Islam Under Scrutiny by Ex-Muslims
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Women in Islam: An exegesis - Part 7[
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6 ] Women taken as captives in a war Islam permits unlimited sex with women taken as prisoners in a war. This was (or is) the practice of the Muslims including Muhammad during the 'golden' days of early Islam. Muhammad himself took Raihana a pretty young thing, who happened to be a married Jewish woman, captive (after the slaughter of Bani Quraiza male captives) as his concubine when she refused to marry him. Muhammad even presented many of his friends as well as his own sons-in-law (Ali and Othman) with pretty young captive women to be used as sex slaves. You talk about morality and good judgment! This was the respect and kindness that the Prophet of "mercy" had for the helpless women! Besides Raihana, Muhammad also took Jurawyirah (from the raid on Bani al Mustaliq) and Saffiya (a Bani Nadir Jewess from the raid on Khaibar) as his mistresses. Islamic apologists can't wait to announce that Muhammad was so merciful that he married these two helpless women to free them from being sold as slaves. They will even let you believe that those helpless women, whose relatives were killed, were actually very happy to marry Muhammad as they fell in love with him after the slaughter. Was Muhammad a virile man in his early fifties? How disgusting and revolting it is that the prophet of Islam had inured this filthy practise of using the captives to satiate his libidinous urge! The apologist will most certainly give you the impression that marrying them absolves all the culpability of Muhammad in slaughtering their male relations. What is the big deal in marrying a captive woman? What kind of bravery and chivalry is this? In fact, it is an act of great cowardice and absolute meanness and an exposition of uncontrolled lust of the highest order. What choice did those pitiful women had? Even if Muhammad wanted to kill them or sell them as sex slaves, what could they do? Practically, they could do nothing. What do the Muhammad's followers are supposed to do today? Are they not supposed to emulate him to the letter in every respect? No wonder that we witness such beautiful treatment of women in all the Islamic Paradises as I pen this essay in the dawn of the twenty first century. You see, whenever, the Muslim army conducted a raid, they always had the thirst for the succulent body of infidel women. Their desire to have sex with those captured women was so compelling that even Allah had to intervene to decree that these women could be raped after their menstrual periods were over. This uncivilized and despicable sexual urges of those Islamic soldiers were so barbaric that they would not even show sense of decency by having sex with their women prisoners in privacy. They would not hesitate to copulate with these hapless women right in the presence of their husbands who were infidels. How outrageous! How despicable! Read the following two hadith and judge for yourself the divinity in Islamic rules when you compare those with the rights of the POW as conferred by the Geneva Convention. The first hadith indicates that some Muslim soldiers were quite ashamed to perform sexual act with the captive women while their husbands were present. Are we not supposed to assume that most of the Jihadis were having sexual intercourse with the captive women right in front of their fallen (prisoner) husbands? How beautiful!! In recent times, we have seen this type of sexual perversions perpetrated by the Islamic army of Pakistan on their captive booties (captured women) in the genocide of Bangladesh in 1971. Isn't it that the Pakistan army was just carrying out the contents of these ahadith? Some Jihadis had sex with the captive women in the presence of their husbands and some were reluctant to do so (Sunaan Abu Dawud 11.2150) Abu Said al-Khudri said: "The apostle of Allah sent a military expedition to Awtas on the occasion of the battle of Hunain. They met their enemy and fought with them. They defeated them and took them captives. Some of the Companions of the apostle of Allah were reluctant to have intercourse with the female captives in the presence of their husbands who were unbelievers. So Allah, the Exalted, sent down the Qur'anic verse, "And all married women (are forbidden) unto your save those (captives) whom your right hand possesses". That is to say, they are lawful for them when they complete their waiting period."" [The Qur'an verse is 4:24]. One can have sexual intercourse with a captive woman after she is clear of her period and/or delivery. If she has a husband then her marriage is abrogated after she becomes a captive (Ref. 4:24)-(Shahih Muslim 8.3432) Abu Sa'id al-Khudri (Allah her pleased with him) reported that at the Battle of Hanain Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) sent an army to Autas and encountered the enemy and fought with them. Having overcome them and taken them captives, the Companions of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) seemed to refrain from having intercourse with captive women because of their husbands being polytheists. Then Allah, Most High, sent down regarding that:" And women already married, except those whom your right hands possess (iv. 24) One might think that this type of sexual predatory practice was limited only to the ordinary Muslim soldiers who were sexually starved due to the war. The holiest of the holy men of Islam could have never indulged in such kind of depravity. Well, let us have a serious look at the following hadith that says that the holiest of the holy, Hazrat Ali, did do sexual intercourse with captive women even when he himself was married to Fatima, the daughter of Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam. What a beauty! In fact, the prophet of mercy and tolerance, instead of condemning and reprimanding Ali, even said that his son-in-law deserved more than that, perhaps meaning to say that he (Ali) deserved more sex from captive slave-women! The banality of Muhammad's foray into sex with captive women knows no bounds and still then, the Muslims all over the world even today think that he is the ideal person whose life should be emulated by all Muslims. Ali had sex with booty captive women...(Shahih Bukhari 5.59.637) Volume 5, Book 59, Number 637: Narrated Buraida: The Prophet sent 'Ali to Khalid to bring the Khumus (of the booty) and I hated Ali, and 'Ali had taken a bath (after a sexual act with a slave-girl from the Khumus). I said to Khalid, "Don't you see this (i.e. Ali)?" When we reached the Prophet I mentioned that to him. He said, "O Buraida! Do you hate Ali?" I said, "Yes." He said, "Do you hate him, for he deserves more than that from the Khumus." A natural question is, what happens if a captive woman gets pregnant as a result of having sex with the Jihadis? Many of those Islamic Jihadis did ponder over this unwanted pregnancy and wanted to practice coitus interruption (withdrawing before ejaculating) but Muhammad was quite against it, at times and was neutral at other times. Here are some beautiful ahadith. If you read these ahdith carefully, you will notice that the Jihadis did do coitus interruption not only to avoid unwanted pregnancy but it was also a method of giving them intense sexual pleasure and that was why they loved doing that! This means that those hapless captive women were meant not only to satisfy the normal sexual urge but were also a means to satisfy their captor's sexual fantasies and perversions, which, perhaps they could not do with their married wives. Muhammed did not approve coitus interruption with the captive women of Banu-al-Mustaliq, but he allowed the women to be raped...(Shahih Bukhari 5.59.459) Volume 5, Book 59, Number 459: Narrated Ibn Muhairiz: I entered the Mosque and saw Abu Said Al-Khudri and sat beside him and asked him about Al-Azl (i.e. coitus interruptus). Abu Said said, "We went out with Allah's Apostle for the Ghazwa of Banu Al-Mustaliq and we received captives from among the Arab captives and we desired women and celibacy became hard on us and we loved to do coitus interruptus. So when we intended to do coitus interruptus, we said, 'How can we do coitus interruptus before asking Allah's Apostle who is present among us?" We asked (him) about it and he said, 'It is better for you not to do so, for if any soul (till the Day of Resurrection) is predestined to exist, it will exist." Some Jihadis practiced coitus interruption with captive women...(Shahih Bukhari 7.62.137) Volume 7, Book 62, Number 137: Narrated Abu Said Al-Khudri: We got female captives in the war booty and we used to do coitus interruptus with them. So we asked Allah's Apostle about it and he said, "Do you really do that?" repeating the question thrice, "There is no soul that is destined to exist but will come into existence, till the Day of Resurrection." Muhammad's followers used to practice coitus interruption while the Qur'an was being revealed-( Shahih Muslim 8.3386) Jabir (Allah be pleased with him) reported: We used to practise 'azl while the Qur'an was revealed (during the days when the Holy Prophet was alive). Many Islamists are ashamed of the provision of taking captive women as sex slaves. They try to soften this barbaric practice by pretending to say something like, 'you must consider the time and the context. There is a misconception on this. Those days it was all right to have captive women and to have sex with them because many Muslim soldiers were despatched to the war zones. So, to satisfy their sex appetite God permitted them to have such sex. The captive women also needed sex. So it was a win-win situation. See how beautiful the Islamic rules are!' If we ask them whether this provision still applies today or not, they simply try to evade this question by saying something like, 'You see, we must look at the context, when the Muslims conquer any nation they will always treat the vanquished fairly with Islamic laws. Islam will surely protect their women and children-. etc.' They simply avoid a straightforward answer. Have you ever thought about what will happen to the infidel American women if the 'Great Satan' is defeated in an Islamic Jihad? Let us hear what the 'real Islam' has to offer on this matter. This is what a well-learned Mullah says about the captive women: From an Islamic
Q & A site: Please peruse the above statement once again. What is the implication of this Mullah's opinion? I must appreciate the Mullah for his utter honesty with respect to 'real Islam.' He did not beat around the bushes. He has given a straightforward, unadulterated, pure and unambiguous answer that clearly conforms to the rules of Qur'an and hadith. May I ask the Islamic apologists to say a few words about this honest reply from this Mullah? Now, let us look at the wider implications of this 'Islamic rule.' Imagine that Islamic army invades America, Britain and all infidel lands. Also, imagine these infidels being defeated in a catastrophic war. What do you think the Islamic soldiers will do to all the male infidels? What do you think the Islamic soldiers would do to all the pretty/young women they would capture as captives? Do you think that these Islamic soldiers will honour the covenants of the Geneva Conventions on POW? You must be out of your mind if you thought so. The soldiers of Islam will do exactly what the above Mullah has said. Yes, they will sell all the male captives as slaves and take the young/pretty women as sex slaves to satisfy their sexual urge. The old women would probably be killed, as they become a burden to the Muslim invaders. For married women, their marriage will be immediately made null and void. To humiliate the great 'Satan' further, the Islamic Jihadis will probably do sexual act with the captive women right in front of their men who were just a short while ago their husbands. You may still think this to be impossible. But, wait! The Pakistani Islamic army did just this in Bangladesh in 1971. They killed about 3 million Bangalees terming them as not so good Muslims, took 250,000 Bengali women as concubines, and raped them, many of them repeatedly and not very far off from their near and dear ones. In recent times, we have heard many such reports from the Taliban ruled Afghanistan. These disturbing acts may enrage a lot of people, including many Muslims. Think again. Have the Islamic soldiers committed any crime/sin as far as Islam is concerned. The answer is a simple "NO." Therefore, doesn't it make sense to realise that it is the Islam itself that is the motivating factor for the rape of the captive women? In Iran a woman charged with adultery/blasphemy/apostasy carrying death penalty become a captive of the Islamic state. Therefore, an Islamic guard is appointed to have sex with her repeatedly before she is executed. This is a beautiful and "humane" treatment of infidel women prisoners in Islam! Sex with slave womenThis one is also a hot topic worthy of discussion. So far, we learnt the truth about the sexual exploitation of women taken in a war. This is not the only means by which unlimited sexual gratification is possible in a 'halal' way. Buying and selling of women as sex slaves are absolutely permitted in Islam. It is a perfectly legitimate way to acquire as many sex-slaves as possible. Sky is not the limit, though. The only limitation is the affordability. One may say that this type of trading in slave is no more practiced today. This is true. Why is it not practiced today? Did Islam ban this vile and disgusting trade in female flesh trade? Nope. It was because of the propagation of liberal and secular idea of human rights and the realization of the rights of women. If Islam conquered the world, slavery could have never been eradicated because Islamic laws are written on granite stone and are absolutely unchangeable. The entire population of a nation may perish; the Islamic laws must prevail, nonetheless. So, if Islam conquers the infidel countries, there is nothing that could prevent the Islamic zealots from re-introducing the slavery system and the slave markets around the globe for trading in female bodies of infidel women. Here are a few more gems from ahadith. Please peruse the following divine sanctions and judge for yourself the mercy, blessing, tolerance, and last but least, fairness towards women in Islam. You can have sexual intercourse with two slave girls at a time without ghusl (bath) but can't do like this with free women-(Malik's Muwatta 2.23.90) Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that the slave girls of Abdullah ibn Umar used to wash his feet and bring him a mat of palm leaves while they were menstruating. Malik was asked whether a man who had women and slave girls could have intercourse with all of them before he did ghusl. He said, "There is no harm in a man having intercourse with two of his slave girls before he does ghusl. It is disapproved of, however, to go to a freewoman on another's day. There is no harm in making love first to one slave girl and then to another when one is junub." Malik was asked about a man who was junub and water was put down for him to do ghusl with.Then he forgot and put his finger into it to find out whether it was hot or cold. Malik said, "If no filth has soiled his fingers, I do not consider that that makes the water impure." Here is something that will break your conscience as it did even the conscience of stonehearted, cruel Hazrat Umar. This hadith tells us that before banning by Umar, it was okay to have sex with a slave mother and her young daughter one after the other. How disgusting! How revolting!! If a woman and her daughter were both slave (or captive) then you can't have sex with one of them after the other. Umar forbade this practice-(Malik's Muwatta 28.14.33) Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Ubaydullah ibn Abdullah ibn Utba ibn Masud from his father that Umar ibn al-Khattab was asked about a woman and her daughter who were in the possession of the right hand, and whether one could have intercourse with one of them after the other Umar said, "I dislike both being permitted together." He then forbade that. How about having sex with two slave-girls who are sisters. Read this despicable hadith. Where is your conscience? Has it died? If both sisters are slave (or captives) then you may or may not have sex with them depending on the interpreter-(Malik's Muwatta 28.14.34) Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibn Shihab from Qabisa ibn Dhu'ayb that a man asked Uthman ibn Affan whether one could have intercourse with two sisters who one owned. Uthman said, "One ayat makes them halal, and one ayat makes them haram. As for me, I wouldn't like to do it." The man left him and met one of the companions of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and asked him about it, and he said, "Had I any authority and I found someone who had done it, I would punish him as an example." Ibn Shihab added, "I think that it was Ali ibn Abi Talib. " And here are a few more gems from Islam Father can give his slave-girl to his son to do conditional things-(Malik's Muwatta 28.15.38) Yahya related to me from Malik from Ibrahim ibn Abi Abla from Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan that he gave a slave-girl to a friend of his, and later asked him about her. He said, "I intended to give her to my son to do such-and-such with her." Abd al-Malik said, "Marwan was more scrupulous than you. He gave a slave-girl to his son, and then he said, 'Do not go near her, for I have seen her leg uncovered .' " A master can have sex with the slave-girl of his male or female slave-(Malik's Muwatta 29.17.51) Yahya related to me from Malik from Nafi that Abdullah ibn Umar said, "If a man gives his slave permission to marry, the divorce is in the hand of the slave, and nobody else has any power over his divorce. Nothing is held against a man who takes the slave-girl of his male slave or the slave-girl of his female-slave." Slave-girls are like fields if you wish then water it by ejaculating inside them or leave it thirsty i.e. coitus interruption with slave-girls is optional-(Malik's Muwatta 29.32.99) Yahya related to me from Malik from Damra ibn Said al-Mazini from al-Hajjaj ibn Amr ibn Ghaziya that he was sitting with Zayd ibn Thabit when Ibn Fahd came to him. He was from the Yemen. He said, "Abu Said! I have slave-girls. None of the wives in my keep are more pleasing to me than them, and not all of them please me so much that I want a child by them, shall I then practise coitus interruptus?" Zayd ibn Thabit said, "Give an opinion, Hajjaj!" "I said, 'May Allah forgive you! We sit with you in order to learn from you!' He said, 'Give an opinion! 'I said, 'She is your field, if you wish, water it, and if you wish, leave it thirsty. I heard that from Zayd.' Zayd said, 'He has spoken the truth.' " Contract (M'uta) marriages: The best kept secret in Islam!In part 4/7 of this essay I briefly mentioned about Imam Hasan to have obtained up to 300 wives. How was that possible? Here is what an Islamic web site writes about this holy man of Islam. , "Hasan often married 4 wives in one sitting and then divorced 4 wives in one sitting" (http://www.al-islam.org/al-serat/imamhasan.htm) (Please note that the above information has recently been expunged from this Islamic website) So, how is it possible to acquire up to 300 wives in ones lifetime? This is not impossible when we consider the system of M'uta marriage in Islam. This type of contract marriage is based on verse 4:24 004.024 Although the Sunnis have banned the M'uta system, it is very much in practice among the Shias. It is quite possible to have a M'uta marriage every night and kick out the woman next morning. There is no need of divorce in a M'uta marriage. For all practical purposes, this type of marriage is a contract to sleep together and that is all. Also, remember that though there is a restriction of up to four permanent wives at any time, there is no such restriction on the number of temporary wives that one can have at any time. In modern language, we call this 'one night stand.' M'uta marriage has absolutely no time limit. So, "one-night's play" is perfectly Islamic. M'uta marriage is the Islamic version of 'one night stand.' See, Islam has the solution even for the playboys of the Muslim World. How about that? Imam Hasan was definitely an Islamic 'Playboy' of his time. Is it a fair assessment of him? Readers, please think for a while how does M'uta marriage differ from common prostitution except some utterance of some "holy" words? There is no difference. Allowing it by the prophet or anybody is a serious blow on the philosophy of a family with wife and kids. So, how much one needs to pay to buy the sexual organs of a woman for a short duration in Islamic way? It can be very cheap indeed. Read the following ahadith and you would be wondering whether you should move to Iran to enjoy women. The dower for contract marriage can be as little as a handful of flour-(Shahih Muslim 8.3249) Jabir b. 'Abdullah reported: We contracted temporary marriage giving a handful of (tales or flour as a dower during the lifetime of Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and durnig the time of Abu Bakr until 'Umar forbade it in the case of 'Amr b. Huraith. Recently,
I read a news despatched by AFP (Monday, July 29, 2002 - 2002 IranMania.com
) Enjoy women in ParadiseThe use of women for carnal gratification does not end in this mortal world. The unlimited orgy of sex, drinking, and pleasure continues in the life hereafter. Here also we find blatant gender discrimination. Only the men are allowed to have such pleasures. For women it is a no go. As we have seen in the previous sections that most women will be in hell, we wonder where this unlimited supply of sexy, young, and petite virgins (houris) will be from. This non-stop pleasure is reserved only for those believers who will go to paradise. Allah has to create such female pleasure machines to satisfy the lust of the pious believers and the Jihadis who have sacrificed their lives in the process to kill the innocent unbelievers. What would these sex maniacs do with the shapely, young virgin girls in paradise? Many Islamic apologists often try to hide the extreme graphic description of sexual ecstasy in Islamic paradise by saying something like, 'you see, there are a lots of misconceptions about these houris. These houris are actually symbolic and the wine is not really the kind of wine we find in this world. The meaning of drinking wine is actually purifying the soul'. How laughable those explanations are! Here are some verses from Qur'an that explicitly describes the sensuality of the paradise that is reserved for men. 036.055 What will the companions of the garden enjoy? Will the believers in paradise really have sexual intercourse with houris besides their wives? That is to say, they will have sex orgies in paradise with 72 houris (Tirmidhi 4.21.2687)? How come the wives accompanying their husbands are not allowed the same rights? Let us hear from some authorities of Islam and you would surely discover the dishonesty of the Islamic apologists to fool those who have very little knowledge about the 'real Islam.' (Please note that the following passages were obtained from an Islamic website that answers questions on Islam. The passage is quite lengthy. I have included those portions that are relevant to my essay. Please visit the following website if you want to read the full text. Also note that the houris are virgin, as it is specifically mentioned that no Jinn or men has opened their hymen.) or this one Will men in Paradise have intercourse with al-hoor aliyn? - Islam Questions & Answers http://www.islam-qa.com/ (or http://6.175.194.25) Question Reference Number:: 10053 Title: Will men in Paradise have intercourse with al-hoor aliyn? Question: I'm wondering will the men from amongst the human race that enters paradise, will they have sexual intercourse with the "HOURIS" women in the paradise. Answer: Among the blessings that Allaah has prepared for His slaves are al-hoor al-'iyn. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): "So (it will be). And We shall marry them to Hoor (fair females) with wide lovely eyes" [al-Dhukhaan 44:54] "They will recline (with ease) on thrones arranged in ranks. And We shall marry them to Hoor (fair females) with wide lovely eyes [al-Toor 52:20] Al-hoor al-'iyn are extremely beautiful, such that the marrow of their shins will be visible from beneath their garments. Every man who enters Paradise will have two wives from among al-hoor al-'iyn. Allaah says, describing them (interpretation of the meaning): "Therein (Gardens) will be Khayraatun‑Hisaan [fair (wives) good and beautiful]; Then which of the Blessings of your Lord will you both (jinn and men) deny? Hoor (beautiful, fair females) guarded in pavilions; Then which of the Blessings of your Lord will you both (jinn and men) deny? With whom no man or jinni has had Tamth [opening their hymens with sexual intercourse] before them. Then which of the Blessings of your Lord will you both (jinn and men) deny? Reclining on green cushions and rich beautiful mattresses." [al-Rahmaan 55:70-76] "And (there will be) Hoor (fair females) with wide lovely eyes (as wives for Al-Muttaqoon - the pious). Like unto preserved pearls" [al-Waaqi'ah 56:22-23] It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "The first group will enter Paradise looking like the moon on the night when it is full, and those who follow them will be like the brightest shining star in the sky. Their hearts will be as one, and there will be no hatred or jealousy among them. Each man will have two wives from among al-hoor al-'iyn, the marrow of whose calves can be seen from beneath the bone and flesh." (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, no. 3014) It was narrated that Anas ibn Maalik (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: "I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: 'Going out and coming back for the sake of Allaah is better than this world and all that is in it. And a spot the size of the bow of one of you in Paradise - or a spot the size of his whip - is better than this world and all that is in it. If a woman from among the people of Paradise were to look at the people of this earth, she would light up all that is in between them and fill it with fragrance. The veil on her head is better than this world and all that is in it.'" (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, no. 2587) A man will have intercourse in Paradise with his wives from among al-hoor al-'iyn and his wives from among the people of this world, if they enter Paradise with him. A man will be given the strength of a hundred men to eat, drink, feel desire and have sexual intercourse. It was narrated from Anas (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "The believer in Paradise will be given such and such strength for sexual intercourse." He was asked, "O Messenger of Allaah, will he really be able to do that?" He said, "He will be given the strength of one hundred (men)." (Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, no. 2459. He said, (it is) saheeh ghareeb). The mufassireen said concerning the phrase "busy in joyful things" (Yaa-Seen 36:55 - interpretation of the meaning): 'Abd-Allaah ibn Mas'ood and Ibn 'Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with them both), and Sa'eed ibn al-Musayyib, 'Ikrimah, al-Hasan, Qutaadah, al-A'mash, Sulaymaan al-Taymi and al-Oozaa'i said concerning the aayaah (interpretation of the meaning), "Verily, the dwellers of Paradise, that Day, will be busy in joyful things" [Yaa-Seen 36:55] they said, (it means) they will be busy deflowering virgins. Ibn 'Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) said, according to a report narrated from him, that "busy in joyful things" means listening to stringed instruments. Abu Haatim said: he misheard the phrase iftidaad al-abkaar (deflowering virgins) and thought it was samaa' al-awtaar (listening to stringed instruments). In fact the correct phrase is iftidaad al-abkaar (deflowering virgins). (Ibn Katheer, 3/564) With regard to children, the scholars differed as to whether children would be born as a result of this intercourse or not. Some said that there would be children if the man wants them, but the pregnancy and birth would take just one hour. Abu Sa'eed al-Khudri (may Allaah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "If the believer wants a child in Paradise, the pregnancy and delivery will take only an hour,then the child will be the age that the man wants." (Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, no. 2487; al-Daarimi, no. 2712; Ahmad, no. 11339; Ibn Maajah, no. 4329). And Allaah knows best. Islam Q&A Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid (www.islam-qa.com)
Final conclusion:It took me a considerable amount of time and energy to write this prolix essay. The reason for my involvement in this project was explained quite adequately in the prologue of my essay. The writing of this essay was not taken lightly either. It is not a politically correct essay. That I know darn well. It is my understanding that many Muslims (men women alike) will be greatly shocked reading this essay and will, no doubt, shake their heads in utter disbelief. There is an element of shock in my article. I myself was in a state of shock when I learned about the 'real Islam' for the very first time. We cannot bury our head like an ostrich and pretend that everything is fine and dandy with Islam because some uneducated Mullahs have said so. It is necessarily not so. The truth must be told no matter what price one has to pay. We must realize that without women we will not be in this world. They gave us life; no doubt that male are also involved but without the nurture of our mothers we would all have perished. Besides this, we cannot simply dismiss the 50% of humankind as simply pleasure machines and burdensome. The prospect, of a happy, prosperous, meaningful, and financially independent life for a woman is indeed impossible in an ideal Islamic society. If we really care for those who bore us in their wombs, our sisters, our wives and daughters, they do not deserve such inhuman treatment espoused in the Islamic Sha'ria. We need to let our women folks be aware that there is very little for their advancement in their lives if Islamic laws are enacted in a society. Women have everything to lose and nothing to gain from repressive Islamic Sha'ria, but they have everything to gain and very little to lose if they become financially independent. Financial empowerment is the only solution for the women in Islam to break the chains of Sha'ria tyranny. It is up to the Muslim women to take charge of their lives. They could achieve a million things in this mortal world not one of them is sexual enslavement. The earlier we realize this, the better it is for an estimated 0.6 billion women a majority of whom are enslaved in their own home. Is there any reprieve from this tyranny? References1. The Holy Quran; Translation by A. Yusufali 2. Shahih Bukhari; Translation by Dr. Muhammad Mohisn Khan 3. Shahih Muslim; Translation by Abdur Rahman Siddiqui 4. Sunaan Abu Dawud; Translation by Prof. Ahmad Hasan 5. Malik's Muwatta Translators A'sha Abdurrahman at-Tarjumana andYa'qub Johnson 6. A Dictionary of Islam, 1994 by T.P Hughes; Publisher Kazi Publications, Inc. 3023-27 West Belmont Avenue, Chicago, IL 60618 7. Al-Ghazali's Ihya' Ulum al-Din (abridged by Abd el Salam Haroun), 1997; Revised and Translatd by Dr. Ahmad A. Zidan; Published and Distributed by: Islamic Inc. P.O. Box 1636, Cairo, Egypt. 8. Reliance of the Traveller (Revised edition), 1999 by Ahmad ibn Naqib al Misri; Edited by Nuh Ha Mim Keller; Published by Amana Publicatios, Belltsville, Maryland U.S.A [ Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 ] ----------------------------------- Abul Kasem writes from Sydney, Australia. His e-mail address is - abul88@hotmail.com |