An investigation and analysis of the role of women in contemporary Islam in the context of a multicultural society

When a person thinks of a Moslem charr immediately the image that forms in your mind is integrity of veils, tent like do and the word oppression and suppression comes to mind. This image of being suppressed and oppressed, being with unwrap any the right appearances or social standing is a Western stereotypical view of Moslem women. To understand and appreciate the true essence of Islam it is grave to conservatively investigate the roles of both Islamic women and men in Islam and the religious authority for these. It is near important to bowl over what a Moslem womans rights and obligations be, and how they argon lived out in daily life.Alongside this it is relevant to find out how a Moslem woman may be influenced by her familys culture and the traditions and cultures of other tidy sums in this society. In a multicultural society much(prenominal) as Britain in that location atomic number 18 many lot of various religious backgrounds. Britain today fag be seen as a multicultural society or level(p) a lay society, which is non governed by religious laws and certainly non by Shariah. Muslims living in Britain today come into day-to-day contact with many ideas, beliefs and practices which be not range of Islam.Analysing how Muslim women can stay true to their Islamic faith in such a society is an integral part of this essay. In Islam family life from many famous scholars is referred to as being the corner-st unmatchable of society as it brings new generations into the world, at that placefore the parents gain very important duties to play. They overly have vital duties and obligations towards one-another. The duties of a economise and the married woman towards each other are clearly stated in Islam (Quran 434). This makes the fulfillment of the purpose of marriage easy and removes confusion.The husbands duties include providing food clothing accommodation as well as general welfare needs for his wife she does not have to provide any of these herself from her own property or her earnings, unless she wishes and is able to help her husband. The husband also provides household help for his wife, or helps her himself, as well as giving help to her in training the children. He also must try to satisfy the sexual needs of his wife and treats her with benignancy and honour as Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said The high hat of you is the one who is best to his family, and I am best to my family Hadith Al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah) The wife, for her part is required to obey her husband as leader of the family so long as he does not try to make her disobey Allah. She must look after the foundation and children, bringing them up as good and righteous lot Allah pull up stakes ask her about this duty (Hadith Al-Bukhari and Muslim). In her husbands absence she must ensure that no one not approved by her husband is drop outed into the home, and also try to satisfy her husbands sexual needs. You can see that the duties of the h usband are the rights of the wife, whilst the duties of the wife are the rights of the husband.Allah says the rights of the wives (with regards to their husbands) are equal to the rights of the husband with regard to them. (Quran 2228) The Quran states They (women) are your garments. And you (men) are their garments. The words from the Holy Quran state exactly how men and women relate to one another like a body and its garments. Without garments the body is meaningless and feebleness versa, this symbolizes the complimentary roles a husband and wife play and that they must got to perk upher, apart they would have little campaign to exist.People in multi-cultural society may have noticed how a large number of Muslim women dress differently from one another, some from head to toe, others in more(prenominal) westernized but unrevealing clothing. This is mainly collect to cultural impacts, for e. g. covering a womans body does not necessarily require her to transgress a jilbab ( long no-account coat-like dress), Islamically she is required to dress modestly in public. Places like Afghanistans cultural impacts mean women are forced in the way they are dressed, as they have no choice. Say to believe men nd believing women, that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty.. (2430-31) Living in a multicultural society poses many difficulties for Muslim parents or Muslims in general.This is be attain within the sphere of their homes the environment is Islamic and very sheltered. However outside the home Muslims come into contact with different ideas which can act as obstacles for them. This is because Britain allows what most Islamic societies would not allow for women for example involvement in pornography, modesty of dress, Muslim women do not walk around barely dressed for example in a bikini.Abortion is not allowed except in exceptional dowery in Islam whereas it is a common place in Britain. Also disunite is fliped one of the worst acts in Isl am but like abortion it is a commonplace as well as free coalesce betwixt the sexes. This shows that such things are taking place in Britain and that they oppose Islamic teachings. For a Muslim living in a multicultural society some of the issues that arise are usually the differences between secular law versus religious law (shariah). The fact that Muslim values are different to secular values and a Muslim lifestyle following such values makes more demands.These issues can cause problems for Muslims, especially the 2nd or third generation who seem to be becoming more and more secular. These youth can be seen to have adopted secular values in their pursuit of status, placing smashing value in cars, money and other material possessions more than religious values or practice. These propel parents of their native countries, so they arrange marriages for their children to people inn the native countries. What the parents dont realise is these native countries have extend more secul ar too and that people there have become more westernized.The benefits for Muslims in a multicultural society like Britain is the access to education, there is a greater chance of Muslims obtaining education in this country compared to their slim to none chances back in their native countries. There is an opportunity to be involved in public life occupation wise. As the government in Britain is not ruled by a specific religion, people are allowed to practice their religion openly, whereas in Turkey a woman is not permitted to seize a headscarf to college, school, or university. Also in communist countries people did not have the right to proclaim what they believed in.Many Muslims in Great Britain are often asked whether they are British or Muslim first. There is a difference of opinion to this answer between the older and younger generations. The younger people tend to say they are British and Muslim whereas the older generation hesitate and reply they are Muslim first. What we sh ould ask ourselves is how come it is only the Muslims this question is posed to? Why not the Christians or the Jews? These kinds of questions are asked for example during the Gulf War or since the incident on September 11th.The Muslims are expected to be on the defensive, as if there is going to be a conflict with being a Muslim and British at the same time. This is the way of thinking for the legal age of Non-Muslim British people it shows their lack of discernment of Islam and their deeply rooted misconceptions concerning the religion. This is also a turn up of lack of integration between people. The Muslim women that wear veils, head scarves and long flowing clothing are often seen as oppressed or suppressed by the majority of Non-Muslims in British society.They see these women as being dominated by men. In reality the majority of these women draining veils or such articles of clothing do so voluntarily, the main aim is protection and not oppression. Prophet, regularize in y our wives, your daughters and the wives of true believers to draw their veils close around them. That is more proper, so that they may be recognised (as virtuous women) and not molested. Allah is Forgiving and Merciful. (3359) It is mistaken to believe that Islam encourages the oppression of women. On the contrary, Islam elevates women in an comprehensive manner.Islam regards women and men as equals they both have the same religious duties and get equal rewards. Allah says I will not allow the good deeds of any of you, male or female, to be lost. You (male and female) come from one-another (Quran 3195 4124) Islam stopped the female infanticide (818 6151) and promises the reward of paradise to parents who look after their daughters. Muslim women like men are encouraged to acquire education from the cradle to the grave. A Muslim woman retains her legal identity after marriage and can keep her family name.She may seek and obtain divorce if she needs it. She is free to move around in society (with her husbands consent), provided she is modestly dressed and straightforward to parry molestation by evil men. (Quran 3322-59) As a mother, the greatest respect is paid to her on account of her sacrifices on behalf of her children. (Quran 3113 4615) Paradise lies at the feet of the mothers. In Great Britain Islam is a minority religion it is not the way of life for the majority in this multicultural society. Britain is arguably not religious therefore it can be seen as a secular society.Its laws do not gleam any particular religions beliefs, however in the past Christianity played a major role in the appointed laws. The society is still influenced by religious values, there are laws protecting what most religions consider sacred or valuable, an example of this is the value religions hold for life. There are laws introduced for the sole purpose of preventing conclusion or injury like how a driver and passengers in a car must wear seat belts. The laws in Britain also e volve around individual religions, for example the law in Britain for people riding a motorcycle is that it is compulsory to wear a crash helmet.In the 1980s the Sikh association complained that it was impossible to do so if they were wearing turbans, the government then made a clause in the law for Sikhs who wore turbans, that when riding a motorbike it wasnt compulsory for them to wear a crash helmet. There are also many problems for Muslims who live in small individual communities that do not integrate with one another. This division often causes misunderstandings between them which results in conflict mostly between the youth of the communities. An incident of this occurred not very long ago in Oldham, between the Pakistani community and the white community.Oldham is one of the most segregated cities in Britain. The white and Pakistani communities have many riots, this is mainly due to lack of integration. To repair this situation faith leaders of the communities should hold r egular meetings to discuss and promote interfaith relationships. This encourages less opposed attitudes between the people like in Leister. The majority of Asians came from Africa where they were used to British people, when they came to Britain they could relate to the people more easily than the Asians from Oldham. Another major barrier between people is dustup and dress.If people cannot communicate with one another it is impossible for interfaith relationships. It is also quite common for people from different racial backgrounds to sort Muslims by the way the women dress. As they find it foreign they cannot form a relationship with them, this results in people perceiving Muslims with hostility. In conclusion to this essay I believe there should be more interfaith relationships and language barriers should be broken down, this way people from different cultural and racial backgrounds can relate to one-another and not stereotype or generalize.There should be more integration esp ecially in schools, also there shouldnt be segregated communities, people from different nationalities should live together. There already is an increase in women choosing there marriage partners, and women having children later on in life so they can actively partake in more career based roles. Due to the education in this country it is estimated that after a duplicate of generations language barriers would be broken down, that more Westernized dress would be adapted to in a way that seems Islamic and women would take up more prominent roles in the Islamic and in wider communities.This could be an receipts as well as a disadvantage, there could be spokeswomen who is highly educated in the field of politics and other high profile careers, this way they could be interviewed by the media and as a result the general Non-Muslim public would be more aware of Islamic teachings and see it in a more acceptable and not so negative light. This is the possible future for Muslim women in this multicultural society.However, my private opinion as a Muslim living in British society would be that it is important to remember that though these women may become more prominent in secular society as Islams leading women, they would be placed under a negative light from fellow Muslims. These women in partaking such active roles would be leaving their idealistic obligatory role as according to Islam, also to get to this possible future would mean many rules would have to be broken, twisted or forgotten completely. According to Islam a womans true worth would be greatly acknowledged if her duty at home first is complete.