R-E-S-P-E-C-T

“We Give Women Respect...”
By Moiz Khan
For the majority of my life I was a Muslim, a child of Muslim parents, a nephew of Muslim aunts and uncles, and so on. Most of the people I spent my childhood with were Muslims, and every single one of them repeated a phrase almost verbatim. “Islam is the only religion that gives respect and honor to women.” I personally never really gave the statement much thought; rather, I just accepted it on surface value. So whenever someone from the outside brought up the treatment of women in Islamic cultures, I repeated this mantra like a statement of unquestionable fact. It was not until I looked upon Islam from the outside that I truly grasped just how false that statement was. Islam does not give respect to women, it does the exact opposite. It suppresses and subjugates them. It keeps them down purposely, as Islam truly is a man-made religion. It deprives women of their beauty with veils, their minds with dogma, and their freedom with the law.
One of the most common replies to the oppressive treatment of women is, “it’s the culture, not religion.” The people who say this, either know nothing of the religion they are speaking of, or are purposely lying. It must be one or the other, there is no middle ground in this matter. The Qur’an clearly outlines what rights women have, and which rights they don’t have. In fact, the 4th chapter of the Qur’an deals directly with women, as it is titled “Al-Nisa” which translates to “The Woman.” If there were ever a place to prove my point, it would be within this chapter of the Qur’an. So, let us explore the claim of whether or not Islam gives respect to women by reading this chapter.


4:3 And if ye fear that ye will not deal fairly by the orphans, marry of the women, who seem good to you, two or three or four; and if ye fear that ye cannot do justice (to so many) then one (only) or (the captives) that your right hands possess. Thus it is more likely that ye will not do injustice.
This verse is often seen as part of the justification as to why men are given the right to marry multiple women. The first claim it makes is that, it is possible for a man to treat multiple women equally.
All one needs to evaluate the validity of this claim is to ask any self-respecting woman if such is possible. The next interesting aspect is that, it allows men to marry multiple women, but not women to marry multiple men. Clearly, this verse implies that there is an inherent inequality, as it assumes that only men are in the position to provide for multiple women, but not the other way around.
4:11 Allah chargeth you concerning (the provision for) your children: to the male the equivalent of the portion of two females, and if there be women more than two, then theirs is two- thirds of the inheritance, and if there be one (only) then the half.
Unlike the previous verse that only implies an inherent inequality, this chapter essentially states this supposed inequality outright. Men are given double of what women are given. Again, the Qur’an is creating the justification for inequality and suppression.
4:34 Men are in charge of women, because Allah hath made the
one of them to excel the other, and because they spend of their property (for the support of women). So good women are the
obedient, guarding in secret that which Allah hath guarded. As for those from whom ye fear rebellion, admonish them and
banish them to beds apart, and scourge them. Then if they obey you, seek not a way against them. Lo! Allah is ever High, Exalted, Great.
Here is a cluster of sexist nonsense. Now, it clearly says, “Men are in charge of women.” Why is this so? Why can’t women be in charge of men? How has god made males better than females? According to any sensible knowledge of modern anatomy, there are negligible differences between the two, so how is a male “made to excel over the female?” Why is a good woman obedient to god and men? Why can’t a woman be simply obedient to god? Why aren’t good males obedient to god and females? If you had any objection to the other verses, surely there cannot be any mistake here. This passage also states the proper punishment for the women who aren’t obedient. First, a male can essentially yell at them; second, send them to another bed; and, then, third you can beat them and not allow them outside the house. This single passage allows men to be in charge of women, and forces women to be obedient or else face harsh consequences. It ends off with a praise of god, surely no person of reasonable, or even mediocre ethics could not praise any god which would give such filthy and disgusting passages to be the final revelation.
24:31 And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and be
modest, and to display of their adornment only that which is
apparent, and to draw their veils over their bosoms, and not to reveal their adornment save to their own husbands or fathers or husbands’ fathers, or their sons or their husbands’ sons, or their brothers or their brothers’ sons or sisters’ sons, or their women, or
their slaves, or male attendants who lack vigour, or children who know naught of women’s nakedness.
One of my main grievances with Islam and the Qur’an is that it states that modesty is a virtue for women in relation to god and in relation to men, but modesty is only a virtue for men in relation to god. This passage highlights this grievance of mine. I simply cannot understand the desire to force a woman to wear veils. I also do not see why a woman must lower her gaze, especially in direct submission to men. Surely this passage is convenient for males, as they can continue with their sick desire to subjugate women. However, as a male, I could not participate in any religion which states such blatant falsehoods and obvious sexist non-sense regardless of its convenience to me.
What I hope to have established is that, a person cannot consider themselves a feminist if they protect or even worse, follow Islam. The presupposition that men are inherently superior to women (which clearly exists within the passages of the Qur’an) is the antithesis to feminism. For those who are women and also follow the Islamic faith, my question is, why? Why follow a religion which so obviously against you. It is not the culture that allows for males to assume that they can suppress you, but rather, it is the religion itself. For one to consider themselves a Muslim, they must follow every single aspect of the Qur’an. If even a single passage seems wrong, the entire faith falls down. One cannot submit to the word of god and at the same time challenge it. I stand baffled whenever a woman actually allows herself to be suppressed, and even more so, agrees with the logic behind it. For a woman following these filthy Abrahamic religions is similar to a freed slave staying with their owner. To put it as succinctly as possible, the notion of “Islamic Feminism” is essentially a contradiction in terms.