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Gender Equity in Islam presents an overview of the status and
rights of Muslim women as defined by the Qur'an and Sunnah. In this brief but important
work, Dr. Jamal Badawi examines the spiritual, social, economic, and political aspects of
women's position in Islam and, in doing so, effectively summarizes the role of women in
Muslim society. Further, in explaining the sources that provide the foundations for
Islam's stance on gender equity, the author discusses the role of Islamic scholars in
their approach to women's issues.
ISLAMIC TRADITIONS AND THE FEMINIST MOVEMENT: CONFRONTATION OR
COOPERATION? by Dr. Lois Lamya' al Faruqi
Whether living in the Middle East or Africa, in Central Asia, in Pakistan, in Southeast
Asia, or in Europe and the Americas, Muslim women tend to view the feminist movement
with some apprehension. Although there are some features of the feminist cause with which
we as Muslims would wish to join hands, other features generate our disappointment and
even opposition. There is therefore no simple or "pat" answer to the
question of the future cooperation or competition which feminism may meet in an Islamic
environment.
There are however a number of social, psychological, and economic traditions which
govern the thinking of most Muslims and which are particularly affective of woman's status
and role in Islamic society. Understanding these can help us understand the issues which
affect male and female status and roles, and how we should react to movements which
seek to improve the situation of women in any of the countries where Muslims
live.
A Canadian-born Muslim woman has taken to wearing the
traditional hijab scarf. It tends to make people see her as either a terrorist or a symbol
of oppressed womanhood, but she finds the experience LIBERATING.
THE VOICE OF A WOMAN IN ISLAM by Dr. Yusuf al-Qaradawi
Many Muslims have adopted the Judeo-Christian ethic which views women as the source of
human tragedy because of her alleged biblical role as the temptress who seduced Adam into
disobedience to his Lord. By tempting her husband to eat the forbidden fruit,
she not only defied Allah, but caused humankind's expulsion from Paradise, thus
instigating all temporal human suffering. Those misogynists who support this Biblical
myth, dredge from the archives of psuedo-Islamic literature such as false and weak
hadiths.
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