims account for
20-25% of the people on this planet, and Islam has become the second main
religion in Europe. But did you know that the majority of European and American
converts to Islam are women - not men? Would it surprise you to learn that many
women in the Muslim world feel sorry for Western women and view them as being
victimised? Have you ever stopped to consider why Muslim women who immigrate to
the West usually maintain their identity and strive to pass it on to their
children? A thinking person may well ask, if Islam is as oppressive to women as
some journalists would have us believe, why aren't Muslim women running away in
droves? What it is about Islam that attracts any followers outside its
heartlands?
First of all, women are portrayed positively in the Qur'an and the Hadith
(sayings of the Prophet Muhammad). The Qur'an is the only book of world
Scripture in which women are frequently referred to alongside men, and both are
described as being friends and partners in faith. The following verses are just
a few notable examples:
The believers, men and women, are protecting friends one of another; they
promote the right and forbid the wrong, establish prayer, pay the poor-due, and
they obey God and His messenger. As for these, God will have mercy on them.
Surely God is Mighty, Wise. God has promised to believers, men and women,
gardens under which rivers flow, to dwell therein, and beautiful mansions in
gardens of everlasting bliss. But the greatest bliss is the good pleasure of
God: that is the supreme felicity. (Qur'an 9:71-72)
In order to safeguard the moral integrity of family and society, Muslim men and
women are expected to observe certain guidelines of behaviour that Westerners
may find restrictive. Both sexes are expected to dress modestly in loose,
non-transparent clothing and avoid situations that would put them alone with
members of the opposite sex, or lead to temptation or misunderstandings. Muslim
women additionally cover their hair, since women are ordinarily considered to be
the more attractive of the sexes. These restrictions are not observed at home
among close family members, but serve to protect women's honour in public and
draw attention to their personal qualities rather than their looks.Thats the way
of islam honouring and diffrenciating a muslim women!!!
At a time when the rest of the world, from Greece and Rome to India and China,
considered women as no better than children or even slaves, with no rights
whatsoever, Islam acknowledged women's equality with men in a great many
respects. The Quran states:
"And among His signs is this: that He created mates for you from yourselves that
you may find rest and peace of mind in them, and He ordained between you love
and mercy. Certainly, herein indeed are signs for people who reflect." [Noble
Quran 30:21]
The Prophet Muhammad augmented the revelations he received with further
teachings and his wonderful personal example, which made him beloved by family
and followers alike. He forbade violence against women, and preached against all
forms of abuse of power. He warned that both men and women would be held
accountable by God for those in their care or under their authority, and said:
"Let no Muslim man entertain any bad feeling against a Muslim woman. If he
should dislike one quality in her, he will find another that is pleasing".
so for those non muslims who feel pitty for muslim women should take a brighter
look, its the non muslim women who need your pitty. women in islam has all the
power, even i would say that islam made muslim women more powerful. women in
islam is enriched with honour, which can be hardly found in women of other
relegions....