Gender Equality in Islam
by
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With the emergence of the Taliban forces in Afghanistan in September of 1996, and because of the atrocities they committed against women in that war-stricken country, I was urged to conduct research on the status of women in the Islamic faith. Even though the Taliban are now gone, their beliefs are not, and this topic is still in dire need of discussion and thought. Many have written on the issue of women in Islam, trying to show that men and women are equal in Islam. These writers, however, always end up alluding to the false idea that not only should women be submissive to men, but also that their roles in the family and in society are unequal to those of men. Consequently, Islamic societies are perceived to be male-dominated environments where women do not have any role in the infrastructure of the social system. In other words, without much Qura’nic or Sunnah (traditions of the Prophet) justification, these writers have demonstrated a woman’s dependency on the men in her family. Additionally, these writers note the inequality of women participating in the social system and attribute this inequality has been dictated by Islam because of the emotional nature of women. To show the fairness and superiority of Islam, almost all writers have compared the Islamic faith to pre-Islamic civilizations, i.e. Rome, Greece, India. We need, however, to assess the status of women in the contemporary world. Looking at Islamic and other cultures, we need to compare the roles of women in today’s family, as well as in the social and political systems. This is not to say that women in non-Muslim societies are better off; indeed, women in the West are abused, but there are women in the Western societies who hold positions of prime importance. Unfortunately, in Islamic societies, women are deprived of their social responsibilities. The time has come to leave the pre-Islamic comparison aside and to find out in the light of Islamic research and social reasoning if men and women are really equal. And if they are equal, then why do men control women’s social positions, and make decisions for them? The first objective of this research project is to show that men and women are equal in all aspects of life in Islam. To accomplish this goal, this research studies men and women in three aspects of life: men and women in creation, men and women in society, and lastly, men and women in the family. It is important to note that only those Ahaadith (traditions and sayings) of the Prophet have been selected that directly correspond to the Qur’an. This is vital for Islamic studies because after the death of the Prophet, many fake Ahaadith have appeared, some of which are beyond the logic of Islam in character and out of keeping with the personality of the Prophet. Recognized as the most prominent scholar of Hadith, Imam Bukhari had selected 7,275 hadith (sayings and traditions of the Prophet) out of 300,000. From these 7,275 Ahaadith almost 3000 are repetitious. Imam Abu Hanifa has endorsed only sixteen! If this is true about Imam Abu Hanifa, a prominent Muslim scholar, and if the Egyptian historian Dr. Hassan’s research is valid, we need to be very careful about the selection of the hadith. This is not to say the other Ahaadith are invalid; rather, it means we should rely on those Ahaadith that not only relate to the Qur’an but also relate to the character of the Prophet as well as his mission to humanity. To do research without bias, a researcher has to live in a free society, where there is freedom to think and freedom from fear and pressure. The United States provides an opportunity for the investigator to conduct research without fearing prosecution or the imprisonment of the mind by narrow-minded individuals or autocratic governments. The time has come that we should export Islamic ideas from America to the rest of the world.
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About the Book
Following the tragic events of September 11th, it has become vital that both non-Muslims and Muslims gain a greater understanding of the religion of Islam. Often misunderstood by those on the outside and misconstrued by those on the inside (the Taliban are a prime example), Islam is in need of clarification. This is especially important in the United States, where the country’s freedom of speech rights give scholars the unique ability to write, speak, and teach without the strict governmental and religious obstructions often found in the Middle East that usually preclude proper understanding of some of the controversial issues facing Islam. Dr. Younos’ Gender Equality in Islam is therefore a vitally important book that addresses the issue of women’s rights in Islam with the goal of exporting from the United States to the rest of the world, the true face of Islam.
About the Author
Dr. Farid Younos is a Muslim Afghan-American who fled his mother country shortly before the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. He studied cultural anthropology in Denmark and obtained his doctorate degree in international and multicultural education from the University of San Francisco. He is a researcher and lecturer of Islamic studies and founder of Afghan Domestic Violence Prevention in the United States. He serves as the president of Islamic research for the Afghan Journalist Foundation in the United States. An author, a TV host show, an advocate of women’s rights and lecturer of Islamic thought; after the September 11th, Dr. Younos has responded by educating others about Islam and Afghanistan and become a prominent voice in the Bay Area of northern California. He has over sixty publications in Dari and English. His new book Gender Equality in Islam sets out to demonstrate that men and women are viewed and treated equals within the realm of Islamic law. He does this through an examination of men and women in creation, in family, and in society.