WOMEN ROLE IN the twenty first century, a rewritten edition for further accession and intellectual scrutiny.

[Mostafa]

 

 

Dear all, peace be with you. On this post, I would like to talk about one of the most controversial subjects in our modern age.  My post  is dedicated to women affairs. I am not myself a woman but, I am quite concerned of women related issues. Humanrights organizations and feminist movements are persistently speaking out for women equality with men. There are endless battles and heatedly confrontational debates on that regard.  I want to particularly tackle a one single contention; Do we really honor and respect the soft gender in this world? That’s my question.

 

Since the daughter of Eve was created, she was meant to provide care, affection and compassion for others. Women are the major source of joy, passion, adoration, and the licit pleasure for those who honor them. And they are indeed the major cause of misery, wrath, aggression and retribution for anyone who denigrates or disgraces them. There are many ways to do both to women. If we look at the middle east, we will mostly see women subjected to male dominance. That’s due to the mass ignorance along with obliviously  misinterpreting some  religious traditions which are contextually related to women pursuits.

 

We are often accused of discriminating against women, and that’s Islam which supposedly incites us to do so. I will agree with the first half of this allegation. Yes, there is a tremendous severity in treating women in many parts of our region, I admit that. But, I emphatically decline this unproven asperse against Islam. There are Muslim women in allover the world, and they certainly are not experiencing this unpleasantness.

 

The concept is deeply ingrained in the heart of the cultural complex. Part of that is the radical disenchantment and the grave misapprehension of religion. Religion shouldn’t be held accountable if it was misrepresented by uneducated communities or individuals. Many people incorrectly assume that  Islam teaches the following about women. Women  should be ruled by men authority, they should be locked at home, and they are for nothing but to get married and to have children. Even there are ignorant Muslims who think so. Well, of course, that is backwardness, prejudice and ignorance about what Islam teaches. Without any doubt, looking after her husband and children is one of the main missions of women role in the society but, she is much more than just that.

 

Critical examinations  proved that there are many jobs which suits women more than men.

 

The subsequent instances are just for inclusion, not for exclusiveness.

 

So for instance, teaching, nursing, medical care, foster care, public relations, and social counciling. There is no one single statement in attested Islamic tradition which says that women should stay at home, and it’s forbidden for them to seek for career development or education. That’s just absurd. I challenge anyone to show me a one single proof that plainly utters so.

The Muslim woman has her own rilme of seclusion. She doesn’t expose herself to everyone to look at her when she is in public. Moreover, she is not supposed to engage in unnecessary conversations with men. She is also religiously devoted to behave in a virtuous manner. So, she doesn’t behave inappropriately in public, she doesn’t provoke, she doesn’t talk with spoil, and she doesn’t act in a manner that makes her suspicious of being immoral. That’s the Muslim  woman in brief.

 

 

But what about women in the west? We always hear the random proclamation that women in the west are more liberated than women in Arab countries. Well that’s absolutely true to some extent, but it’s also inaccurate in other aspects. It’s true in terms of equal employment opportunities, mutual rights and duties, but it’s not true in terms of religion and its crucial role in constituting  social life conduct. In the west today, there are probably many associations and organizations that speaks out for women rights. But, the point which I am intriguingly getting at, and I am sure that many people are tremendously reluctant  of talking about, is the condition of women and their morality in the western world. What about women modesty in  western modern societies today? Is it a high priority? Please you may kindly excuse my strident    criticism at this point, I don’t think I am ready to flatter the western culture on that regard.

 

The tip top and the most threatening phenomenon on that regard, is the constant and the offensively deliberate sexual objectification of women in advertising and in music videos. What does that signify? If you are selling a softdrink product, for instance, why do you portray a young and a provocatively gorgeous  girl in a tempting bathing suit? We also see the explicit portrits of women objectification in music videos. The latter is conspicuously notorious even here in Egypt. It predominantly exasperates  me when I see reckless women  and they are perfectly disinformed about the clear threat which besieges  them.

 

    One of the quite common fashions contemporarily is when some women wear tight jeans with tight tops, and then they put on headscarfes.  Well excuse me but, I just can’t see the point of wearing a headscarf. Ah, perhaps it matches your outfit? Some women wear their headscarves for fashion rather than modesty. I don’t generalize though. I say some, not most or many. I just want to clarify something at this point. What you wear on your head is the outward factor of Hijab. Hijab is  much more than a piece of cloth. It is a practice, a devotional adherence, a lifestyle. Life is quite short for you to procrastinate. Don’t be so indulged with temporal life characteristics because it doesn’t last forever. It’s shorter than a day and night. I am not attempting to frustrate though. I am just sharing a religious advice. I know that you all are modest and virtuous women. But Allah has always encouraged us to remind each other of piety and self-restraint. I hope that my light piece of advice will inshallah be an encouraging motive to cause my Muslim sisters to proceed into positive disposal.

 

In terms of my non-muslim female recipients, I would like to convey to them that Islam doesn’t discriminate against women rights nor it calls for their reppression as some Islam haters may have promoted. Islam rather caters for their comfort, safety and seclusion. Islam doesn’t teach that men are to rule over women as some fraudsters may have promoted. It says that men are carers for women. Men are religiously obliged to provide for their female household including, mothers, sisters, daughters and spouses. But nothing in Islam that gives men the authority to suppress or to basically isolate women. I constantly hear the bogusly unproved forgery which fallaciously proclaims that Islam is particularly the major motivating factor of women suppression and subjection. Well, perhaps that’s why Tony Blair's sister-in-law has felicitously embraced the supposedly oppressive faith. She embraced it out of independent discretion and perfect introspection. You may wish to look her up, Lauren Booth. What may consistently force this western emancipated journalist to embrace the controversially suppressing religion, unless it confidently finds its way to her sincere heart.

 

Islam is cruelly perpetrating women, so why then so many erudite western women are willingly coming to its dimension? I have repeatedly been asking this rational based question, and I haven’t got any convincing responses so far.

 

Are we willing to courageously confront the contemporary form of women slavery which is pornography? The world of erotica is quite threatening to sensually entreat some innocent  women to deteriorate themselves in sinfully committing promiscuity. There are many foster women who were barbarically defrauded for temporal gains. I recognize the massive roughness of this statement. This is going to be extremely tuff on my dearly respected western recipients.

 

If it was rough and bitter for you to easily swallow, you may then ask yourself, is it because it’s blasphemy? I never denied the defficiency of women rights here in Egypt. But at the same time, I will never tolerate this duplicitous  disposition of facts corruption and truth concealment.

 

Islam is not the subject of mistreating or disparaging women. It’s either Arab, Afghan, Saudi, Pakistani or even Egyptian cultural origin.

  At the same time, I quite recognize that there are sedate women in the west. My fiance is one of them. She is a courageous, independent, virtuous, devout and reverential girl. Despite of her visual impairment, but she is able to cope with life challenges without intimidation. She recently embraced Islam out of total conviction and firm determination. Yes, she felicitously does. She was born and grew up in Los Angeles, California. Los Angeles is the motion picture capitol of the world; most populous city of California and the second  largest in the United States.

  

   DR. Lisa Killinger is the chair department of Diagnosis & Radiology at Palmer College of Chiropractic. Well emphatically, she is much more edified than those who assault Islam out of bigotry and prejudice. Well, she also embraced Islam awhile ago. So let us be quite outspoken at this point. Those who attack women status in Islam, they don’t do that out of conviction and their advocacy for women liberty. They do it out of malign, detest, and that they wish to see women exposed, provocative, and revealing. Some western capitalists and materialists are strenuously attempting to forcefully impose their ideology on us. They attempt to export the culture of flesh to our youth, and particularly, to our young women. I intemperately defy their vicious attempts. Thank you for your offer but I am afraid, we won’t buy these goods from you because it explicitly contradicts with our religion and our culture of celibacy.      

I definitely decline the politically oriented negative promotion about Islam which is often uttered by racist public figures and televangelists. They hatefully  associate Islam with terrorism and violence, they unfortunately call themselves Christians whilst they indeed are the farthest ones from Christianity and its message of tolerance and love, even to the enemy. Please, don’t listen to those who hatefully tell you bad things about Islam. Go and do the research yourself.

Please, as you do your research, you have to separate out cultural practices of some domestic traditions and what Islam teaches.

If I am doing a research on Judaism, for instance, I will definitely disaffiliate the Zionist ideology because it in fact has nothing to do with the religious tennets of prophet Moses peace be upon him. The same will be quite true if I am researching Christianity. I will have to totally disassociate those recently innovated traditions, including Christmas and Easter celebrations. I hope it makes sense.

 

In Islam, seeking knowledge is irremissible from cradle to grave because it’s a shoreless ocean. The Noble Koran has a thorough passion for education and enlightenment. Therefore, the initial divine revelation came with the clear injunction for the prophet and for us consecutively to read.

This is the very first divine word we were given. All praises due to Allah glory be to Him, seeking knowledge is the essence and the very seed of our religion.

Ultimately, the prophet taught us that smiling to your fellow is an act of giving charity. I happily end this with a brilliant smile on my face. I am a devout Muslim. I proudly am a graduate of Al-Azhar, the most eminent academic syllabus for majoring on Islamic Theology, it’s quite prestigious, and it’s notably recognized worldwide, Alhamduillillah.

I address you all with deference and courtesy. I finally would greet you with peace, so peace and blessings with all of you.

 

Mostafa Almahdy, a moderate Sunni Muslim, and a graduate of Azhar University with Bachelor  of Islamic Theology.

 

“It’s always hope which gives meaning to life”.

 

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