Overview of Islam and Gender Roles

By: Olivia Maynard, Tori Obermiller, Ramona Bias, and Sam Stockbridge

What is Islam?

• Islam is defined as the religion of the Muslims, a monotheistic faith regarded as revealed through Muhammad as the Prophet of Allah. The religion has 2 branches, Sunni and Shi’a.
• There are 5 pillars of Islam
• Approximately 1,226,000,000 people follow Islam; which is 1 in 5 people
• Contrary to popular belief, a very, very small amount of Muslims are “terrorists” or Jihadists
• According to CNN, “the terrorist threat posed by radicalized Muslim-Americans has been exaggerated.”

5 Pillars of Islam

1. Shahada (Faith)
2. Salat (Prayer)
3. Zakat (Concern for the needy)
4. Sawm (Self-purification and fasting)
5. Hajj (The pilgrimage to Makkah)

Shahada (Faith)

• The declaration of Faith
• First part is la ilaha illa and means ‘ there is no god except God’
• Ilaha can refer to anything which we may be tempted to put in place of God
• Illa Llah is ‘except god’,source of all creation
• The second part is Muhammadun rasulu’Llah is Muhammed is the messanger of God.’
• most important branch=oneness of God in Sunni faith
• The Shahada is inscripted on over the entrance to the Ottoman Topkapi Palace.
• The Qur’an reinforces gender roles and appears to privilege men over women and states that though men are the protectors of women, Allah loves both genders equally

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Salat (Prayer)

• Practice of formal worship
• Performed 5 times a day
• Dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, sunset, and nightfall
• They must pray 5 times a day no matter where they are
• There are contain verses from the Quran, and said by the language Arabic
• But the personal supplication can be said in their own language
• When the prayer addresses the people with pronouns like he, it speaks to both men and women
• In the way in which women pray, their posture must be more concealing than men

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Zakat (Concern for the Needy)

• “All things belong to God”
• Human beings are in trust
• ‘Purification and wealth’
• Each Muslim calculates his or her own zakat individually. For most purposes this involves the payment each year of two and a half percent of one's capital
• A pious person may also give as much as he or she pleases as sadaqa (voluntary charity), and does so preferably in secret.
• That if they don't give then they are dealing with ‘great evil’

Sawm (Self-purification and Fasting)

• Every year in the month of ramadan
• Ramadan is
• all muslims fast from sun up to sun down
• not eating, drinking or having sexual relations
• those who are sick, elderly, or pregnant don't do the fast, but have to make up days within the year
• if physically not able to do this, they must feed a needy person each day they miss
• Children start at puberty or earlier if they wish
• It’s cutting them off from the world and gaining this self-purification
• true sympathy goes out to the needy and they grow in their spiritual life

Hajj (The Pilgrimage to Makkah)

• The annual pilgrimage to Makkah
• Obligation for those who are physically and financially able to
• Around two million people go to Makkah every year from around the globe to meet new people
• Starts on the twelfth month of the islamic calendar
• Pilgrims wear special clothes: simple garments which strip away distinctions of class and culture, so that all stand equal before God.

Pilgrimage of people to Makkah

Sunni and Shi’a

• Shi’ites: Love of God; pray to saints
• Sunnis: Oneness of God; pray to God
• Muslim until proven not
• Biased towards each other and see the other as less muslim
• Sunnis believe that there should be elections to decide on the leader of Islam; whereas, the Shi’ites believe that the leader should be a descendant of Ali

Role of Women

• Not that women stay at home and cook and clean and have babies
• Whatever a woman makes, she doesn’t have to put towards the family.
• Doesn’t have to go to the worship on friday’s
• Has to cover
• When they are covered to go down to the man, and isn’t judged with
• Put sexuality aside
• Not oppression and this is her freedom to choose what she wants to wear
• Sexy dressers are choosing to be victimized=supports male dominance

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Feminist “issues”

Many American feminists see the religion as oppressive because of the modesty the women convey. They feel these women are being forced to wear the hijabs and that the men are abusive and control their rights.

Muslim women choose to wear the hijab and it is, for the most part, not obligatory rather a social habit. The range of coverage from no head scarf covering to hair coverage to full-body coverage does not determine a woman’s commitment to Allah.

“Muslim women, like all women, should have the right to dress as they choose and to make decisions about their lives and how to express their faith, identity and moral values.” - Judith Sunderland

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Role of Men

• Man is responsible to support family--> makes money for family
• Required to attend Friday prayer
• No shorts above the knee in public; requires a certain amount of modesty, as for women
• covered because god says so

Discussion Question

Do you think the Islam culture is a woman or male dominated culture? What cultural factors make you think that this is true?

• Follow-up question: How do you think people of non-Western culture view American culture, as male or female-dominated? What groups do they see as oppressed?

Male dominated culture

• Women bring themselves down for the male culture
• The males support the family more
• Bring more to their faith
• Favored in the Qur’an

Woman dominated culture

• Women choose to bring themselves down
• Men are to provide for the women
• The modesty protects women from being harassed by men; protected from the hardships of life

Video surrounding the hijab controversy in France

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kniiNvoC0EY

start around 6 min

Very important around 7:20

"If today we accept the headscarf, tomorrow we'll accept that women's rights to work and vote and receive an education be banned and they'll be seen as just a tool for reproduction and housework." - Hedi Mhenni

“Women around the world are being stripped of their basic rights to personal autonomy”- Judith Sunderland

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Bibliography

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_scarf_controversy_in_France
• http://www.loonwatch.com/2010/01/not-all-terrorists-are-muslims/
• http://en.islamtoday.net/artshow-264-3151.htm
• http://www.safraproject.org/sgi-genderroles.htm
• http://greaterkashmir.com/news/2011/Apr/16/the-veil-controversy-19.asp
• http://www.cliffsnotes.com/cliffsnotes/sciences/what-is-the-difference-between-sunnis-and-shi-ites
• http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/09/23/banning-muslim-veil-denies-women-choice-too
• http://www.islamicity.com/education/understandingislamandmuslims/default.asp?ContentLocation=/Education/UnderstandingIslamAndMuslims&CurrentPageID=16&Top=&Bottom=&Right=&Left=&SideBarWidth=&RightWidth=&LeftWidth=&SideBarLocation=&Style=&CatID=&Destination=/Education/UnderstandingIslamAndMuslims/16.asp

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