LostFarmer
what ever
I was thinking there is a seperation of chruch and state, why is the Obama govenment promoting the islam religion ?
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Park Service films Islamic contributions to women's rights ... despite sequestration
- Thread starter NightHawkeye
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GarfieldJL
Regular Member
Wouldn't this video be rather factually challenged...
Islam isn't exactly a religion that champions the rights of women...
Islam isn't exactly a religion that champions the rights of women...
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Even if it is constitutional for the NPS to present these videos on their website, the NPS should take these down anyways because the videos are terrible and I don't see how they have anything to do with tolerance. A couple of the children are convinced they get their food at restaurants slower than others- give me a break. I hope they take them down.
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GarfieldJL
Regular Member
Good question, but then I don't think this video was intended to be anything other than propaganda.
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SolomonVII
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Cause it gives him a warm, fuzzy feeling inside to stick up for the little guy?
It has been a constant theme of his presidency though. He's gotta show the world how nice he is to the losers of world history.
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You prove that you're unable to accept correction.
I'm following the discussion. And you were still wrong.
As everyone who reads the article can read for themselves. To say sequestration never appears in The Blaze article as you did is patently false. To now claim that sequestration not only appears but is moot is patently false in the context of the article reporting.
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Stop it. I explained all that and you are nit-picking at nothing. Since the NPS never paid for this, talk of a sequestration is a moot point. I already gave up this thread and said they should take these videos down, yet you go back to the first posts instead of seeing I am agreeing with most here about the terrible videos needing to go.You prove that you're unable to accept correction.
I'm following the discussion. And you were still wrong.
I guess you need to grab onto something to make you feel like you made some point at my expense
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Hi, Bedford.Stop it. I explained all that and you are nit-picking at nothing. Since the NPS never paid for this, talk of a sequestration is a moot point. I already gave up this thread and said they should take these videos down, yet you go back to the first posts instead of seeing I am agreeing with most here about the terrible videos needing to go.
I guess you need to grab onto something to make you feel like you made some point at my expense
I commend you for saying the videos are inappropriate.
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Thanks. Did you watch them? They aren't good.Hi, Bedford.
I commend you for saying the videos are inappropriate.
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abdAlSalam
Bearded Marxist
If I actually bothered to write up a post about the tradition of Women's Liberation in Islam, would you actually pay attention or dismiss it as "propaganda"?Wouldn't this video be rather factually challenged...
Islam isn't exactly a religion that champions the rights of women...
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They're good enough. They carry the NPS logo and cute young girls describing the virtues of Islam.
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scraparcs
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Wouldn't this video be rather factually challenged...
Islam isn't exactly a religion that champions the rights of women...
That's my primary concern. How does Islam champion the rights of women? Seriously, how?
I'd like to see it. While you're at it, show me that women working in Muslim-owned businesses make equal wages and have equal status with male counterparts.
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Z
ZephyrWiccan
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Islam and women's rights is an oxymoron.You're not being clear enough for me to understand what point you are trying to make here...
Is it that the NPS is continuing it's work - despite the sequestration?
Or is it that in celebrating women's rights they bring up a religion that isn't yours?
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abdAlSalam
Bearded Marxist
Womens Liberation and Islam
Much is made these days of the question of the place of women within Islamic society. To outside Western observers, the plight of women is apparent. Among the most visible issues facing women in the Islamic world are female genital mutilation, forced modesty, and honor killings. While many modern countries in the Islamic world can hardly be said to offer women many of the rights afforded to those in the Western world, it is erroneous to claim that Islam is inherently misogynistic, or that all Muslims adhere to an oppressive belief system that devalues women within society. Islam, both today and in the past, has had a vibrant history of womens liberation, from the conversion of Arabia to the modern Islamic feminist movement.
Origins
The origins of the womens liberation in Islam begins with the Islamic movement itself in 7th century Arabia. In pre-Islamic Arabia, women were accorded few rights. They were considered the property of their fathers and marriage was seen as a contract between a womans father and her new husband (the bride to be, quite literally, was sold to her new husband)[1], female infanticide was widely prevalent[2], women could not inherit property[3], and there were no restrictions upon polygamy: men were free to marry and divorce their wives at will and often without their consent[4]. These issues were addressed in Islam. Women were allowed to inherit property (although it must be pointed out that male progeny still inherited more, being expected to financially support their female family members), the dowry which was once paid to the father of the bride now became part of the womans own property, infanticide was forbidden, polygamy (still legal) was retained, a woman was allowed to sue for divorce, and marriage could only occur with her consent[5]. In many ways, the status of women under early Islamic rule would go unmatched in the Western world until much more recent history[6].
The Early Caliphates and the Islamic Golden Age
Islams tradition of womens liberation extended into the Islamic Golden Age in the form of education, civil and military work, and property rights pertaining to divorce. Not only were women allowed and encouraged to become educated, they were also free to teach others, both men and women. In 859, Fatima al-Fihri established the University of al-Karaouine. This accomplishment was not a rare one; in the 12th century through the system known as Waqf (charitable trust), 26 mosques and Madrassas were established in Damascus by women, and half of all students in the citys 160 institutes of learning were women[7]. The sunni scholar ibn Asakir encouraged women of wealthy families to seek and education, and he himself was taught by some 80 different female teachers[7]. In some cases, the number of female Islamic teachers during this period equaled or surpassed that of modern Western universities[8].
Women also made up a large portion of the workforce under the various Caliphates. They were involved in many common occupations including farmers, construction workers, dyers, spinners, investors, doctors, nurses, presidents of guilds, merchants, lenders, and scholars[9]. In fact the textile industry, one of the largest components of the economy at the time, was almost completely composed of a female workforce. Not only were women allowed to work outside of the home, but they were allowed to keep and dispense with their property and earnings as they chose, including designating inheritance[9].
During the Islamic Golden Age, women had the right to keep their surnames upon marriage, inherit and bestow inheritance, independently manage their financial affairs, and contract marriages and divorce. In these ways women under Islamic rule were afforded more autonomy than Western women, who did not gain these rights in many countries even up until the 20th century. Indeed, when the British Empire had taken possession of India, many Muslim women were stripped of their rights gained from Islam[10].
Deterioration and the Modern Womens Liberation Movement
Sometime during the 15th century, the rights that women had enjoyed in Islam began to erode. Muslim societies became more patriarchal, more conservative, and, as a result, women began to suffer. Education was the first aspect of a womans life to be sacrificed, followed by marriage and finally economic opportunity. This transformation is the source of the modern perception that Islam degrades women and makes them chattel of their husbands. Women during this period were not afforded those rights that were guaranteed them in the Quran and the earlier days of Islamic jurisprudence. This was not entirely universal, as under the Ottoman Empire the status of women was still relatively high, albeit not as high as before the 15th century. This trend only began to reverse itself in the late 1800s, and has yet to truly take root in many Muslim societies.
The modern Islamic feminist movement began with the Egyptian jurist, Qasim Amin. His 1899 work, Womens Liberation is widely considered to be the founding document of the modern movement. In this work, Qasim Amin rails against the plight of women in his society, including sexual segregation, forced wearing of the veil, polygyny, and other issues that faced Egyptian women. This work, although important to the movement, was not the first of its nature. Women across the Middle East had begun to clamor for the rights that they had so long ago enjoyed. Muslim women also drew upon Western feminism and sought to formulate their own movement from this basis[11]. The movement for the liberation of women in Islamic societies was in full swing by the 20th century and continues to this day.
The Contemporary Womens Liberation Movement (Conclusions)
Today all across the Muslim world there is a growing movement dedicated to the liberation of Muslim women. These women fight hard and valiantly against conservative and traditional aspects of Muslim Family Law. Two main schools of thought are that Muslim Family Law can be, through proper application of the Quran and the sunna and close involvement of Muslim women within society, changed to a more acceptable fashion. Other Muslim women, especially in countries where Muslims are a minority, say that MFL should be completely rejected.
The problems facing Muslim women today are not unique to Islam itself. All across the world, women are subjugated and discriminated against. Misogyny and control over the lives of women are a pervasive problem in all countries. Some areas are worse than others. But the future of Islamic feminism need not be bleak; women in the past century have made massive strides in their societies. Although progress in societal attitudes is slow, especially in developing countries, there is a great deal of hope for the Womens Liberation Movement. Time will tell if this labor can bear fruit, but it is imperative that people continue to struggle for the rights and dignities of all women. In the words of Rachelle Fawcett,
Clearly, the realities of what "Islamic feminism" is, and how it is lived, are wildly complex, and that is as it should be. The reality of Islamic feminism is a global movement in which women turn to the Quran and Prophetic traditions to argue that women are fully human and equal to their male counterparts. How they express that and how far they take it is up to the women of those specific contexts Whether organic or political, or by some other means, women are claiming their places in Islamic discourse and changing their reality, perhaps through a long established storytelling tradition or creating inclusive mosques, and certainly by returning to the beginning, the Quran itself. The future of Islamic feminism may see stronger social institutions and resources that support women and an end to the sugar-coating and apologetics, but most importantly, it may see a renaissance of female scholarship (which was never totally destroyed) in Islam that engages the text and tradition to continually seek justice alongside, not over, our male counterparts. If this is the direction we are heading in, then the future is bright indeed.[12]
References
1. John Esposito, Islam: The Straight Path (2004)
2. Muslim Womens League, Women in Pre-Islamic Arabia (1995)
3. Maan, Bashir and Alastair McIntosh. "'The whole house of Islam, and we Christians with them...': An interview with 'the Last Orientalist' - the Rev Prof William Montgomery Watt."
4. Gerhard Endress, Islam: An Introduction to Islam, Columbia University Press, 1988
5. Haddad, Esposito, Islam, Gender, and Social Change p.163, 1997
6. Lindsay Jones, Encyclopedia of Religion, second edition, p.6224
7. Lindsay, James E., Daily Life in the Medieval Islamic World, 2005
8. Abdal Hakim Murad, Islam, Irigaray, and the Retrieval of Gender, 1999
9. Maya Shatzmiller, Labour in the Medieval Islamic World, 1993
10. Noah Feldman, Why Shariah?, 2008 (New York Times article)
11. Farida Shaheed with Aisha L.F. Shaheed "Great Ancestors: Women Asserting Rights in Muslim Contexts", 2005.
12. Rachelle Fawcet, The Reality and Future of Islamic Feminism, 2013 (al-Jazeera article)
Much is made these days of the question of the place of women within Islamic society. To outside Western observers, the plight of women is apparent. Among the most visible issues facing women in the Islamic world are female genital mutilation, forced modesty, and honor killings. While many modern countries in the Islamic world can hardly be said to offer women many of the rights afforded to those in the Western world, it is erroneous to claim that Islam is inherently misogynistic, or that all Muslims adhere to an oppressive belief system that devalues women within society. Islam, both today and in the past, has had a vibrant history of womens liberation, from the conversion of Arabia to the modern Islamic feminist movement.
Origins
The origins of the womens liberation in Islam begins with the Islamic movement itself in 7th century Arabia. In pre-Islamic Arabia, women were accorded few rights. They were considered the property of their fathers and marriage was seen as a contract between a womans father and her new husband (the bride to be, quite literally, was sold to her new husband)[1], female infanticide was widely prevalent[2], women could not inherit property[3], and there were no restrictions upon polygamy: men were free to marry and divorce their wives at will and often without their consent[4]. These issues were addressed in Islam. Women were allowed to inherit property (although it must be pointed out that male progeny still inherited more, being expected to financially support their female family members), the dowry which was once paid to the father of the bride now became part of the womans own property, infanticide was forbidden, polygamy (still legal) was retained, a woman was allowed to sue for divorce, and marriage could only occur with her consent[5]. In many ways, the status of women under early Islamic rule would go unmatched in the Western world until much more recent history[6].
The Early Caliphates and the Islamic Golden Age
Islams tradition of womens liberation extended into the Islamic Golden Age in the form of education, civil and military work, and property rights pertaining to divorce. Not only were women allowed and encouraged to become educated, they were also free to teach others, both men and women. In 859, Fatima al-Fihri established the University of al-Karaouine. This accomplishment was not a rare one; in the 12th century through the system known as Waqf (charitable trust), 26 mosques and Madrassas were established in Damascus by women, and half of all students in the citys 160 institutes of learning were women[7]. The sunni scholar ibn Asakir encouraged women of wealthy families to seek and education, and he himself was taught by some 80 different female teachers[7]. In some cases, the number of female Islamic teachers during this period equaled or surpassed that of modern Western universities[8].
Women also made up a large portion of the workforce under the various Caliphates. They were involved in many common occupations including farmers, construction workers, dyers, spinners, investors, doctors, nurses, presidents of guilds, merchants, lenders, and scholars[9]. In fact the textile industry, one of the largest components of the economy at the time, was almost completely composed of a female workforce. Not only were women allowed to work outside of the home, but they were allowed to keep and dispense with their property and earnings as they chose, including designating inheritance[9].
During the Islamic Golden Age, women had the right to keep their surnames upon marriage, inherit and bestow inheritance, independently manage their financial affairs, and contract marriages and divorce. In these ways women under Islamic rule were afforded more autonomy than Western women, who did not gain these rights in many countries even up until the 20th century. Indeed, when the British Empire had taken possession of India, many Muslim women were stripped of their rights gained from Islam[10].
Deterioration and the Modern Womens Liberation Movement
Sometime during the 15th century, the rights that women had enjoyed in Islam began to erode. Muslim societies became more patriarchal, more conservative, and, as a result, women began to suffer. Education was the first aspect of a womans life to be sacrificed, followed by marriage and finally economic opportunity. This transformation is the source of the modern perception that Islam degrades women and makes them chattel of their husbands. Women during this period were not afforded those rights that were guaranteed them in the Quran and the earlier days of Islamic jurisprudence. This was not entirely universal, as under the Ottoman Empire the status of women was still relatively high, albeit not as high as before the 15th century. This trend only began to reverse itself in the late 1800s, and has yet to truly take root in many Muslim societies.
The modern Islamic feminist movement began with the Egyptian jurist, Qasim Amin. His 1899 work, Womens Liberation is widely considered to be the founding document of the modern movement. In this work, Qasim Amin rails against the plight of women in his society, including sexual segregation, forced wearing of the veil, polygyny, and other issues that faced Egyptian women. This work, although important to the movement, was not the first of its nature. Women across the Middle East had begun to clamor for the rights that they had so long ago enjoyed. Muslim women also drew upon Western feminism and sought to formulate their own movement from this basis[11]. The movement for the liberation of women in Islamic societies was in full swing by the 20th century and continues to this day.
The Contemporary Womens Liberation Movement (Conclusions)
Today all across the Muslim world there is a growing movement dedicated to the liberation of Muslim women. These women fight hard and valiantly against conservative and traditional aspects of Muslim Family Law. Two main schools of thought are that Muslim Family Law can be, through proper application of the Quran and the sunna and close involvement of Muslim women within society, changed to a more acceptable fashion. Other Muslim women, especially in countries where Muslims are a minority, say that MFL should be completely rejected.
The problems facing Muslim women today are not unique to Islam itself. All across the world, women are subjugated and discriminated against. Misogyny and control over the lives of women are a pervasive problem in all countries. Some areas are worse than others. But the future of Islamic feminism need not be bleak; women in the past century have made massive strides in their societies. Although progress in societal attitudes is slow, especially in developing countries, there is a great deal of hope for the Womens Liberation Movement. Time will tell if this labor can bear fruit, but it is imperative that people continue to struggle for the rights and dignities of all women. In the words of Rachelle Fawcett,
Clearly, the realities of what "Islamic feminism" is, and how it is lived, are wildly complex, and that is as it should be. The reality of Islamic feminism is a global movement in which women turn to the Quran and Prophetic traditions to argue that women are fully human and equal to their male counterparts. How they express that and how far they take it is up to the women of those specific contexts Whether organic or political, or by some other means, women are claiming their places in Islamic discourse and changing their reality, perhaps through a long established storytelling tradition or creating inclusive mosques, and certainly by returning to the beginning, the Quran itself. The future of Islamic feminism may see stronger social institutions and resources that support women and an end to the sugar-coating and apologetics, but most importantly, it may see a renaissance of female scholarship (which was never totally destroyed) in Islam that engages the text and tradition to continually seek justice alongside, not over, our male counterparts. If this is the direction we are heading in, then the future is bright indeed.[12]
References
1. John Esposito, Islam: The Straight Path (2004)
2. Muslim Womens League, Women in Pre-Islamic Arabia (1995)
3. Maan, Bashir and Alastair McIntosh. "'The whole house of Islam, and we Christians with them...': An interview with 'the Last Orientalist' - the Rev Prof William Montgomery Watt."
4. Gerhard Endress, Islam: An Introduction to Islam, Columbia University Press, 1988
5. Haddad, Esposito, Islam, Gender, and Social Change p.163, 1997
6. Lindsay Jones, Encyclopedia of Religion, second edition, p.6224
7. Lindsay, James E., Daily Life in the Medieval Islamic World, 2005
8. Abdal Hakim Murad, Islam, Irigaray, and the Retrieval of Gender, 1999
9. Maya Shatzmiller, Labour in the Medieval Islamic World, 1993
10. Noah Feldman, Why Shariah?, 2008 (New York Times article)
11. Farida Shaheed with Aisha L.F. Shaheed "Great Ancestors: Women Asserting Rights in Muslim Contexts", 2005.
12. Rachelle Fawcet, The Reality and Future of Islamic Feminism, 2013 (al-Jazeera article)
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