ARABIC-L: GEN: Women in Islam

[Dilworth B. Parkinson]

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Arabic-L: Wed 02 Jun 1999
Moderator: Dilworth Parkinson <dilworth_parkinson at byu.edu>
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1) Subject: Women in Islam

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1)
Date: 02 Jun 1999
From: Khalid AbdulSamad Draper <mujahid at gte.net>
Subject: Women in Islam

Marhaban,

I do recognize that this list is devoted to teachers and students of the
Arabic language, and with that duly noted, I apologize for the tangent I
proceed to take.

In the post to which I am responding, there was the following statement
"quest to understand femininity--with Muslim women's oppression, the
practice of female genital mutilation, and the everlasting question of the
veil drawing most of the scrutiny."

In most Western acedemia, I find it quite disconcerting that most if not all
discussion about women and Islam portrays the Muslim woman as the most
oppressed person on the face of the planet.

As an American who converted to Islam, and as a student of the Arabic
language, I wonder just how much time these people have spent with Muslims.
I also wonder how much effort have they invested in drawing the line between
Islam and cultural practices which may be, rather than Islam, the culprit
responsible for the purported "Islamic" injustices against women.

In my admittedly brief time as a Muslim, I have found that in instances of
oppression and suppression of women that I have seen personally, it was due
to the lack of knowledge and understanding of Islam on the part of the male
rather than his implementation of Islam.

As far as Western acedemia has come from the days when certain orientalists
claimed that the Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) was killed by a stampede of pigs
while in a drunken stupor (a'udhu biLLah)- how far it has to go before it
can finally gaze with an objective eye at Islam and Muslims.

Shukran,

Khalid

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End of Arabic-L: 02 Jun 1999