Women and Religion in the Middle East

Religion and Wo workforce in the half itinerary East Religion goes hand in hand with culture, and in the Moslem countries this is very app arnt. The cultural importance of men over women may let stemmed from righteousness, however it was further recognised when imperialist countries introduced capitalism and class divides. Islam must combat the wrenching extend to of alien forces whose influence in economic, policy-making, and cultural permutations continues to prevail (Stowasser 1994, 5).Now, instead of an agrarian suppose where both men and women had their purpose, difficulties know make callable to the raising in pedagogy and aw beness that women can and do score a place in family beyond domestic living though women are non equal to men anywhere nearly the world, the differences amidst men and women are greater possibly in the Moslem world, part due to trust and culture. Fewer women are educated in the Muslim world than in former(a) culture areasThe percenta ge of women working other than agriculture is probably the smallest in the world, the birth rate the highest, and the legal philosophys regarding marriage and related matters most unequal (Stowasser 1994, 5). Though, of recent years inequality has been blamed on the Moslem religion, gender inequalities were in the Middle East before Islam. put away, by radical groups and male selected, women are being discriminated because of their gender due to ghostlike con nonations amongst other things. The male bias, like in most religions, has been enforced inside society like in the text of the Quran.Keddie and Beck says that, In Islamic law women have male guardians womans testimony is worth half(a) that of a man women are considered to have less reason than men (Beck and Keddie 1978, 25-26). So the Quran in many of the Middle Eastern countries has been taken and formed in Islamic Law which may non entirely speculate what is aver in the Holy Book, but has been used to discriminat e and divide, not only gender, but class and status. What will be discussed is the divide amid men and women due to religion, and why that is in authoritative countries in the Middle East and not others.It is not necessarily the Quran that has brought about the discrimination of women. thither is male dominance in most every ghostly book. However it is how it has been translated, either by modernists, conservatives, and fundamentalists and how this has altered the preaching of women in society. In assenting to this, it is also important to consider the country and how it is give-up the ghost. In the Middle East, government is varied and eclectic it would seem that the countries that are run by elite monarchists much(prenominal) as Saudi Arabia, have stricter laws on women and are much conservative or fundamental Islamists.On the other hand, countries that have a more(prenominal) than cushy approach have better education and rights for women (though still not as forward as some Western countries). These thoughts by fundamentalists or conservatives relate to Muhammeds spouses and how they are discussed in the Quran as there are no pistillate prophets. According to Stowasser, the main components and treatment of women are company in the Quran, which is segregation and quiet domesticity modest comportment, indeed, invisibility through hide ascetic frugality devout obedience to God and His Prophet.Insofar as the latter(prenominal) was these womens husband, special emphasis is also placed on wifelike obedience (Beck and Keddie 1978, 118). This is seen as a very conservative view and split of the Quran have been used to determine this, which is say to be harmful to women. raw interpretations of the Quran suggest that manipulation of texts has led to foreign intervention due to gentlemans gentleman rights issues on gender. However, the modernists do not believe in segregation, and though religion is important to have, you should not be discrimina ted on how devout you are.They use the Quran not in a literal error sense, but in a way which fits into modern society and works with both genders. The teachings in the Quran can be twisted either way. Practices of fundamental Islamists vary when it comes to marital rights, education, and behavior and penalty of women according to the Quran. In some societies, women in the judicial process have very few rights that are the same as men, and their punishment seems to be much greater. Treatment by the Taliban in Afghanistan, and by other groups much(prenominal) as the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood all contribute to how women are treated legally.Zohreh Arshadi asserts that in countries such as Iran, The Islamic punishments have advance a culture of violence against women The fact that men receive a lighter punishment if they commit a violence against women undoubtedly encourages such violence. We saw how women could be killed with impunity during alleged adultery. Stoning to stopping point for adultery, although technically admittable for both sexes, has also been carried out mainly against women (Arshadi 2012).It is in countries such as Iran, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, and some non-Middle Eastern countries where the Quran is taken as a literal word and law, and there is constituted into actual state law. This delegacy that certain texts from the Quran are used to treat women violently. For manakin a passage in the Quran states Hadith Muslim (41982) The Prophet said, I saw Hell also. No such (abominable) sight have I ever seen as that which I saw forthwith and I observed that most of its inhabitants were women. They said courier of Allah, on what account is it so?He said For their ingratitude or disbelief (bi-kufraihinna). It was said Do they disbelieve in Allah? He said (Not for their disbelief in God) but for their ingratitude to their husbands. Again, the inferiority of women to men that is listed in the Quran has meant that fundamentalist group s put pressures on women that is not bare for the men. The repetition of how iniquitous and disobedient women are means that is the way they are treated, which infringes on their rights. This was apparent in Kuwait, where a monarch (Sheikhs) and the elite ruled with heavy Islamic laws until the 1980s.There were no schools for girls it was compulsory for women to be covered in only shady by puberty, where then they would soon be married and Polygamy was common place where not only could a man have up to quartette wives (condoned by Islamic Law) but could also keep female slaves (Beck and Keddie 1987, 174). This is a typical scene in fundamental countries women with no education, little rights that haul the men, and severe punishment if thought to be misbehaving. Though this has changed since the 1980s, it will still haunt their storey.Though there are very few states that are run by this ancient Islamic way, there are still groups that scarper this out in modern Middle Eastern countries. For instance the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt have carried out ritual beatings and stoning of women, and it has been make clear they use the Quran as a way of putting women in a domestic place only. Asserted by a female blogger in Egypt It is abundantly clear that the Muslim Brotherhood do not see women rights as natural and inalienable. Their rights must be restricted by Sharia and their duties in society duties which are in themselves dictated by Sharia. (2011. On Coptic Nationalism The Position of the Muslim Brotherhood on Women and Children Analysis and Critique of the FJPs Parliamentary Election Program. ) Another example is the Taliban in Afghanistan. The Revolutionary Women of Afghanistan have claimed that there is whipping, beating, and verbal abuse of women not clothed in accordance with Taliban rules. For instance not having their ankles covered, adultery, and with the ban of cosmetics in time painted nails could result with their fingers being cut get through . (2012.Punishment of Muslim Women. ) This punishment and treatment is said to be within Islamic teachings, however it is conservative and fundamentalist groups that read the Quran literally that enforce such rulings. When we talk of fundamentalist countries in the Middle East in association with religion, Saudi Arabia comes to mind. It is, so to speak, the heartland of spiritual and holy land. Mecca and Medina, the place where billions take holy migration to, is situated here and accordingly Saudi Arabia has strong religious ties and feelings within.It is ruled by the Saud family, who are said to be direct descendants of the prophet Muhammed. The Saud family uses this as a causal factor of power. George Lipsky claims that, Sauds used this deeply conservative and puritanical Sunnite orthodoxy as a canonic instrument for gaining and wielding power. The result was the creation of a political order in which paramount authority is in the hands of an executive who fills three handed -down roles, that of the tribal leader, religious leader, and king. (Lipsky, George A. 1959. Saudi Arabia its people, its society, its culture.New Haven Hraff Press. Pg 5) This should assert that the Saudi farming rules by very usanceal and conservative ways, including religion. The public practice of any form of religion other than Islam is prohibited in Saudi Arabia. consummate(a) punishment (imprisonment and deportation) can result should such activities come to the attention of the authorities. (British Embassy Riyadh. 2012. UK in Saudi Arabia. http//ukinsaudiarabia. fco. gov. uk/en/help-for-british-nationals/living-in-saudi-arabia/) All laws in Saudi are ground from the Quran, and the law is sharia.This means that as an extremely religious country, it has had problems facing gender equality and human rights. The penalty for any misconduct, be it adultery to binding inappropriately is punishable by public beheading or death by stoning. To enforce religious law, the Mutaw wa or religious police have been put in place. Mutawwa police have the right to cut off womens left hand if misbehaving. It is this large enforcement of extreme religion which has gained attention from the Western countries, but little else due to their huge amounts of oil.Lipsky reiterates that, Women, the vast volume of whom live in seclusion and are almost totally without education. (Lipsky, George A. 1959. Saudi Arabia its people, its society, its culture. New Haven Hraff Press. pg 131) There have been countless claims and acts of violence towards women due to religion. However, it is more of a way for the Saud regime to stay in power, religion is used as a means of quieting the masses. Though the country is everlastingly modernizing, and womens groups funded by the West are starting to show, the punishment for speech production out is far too dangerous and risky.Modernization of the Middle East has had its implications, good and bad. The treatment of women and their rights in most countries have improved. The countries that were colonized have modernized much more than the Middle Eastern areas that were ignored by imperialist. Politically, economically, and socially these countries have improved their human rights with the course of industrialization. The gap between women and men has not gotten worse, but instead have been brought to the attention of world-wide human rights advocators.Countries such as Iraq, Egypt, Syria, and other revolutionary countries has seen the rise in female activists of the Islamic religion. This may be due to these countries more lenient state approach to having Islam as a main feature of their political system. As these states have seen the rise in social demands for political reform, it means their policies are more liberal than that of a monarchical run state with heavy religious influence. Stowasser asserts that, Modernists have long opposed the notion that womens segregation is a necessary aspect of moral Muslim socie ty (Stowasser 1994, 132).She goes onto agree with modernists who maintain that, the Quran established womens equality with men in all essential respects, a fact misunderstood by mediaeval Muslim lawyers (Stowasser 1994, 132). Modernists believe that many fundamentalist groups manipulate what the text of the Quran says in order to fit their social rule. With the study of Kuwait, modernization of the country brought much social reform and change. Instead of the state being run by heavy Islamic law and religious lineage, Beck and Keddie say that, the community and education of women in Kuwait had been the entry of women into government serviceHundreds of Kuwaiti women are working in schools and offices on board men (Beck and Keddie 1978, 175). Though there are still problems facing women in Kuwait, due to modernization, religion has less of a restrictive connotations, and more of a liberating one. When speaking of modernization versus fundamentalism, in terms of religious rule, the d ress mandate and especially the Hijab and veiling is a topic that determines how liberal a state is on religion and gender. Initially, the dress code of women, particularly the Hijab, was mainly a garment of status.In the Quran, it says that women must be dressed modestly and cover in accordance so. Again, it is how groups and states interpret the Quran and how extreme and literal they take this to mean. Still today the way a woman dresses reveals status and wealth, though punishment for binding that is not in accordance to law or is seen as enkindle can be punished with death. Though the veiling of women has initial religious meanings, it has become more of a political gesture and stance. To not be seen with a veil or appropriate dress has Western connotations, which has electronegative implications.Leila Ahmed agrees that, it is a discourse on women and the veil in which another history is also inscribed, the history of colonial domination and the struggle against it and the cl ass divisions around that struggle (Ahmed 1992, 130). It has little to do with religion however, the veil has been used as a way to enforce religion in fundamentalist areas. It is more of a way to speak against imperialists and the Western world, not necessarily religion. Haddad and Esposito assert that, The veil and Islamic dress are the outward obvious signs of womens adherence to the new Islamic trends.However, the veil and formal compliance with tradition do not necessarily mean commitment to all the ideologic baggage associated with it (Haddad 1998, 182). They agree that is mainly a conservative way of overture Islam and anti-imperialist feelings. Though the discourse on the Hijab and dress has been battered with human rights issues, it is not religion to blame, only the extreme use of it in states. Due to modernization, the human rights of women in the Middle East and the