Dispelling Stereotypes

It seems a paradox: Muslim women are denied jobs and schooling in Afghanistan, cannot drive in Saudi Arabia and are murdered by relatives for suspected sexual indiscretions in “honor killings” in places ranging from Jordan to Pakistan. But this group of Muslim women at a recent Koranic recitation class in Pasadena unanimously declares that Islam upholds perfect gender equality.

Why?

Because the word of God as revealed in verse after verse of the Koran and in the traditions of the Prophet Muhammad consistently lays out egalitarian teachings, these women say. They are a diverse group of Americans with heritages ranging from African and Palestinian to Egyptian, Sri Lankan and Irish, some sporting sweaters and slacks and others brilliantly colored robes and head coverings.

The Koran gives women a list of specifically enumerated rights, from inheritance to divorce, that were startling advances at the time they were conveyed 1,400 years ago. But, the women say, fallible practices of men have consistently skewed the word and ignored women’s God-given rights in order to prop up patriarchal cultures and repressive political regimes.

“Sometimes the relation between culture and religion gets so melded, it’s hard to tease it out and see which is which,” said Laila Al-Marayati, a Glendale gynecologist whose Muslim Women’s League sponsored the class on the beautiful but breathtakingly difficult art of Koranic recitation--an art traditionally less accessible to women then men.

The recent funeral of King Hussein of Jordan highlighted the confusion over women’s status in Islam, which many Muslims say is one of the most misunderstood aspects of their religion. In one of the more noted aspects of the funeral, Queen Noor and other women were not permitted to attend, in accord with what many news reports called “Islamic tradition.”

That prompted the Muslim Public Affairs Council to issue a statement that the exclusion was “a cultural tradition garbed in Islamic clothing that varies from one place to another.” It noted that the fundamentalist regime of Iran did not bar women from funerals and that several women witnessed the burial of the prophet, including his family members.

In other reflections of the vast diversity of Muslim practices regarding women, Egypt has no female judges but such places as Syria, Morocco, Tunisia do; women are not allowed to lead mixed gatherings in prayer in most Muslim countries but can in Indonesia, said Yvonne Haddad, a Georgetown University professor of Islamic studies.

Albania and Bosnia don’t give women any inheritance despite explicit Koranic instructions to do so, while most Muslim families ignore exhortations for chastity from both genders and expect it only from females, others say.

Saudi Ban on Women Drivers

Many of the most repressive practices ascribed to Islam are based on cultural traditions, social considerations or contested interpretations, many Muslims say. Even Saudi-trained scholars, for instance, agree that the kingdom’s ban on women driving is not grounded in the Koran or the prophet’s traditions. Instead it is a modern social measure aimed at preventing women and men from mingling in unsafe or unexpected circumstances--such as a woman’s car breaking down. (Recent news reports suggest the Saudis may revoke their rule because the cost of providing 500,000 imported male chauffeurs for women is taxing the shrinking royal treasury.)

“Nothing in Islam prevents women from driving--the wife of the prophet rode a camel--but tradition overcame certain teachings of Islam,” said Hussam Ayloush of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

The treatment of women under the Taliban of Afghanistan is widely condemned by Islamic scholars as an affront to Islam. The fundamentalist regime has barred women from working and attending school, forced them to cover themselves from head to toe and imposed a blizzard of repressive rules, including no singing, loud laughs or wearing shoes that click lest the sounds lure men into “corruption.” Reports of beatings, rape and torture are rife--and transmitted to the world via the Web site of the Revolutionary Assn. of the Women of Afghanistan https://www.rawa.org

Islamic scholars around the world have plied the Taliban with opinions that such measures drastically violate Koranic teachings of respect and equality for women; Afghan native Wais Al-Qarni was so incensed, he says, that he fired off a letter to the Afghan Embassy in Washington but never received a response.

“They are beating women, preventing them from learning, but Allah says men and women are one,” said Al-Qarni, 23, an Oakland college student studying criminology.

The misuse of Islam to justify sexism has prompted the Muslim Women’s League and other organizations to urge women to directly study the Koran and the prophet’s traditions to gain their own understanding of the egalitarian vision laid out in them.

“Our main message to women is that our religion is from God and not human beings, and don’t accept any intermediaries between you and God,” said Sharifa Alkhateeb of the Washington-based North American Council for Muslim Women.

The organization works to educate Muslim women and combat dismal public stereotypes that they are “controlled by men, don’t think clearly, are probably battered and, if they cover their heads, can’t speak English,” Alkhateeb said.

Similarly, the Muslim Women’s League sends out speakers, sponsors sports camps for girls, organizes Koranic study groups and issues position papers highlighting Islam’s egalitarian teachings ranging from women’s legal rights to their spiritual roles.

Unlike the Bible, Al-Marayati said, the Koran does not hold that Eve was made from Adam’s rib or tempted him into sin; both were created equally, both erred, both were banished and both were forgiven.

The Islamic texts also sing the praises of strong and noble women, from the prophet’s wife to the Queen of Sheba to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and notes that women battled in the prophet’s armies, held positions of religious leadership and worked in business and commerce.

The Koran condemns female infanticide, a common practice in pre-Islamic Arabia, and details a long list of women’s rights: to own property, engage in business, choose a marriage partner, divorce, claim inheritance, receive education and be treated with respect and dignity, Alkhateeb said.

Some Like Clothing Rules

Alkhateeb and others say that many practices seen as repressive by non-Muslims are in fact liberating--such as wearing head coverings and other modest clothing.

“The main reason we wear a head covering is to set ourselves apart from males and insist they observe us as human beings, with ideas and concepts, rather than be distracted by hair and perfume and makeup,” Alkhateeb said. Still, she said, numerous Muslim American women have been denied jobs by airlines, restaurants, even universities because of their attire.

“There is such a horrible negative image associated with the scarf: of ignorance, dirty hair or terrorism,”’ Alkhateeb said.

Talibah Jilani of the Kamilat women’s organization based in Mountain View said other seemingly sexist practices should be viewed in context: Dictates for male relatives to travel with women, for instance, were made during the time of widespread war and banditry and not only protected them but also freed them from the burden of carrying luggage and the like. Even polygamy, she said, was originally sanctioned as a compassionate way to support war widows who might otherwise be forced into prostitution or poverty.

Still, Muslim women acknowledge that a great gap too often exists between Islam’s ideal regarding women and their actual treatment. For instance, all three women’s organizations are tackling domestic violence, as significant a problem in their community as nationwide.

e In one limited study, Alkhateeb’s group found about 10% of Muslim leaders reported instances of domestic violence; a more extensive national survey is currently underway. The Muslim Women’s League is planning a conference on the issue this year.

“I think more women are saying we need to wake up, learn to educate ourselves, be more active in the community and have our voices heard,” said Fatima Cash, a Muslim Women’s League member who converted to Islam from Catholicism 22 years ago.