How much do you know about Islam, really? If you're like me, not much. Before coming here, I knew that Mohammad was its most important prophet and that you should not depict him in any way or else something serious could happen. I knew that Muslims call God "Allah" and pray 5 times a day in the direction of Mecca, which is a city in Saudi Arabia. I knew that the holy book of Islam is the Qur'an and that it may never be altered or defaced. I knew that people fast during a holy month called Ramadan and that violence sometimes happens during this time. I knew that the holy buildings of worship in Islam are called "mosques" and I knew that there is a call to prayer 5 times a day when worshipers must stop what they're doing, face Mecca, and pray. I knew that women had to cover their hair and, it seems, most of themselves. I knew that there are 2 different branches of Islam that disagree--Sunnis and Shias. I also had heard of things that I knew had something to do with Islam but I wasn't really sure what: Jihad, the Muslim Brotherhood, Sharia Law, angels, etc. I have heard, for example, that Muslims believe that when you die you get a large number of virgins in the afterlife to--I don't know. Have your way with? I've heard that Muslim's can have polygamous marriages. I've heard women are oppressed. I've heard men beat their wives. Etc., etc...
I am not an expert on Islam by any definition of the word. My knowledge of Islam at this point comes from 3 things: a Wikipedia article I read (1), a conversation with a Kuwaiti man I had on a boat, and my observations after living in Kuwait for 2 months. So basically--my knowledge is crap. I know the scantest information about Islam and what it means to be a Muslim. The is my disclaimer!! :) That said, even just these 3 sources have challenged pretty much everything I thought I knew. For example, did you know that of the world's 1.7 billion Muslims, the vast majority live in Asia, not the Middle East? The top countries with the most Muslim's per capita, according to Wikipedia's article on Islam, are Indonesia, Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh. Arabs only account for 20% of the world's population of Muslims. I didn't know that! I also didn't know that Muslim's believe in predestination and that only God will decide who will enter heaven at the time of judgment. I didn't really know that Muslim's believe that Moses, Abraham, and Jesus are prophets and that Mohammad is the last prophet in this line. I didn't know that Muslim's believe the Torah and the New Testament to have been corrupted over time and the Qur'an to be the only accurate holy text. I didn't know that the the Qur'an was written in Arabic and that Muslim's believe the only true way to understand the Qur'an is to read it in its untranslated form. I didn't know that the difference between Sunni (which comprise about 75-90% of Muslims) and Shia (10-20%) is a disagreement about whether Mohammad named a successor. I didn't know that the clothes and coverings women wear in the Middle East are a mix of cultural (abayas and veils) and religious (hijab--the head scarf). And on and on and on.
To bring it back to my original question, how much do your really know about Islam? And what is your knowledge based on? Is it based on emails you've received from family and friends? Is it based on news articles that highlight the negative aspects of countries where there is conflict and religious strife? From my own experience, the knowledge I had about Islam before moving to the Middle East and investigating it in greater detail was insufficient (at best) and inaccurate (at worst). Some things I thought I knew have turned out to simply be untrue. My views on women and Islam have certainly been challenged as I find out more about their lives here in Kuwait. And, of course, it's crucial to remember that there is not one version of Islam just as there is not one version of Christianity. In Christianity, there are countless denominations that have resulted from disagreement in interpretation over the years. Christians may call themselves Catholics, Evangelicals, Methodists, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Baptists, Pentecostal, Mormons, etc. It's the same in Islam--there are different branches of Islam that interpret its tenets very differently. For example, did you know that Sufism--the whirling dervishes--is a branch of Islam?:
So, just like all Christians don't worship the same way, pray the same way, etc., all Muslims don't follow the same practices. I see this out my window every day. Because there are so many immigrant women in Kuwait, I see the obvious differences in clothing everyday amongst Muslim women in my neighborhood:
These are not my pictures--just pictures I pulled from the internet showing the differences in dress amongst Muslim women from different countries. The commonality? All of them are covering their hair. This, according to the Kuwaiti man I spoke with yesterday, is for religious reasons--the hair, he said, is the most beautiful part of a woman and should therefore remain covered. He told me that women should emulate the Virgin Mary who's head is covered in all depictions:
The veil that is worn over the face is, according to him, cultural--not religious. Many Muslim women do not wear the veil, but those who wear it often choose to do so willingly (2). It's worth noting that Islam is not the only religion to utilize veiling or head scarves--Christianity, for example, has this tradition as well:
And, of course, the tradition of wearing a veil during one's wedding is common in many cultures as it symbolizes chastity and virtue:
(Wikipedia's articles on veils is quite good: 3)
The important thing to keep in mind is that while the hijab (head scarf) is worn by many Muslim women around the world (though certainly not all! Remember there are lots of different denominations of Islam just as there are in Christianity or Judaism), what is worn outside of hijab varies widely depending on the culture, denomination, and individual values Muslim women ascribe to.
So why all the fuss? Why do we Westerners care so much about how other people express their faith? I suppose the argument often comes up about free will--are women FORCED to wear hijab, abayas, veils, etc.?--but even then, it seems that when evidence is shown that states that most women who wear these items do so willingly, many of us say, "oh, but they're all brainwashed--how do they really know what freedom is if they are oppressed?" It's interesting to note that there are different beliefs about the role of women in Islam--again, it differs depending on where you live, the orthodoxy of the branch of Islam you follow, etc. When I asked the Kuwaiti man about the role of women in Islam yesterday, he said, "Some places are just making up rules that are not based on the Qur'an. For example, where does it say in the Qur'an that women can't drive?" But this is also the same problem in any religion, yes? People's interpretations of holy texts differ. We can see this in Christianity and the role of women:
Are these women oppressed? Do head coverings+ill-fitting clothing=oppression? I would imagine the women wearing these garments would argue otherwise. So why do we presume that Islamic women are oppressed based on their clothing?
Of course, one might argue that it's not clothing that indicates the subjugation of women--it's the teachings of the Qur'an. Again, I can't really say anything about what the Qur'an does or does not say about the role of women because I haven't studied it. But I can turn that argument around and say that if you look at some of the things the Bible says about women, particularly in the Old Testament, you could certainly argue that Christianity encourages the subjagation and oppression of women:
"Deuteronomy 22:13-21: A bride who had been presented as a virgin, and who could not be proven to be one, was to be stoned to death by the men of her village. Verse 21 says: 'Then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her father's house, and the men of her city shall stone her with stones that she die: because she hath wrought folly in Israel, to play the whore in her father's house: so shalt thou put evil away from among you.'" (4)
Of course, if you study the Bible and Christianity, you might be able to explain that the Old Testament of the Bible reflects the culture of the time it was written in and that the New Testament presents a different view of women than the Old Testament. But have you studied the Qur'an? If presented with a quote like the one above, would you be able to understand its context and understand how it's interpreted in modern-day Islamic thought?
I guess I just wanted to post something about where my thinking is on this topic. It's such a heated topic in Western society and there is so much fear-mongering going concerning Islam. There is so much blind hatred that I believe is the direct result of ignorance and misinformation. And it matters because for better or worse, we live in an increasingly interconnected world that relies on all of us to work together to find solutions to common problems. But even in our own country, it's difficult to have a frank conversation about religion, particularly Islam. One thing that struck me as I spoke with the Kuwaiti man on the boat is that for all of the Abrahamic religions--that is Judaism, Christianity, and Islam--they all start from the same point. God created the world. He created the heavens and the earth and all that lie within. He created man in his image. And then there's a schism when Jesus is born--Jews disagree that he is the son of God and a new branch forms where followers of Christ become Christians. And there's huge strife. Christians are persecuted. There's massive war and conflict as a result of this schism. Then, 500 years later, Mohammad is born. He feels that both Christianity and Judaism have lost the true message of Abraham. He pens the Qur'an and his followers become Muslims. There's more strife. And so it goes for thousands of years. Many denominations of these 3 branch out. But basically it's the same starting point--the disagreement is over where the story ends. Jews do not believe that Jesus is the son of God. Christians believe he is. Muslim's believe he's a prophet, but that Mohammad is the last prophet in the line. Similarly, Mormons believe that there are prophets beyond Jesus as well (5). The thing that is confusing to me is why, in America anyway, are Christians so rah-rah about Jews and Israel but so suspicious of Mormons and Muslims? It seems inconsistent to me. Clearly I don't really understand all of the nuances of these issues, but it seems like there is little conversation about how these women are being oppressed:
Why the double standard, America?
Okay! That's enough from me. Feel free to comment below or send me a facebook message--I'd love some feedback! Hope this has been food for thought. :) Miss everyone back home!
I am not an expert on Islam by any definition of the word. My knowledge of Islam at this point comes from 3 things: a Wikipedia article I read (1), a conversation with a Kuwaiti man I had on a boat, and my observations after living in Kuwait for 2 months. So basically--my knowledge is crap. I know the scantest information about Islam and what it means to be a Muslim. The is my disclaimer!! :) That said, even just these 3 sources have challenged pretty much everything I thought I knew. For example, did you know that of the world's 1.7 billion Muslims, the vast majority live in Asia, not the Middle East? The top countries with the most Muslim's per capita, according to Wikipedia's article on Islam, are Indonesia, Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh. Arabs only account for 20% of the world's population of Muslims. I didn't know that! I also didn't know that Muslim's believe in predestination and that only God will decide who will enter heaven at the time of judgment. I didn't really know that Muslim's believe that Moses, Abraham, and Jesus are prophets and that Mohammad is the last prophet in this line. I didn't know that Muslim's believe the Torah and the New Testament to have been corrupted over time and the Qur'an to be the only accurate holy text. I didn't know that the the Qur'an was written in Arabic and that Muslim's believe the only true way to understand the Qur'an is to read it in its untranslated form. I didn't know that the difference between Sunni (which comprise about 75-90% of Muslims) and Shia (10-20%) is a disagreement about whether Mohammad named a successor. I didn't know that the clothes and coverings women wear in the Middle East are a mix of cultural (abayas and veils) and religious (hijab--the head scarf). And on and on and on.
To bring it back to my original question, how much do your really know about Islam? And what is your knowledge based on? Is it based on emails you've received from family and friends? Is it based on news articles that highlight the negative aspects of countries where there is conflict and religious strife? From my own experience, the knowledge I had about Islam before moving to the Middle East and investigating it in greater detail was insufficient (at best) and inaccurate (at worst). Some things I thought I knew have turned out to simply be untrue. My views on women and Islam have certainly been challenged as I find out more about their lives here in Kuwait. And, of course, it's crucial to remember that there is not one version of Islam just as there is not one version of Christianity. In Christianity, there are countless denominations that have resulted from disagreement in interpretation over the years. Christians may call themselves Catholics, Evangelicals, Methodists, Lutherans, Presbyterians, Baptists, Pentecostal, Mormons, etc. It's the same in Islam--there are different branches of Islam that interpret its tenets very differently. For example, did you know that Sufism--the whirling dervishes--is a branch of Islam?:
These are not my pictures--just pictures I pulled from the internet showing the differences in dress amongst Muslim women from different countries. The commonality? All of them are covering their hair. This, according to the Kuwaiti man I spoke with yesterday, is for religious reasons--the hair, he said, is the most beautiful part of a woman and should therefore remain covered. He told me that women should emulate the Virgin Mary who's head is covered in all depictions:
The veil that is worn over the face is, according to him, cultural--not religious. Many Muslim women do not wear the veil, but those who wear it often choose to do so willingly (2). It's worth noting that Islam is not the only religion to utilize veiling or head scarves--Christianity, for example, has this tradition as well:
And, of course, the tradition of wearing a veil during one's wedding is common in many cultures as it symbolizes chastity and virtue:
(Wikipedia's articles on veils is quite good: 3)
The important thing to keep in mind is that while the hijab (head scarf) is worn by many Muslim women around the world (though certainly not all! Remember there are lots of different denominations of Islam just as there are in Christianity or Judaism), what is worn outside of hijab varies widely depending on the culture, denomination, and individual values Muslim women ascribe to.
So why all the fuss? Why do we Westerners care so much about how other people express their faith? I suppose the argument often comes up about free will--are women FORCED to wear hijab, abayas, veils, etc.?--but even then, it seems that when evidence is shown that states that most women who wear these items do so willingly, many of us say, "oh, but they're all brainwashed--how do they really know what freedom is if they are oppressed?" It's interesting to note that there are different beliefs about the role of women in Islam--again, it differs depending on where you live, the orthodoxy of the branch of Islam you follow, etc. When I asked the Kuwaiti man about the role of women in Islam yesterday, he said, "Some places are just making up rules that are not based on the Qur'an. For example, where does it say in the Qur'an that women can't drive?" But this is also the same problem in any religion, yes? People's interpretations of holy texts differ. We can see this in Christianity and the role of women:
Are these women oppressed? Do head coverings+ill-fitting clothing=oppression? I would imagine the women wearing these garments would argue otherwise. So why do we presume that Islamic women are oppressed based on their clothing?
Of course, one might argue that it's not clothing that indicates the subjugation of women--it's the teachings of the Qur'an. Again, I can't really say anything about what the Qur'an does or does not say about the role of women because I haven't studied it. But I can turn that argument around and say that if you look at some of the things the Bible says about women, particularly in the Old Testament, you could certainly argue that Christianity encourages the subjagation and oppression of women:
"Deuteronomy 22:13-21: A bride who had been presented as a virgin, and who could not be proven to be one, was to be stoned to death by the men of her village. Verse 21 says: 'Then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her father's house, and the men of her city shall stone her with stones that she die: because she hath wrought folly in Israel, to play the whore in her father's house: so shalt thou put evil away from among you.'" (4)
Of course, if you study the Bible and Christianity, you might be able to explain that the Old Testament of the Bible reflects the culture of the time it was written in and that the New Testament presents a different view of women than the Old Testament. But have you studied the Qur'an? If presented with a quote like the one above, would you be able to understand its context and understand how it's interpreted in modern-day Islamic thought?
I guess I just wanted to post something about where my thinking is on this topic. It's such a heated topic in Western society and there is so much fear-mongering going concerning Islam. There is so much blind hatred that I believe is the direct result of ignorance and misinformation. And it matters because for better or worse, we live in an increasingly interconnected world that relies on all of us to work together to find solutions to common problems. But even in our own country, it's difficult to have a frank conversation about religion, particularly Islam. One thing that struck me as I spoke with the Kuwaiti man on the boat is that for all of the Abrahamic religions--that is Judaism, Christianity, and Islam--they all start from the same point. God created the world. He created the heavens and the earth and all that lie within. He created man in his image. And then there's a schism when Jesus is born--Jews disagree that he is the son of God and a new branch forms where followers of Christ become Christians. And there's huge strife. Christians are persecuted. There's massive war and conflict as a result of this schism. Then, 500 years later, Mohammad is born. He feels that both Christianity and Judaism have lost the true message of Abraham. He pens the Qur'an and his followers become Muslims. There's more strife. And so it goes for thousands of years. Many denominations of these 3 branch out. But basically it's the same starting point--the disagreement is over where the story ends. Jews do not believe that Jesus is the son of God. Christians believe he is. Muslim's believe he's a prophet, but that Mohammad is the last prophet in the line. Similarly, Mormons believe that there are prophets beyond Jesus as well (5). The thing that is confusing to me is why, in America anyway, are Christians so rah-rah about Jews and Israel but so suspicious of Mormons and Muslims? It seems inconsistent to me. Clearly I don't really understand all of the nuances of these issues, but it seems like there is little conversation about how these women are being oppressed:
Why the double standard, America?
Okay! That's enough from me. Feel free to comment below or send me a facebook message--I'd love some feedback! Hope this has been food for thought. :) Miss everyone back home!
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