Patriarchy and Gender Inequality
Aalaa Mohasseb
Professor Mahdi Tourage
Religious Studies 2500F
19 November 2012 Patriarchy and Gender Inequality "I created you from one soul, and from that soul I created its mate so that you may live in harmony and love” (Quran 4:2). When distinguishing between the Quran and Western Christian tradition, it becomes clear that equality amongst genders is much more prominent in the Quran. This is a result of the influence of Greek misogyny being integrated into Western Christian tradition. The most fundamental proof of equality that supports the Quran is the fact that in Islam, God does not have a gender. S/he may be referred to using the male pronoun in Arabic, but s/he is never described as “father or as s/he is in the Christian traditions. As discussed in lecture, in Islam, God is described using female characteristics as well as male. For instance, her/his most important names are Al- Rahman (the All-Compassionate) and Al- Rahim which come from the root word R-h-m meaning womb. Therefore, in Islam God does not have a sex or race and thus unpatriarchal. Dr. Sherif Abdel Azeem’s research of American female converts revealed that the ratio of American female converts to males is four to one (Azeem).According to these women, the reason for their conversion is that Islam liberates them and gives them more power than they have ever experienced before. When analyzed in its wholeness and put into proper perspective, it is clear that there is no favoritism towards a specific gender; the Quran displays equality throughout its revelation and misinterpretations are what make the religion seem patriarchal, such is seen with the topic of menstruation. This paper specifically analyzes how menstruation is dealt with in the Quran, and how different commentators from different time frames interpret verse 222 from surah Al Baqarah. It looks at the way women are degraded because of a disillusioned patriarchy being read into the Quran making them look
Professor Mahdi Tourage
Religious Studies 2500F
19 November 2012 Patriarchy and Gender Inequality "I created you from one soul, and from that soul I created its mate so that you may live in harmony and love” (Quran 4:2). When distinguishing between the Quran and Western Christian tradition, it becomes clear that equality amongst genders is much more prominent in the Quran. This is a result of the influence of Greek misogyny being integrated into Western Christian tradition. The most fundamental proof of equality that supports the Quran is the fact that in Islam, God does not have a gender. S/he may be referred to using the male pronoun in Arabic, but s/he is never described as “father or as s/he is in the Christian traditions. As discussed in lecture, in Islam, God is described using female characteristics as well as male. For instance, her/his most important names are Al- Rahman (the All-Compassionate) and Al- Rahim which come from the root word R-h-m meaning womb. Therefore, in Islam God does not have a sex or race and thus unpatriarchal. Dr. Sherif Abdel Azeem’s research of American female converts revealed that the ratio of American female converts to males is four to one (Azeem).According to these women, the reason for their conversion is that Islam liberates them and gives them more power than they have ever experienced before. When analyzed in its wholeness and put into proper perspective, it is clear that there is no favoritism towards a specific gender; the Quran displays equality throughout its revelation and misinterpretations are what make the religion seem patriarchal, such is seen with the topic of menstruation. This paper specifically analyzes how menstruation is dealt with in the Quran, and how different commentators from different time frames interpret verse 222 from surah Al Baqarah. It looks at the way women are degraded because of a disillusioned patriarchy being read into the Quran making them look
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