Monday, September 20, 2010

Dedicated to Muslim Women Everywhere...

...who are looking for more freedom than they have experienced until now:

5 comments:

Unknown said...

Women in Islam are much more respected and have more rights and freedom than the Westerners. Please could somebody explain these verses from the Bible regarding women and tell me why they think Muslim women are subjugated so I can try to clear the misconception?

WOMEN: Forbidden to open their mouths in the Church

(a). . for it is a SHAME for women to speak in the Church" 1 CORINTHIANS 14:34-35

(b) To chop off her hands for saving her husband's life. Deuteronomy 25: 11-12.

(c) Her husband to rule over her. Genesis 3:16. The head of the woman is the man. 1 Corinthians 11:3. Man can sell his daughter. Exodus 21:7.

Thanks
Fatima

Quotable Quotes: said...

Fatima,

To be honest, I'm not very interested in comparing religions. What you think about the Bible or Western women is your choice. I would however, be very interested in learning your perspective about the rights, respect, and freedom that women have in Islam, if you would care to email me.

Unknown said...

Fatima,

As a person that was brought up as a Catholic (and now doesn't believe in ANYTHING related to religions, yours included), all I can say is:

A modern day Christian or Jew can just dismiss all the CRAP that was part of that Barbaric era and SAY it publicly without having to worry that ANY "Holy Man" will order their death or persecution for Heresy or Apostasy.

Any woman in the Western Culture has the RIGHT to LAUGH at that stupidity without fear of retaliation. A "Holy Man" would be laughed out of a Church or Temple for trying or even suggesting to go back to those times.

We in the West have something that many people in Islam have a very hard time understanding: FREEDOM!

Freedom to:

1. Agree or Disagree with religions.
2. Practice or NOT practice a religion.
3. Not allow religions to encroach on the basic rights of human beings.
4. Keep Church and State SEPARATE!

The main reason a grown elephant can be kept chained to a small stake in the ground is that it was MADE TO SUBMIT to the BELIEF it didn't have the POWER to change the situation. Humans can be programed to BELIEVE they have to be slaves (and enjoy it too)from childhood.

Here we have developed the option to CHOOSE NOT TO BE SLAVES, without being killed for it.

Anonymous said...

Fatima.

In response to your questions.

1. The verse in question deals with a topic of speaking in tongues in church. It doesn't say they can't speak in a church, but that during the service and during any kind of prophetic utterance they should be quiet as it says "For God is not a God of disorder but of peace". Some people’s behavior in the church was creating chaos during services.

2. It would be nice to see the whole verse "11 If two men are fighting and the wife of one of them comes to rescue her husband from his assailant, and she reaches out and seizes him by his private parts, you shall cut off her hand. Show her no pity." The only time this would be done was if she had the other guy by the balls. Not really enforced today.

3. From Genesis 3:16 'To the woman he said, "I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you."' This wasn't a command; it was part of Eve's punishment. God said he would increase childbearing pain, but it the woman’s desire allowed the husband to rule over her.

As for Exodus 21: 7-11 "If a man sells his daughter as a servant, she is not to go free as menservants do. If she does not please the master who has selected her for himself, he must let her be redeemed. He has no right to sell her to foreigners, because he has broken faith with her. If he selects her for his son, he must grant her the rights of a daughter." This is a far cry from outright slavery. The master could not just sell her off to anyone He also couldn’t use her as a concubine for himself without marrying her. She could also be redeemed by the father. This was the case usually for issues of bankruptcy, but nowhere do you see the blatant abuse that Mohammad put the women that came under his authority.

1 Corinthians 11: 3 says "Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God." This is just setting up a line of authority. Paul also writes in Ephesians 5: 21-30 “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church".

The Quran says:

Qur'an (4:34) - "Men are the maintainers of women because Allah has made some of them to excel others and because they spend out of their property; the good women are therefore obedient, guarding the unseen as Allah has guarded; and (as to) those on whose part you fear desertion, admonish them, and leave them alone in the sleeping-places and beat them; then if they obey you, do not seek a way against them; surely Allah is High, Great."

Qur'an (38:44) - "And take in your hand a green branch and beat her with it, and do not break your oath...".

Personally, as a man, I think if it comes to the point where I feel I have to take a rod to the wife, I've screwed up as a husband big time. Beating may create submission, but the of God the bible says he is Love. There are control freaks in the church and those who abuse the bible for their own desires, but those who read the bible can pretty quickly find out how badly someone has abused the verses.

Anonymous said...

An atheist once put it this way to me "Your religion Your problem"
/*/
For myself I see Islam as a faith by people who used to being bullied by tyrannical leaders. So they see God the same way and live in fear rather than love of God.
Jesus was a complete contrast. I believe he was God's son and our Saviour. He was humble and loving.