Originally posted by: Soybomb
i agree, the inflexibility is a huge problem since sharia(pretty sure i messed up the spelling) can not adapt to modern society but its the same with catholic dogma.
I"m not sure that I entirely agree with that. The vatican has even publically accepted evolution. To me the "seat" of christianity seems far more flexibile and willing to modernize than the seat of islam.
As an atheist I don't really have much of a horse in the race. I think all religions are responsible for some pretty terrible things both in the past and currently. I certainly don't people that all muslims are taught or believe that their faith is a violent matter. There is certainly a large enough number of people taught a violent version of islam that it is a serious issue. To me that just means that no matter is the koran is "really" peaceful or not, there's a lot of violent muslims out there.
edit: Is there an islamic country that we could consider as not having human rights issues or in some way oppressive
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Majority_Muslim_countries
Women?s Rights and How it Differs from Shari?a to Shari?a
''Many women face additional barriers to the enjoyment of their human rights because of such factors as their race, language, ethnicity, culture, religion, disability or socio-economic class or because they are indigenous people, migrants, including women migrant workers, displaced women or refugees. They may also be disadvantaged and marginalized by a general lack of knowledge and recognition of their human rights as well as by the obstacles they meet in gaining access to information and recourse mechanisms in cases of violation of their rights.''
-Beijing Platform for Action, Strategic Objective I, paragraph 225 (FWCW Platform for Action: Human Rights for Women).
Throughout history, women have been on the receiving end of oppressive societies and cultures. It is no question that, to this day, the oppression in various countries persists. In some regions of the world, the mistreatment of women has been in practice for so long that where one people may find the treatment grotesque and inhumane, the others ? the oppressors and the oppressed ? find it banal. Since September 11, a lot of attention has been focused on the Muslim world and its human rights towards women. The treatment of women, a subject of the differing opinion, throughout the Middle East, has been an ongoing debate. In Islamic countries, it is part of the shari?a ? Islamic law ? that while ?women and men are created as equal they are assigned differing roles in society? (Barzegar). In fact, the Prophet Mohammad did not advocate unequal treatment of men and women nor did he suggest women to be veiled and secluded. He was even mocked and assaulted because of his strong and courageous stance on the status of women. He came with a message that lifted women up and gave them dignity (Pulsipher, 282). Although every Islamic country holds true to their shari?a, there are differences. For example, the two largest countries in the Middle East, Iran and Saudi Arabia, are the most influential of countries in this region, yet are completely different when it comes to women?s rights under shari?a.
Saudi Arabia, for example, exercises the Wahhabi school of thought. This way of life was essentially a purification of the Sunni sect of Islam regarding the ?veneration of saints, ostentation in worship, and luxurious living as the chief evils? (Columbia Encyclopedia, ed. 6). The founder, Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahab (c.1703-1791), taught that everything past the third century of Islam was unauthentic and, therefore, should be removed from society. Basically, everything that was not necessary and was not part of the Islamic way of life at its grassroots was viewed as false (extravagant dress, smoking tobacco or hashish, beautifications in mosques, etc.). The way it became woven into the Saudi way of life was simple; he converted the Saud tribe. In 1763, the Saudi sheik waged jihad against any opposing views of Islam and conquered his neighbors.
This is contrasted greatly with the Shia, or Jafari Shia, school of thought implemented in Iran. Shiaism started in Iran by a man name Hassan Sabbah. It was a modified version of Islam that was used as a way to fight off the invading Arabs. It adheres to belief that there were 12 legitimate successors, or imams, to the Prophet Mohammad. The term ?Shia? refers to the followers of the fourth Caliph Ali, who was the Prophet Muhammad's son-in-law through his daughter Fatima. He was the last Caliph to be elected, as well as the last Caliph to be chosen from the original group of converts. They chose Ali because he was the only rightful successor of the Prophet Mohammad, thus rejecting the first three Caliphs.
In Saudi Arabia, women were expected to take care of the home and family who would, in turn, be taken care of by the men. Men have higher education, greater access to employment, the right to drive, and greater power to make decisions within a family and community. Because of this, women carry the burden of birthing as many male heirs as possible in order to enhance family wealth and social rank. In this society, men come before women (Pulsipher, 277). Men have all the rights and privileges of all activities and positions in society. For example, men can be judges, lawyers, drivers, and businessmen whereas women can?t do anything except for what their husbands let them. In fact, men get two times more inheritance than a woman. Also, as a witness, one male witness account is equal to two female witness accounts (Mozafari).
Saudi women live life themed with seclusion. The standard of seclusion in this part of the region is so high that women are only allowed to see the streets from their apartments through latticed bays. That way, she can see out and no one else can see in (Pulsipher, 283). If a woman wanted to go outside, she must be accompanied by a related male and must walk a few steps behind him (Hensley). In addition, she must be covered from head-to-toe in black with eyeholes to allow her vision. The covering is another way by which to keep her secluded. This decree, if disobeyed, is punishable by imprisonment, flogging, or even death ? as 15 schoolgirls in Mecca found out. ?In Mecca, religious police forced 15 girls back into a burning school ? to their death in March 2002. Their crime? They tried to flee without their scarves. In Saudi Arabia, devotion to religious practices comes ahead of life itself ? if you are a woman (Women in Islam).? Also, women, as well as men, cannot dance or commingle with the opposite sex at parties. For example, men and women are separated throughout their entire wedding. The rooms are segregated; women are in the room with the bride and men are in the room with the groom.
Despite advancements in wealth and standard of living in Saudi Arabia, the status and treatment of women has more or less stayed the same. Due to international pressure, education for women has improved. There are more female teachers ? who can only teach girls ? however, it doesn?t get them anywhere in society. Although the female literacy rate gone from 50.3% in 1998 (Pulsipher, 278) to 68.2% in 2001 (GDI, 2001), Saudi Arabia has only 8% of women who are wage-earning workers (Pulsipher, 277).
Under the Islamic regime adopted in 1979, the social status of women in Iran is considerably better than that of Saudi Arabia. In fact, equality between men and women has always been deeply rooted in Persian culture and society due to the widespread belief in Zoroastrianism (Mozafari). Although women and men are segregated in Iran today, the disparities between men and women in regards to education and job opportunities are not great. For the year 2001, the literacy rate of women in Iran was 70.2% and 83.8% for the men (GDI, 2001). Furthermore, in Iran, women are allowed suffrage, which is a large part of why President Mohammad Khatami is the president today. In fact, most of the voters who voted for him were women and students (Pulsipher, 307). This was because he was a reformist and the most moderate of the other clerics.
Iranian women must adhere to the hijab or ru-sarri (?head covering?) ? it?s more-or-less a babushka ? past the age of puberty. However, it is not uncommon to see Western dress and make-up under a chador. In fact, moderate president Mohammad Khatami?s mother has been seen wearing high-fashion clothing under her chador (Pulsipher, 283). They are only required to wear it when out in public. Many women view the chador as not only a traditional article of clothing for them to wear, but a sign of respect for Islam as well as themselves.
However, there is a constant feminist movement in Iran. One major victory for the feminist movement in Iran happened this past week when the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Shireen Ebadi, a former judge and professor of law at the University of Tehran. Also, as a result of the women?s struggle in Iran, there are seven senators and one of the vice presidents is women.
In conclusion, the key differences in each state?s school of thought influence the wellbeing of society and the treatment of women. Women?s rights in Saudi Arabia are considerably different than those in Iran. As mentioned before, Saudi Arabia?s Wahhabi-based Sunni Shari?a was shaped in a way that it brought society back almost a century. It changed everything that Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahab said was un-Islamic to the way it was up to three centuries past Islam?s creation. The Shia school of thought came in defiance to Arab advancements into Persian land. It was a modified version of Islam as a form of protection as well as defiance. Because of the social structures in place in these two societies during the grassroots of the shari?as they have in place today, there are many differences. In Saudi Arabia, Wahhabism took over neighbors by conquest and was enforced and changed societies. Today, because of that, women cannot become professionals in Saudi Arabia. They cannot become doctors, lawyers, businesswomen, or even police officers. However, because Persia had a social structure in place for over 2000 years set by Zoroastrianism where men and women were essentially equal, the modification of Islam did not greatly alter the way of life for Persian women. Up to the Islamic revolution, women could do basically everything a man could do. It is these core fundamentals that shape a shari?a to one that is strict and oppressive from one that is tolerant to change and modification.
Bibliography
1) ?Wahhabi.? Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, Copyright © 2003.
2) United Nations FWCW Platform for Action: Human Rights of Women. Beijing, 1995.
3) Hensley, Caroline. Personal Interview. October 15, 2003
4) Mozafari, David. Personal Interview.
5) Barzegar, Abbas. Personal Interview. October 15, 2003
6) ?Women in Islam.? Road to Peace. Sept 2002
http://www.roadtopeace.org/history/women/women.htm
7) Pulsipher, Lydia M. World Regional Geography. New York: W. H. Freeman and Company, 2000.
8) ?Human Development Index (HDI): Monitoring Human Development: Enlarging People?s Choices?? Human Development Reports 2003. 2003
http://www.undp.org/hdr2003/indicator/pdf/hdr03_table_1.pdf
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