Muslim Women In America

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

A common misconception is that Muslim women are oppressed all around the world, but this is a fallacy created through the use of propaganda and misinformation. The so-called "oppression of women" is not a characteristic of Islam at all and to say otherwise would be out of ignorance. Reza Aslan (2015), a scholar of all religions, makes it clear that oppression of women is not related to Islam but to particular countries. A common propaganda technique is to use Saudi Arabia as the standard of Islam. This could not be further from the truth, as many Muslim countries view women equally if not beyond that. There are dozens of Muslim countries who have had more female heads of state than the US; Algeria, Turkey, Sudan, Senegal. There are a handful of Muslim countries around the world, who mention women's equal rights in their constitution, whereas the U.S is one of 32 countries who does not include an explicit gender equality guarantee (Ravitz, 2015). Using an uneducated generalization, that holds no merit, causes inconsistencies and mistaken impressions of a particular

Muslim women wear the veil for a variety of reasons, which vary from individual to individual and from culture to culture.

“The Hijab limits me from doing certain things. When I have the Hijab on…as a Muslim woman, I consider myself basically representing the whole community” (Ruby 29). Aspects like this set this woman apart from her peers because she is now labeled as just one thing, a Muslim, when in fact she is much more than that. Women who wear the Hijab, Muhajibah, living in the western world, I believe, have it harder than they do living back home. Here, they are subject to a lot more attention when not necessary such as weird looks walking down the street and subject to stereotypes ie. being a terrorist. Islamic women are not the only ones being oppressed by their choice of clothing; in fact every woman around the world is target towards oppression. Islamic women are just targeted more than women of other religions. This is because of the strict faith that they endure from the Qu’ran telling them that they need to dress a certain way. However, it has been debated that the Qu’ran actually doesn’t mention anything about a women needing to wear a Hijab to be a good Muslim. (Kawaji)

Today, Islam is seen as a violent religion, the mention of Muslims anywhere strike fear into people. But yet there are more Muslim doctors, writers, engineers, scientist, thriving in first world countries than anyone else. Muslim people lack the ability to have their own identity due to the medias interpretation of them. It’s even more for Muslim women because they will forever be painted as Oppressed. In American Muslim Women by Jamillah Karim, the author gathers information about barriers Muslim women face living in Chicago and Atlanta, either through segregations, discrimination, and gender roles. The author mentions how people of the same ethnic background tend to stay together, instead of branching outside or their race, and how Muslim women are treated like underdogs when they interact with Muslim men in the mosque, at work, and etc. People that normally identify with the same race, religion, and ethnicity tend to stay together. This reading discussed “boundaries” that women face in the mosque and how they are bound to the back, while men are privileged with front row seats, closer to the Unman. The reason could be that these women that

There are many political, religious, and cultural factors that shape the lives of Islamic women many of them are completely different than factors in the lives of American women. Islam is one of the world’s fastest growing religions; however, Brooks argues that “Islam’s holiest texts have been misused to justify the repression of women, and how male pride and power have warped the original message of this once liberating faith.” The book also shows these factors have slowly been taking away women’s rights, rather than furthering them.

The women was almost treated equally during the Muhammad’s persuasion, however, until the Abbasid time, the women were only a commodities and even slaves. Muhammad married widow for his sympathy, however, Muslim treated as indulgence of polygamies. The treatment to women was also becoming worse and worse. During the Muhammad time, in their own family, women would receive respect from others. Muhammad treated each of his own wives equally and spread the idea of equal. However, after the death of Khadija, they should be seclusion and veiling that public was an unsafely place under the control of Umar. Never the freedom permitted, but more restriction during the Abbasid time. Women treated as a sexual necessaries and commodities, and they never receive respect from their husband. They had no right of marriage and no right of

In today’s society women are given ample opportunity just as much as men. In some countries, such as middle-eastern nations that is not the case. Muslim women are often perceived to be submissive to Muslim men and unequal. Mohammed never taught for women to be treated as lower class citizens. Nonetheless, the blame is pointed towards the religion of Islam. The Islamic religion began as all monotheist religions representing a belief in one God and moral standards. In the following essay I will discuss and elaborate what Mohammed taught, how women lived in early Islamic society, and what it has become.

The wearing of a hijab or also known as a veil has lately become a problematic issue in numerous locations around the world, in particularly the Western part of the world. Hijab or veil is a headscarf that is regularly worn by Muslim women. Muslim women will wear a veil as a sign of favor to their faith. On the opposite side, others will wear it because they have no other choice from the pressure of their family members and religion. Individuals will even argue that the wearing of a hijab is a spiritual liberation. Other individuals will have a difference in opinion by saying that by wearing a hijab is an unjust to women, they believe that the wearing of a hijab is part of a Muslim system that brings women under command and control.

According to Islamic.org, “It is the general consensus among the Muslims that a Muslim woman is required to cover her head leaving only her face showing as part of an overall dress code and behaviour which Islam prescribes. It is therefore

In every country around the world, women's lives are shaped by the influences of both society and by religion. “The Quran, Islam’s holy book, mandates that women have the right to seek education, choose their own mates, work, possess and inherit wealth or property, divorce, and remarry” (Hurley 76). So despite the Quran’s clear support for women’s rights and equality, why do many people feel that Muslim women are oppressed? The hijab head covering worn by Muslim women has been in the news on and off for some time now and has been a topic of many debates. Here in America, one would feel this requirement on women as oppressive, but most Muslim women feel that this is a way to be looked at not for their beauty, but for their minds. The issues here is that people have a hard time differentiating between culture and religion, two things that are completely different but have a huge effect on each other. People also have a hard time understanding things that are different. Just because it is different than how we live, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s wrong.

Most people have seen a woman walking down the street or in a mall clad in what appears to be scarves wrapped around her head, covering her hair, ears, and neck. In some situations these women even have a veil covering up most of their face. This is becoming a common occurrence in the United States as the Islamic population grows. Some may view this as a way to make these women subservient, making it seem like they don’t have an identity or a voice. This leaves many to wonder why they would wear such a thing in modern America where women are treated as equals and do have a voice. The truth behind the headscarf does

Through a sociological perspective such an issue can be viewed as symbolic interaction as it deals with a range of feminist approaches. Using a micro perspective it will be easier to make sense, conceive and define the social perspective. How is it that one decides to practice a religion or not? Why does religious socialization vary through previous years until now? According to the textbook Introduction to Sociology “individuals have goals, objectives, purposes, intentions, motives, or utility functions as well as knowledge ad exceptions about which kinds of behaviors are most likely to achieve them” (Hewitt et al., 9). In relation to this topic the acting symbol of this religion is the hijab along with the lack of knowledge that a hijab is not usually forced upon women to wear rather an act of their choice. Networks can be a reason to blame for this. Media is often stereotyping those who chose to wear the veil influencing public opinion. Constructive understanding through corruption is the acting agent to humanization. “Behavior and attitudes therefore can depend upon how individuals perceive, define, or construct their social world” (Hewitt et al, 9). The use and understanding of such a topic is very important

Nowhere in the Qur’an does it say Muslim women must wear a headscarf, only that modesty is practiced. “There are two requirements, which come from the Qur’an and hadith..: First, a woman’s body should be covered such that only her face, hands, and feet are revealed. Secondly, the clothing must be loose enough so that the shape of a woman’s body is not visible.” Other than those specifications, it is completely the woman’s choice in accordance with what feels modest or immodest to her! Some people tend to project what their definition of modesty/immodesty is onto other women, and think that their own definition should be the minimum or requirement for all Muslim women. This is one example where women are not oppressed by patriarchy(unless they are forced to wear more than meets the requirements of modesty and where she feels modest enough without extra covering), in fact for some it is

In some countries like the United States, the wearing of the hijab brings out the worst in people. This is opposite of the situation in countries like Afghanistan. According to Nomani, violence has gotten so gruesome that a father beat his four year old daughter to the death because her scarf slipped. In countries like the United States, some community members might act out against innocent Muslim people because of the terrorist attacks that have been made on the United States from people of that same religion. To take out their anger, people have been seen ripping the scarf off of women, or even brutally beating them. It would not be surprising for someone to bring out a snickersnee. They might think that they are protecting the country, but really they are hurting people who are a part of it. It could threaten the safety of someone who is not a danger to the