Introduction

The western world holds many perceptions of Islam and Muslims. Some of them are valid but many are significantly and worryingly erroneous. Then there are others which have an element of truth to them but have been viewed through a lens coloured by a historical background peculiar to Western societies. In recent times the perception of the treatment of women in Islam has once again been headline news with the by now familiar allegations that Islam treats women as second class citizens, oppresses them, is violent towards them etc. The Taliban of Afghanistan are held up as an example of how Muslims treat women while arguably similar treatment of women in Saudi Arabia passes with little or no comment. This is not the place to look into the reasons behind this, suffice it to say that from a Muslim point of view the primary concern should not be the agenda of those reporting the unfavourable treatment of women by certain Muslims, but rather the fact that such treatment undoubtedly takes place and, therefore, needs addressing. The question for the purposes of this article is simply this: how valid is the perception that it is Islam itself which is responsible for the ill treatment of women?

Before embarking upon this task it is useful to set out a little of the background both historically and also from the point of view of the basic beliefs of Islam. The arguments presented in this article are not the result of a trawl through every text compiled by so-called scholars of Islam through the ages. Such an exercise would undoubtedly reveal patriarchal opinions viewing women unfavourably. And it is only right to say that such opinions can be found in the religious texts of other major world faiths. In so far as man has been responsible for opinions and actions adverse to the interests of women, man has to take responsibility. That, however, is precisely the point of this article, namely, that as far as Islam is concerned it may well be the case that the interpretation of God’s Word has been done in a way which is unfavourable to women, but there is no authority in God’s Word itself to justify such an approach. Here it is appropriate to set out what we mean by Islam. Islam means submission to God. It is the religion or way of life prescribed for humanity by God ever since the appearance of the first man on Earth. It was reiterated and updated by God’s messengers through the ages until the final Messenger, the Prophet Muhammad. The difference now was that there was to be no further messenger because this time the Message itself was to endure in the form of the Quran, a book safeguarded by God Himself. Muslims believe that the Quran is the direct Word of God as revealed to the Prophet Muhammad. It contains all the guidance we need for living our lives and for our ultimate salvation. It is the place to look for Islam, the place to look to see the views of God Himself on a particular subject and, therefore, the place to find out what God says about women.

The society into which the Quran was revealed is also of great significance. It was a male-dominated Arab society of the 7th century in which women had little or no rights, and was to that extent similar to many other contemporary societies. Female infanticide was prevalent and it was not uncommon for women to be bought and sold. The Quran revolutionised the way women were treated in this society in that not only did it give them rights hitherto unheard of, but it gave rights which were not acquired in the West for hundreds of years, and even then only after immense struggle.