In my opinion, the fact that the murder of a Muslim wife got more media attention than the average woman is not a "compliment to American Muslims." Unfortunately, I think it is proof of growing Islamophobia in this country. I can imagine the average uninformed American reading about Aasiya's death. He would point out the article to his wife and say, "see honey I told you those Muslims are crazy." The article aligns with people's preconceived notions of Muslims as violent, angry people. Clearly, this is not the case, but this is how it would appear to someone who is ignorant of what Islam is truly about.
This is a truly sad story. The media does anything it can to portray Islam as a barbaric religion. Even though many non-Muslim Americans commit domestic violence everyday, the one about a Muslim couple has to stand out. Islamophobia does not seem to be decreasing in the United States. It is interesting the couple owned a television network that broadcasted shows that demonstrated a positive image of Islam. This is true for every religion. I myself see this among Hindu pundits. They preach about sticking to traditional Hindu beliefs, but they do not even follow them. I agree with Dr. Khan that there needs to be a genuine reform. If the community is reformed, Islam will have a better image. There wouldn’t be any mishaps such this if the there truly is reformation. Islamophobia is cause rare events that are blown out of proportion. If Muslims, immigrant and indigenous, united under one common goal, it could help make it harder to portray Islam as a barbaric religion.
This attention given to this case frustrates me to no end: the media will only prance around under a guise of women's rights if it means it gets to criticize another group/type of people that it respects even less. Right off the bat it called attention to the non-Christian religion of the couple instead of pointing out that this is a hate crime against women. When I read about it in the NY Times, there was no mention of how disgustingly common these crimes are (because if it pointed out the frequency of domestic violence in the US where Christians are the majority, that would imply that "good Christian" Americans commit these atrocities too, and people would prefer to not acknowledge that). I agree with Jess about how the average, uninformed American would go about reading of this incident. I would even go as far as fearing that someone who knew nothing about Islam would probably not even find your article, Dr. Khan, to be enlightening. While I think it is well written and hits all the main points, I can see someone who's looking for a fight scrolling down and reading the Qur'an excerpts and making this argument: if such things are in the main text that the religion is based on, how can the division within Islam between those who believe in equality and those for male superiority ever fully be bridged? The reality is that there are statements like these in the Bible as well, and Christians and Jews everywhere have their own interpretations. Yet somehow if these people of faith have patriarchal interpretations, it is seen merely as a preference for tradition or modesty (for women), rather than "backwardness," which is how outsiders of Islam view Muslims that maintain patriarchal interpretations of the Qur'an.
I agree with all the above comments, and I found your article, Dr. Khan, to be a very interesting one. It is absolutely unfortunate that the murder of the Muslim woman got so much media attention, and it can certainly be blamed on American ignorance of the Muslim "other".
What I would like to discuss, however, is the discrepancies in the verses from the Qur'an that Dr. Khan chose as examples in this piece. The thing about religion is, and it is applicable to Judaism and Christianity as well, is that because the Holy texts are available and up to interpretation, individuals or groups can interpret different passages to fit their own ideology. Dr. Khan explains in the article that "Islam is essentially how Muslims interpret the above sources and reconcile their competing meanings" and then calls for Muslims who interpret the holy texts to mean that Islam bestows dignity upon women and that men and women are equal to come together. The problem is seen though, in the quotes such as: "Men are in charge of women, because Allah hath made the one of them to excel the other." [Qur'an 4:34] "And the husbands hold a degree of superiority over them". And from the Hadith- "I was shown the Hell-fire and the majority of its dwellers were women who were ungrateful to their husbands." A Muslim who is determined to prove that men are indeed superior to women would find the legitimacy he needs in passages such as these. No matter how many passages may seem contradictory to these, someone who wants to prove his righteousness in the ill treatment of women have more than enough to go by, just based on these quotes alone. It's a scary thought that people go around interpreting religion to fit their own means, but it is unfortunately ever present, as is seen in the fundamentalist sects of all religions.
"Why?" You could ask that until the end of time— be it until the Judgment Day of Islam, Christianity, Judaism, or any other creed. Why was this wife murdered, why was that daughter raped, why did he hit his mother, why do they hate my sisters? But there you have it: hate. That religiously indiscriminate disease manages to sneak into even the best of cultures. I agree; religion has nothing to do with it. Honest, I’m genuinely not being sarcastic here. America has a short, but quite rich history of maintaining selective cultural prejudices based on some sort of xenophobic allure. Islam is merely the newest fascination taken up by trends of the American public—sorry about your luck. Call it collateral damage.
It isn’t the Muslim community that needs some profound reform here, but the American. I understand you meant well by it, but stating that the Muslim society needs to reform in order to fix their reputation as a ‘barbaric religion’ is a bit too ethnocentric. Instead, it points out the disgusting prejudices within our own culture that we allow to continue. Shouldn’t we be the ones to stop hating them, rather than order Islam to wholly assimilate into our hateful hypocrisy? There is nothing in Islam to inspire domestic violence any more than identical trash found in Christianity and Judaism. It’s all in the social practices of culture—and each is equally guilty of such misogynistic crimes. Sexism is the proactive embodiment of an undervaluing disrespect to females, and our country barely pays lip service to the enforcement of gender equity. As an American woman, I regret to say that I get pretty desensitized sometimes. One can only handle so much rage and desperation before you go numb. I love my country, but it betrays my sex daily. America manifests the ideals of self-emancipating rebellion, aggressive dominance, and its virtually unbreakable patriarchal society— women have to ‘man up’ and liberate themselves, or get over it and cope with the oppression…Well, unless they're Muslim, of course. Then it’s the outcome of that ‘diabolical religion of the desert that’s out to annihilate America’, and ‘has to be stopped’.
The profound tragedy here is that apparently a non-Mulsim woman’s obscene murder attained mention only in local papers, when the entire country should be up in arms that our society has yet again permitted a crime against humanity to occur within our boarders. The press shouldn't have paid less attention to Aasiya Hassan, but rather heeded more notice of Ahkenya Johnson. Why did a gruesome murder, stabbed 41 times, skip the headlines? Because there wasn't anything novel about it. In a country where the murder of pregnant women by unstable husbands, when a report of a post-partum depressed mothers committing homocide-suicide can no longer manage to hold our horror for more than an hour… well, I’m not surprised that a crime is specifically alleged as done by a Muslim. The media’s exploitation of the Hassan murder is simply an addition to our prolific National Hall of Shame.
Yes, there are horrific verses from the Qur’an and Hadith to support not only male dominance, but violent punishment of women. No one is disputing that, but you have to be fair—all three leading world religions do that. Judaism, whose strict tradition forbids a woman to even read the Torah in a man’s presence, also credits a woman (Hagar, mother of Ishmael) as the first to name the Almighty [Genesis 16:13]. Christianity endorses a daughter’s indiscretion as punishable by death from fire [Lev. 21:9], but reveres Mother Mary as the highest form of holy purity. And yes, Islam can be twisted to support lesser jihad acts of ‘terrorism’, but so do both the Bible and Torah: “He who sacrifices to any god, other than to the Lord alone, shall be utterly destroyed [Exo. 22:20].” “…neither shall your eye pity him, neither shall you spare, neither shall you conceal him; But you shall surely kill him; your hand shall be first on him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people [Deut. 13:8, 9].” “… and that whosoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel should be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman [2 Chr. 15:13].” Do we really need to be reminded of the Crusades, let alone current Israeli-Palestinian affairs? We’ve all heard the rhetoric. Disregard ‘thou shalt not murder’. Forget ‘love thy father’, which includes ‘AND MOTHER’ no matter what language you translate into. It’s okay, I think they were just suggestions anyway. I just want to see the playing field leveled here, because America’s duplicity is pissing me off.
God/Allah/Yahweh bless America, because we sure as hell need the help.
Reading this article and the responses to it have depressed me beyond belief. I agree with a lot that has been said, especially some of the things said by SaraBeth and robin, but there is one big overarching problem I have with all of this. I do not believe that Islam, or any major religion encourages violence against women, but all of them are a product of men's longstanding belief that women are inferior. So Islam is not the only religion whose books have overtly sexist passages? Ok, then I am less sorry that Islam is criticized for it than I am that Christianity and Judaism, and whatever other religions also promote this inequality, aren't. I am sorry but "Men are in charge of women, because Allah hath made the one of them to excel the other." and "And the husbands hold a degree of superiority over them" cannot be interpreted any other way than to assume men are better. If the Quran is interpreted as the words of Allah, unedited, then the conclusion is: Allah is sexist. I have to put in a disclaimer here, because I am not an expert on the subject and so maybe the translation can be interpreted in some other way, but this is my deduction. Again I do not believe that religion encourages violence against women, but the fact that they are pretty much all sexist sure can't help. Maybe that's the reason women are less devout. I sure don't want to honor a God who classifies me as inferior.
I was very upset after reading this article. I think it is ridiculous that our media and society are so Islamophobic that they need to spread one instance of domestic violence in a Muslim family, and ignore the thousands that occur in other families across the country.
One thing I am confused about, though, is how the Qur'an can say such a range of things about men and women. Saying that women and men are equals, "And women shall have rights similar to the rights against them," (Qur'an 2:228) and then saying"Men are in charge of women, because Allah hath made the one of them to excel the other," (Qur'an 4:34) doesn't really make sense to me. The second passage justifies the abuse and inequality that women face, and unless men want to denounce the unfair, unequal parts of the Qur'an in order to raise the social position of women, then I don't see how it will begin to get better.
It is strange to me how this article quotes the Qur'an and tries to convince the reader that women have rights under Islam. This article should not be about violence with Muslims, but violence against women generally. Any person whether they are muslim, christian, jewish or hindu who cuts his wife's head off with a sword is obviously very sick. This should have nothing to do with religious beliefs.
I agree with Katharine in that the fact that the Qur'an has such a wide array of text that supports male abuse and dominance of women. "Men are in charge of women, because Allah hath made the one of them to excel the other"(Qur'an 4:34) and the claim that the Prophet said: "I was shown the Hell-fire and the majority of its dwellers were women who were ungrateful to their husbands." contradicts saying that women and men are equals. However, as in most religions the Qu'ran is a text that most believe is interpreted and the meanings are reconciled. Hopefully, the group that believes in equality for men and women will become a stronger force.
Muzammil Hassan's beheading of his wife, however cannot be attributed to his Islamic faith. He obviously was not a sane man, and if he was not a Muslim the story would not have been nearly as sensationalized or talked about. Violence against women unfortunately occurs everyday at alarming rates, and the entire population, not just Muslims need to be educated on these facts.
Musammil Hassan’s owned a cable company to give Muslims a good light since the negative backlash of 9/11 but he also beheaded his wife “spin isn’t reality, what is needed is reform”.
Why did his faith lead him to do such a horrible act? My response is ok, obviously he was messed up in the head, mentally ill and psychotic. Forget about religion, which brings me to a point on mental illness and psychosis. In predominantly Muslim countries for example Iraq, that has one facility for the discarded mentally ill and less acceptable handicapped people that are put into a place with the added stigma shows how people with very mental illnesses are just thrown away.
Yes it does seem a bit unfair to the Muslim community that one murder by a Muslim should get so much media attention as opposed to the non Muslim Joe schmo who gets a local article. Okay welcome to the day in age of what its like to be Muslim in America, they are news; I mean look at the fear that has been established by Bush administration.
As far as women and men no matter how one side is justified with scholarly articles on how men treat women well or the other side where men do not treat women well, I have to say, neither matter its like a stalemate. But let’s ask the question, where can we find statistics and scholarly articles on how women treat men unequally or harshly or wrongly. This may be more difficult, so the point is even if there are some that say ‘yes we treat women fair and equal’ the point is there are many women that are not treated fairly and this is unacceptable no matter what religion. But since we are talking about religion and Islam specifically, I don’t think it helps matters with women rights when there are quotes like this stated according to Hadith by Prophet Mohammed such as, “I have not seen any one more deficient in intelligence and religion than you”. Ok so there are the other quotes and versus that enlighten and make women beautified but with negative statements that are said especially by the Prophet Mohammad cancels some of the good out.
So, Islam is a good religion, loving and caring yes, but women in general are unfairly treated and in America have had to fight for their rights many more times then men such as the suffrage movement in the 1920’s. I mean let’s just take the Islamic part out of it for a moment, men are stronger then women, men can hurt women. They are at an unfair advantage physically. I mean if we are going to talk about religion in the Holy Bible men are supposed to love their wives but they too murder and rape their women.
Again, is it religion we are talking about or cultural aspects or the sexes in general? Let’s mix them all up and say every one is different but a murderer is a murderer and that means they are psychotic. What does religion have to do with
Again this information like everyone else is saying leads to the conclusion that Islam and Men following Islam is the root cause of these evils. People tend to believe what they read in the newspapers, watch on television and hear from our families. So how does religion factor in such a dispicable crime. It doesnt't. People would like to jump to assumptions and need to find an explanation. The world is changing very quickly and for some people it is too much to grasp as in the case of Muzzamil Hassan. Atrocities happen.
I do not want to bring up the issue of equality because my version and every other female breathing is quite different. I have the notion that females have a far too complex and distant idea of equality than they may even think.
The numerous quotes in this article illustrate the fact that one can use direct quotes from the Quran to either support or condemn violence against Islam. As has been mentioned by many people previously, this is similar in many religions where one can interpret religious texts in many different ways to support their case. I disagree with SaraBeth that, “it's a scary thought that people go around interpreting religion to fit their own means,” because I think that this self interpretation is exactly what religion is all about. No two people practice their religion in the same way, even if they are both Muslim or both Christian, precisely because their religion means something very different to each of them. As long as there are still people out there who will abuse their wives or commit murder they will find ways to justify it with religion, whether that be from verse from the Quran or from the Bible, and due to the nature of contradictory contextual quotes found in each, one may always be able to find religious-based support.
Thus, I agree with Robin that the real solution is not for “Muslims [to] seek genuine reform within the community.” Domestic violence not a religious issue, and as long as it is people try to solve it as if it is, it is my opinion that people will keep classifying it as such. Instead of Muslim Americans trying to solve it within their community, perhaps they should join other anti-domestic violence groups in America, to prove to the rest of the world that religion has nothing to do with it. Not only will this help attack the problem of domestic violence, but it will also help attack another root problem discussed in this article, that is, Islamophobia.
This is once again another perfect example of Islamaphobia within the United States. The article stresses that the man who killed his wife was Muslim. It seems whenever there is any sort of homicide within the United States or murder of some sort, the media never reports the faith of that particular victim or criminal who committed the act. It seems rather strange that every time a man or women commits a crime who happens to be Muslim that the media consistently mentions they are Muslim. This is simply just an attempt to tarnish the image of Islam further more in the West. Articles such as these allow readers to jump to conclusions about Islam such as women in Islam do not have rights. That is completely outlandish. The Quran specifically mentions that males and females have equal rights. The following is a Surah from the Quran which mentions that:
"O mankind! Be dutiful to your Lord, Who created you from a single person (Adam), and from him (Adam) He created his wife (Eve), and from them both He created many men and women and fear Allah through Whom you demand your mutual (rights), and (do not cut the relations of) the wombs (kinship). Surely, Allah is Ever and All-Watcher over you." (Al-Nisa 4:1)
Once again, this article is clearly attempting to just tarnish the image of Islam. Let me ask everyone a question, why cant this murderer just be mentioned as a murderer? Why do they have to mention his faith? What relevance does that have to committing a crime. If you live in the United States you abide to the laws set forth here. Simple as that.
It is a tragedy that Islam has failed to ensure that a woman in a Muslim marriage will be safe and secure, however this is a challenge that encompasses not only religious beliefs and practices, but effective societal expectations and punishments as well.
True, the textual sources in Islam you give in this article send competing messages that do not serve Muslims well as a beacon of how to act and relate to one another, but why is this formal guidance necessary? Do fathers and mothers of any religion need ancient formalized textual teachings to make sure their sons know to respect their wives, sisters and mothers. Domestic violence, and particularly this case of homicide, is not a good example of the types of value-judgments we make with guidance from our faiths. It is clearly wrong to beat or murder your wife under any circumstances, and was most definitely other issues going on, in addition to Aasiya Zubair Hassan's husband's misinterpretation of Muslim teachings.
This article does effectively make the point that domestic violence is a commonplace occurrence in our society, and not in Muslim-American communities. You also then challenge the widely held notion of Muslim teachings oppressing women, and instead emphasize the ambiguity of Islamic textual sources that leave much up for interpretation. These are both important ideas for the American public to recognize and take forth with them in dealings with other issues relating to Muslim-Americans.
Read and Comment.
In my opinion, the fact that the murder of a Muslim wife got more media attention than the average woman is not a "compliment to American Muslims." Unfortunately, I think it is proof of growing Islamophobia in this country. I can imagine the average uninformed American reading about Aasiya's death. He would point out the article to his wife and say, "see honey I told you those Muslims are crazy." The article aligns with people's preconceived notions of Muslims as violent, angry people. Clearly, this is not the case, but this is how it would appear to someone who is ignorant of what Islam is truly about.
ReplyDeleteYou have a valid point there Jess.
ReplyDeleteThis is a truly sad story. The media does anything it can to portray Islam as a barbaric religion. Even though many non-Muslim Americans commit domestic violence everyday, the one about a Muslim couple has to stand out. Islamophobia does not seem to be decreasing in the United States. It is interesting the couple owned a television network that broadcasted shows that demonstrated a positive image of Islam. This is true for every religion. I myself see this among Hindu pundits. They preach about sticking to traditional Hindu beliefs, but they do not even follow them. I agree with Dr. Khan that there needs to be a genuine reform. If the community is reformed, Islam will have a better image. There wouldn’t be any mishaps such this if the there truly is reformation. Islamophobia is cause rare events that are blown out of proportion. If Muslims, immigrant and indigenous, united under one common goal, it could help make it harder to portray Islam as a barbaric religion.
ReplyDeleteThis attention given to this case frustrates me to no end: the media will only prance around under a guise of women's rights if it means it gets to criticize another group/type of people that it respects even less. Right off the bat it called attention to the non-Christian religion of the couple instead of pointing out that this is a hate crime against women. When I read about it in the NY Times, there was no mention of how disgustingly common these crimes are (because if it pointed out the frequency of domestic violence in the US where Christians are the majority, that would imply that "good Christian" Americans commit these atrocities too, and people would prefer to not acknowledge that).
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jess about how the average, uninformed American would go about reading of this incident. I would even go as far as fearing that someone who knew nothing about Islam would probably not even find your article, Dr. Khan, to be enlightening. While I think it is well written and hits all the main points, I can see someone who's looking for a fight scrolling down and reading the Qur'an excerpts and making this argument: if such things are in the main text that the religion is based on, how can the division within Islam between those who believe in equality and those for male superiority ever fully be bridged? The reality is that there are statements like these in the Bible as well, and Christians and Jews everywhere have their own interpretations. Yet somehow if these people of faith have patriarchal interpretations, it is seen merely as a preference for tradition or modesty (for women), rather than "backwardness," which is how outsiders of Islam view Muslims that maintain patriarchal interpretations of the Qur'an.
I agree with all the above comments, and I found your article, Dr. Khan, to be a very interesting one. It is absolutely unfortunate that the murder of the Muslim woman got so much media attention, and it can certainly be blamed on American ignorance of the Muslim "other".
ReplyDeleteWhat I would like to discuss, however, is the discrepancies in the verses from the Qur'an that Dr. Khan chose as examples in this piece. The thing about religion is, and it is applicable to Judaism and Christianity as well, is that because the Holy texts are available and up to interpretation, individuals or groups can interpret different passages to fit their own ideology. Dr. Khan explains in the article that "Islam is essentially how Muslims interpret the above sources and reconcile their competing meanings" and then calls for Muslims who interpret the holy texts to mean that Islam bestows dignity upon women and that men and women are equal to come together. The problem is seen though, in the quotes such as: "Men are in charge of women, because Allah hath made the one of them to excel the other." [Qur'an 4:34] "And the husbands hold a degree of superiority over them". And from the Hadith- "I was shown the Hell-fire and the majority of its dwellers were women who were ungrateful to their husbands." A Muslim who is determined to prove that men are indeed superior to women would find the legitimacy he needs in passages such as these. No matter how many passages may seem contradictory to these, someone who wants to prove his righteousness in the ill treatment of women have more than enough to go by, just based on these quotes alone. It's a scary thought that people go around interpreting religion to fit their own means, but it is unfortunately ever present, as is seen in the fundamentalist sects of all religions.
"Why?" You could ask that until the end of time— be it until the Judgment Day of Islam, Christianity, Judaism, or any other creed. Why was this wife murdered, why was that daughter raped, why did he hit his mother, why do they hate my sisters? But there you have it: hate. That religiously indiscriminate disease manages to sneak into even the best of cultures. I agree; religion has nothing to do with it. Honest, I’m genuinely not being sarcastic here. America has a short, but quite rich history of maintaining selective cultural prejudices based on some sort of xenophobic allure. Islam is merely the newest fascination taken up by trends of the American public—sorry about your luck. Call it collateral damage.
ReplyDeleteIt isn’t the Muslim community that needs some profound reform here, but the American. I understand you meant well by it, but stating that the Muslim society needs to reform in order to fix their reputation as a ‘barbaric religion’ is a bit too ethnocentric. Instead, it points out the disgusting prejudices within our own culture that we allow to continue. Shouldn’t we be the ones to stop hating them, rather than order Islam to wholly assimilate into our hateful hypocrisy? There is nothing in Islam to inspire domestic violence any more than identical trash found in Christianity and Judaism. It’s all in the social practices of culture—and each is equally guilty of such misogynistic crimes. Sexism is the proactive embodiment of an undervaluing disrespect to females, and our country barely pays lip service to the enforcement of gender equity. As an American woman, I regret to say that I get pretty desensitized sometimes. One can only handle so much rage and desperation before you go numb. I love my country, but it betrays my sex daily. America manifests the ideals of self-emancipating rebellion, aggressive dominance, and its virtually unbreakable patriarchal society— women have to ‘man up’ and liberate themselves, or get over it and cope with the oppression…Well, unless they're Muslim, of course. Then it’s the outcome of that ‘diabolical religion of the desert that’s out to annihilate America’, and ‘has to be stopped’.
The profound tragedy here is that apparently a non-Mulsim woman’s obscene murder attained mention only in local papers, when the entire country should be up in arms that our society has yet again permitted a crime against humanity to occur within our boarders. The press shouldn't have paid less attention to Aasiya Hassan, but rather heeded more notice of Ahkenya Johnson. Why did a gruesome murder, stabbed 41 times, skip the headlines? Because there wasn't anything novel about it. In a country where the murder of pregnant women by unstable husbands, when a report of a post-partum depressed mothers committing homocide-suicide can no longer manage to hold our horror for more than an hour… well, I’m not surprised that a crime is specifically alleged as done by a Muslim. The media’s exploitation of the Hassan murder is simply an addition to our prolific National Hall of Shame.
Yes, there are horrific verses from the Qur’an and Hadith to support not only male dominance, but violent punishment of women. No one is disputing that, but you have to be fair—all three leading world religions do that. Judaism, whose strict tradition forbids a woman to even read the Torah in a man’s presence, also credits a woman (Hagar, mother of Ishmael) as the first to name the Almighty [Genesis 16:13]. Christianity endorses a daughter’s indiscretion as punishable by death from fire [Lev. 21:9], but reveres Mother Mary as the highest form of holy purity. And yes, Islam can be twisted to support lesser jihad acts of ‘terrorism’, but so do both the Bible and Torah: “He who sacrifices to any god, other than to the Lord alone, shall be utterly destroyed [Exo. 22:20].” “…neither shall your eye pity him, neither shall you spare, neither shall you conceal him; But you shall surely kill him; your hand shall be first on him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people [Deut. 13:8, 9].” “… and that whosoever would not seek the Lord God of Israel should be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman [2 Chr. 15:13].” Do we really need to be reminded of the Crusades, let alone current Israeli-Palestinian affairs? We’ve all heard the rhetoric. Disregard ‘thou shalt not murder’. Forget ‘love thy father’, which includes ‘AND MOTHER’ no matter what language you translate into. It’s okay, I think they were just suggestions anyway. I just want to see the playing field leveled here, because America’s duplicity is pissing me off.
God/Allah/Yahweh bless America, because we sure as hell need the help.
Reading this article and the responses to it have depressed me beyond belief. I agree with a lot that has been said, especially some of the things said by SaraBeth and robin, but there is one big overarching problem I have with all of this. I do not believe that Islam, or any major religion encourages violence against women, but all of them are a product of men's longstanding belief that women are inferior. So Islam is not the only religion whose books have overtly sexist passages? Ok, then I am less sorry that Islam is criticized for it than I am that Christianity and Judaism, and whatever other religions also promote this inequality, aren't. I am sorry but "Men are in charge of women, because Allah hath made the one of them to excel the other." and "And the husbands hold a degree of superiority over them" cannot be interpreted any other way than to assume men are better. If the Quran is interpreted as the words of Allah, unedited, then the conclusion is: Allah is sexist. I have to put in a disclaimer here, because I am not an expert on the subject and so maybe the translation can be interpreted in some other way, but this is my deduction.
ReplyDeleteAgain I do not believe that religion encourages violence against women, but the fact that they are pretty much all sexist sure can't help. Maybe that's the reason women are less devout. I sure don't want to honor a God who classifies me as inferior.
I was very upset after reading this article. I think it is ridiculous that our media and society are so Islamophobic that they need to spread one instance of domestic violence in a Muslim family, and ignore the thousands that occur in other families across the country.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I am confused about, though, is how the Qur'an can say such a range of things about men and women. Saying that women and men are equals, "And women shall have rights similar to the rights against them," (Qur'an 2:228) and then saying"Men are in charge of women, because Allah hath made the one of them to excel the other," (Qur'an 4:34) doesn't really make sense to me. The second passage justifies the abuse and inequality that women face, and unless men want to denounce the unfair, unequal parts of the Qur'an in order to raise the social position of women, then I don't see how it will begin to get better.
It is strange to me how this article quotes the Qur'an and tries to convince the reader that women have rights under Islam. This article should not be about violence with Muslims, but violence against women generally. Any person whether they are muslim, christian, jewish or hindu who cuts his wife's head off with a sword is obviously very sick. This should have nothing to do with religious beliefs.
ReplyDeleteLeanne McCarthy
ReplyDeleteI agree with Katharine in that the fact that the Qur'an has such a wide array of text that supports male abuse and dominance of women. "Men are in charge of women, because Allah hath made the one of them to excel the other"(Qur'an 4:34) and the claim that the Prophet said: "I was shown the Hell-fire and the majority of its dwellers were women who were ungrateful to their husbands." contradicts saying that women and men are equals. However, as in most religions the Qu'ran is a text that most believe is interpreted and the meanings are reconciled. Hopefully, the group that believes in equality for men and women will become a stronger force.
Muzammil Hassan's beheading of his wife, however cannot be attributed to his Islamic faith. He obviously was not a sane man, and if he was not a Muslim the story would not have been nearly as sensationalized or talked about. Violence against women unfortunately occurs everyday at alarming rates, and the entire population, not just Muslims need to be educated on these facts.
Musammil Hassan’s owned a cable company to give Muslims a good light since the negative backlash of 9/11 but he also beheaded his wife “spin isn’t reality, what is needed is reform”.
ReplyDeleteWhy did his faith lead him to do such a horrible act? My response is ok, obviously he was messed up in the head, mentally ill and psychotic. Forget about religion, which brings me to a point on mental illness and psychosis. In predominantly Muslim countries for example Iraq, that has one facility for the discarded mentally ill and less acceptable handicapped people that are put into a place with the added stigma shows how people with very mental illnesses are just thrown away.
Yes it does seem a bit unfair to the Muslim community that one murder by a Muslim should get so much media attention as opposed to the non Muslim Joe schmo who gets a local article. Okay welcome to the day in age of what its like to be Muslim in America, they are news; I mean look at the fear that has been established by Bush administration.
As far as women and men no matter how one side is justified with scholarly articles on how men treat women well or the other side where men do not treat women well, I have to say, neither matter its like a stalemate. But let’s ask the question, where can we find statistics and scholarly articles on how women treat men unequally or harshly or wrongly. This may be more difficult, so the point is even if there are some that say ‘yes we treat women fair and equal’ the point is there are many women that are not treated fairly and this is unacceptable no matter what religion. But since we are talking about religion and Islam specifically, I don’t think it helps matters with women rights when there are quotes like this stated according to Hadith by Prophet Mohammed such as, “I have not seen any one more deficient in intelligence and religion than you”. Ok so there are the other quotes and versus that enlighten and make women beautified but with negative statements that are said especially by the Prophet Mohammad cancels some of the good out.
So, Islam is a good religion, loving and caring yes, but women in general are unfairly treated and in America have had to fight for their rights many more times then men such as the suffrage movement in the 1920’s. I mean let’s just take the Islamic part out of it for a moment, men are stronger then women, men can hurt women. They are at an unfair advantage physically. I mean if we are going to talk about religion in the Holy Bible men are supposed to love their wives but they too murder and rape their women.
Again, is it religion we are talking about or cultural aspects or the sexes in general? Let’s mix them all up and say every one is different but a murderer is a murderer and that means they are psychotic. What does religion have to do with
Again this information like everyone else is saying leads to the conclusion that Islam and Men following Islam is the root cause of these evils. People tend to believe what they read in the newspapers, watch on television and hear from our families. So how does religion factor in such a dispicable crime. It doesnt't. People would like to jump to assumptions and need to find an explanation. The world is changing very quickly and for some people it is too much to grasp as in the case of Muzzamil Hassan. Atrocities happen.
ReplyDeleteI do not want to bring up the issue of equality because my version and every other female breathing is quite different. I have the notion that females have a far too complex and distant idea of equality than they may even think.
The numerous quotes in this article illustrate the fact that one can use direct quotes from the Quran to either support or condemn violence against Islam. As has been mentioned by many people previously, this is similar in many religions where one can interpret religious texts in many different ways to support their case. I disagree with SaraBeth that, “it's a scary thought that people go around interpreting religion to fit their own means,” because I think that this self interpretation is exactly what religion is all about. No two people practice their religion in the same way, even if they are both Muslim or both Christian, precisely because their religion means something very different to each of them. As long as there are still people out there who will abuse their wives or commit murder they will find ways to justify it with religion, whether that be from verse from the Quran or from the Bible, and due to the nature of contradictory contextual quotes found in each, one may always be able to find religious-based support.
ReplyDeleteThus, I agree with Robin that the real solution is not for “Muslims [to] seek genuine reform within the community.” Domestic violence not a religious issue, and as long as it is people try to solve it as if it is, it is my opinion that people will keep classifying it as such. Instead of Muslim Americans trying to solve it within their community, perhaps they should join other anti-domestic violence groups in America, to prove to the rest of the world that religion has nothing to do with it. Not only will this help attack the problem of domestic violence, but it will also help attack another root problem discussed in this article, that is, Islamophobia.
This is once again another perfect example of Islamaphobia within the United States. The article stresses that the man who killed his wife was Muslim. It seems whenever there is any sort of homicide within the United States or murder of some sort, the media never reports the faith of that particular victim or criminal who committed the act. It seems rather strange that every time a man or women commits a crime who happens to be Muslim that the media consistently mentions they are Muslim. This is simply just an attempt to tarnish the image of Islam further more in the West. Articles such as these allow readers to jump to conclusions about Islam such as women in Islam do not have rights. That is completely outlandish. The Quran specifically mentions that males and females have equal rights. The following is a Surah from the Quran which mentions that:
ReplyDelete"O mankind! Be dutiful to your Lord, Who created you from a single person (Adam), and from him (Adam) He created his wife (Eve), and from them both He created many men and women and fear Allah through Whom you demand your mutual (rights), and (do not cut the relations of) the wombs (kinship). Surely, Allah is Ever and All-Watcher over you." (Al-Nisa 4:1)
Once again, this article is clearly attempting to just tarnish the image of Islam. Let me ask everyone a question, why cant this murderer just be mentioned as a murderer? Why do they have to mention his faith? What relevance does that have to committing a crime. If you live in the United States you abide to the laws set forth here. Simple as that.
It is a tragedy that Islam has failed to ensure that a woman in a Muslim marriage will be safe and secure, however this is a challenge that encompasses not only religious beliefs and practices, but effective societal expectations and punishments as well.
ReplyDeleteTrue, the textual sources in Islam you give in this article send competing messages that do not serve Muslims well as a beacon of how to act and relate to one another, but why is this formal guidance necessary? Do fathers and mothers of any religion need ancient formalized textual teachings to make sure their sons know to respect their wives, sisters and mothers. Domestic violence, and particularly this case of homicide, is not a good example of the types of value-judgments we make with guidance from our faiths. It is clearly wrong to beat or murder your wife under any circumstances, and was most definitely other issues going on, in addition to Aasiya Zubair Hassan's husband's misinterpretation of Muslim teachings.
This article does effectively make the point that domestic violence is a commonplace occurrence in our society, and not in Muslim-American communities. You also then challenge the widely held notion of Muslim teachings oppressing women, and instead emphasize the ambiguity of Islamic textual sources that leave much up for interpretation. These are both important ideas for the American public to recognize and take forth with them in dealings with other issues relating to Muslim-Americans.