Islam for Women

The Problem is not Islam.

While reading latest comments to the Queen Rania’s award winning Youtube Video one of them made me think, is he/she right or wrong?

“zeppelinsteen In Malaysia where I come from, there is approx. 60% Muslims. We have a lot of Christians as well. But the Muslims here are totally different from the Middle East. For example we don’t have any problem with women rights or whatsoever. Yet, other religions are going well with Islam. I think it’s not about challenging stereotypes, it is changing attitudes of the ARABS! “

Yes, he or she is right: the Problem is not Islam.

The problem is, that some Muslims do not realize that what they believe to be Islamic teaching is in fact tradition. The Hadith’s (traditions) sometimes clearly contradict the Holy Quran. The best example is the stoning of adulterous women as it still happens in some areas  in the Middle East. It was common practice before Christianity, which Jesus abolished (pls. read the article below “Stoning of a child” ).  

In the Quran there is NO mentioning of it but a sura, that cannot be misinterpreted:

“And as for those who are guilty of an indecency from among your women, call to witnesses against them four (witnesses) from among you; then if they bear witness confine them to the houses until death comes close to them or God opens some way for them.” (Quran 4:15)

They somehow manage to distort the Original Message of  Righteousness, Tolerance and Humanity. It was Islam,  that introduced 1400 years ago all these virtues to then pagan Bedouins, who were warring each other in bloody tribal conflicts.  And it is not solely the problem of the Arabs, who count only around 15 % of  the Muslims worldwide.

The reason  is that many preachers still prefer the Hadith’s,  even if there are clear instructions of tolerance, forgiveness, human rights, even animal rights and  “do not kill” in the Quran.

Please read the passages of the Quran on the right panel, No. 7  “What the Quran has to say..”

Traditions change last, unfortunately.

Again and again while reading other blogs and forums the notion comes up, that Islam does not tolerate other faiths and that its main aim would be to convert others under Islam by violent means. As proof they quote isolated Hadiths and suras of the Quran .

Nothing would be more wrong and against the spirit of Islam.

It is true, that believers are encouraged to invite people of other faiths to get to know Islam by good example and friendly discussions, but never by force.

As I wrote in the first part of this theme (pls. scroll this page down) the Prophet himself instructed believers not to harm people, who came under the government of the new Muslim state.

There are numerous suras of the Quran and Hadiths to prove this. Many more than there are others, which are taken out of context (from a war situation, when Islam was under attack).

And as always, the text of the Quran is more accurate than the Hadiths, which were sorted out according to their truthfulness as late as 250 years after the death of the Prophet (p.b.u.h.). Please read also on the right panel Topic No. 7 What the Qur’an says about… … other faiths.. tolerance and Hadith’s.

Freedom of Religious Assembly and Religious Autonomy:
Given consent by the constitution, the Jews had the complete freedom to practice their religion. The Jews in Medina at the time of the Prophet had their own school of learning, named Bait-ul-Midras, where they would recite the Torah, worship and educate themselves.
On one occasion, the Prophet received a delegation of sixty Christians from the region of Najran, then a part of Yemen, at his mosque. When the time for their prayer came, they faced the direction of east and prayed. The Prophet ordered that they be left in their state and not harmed.

There are also examples in the life of the Prophet in which he cooperated between with people of other faiths in the political arena as well. He selected a non-Muslim, Amr-ibn Umaiyah-ad-Damri, as an ambassador to be sent to Negus, the King of Ethiopia.

May God bestow upon us wisdom and tolerance to be able to tackle the problems the human race is facing in the near future.

. . . . .

“There is no compulsion in religion; truly the right way has become clearly distinct from error; therefore, whoever disbelieves in the Shaitan (Devil) and believes in God he indeed has laid hold on the firmest handle, which shall not break off, and God is Hearing, Knowing.” (Q.2.256)

“God forbids you not, with regards to those who fight you not for [your] faith nor drive you out of your homes, from dealing kindly and justly with them; for God loved those who are just.” (Quran, 60:8)

“Say, we believe in God and that which has been revealed to us, and that which was revealed to Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the tribes and that which was given to Moses and Jesus and to other prophets, from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and to Him we submit.” (Q.3:83)

Contrary to the common assumptions, the early Muslim Umma (the Muslim community) practiced tolerance towards other faiths.
A Christian or Jewish woman was not forced to change her faith in case of a marriage to a Muslim man. In the Holy Qur’an Jews and Christians are called “People of the Book”. But a marriage to a pagan woman was not valid if she did not convert to Islam.

The Prophet emphasized in many letters to his emissaries that religious institutions should not be harmed. Here in a letter addressed to his emissary to the religious leaders of Saint Catherine in Mount Sinai who has sought the protection of the Muslims:

“This is a message from Muhammad ibn Abdullah, as a covenant to those who adopt Christianity, near and far, we are with them. Verily I, the servants, the helpers, and my followers defend them, because Christians are my citizens; and by God! I hold out against anything that displeases them.No compulsion is to be on them. Neither are their judges to be removed from their jobs nor their monks from their monasteries. No one is to destroy a house of their religion, to damage it, or to carry anything from it to the Muslims’ houses. Should anyone take any of these, he would spoil God’s covenant and disobey His Prophet. Verily, they are my allies and have my secure charter against all that they hate. No one is to force them to travel or to oblige them to fight. The Muslims are to fight for them. If a female Christian is married to a Muslim, it is not to take place without her approval. She is not to be prevented from visiting her church to pray. Their churches are declared to be protected. They are neither to be prevented from repairing them nor the sacredness of their covenants. No one of the nation (Muslims) is to disobey the covenant till the Last Day (end of the world).”

“…There is no compulsion in religion…” (Quran 2:256)

“…If they do come to you, either judge between them or decline to interfere…” (Quran 5:42)

“Whoever kills a person who has a truce with the Muslims will never smell the fragrance of Paradise.” (Hadith by Saheeh Muslim)

“Beware! Whoever is cruel and hard on a non-Muslim minority, or curtails their rights, or burdens them with more than they can bear, or takes anything from them against their free will; I (Prophet Muhammad) will complain against the person on the Day of Judgment.” (Hadith by Abu Dawud)

Islam4Women began in 1999, and will become www.islam4women.org  soon, in blog form. This move began in September 2007 and will require time. The design and content are still temporary. In the meantime visit the old version of the site.

Aim: Clearing misunderstandings and introducing Islam to non-Muslims. We concentrate on women issues, human rights and the promotion of tolerance.

by Mona  

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