The worth of a woman: The Quran vs. the Bible

The worth of a woman: The Quran vs. the Bible

This is an interesting post for both Muslims and Christians. Their books agree on something (maybe the only thing). Both our books are misogynistic.

Definitely worth reading. A small taste of it:

"Take the worth of a woman, for example. They go at it from slightly different angles, but come up with the same answer. A woman is worth about half as much as a man."

Half as much? Women do twice (or more!) the work as men, esp. if they work outside the home and have kids.

A.

You Might Already be a Unitarian Universalist

If you...

* Believe that every person is important and valuable.

* Feel there is a spiritual value in all the world's religions and philosophies.

* Find inspiration in the wonder of nature and the mystery of life.

* Want to help build a just society and peaceful world.

* Believe we should think for ourselves in our search for meaning.

You might already be a Unitarian Universalist.

This is from a pamphlet I got at church this past Sunday. This kind of thinking is what attracted me to the Unitarian Universalist Church. They let you be smart enough to decide what you believe, not just tell you to believe this or that or you're going to hell. I was in 2 religions that did that. Some UU's don't believe in God, some do. No one is there to tell anyone what to believe. The church I've been going to has a pretty small congregation. There is none in my town, this one is about 20 minutes from me, and there's another one 20 minutes in the other direction in a larger town.

I think that this is from the www.UU.org web site:

"With its historical roots in the Jewish and Christian traditions, Unitarian Universalism is a liberal religion -- that is, a religion that keeps an open mind to the religious questions people have struggled with in all times and places. We believe that personal experience, conscience and reason should be the final authorities in religion, and that in the end religious authority lies not in a book or person or institution, but in ourselves. We are a "non-creedal" religion: we do not ask anyone to subscribe to a creed."

Most churchs or religions don't want you to question things very much, or at least not question what THEY say is right. You have to have "faith", even if things don't make sense. But you can't stop thinking when you are living your life. I am a questioner. I did go a long time in believing in Islam without questioning it, which was a mistake. Sometimes it's hard to question things and admit that you were wrong about what you thought, though. Whatever someone else wants to believe, that's great for them, but don't come to my house trying to convert me. That's why I have an attack cat *grin.

Women in Islam Verses Women in the Judaeo-Christian Tradition

I just read this article today: WOMEN IN ISLAM VERSUS WOMEN IN THE JUDAEO-CHRISTIAN TRADITION: THE MYTH & THE REALITY, by Dr. Sherif Abdel Azeem.

In it they are trying compare what is in the Quran with what is in the Bible, mostly the Old Testament, to show that Islam is superior. One problem with that is that the Old Testament was written hundreds or thousands of years before Jesus. Some authors of some books of the bible are unclear or even unknown. Secondly, comparing something that is taken literally with laws in many countries based on it (the Qur'an) and something that is not taken as literally and doesn't have law based on it (the Bible) does not make sense to me. The verses they bring up in the Bible are not used as the basis for law. It's like comparing the laws from over 2000 years ago to the laws now.

Women allegedly have many rights in Islam, but...

"A woman in the Quranic conception has the right to argue even with the Prophet of Islam himself. No one has the right to instruct her to be silent. She is under no obligation to consider her husband the one and only reference in matters of law and religion."

Ok, now this just doesn't happen! Women did argue with the prophet, but try that now and see just what happens. Who are the ones interpreting the Quran and Hadith? Sheiks (Muslim scholars), who are men. Who are the ones making the laws? Mostly Men! Who is in charge of implementing the laws? Men again! Women are not involved in most stages of interpreting or implementing laws in Muslim countries. Yes there are women in Parliaments and other government in Muslim countries, but the ones establish laws that deal with the way of life, esp. anything mentioned by the Qur'an or Hadith (esp. family law), are the Skeihs, the religious leaders or Muslim scholars; who are, you guessed it: men.

Some of the laws in the Qur'an or Islam are out dated. One example is the woman getting half the inheritance of the man. In times when the family would take care of the woman even if her husband died, she didn't need the money, but now, especially in western countries, she will be on her own if he dies or leaves her. Another is the woman's testimony being equal to half of a man's. Women back in the 7th century may not have known much about life or been out in the real world, but that is not the case now. Just because I am a woman doesn't mean that I have a worse memory than a man does.

Many of the rights given to them by Islam are not given to them in reality. For instance, in many Muslim countries (as well as in many mosques in the US) the woman doesn't have the right to get a divorce if she wants to, only if her husband agrees. The article even admits it. They seem to hem and haw about it though:

"The one question all the non-Muslims, who had read an earlier version of this study, had in common was: do Muslim women in the Muslim world today receive this noble treatment described here? The answer, unfortunately, is: No. Since this question is inevitable in any discussion concerning the status of women in Islam, we have to elaborate on the answer in order to provide the reader with the complete picture.

They do admit however:

"Almost all Muslim societies have, to one degree or another, deviated from the ideals of Islam with respect to the status of women. These deviations have, for the most part, been in one of two opposite directions. The first direction is more conservative, restrictive, and traditions-oriented, while the second is more liberal and Western-oriented."

However, they absolve Islam of the blame for it:

"The societies that have digressed in the first direction treat women according to the customs and traditions inherited from their forebears. These traditions usually deprive women of many rights granted to them by Islam. Besides, women are treated according to standards far different from those applied to men. This discrimination pervades the life of any female: she is received with less joy at birth than a boy; she is less likely to go to school; she might be deprived any share of her family's inheritance; she is under continuous surveillance in order not to behave immodestly while her brother's immodest acts are tolerated; she might even be killed for committing what her male family members usually boast of doing; she has very little say in family affairs or community interests; she might not have full control over her property and her marriage gifts; and finally as a mother she herself would prefer to produce boys so that she can attain a higher status in her community."

The other societies they blame the Western influence for being too modern:

"On the other hand, there are Muslim societies (or certain classes within some societies) that have been swept over by the Western culture and way of life."

Things are not always as they appear to be, in any religion. Just my thoughts tonight. A.