I Am A Young Muslim Woman Born And Raised On A Western Culture Essay

The issue of women in Islam is highly controversial. As a Muslim American living in the United States many times I get judged about my religion. People think that because I am a Muslim woman in America I am being restricted from many things and can’t be like every other woman in America. Islam has many similarities with other religion and it does have its differences. Being raised as a Muslim woman in America has made me the strong and independent woman I am today. I am going to be talking about my own religion that I’m well knowledgeable of. What the media shows and how people talk badly about the religion is truly ruining the religion and its true beauty. Woman in Islam are not being oppressed for anything there’s true beauty behind this

Throughout centuries of human existence, women have been deemed as inferior to men in multiple different cultures and religions. Men have developed a norm to be the individual who carries out duties to help maintain a stable life for himself and the family in which he is providing for. Because of this fundamentalist approach towards how society should be, women’s rights have been suppressed throughout political, social, and cultural actions. The Islamic religion in particular, is fond of abusing the rights of women and empowering the rights of men in such a way that it has created a permanent existence of conflict within countries who follow Islam. In fact, in the Quran it states that women must have lesser authority than men, therefore their

unequally in marriage, in court, and in society. Difficulty through marriage for Muslim women can come from age, divorce, and having to be subservient to their husbands. Not only is there difficulty in marriage, but also in the unequal treatment in the islamic justice systems, such as when “evidence given by a female witness counts for half that given by a man” (Dargie 22). Although the societies of major Islamic countries differ, it is clear that women are not represented equally to men in any of them, for example having to dress and act certain ways so as not to attract any attention from men. However, there are Islamic women who are willing to change how their religion views females by speaking out and encouraging others to do the same.

The term sociological imagination was a concept constructed by the American Sociologist C. Wright Mills in 1959 to describe the ability to understand how our lives are affected by the historical and sociological changes around us. In order to possess the knowledge of sociological imagination, we should be able to pull away from the current situation and be able to look and think from a different perspective. C. Wright Mills defined his concept of sociological imagination as “...the vivid awareness of the relationship between experience and the wider society”. We need to be able to grasp the connection between the society which is shaped by the historical events and how our personal biography is affected by these events take place everyday. To further reiterate this concept, I will attempt to discuss how social issues surrounding my gender and my religion as a Muslim woman living in the United States have changed my sociological imagination and I how I was able to shift my perspective by thinking from a different point of view thus applying the C. Wright Mills’ concept of sociological imagination in my personal life. by making references to articles, “Gender as Structure” (Ferguson, 291) and “Muslims in America” (Ferguson, 519). I will also attempt to explain the how knower and known is related to the social issues of gender and religion.

In “An Introduction to Muslim Women’s Rights,” Azizah al-Hibri discusses how patriarchy affects the interpretation of Quran. She argues that Muslim jurists that interpreted the Quran and Islamic Law, lived in a patriarch world. Their views about men and women are based on the patriarchy in their societies, hence, their interpretation of the Quran and Islamic Law represents patriarchy. Al-Hibri argues that throughout the Quran, God emphasizes his Oneness and says that all humans were created by him from one soul. This emphasizes the concept of tawhid; there is no God but Allah and that Allah considers all human beings equal regardless of their gender. Furthermore, she argues that for Allah, the one who is the most pious is the most honorable, hence, gender plays no role and does not make one superior than the other. Moreover, she argues that considering men to be naturally superior to women is the same mistake that Satan committed. He considered himself to be naturally superior to others and refused to bow to Adam. Aziza Al- Hibri also gives suggestions for what important changes need to be made in order to improve the status of Muslim women in the society. She argues that any interpretation that may be harmful towards any member of the society should be re-evaluated, which include issues such as guardianship, polygamy and divorce, so that Muslim women are given the rights that their religion gives them. Al-Hibri’s work is useful for my research as it argues that the way jurists translated the Quran was affected by the society they lived in. Hence, they interpreted the Quran in a patriarchal context and manipulated it to validate that men are superior to

The Qur’an and the practice of the Prophet Muhammad seem to recognize the different functions and mutually supportive roles of men and women, encouraging an equal and balanced social and family life. In seventh-century Arabia, the Qur’an extended the right of property ownership and financial independence to women. It prohibited the practice of female infanticide and other abuses, and significantly modified marriage and divorce practices. While many Americans consider Islam to be an “oppressive religion” with regard to women, Muslim women often comment on the liberty and dignity they extract from their faith. Many Muslim women say that true Islam is often compromised by oppressive practices that have their roots in cultural differences or political expediency; general ignorance and lack of engagement with the diversity inherited within the tradition contribute to the continuation of these

Many believe that Islam is one of the world's greatest religions. Millions of men, andwomen have found comfort and peace with Islam, as well as people of different creeds have learned to live together. Islam has enriched and inspired the lives of people all around the world and most of its traditions are from the Qur'an. Unfortunately, some have taken the words to mean hatred, violence, and even a ground for the oppression of women. Women have often been on the receiving end of this interpretation. . Women in general, are still being discriminated against in the world today, but being a Muslim woman in America, have unthinkable consequences and daily hardships that many of us American’s could not begin to understand.

The two largest religions in the world, Christianity and Islam, were implemented by two of religions most powerful leaders, Jesus and Muhammad. Without question, both Jesus and Muhammad have affected humanity powerfully. As religious leaders both men laid down the principles upon which Christianity and Islam are founded yet today. However, while Jesus performed miracles and arose from the dead, thus proving to his followers he was God, Muhammad performed no such feats, and made no such claims. In fact, Muhammad’s only claim was that he was the last prophet sent from God.

The Question of Origin - The question of origin is entirely rooted in God. Genesis 1:1 tells us about the creation of the earth and the heavens. Genesis 1:27 tells us that God created man in His own image. “Theism contends that everything that exists, including humans, is the result of God, the Creator God. God is said to have created Ex Nihilo, “out of nothing.”’ (Weider & Gutierrez, 2011) Like the Bible, the Quran offers verses which state that everything was created by God.

Unfortunately, the era of men and women being equal was hasty. Briefly after Mohammed’s death Islamic society changed, so did the interpretations of the Quran to meet different circumstances. Almost simultaneously women became inferior almost being viewed as possessions and property. Having choices was no longer an option for women, whatever the man said became the law. Girls at birth could be killed by their father’s because boys carried the name of the family while girls usually were concubines, workers, or sold. Most significantly women’s roles depended largely on what the husband’s economic status was. If the husband was a farmer the wife had to help in the fields or if the husband worked in the city she had to help run the business.

As FEMEN continues to speak against Islam and their view of the Muslim female "problem", the Muslim women find new ways to ensure their voices are

Muslim culture generally reflects the traditions and customs of Muslims that they adopt for a perfect and respectable life in the society according to the lessons of Quran. Muslim culture is a giant combination of diverse cultures, That’s because Muslims live in various countries all over the world. Most of the practices are common faiths and guidance for all Muslims no matter what country or even content they reside in.. These basic faiths and belives are based on the teachings of Islam. The Muslim culture is a subject of debate for many people who lives in different parts of the world and belong to diverse communities. Muslim culture represents the unification of brotherhood where all Muslims are bound to

Islam is one of the oldest religions in history dating back to about 600 AD. It began when a man named Muhammad heard a voice from the heavens instructing him to proclaim the word of god. Currently there are over 800 million followers of the Muslim religion. The main text of the religion is the Quran which is said to be the word of God, or Allah as called in Muslim. Within the Quran, The five pillars of Islam are proclaimed along with many other concepts very unique to the Muslim religion. Prayer is a very important aspect of Islam as well. Islam has a long history of invention, heritage, and world imperialism that must be understood to completely identify with the concepts of the religion and culture.

Although Western feminism started in the 1900s, yet, it didn’t reach the Islamic world until most recently, a couple of hundred years later than the West. Despite the fact that both of the feminism movements come from totally different back grounds, and they are affected by different history and culture, still, both of them aimed for women’s best interests. Muslim women were profoundly feeling aggrieved by the discrimination they have against them. They stereotypical reputation about them in the West, and their presentation in the Western media didn’t help either. They started and supported a new fight to regain themselves the equal status they were granted by Islam centuries ago. Muslim women didn’t like to be looked at as being backward and oppressed by men in a male-dominant world. According to the feminist historian Margot Badran, “Islamic feminism is a feminist discourse and practice articulated within an Islamic paradigm. Islamic feminism, which derives its understanding and mandate from the Qur 'an, seeks rights and justice for women, and for men, in the totality of their existence.” (Badran, 2001)

In discussing the role of women in contemporary society there are three main areas that can be addressed. The perceptions of woman within contemporary Muslim societies. The status, position and role of woman in the Qur'an and in early Islam