Religious Radicalism and Women - Essay Example

Religious Radicalism The current world is extremely globalized and as a result of that a global culture is evolving out. The workforce exchanges and cross cultural business activities are increasing rapidly so that political, social and cultural differences between countries are diminishing. At the same time, religious fundamentalism and radicalism seem to be the major obstacle in creating a global culture. Some cultures are adamant in their beliefs and traditions even though, they are aware of the dangers associated with such beliefs and customs. For example, women in some Islamic communities are facing severe problems from the dominant male community. This paper analyses religious radicalism with the help of the problems facing by Muslim women in radical or fundamental societies. One of the recent reports from Afghanistan showed the brutalities suffered by an young Muslim girl from the hands of her husband. When Aisha was 12, her father promised her in marriage to a Taliban fighter to pay a debt. She was handed over to his family who abused her and forced her to sleep in the stable with the animals. When she attempted to flee, she was caught and her nose and ears were hacked off by her husband as punishment (Bates). Even though many of the scholars even in Muslim culture condemned above brutality, it is a fact that there are many women in Muslim communities who are suffering from similar treatments from their male counterparts. A civilized world like ours cannot tolerate such brutalities even if it has something to do with the religious beliefs. It is hard to believe that the creator has created two types of people; one for domination and the other for suffering. Holy Bible says that Eve was created to give company to Adam; not for working as a slave to Adam. In Hindu culture also, women enjoy equal status with men. In fact, women are respected more than men in Hindu culture since they are instrumental in giving birth to future generation. “Koran says girls must stay home and that it is right to beat women if they disobey their husbands” (Chu). The above teaching of Koran cannot be accepted for an advanced culture like ours. It is difficult to digest the argument that only girls must be punished if they disobey their husband whereas boys can do anything as they like. It should be remembered that in Islamic culture, men can keep more than one wife at the same time whereas women cannot establish relations with other males. In other words, Islam treats males and females in different manner which is unacceptable to any other cultures in the world. Some Muslim scholars are of the view that many of the teachings of Koran were misinterpreted. In their opinion, women beating don’t mean severe punishment in Islam. It is only a symbolic act for the wrong activities of women. In any case, it is a fact that Koran remains silent over the punishment of men who commit mistakes to their wives. Global media recently reported an incident from Saudi Arabia in which a woman who tried to drive her vehicle suffered punishment from the authorities. Woman driving is prohibited in Saudi Arabia even though it is allowed in many other Islamic countries. In other words, Saudi Arabia has its own laws and traditions which are entirely different from that in many other Muslim countries. For example, in UAE or Oman, woman driving is not a punishable act. In fact the number of women drivers in these countries is more or equal to the number of the male drivers. It should be noted that both Oman and UAE have similar culture as that of Saudi and they have no problem in allowing woman driving. It is evident from the above facts that misinterpretation of Koranic teaching is taking place everywhere in the world. Otherwise all the Muslim cultures in the world should have similar rules and regulations. The Saudi Koran and UAE Koran are one and the same; but the teachings of Saudi scholars and the UAE scholars are entirely different. In other words, Saudi is executing a hidden agenda against the women in community there in the name of religion. This is a kind of religious radicalism or religious extremism. Muslim women in countries like Saudi should cover their entire body, including face while going out whereas Muslim women in Pakistan or India need not cover their faces while going out. If Islam is so adamant in covering the full body of women, it should be implemented everywhere. Moreover if women body has to be covered fully with cloth, why should men be isolated from doing so? Both male and human body may have some differences in physical appearances; however the bodily functions are same both for men and women. So, asking Muslim women to cover their entire body seems to be a barbarian act, especially in hot and humid conditions in Saudi like Middle Eastern countries. It should be noted that same restrictions are not at all applicable to the males in Muslim community. Even if a Muslim male wear dresses of his choice, nobody will ask him or punish him. The creator has created human as men and women; not as privileged ones and under-privileged ones. We should avoid all gender differences while setting rules or norms for human life in this world. Women have every right to enjoy equal status with men since survival of human kind is impossible without women. Moreover, current women are capable of doing anything which is done by their male counterparts. The only difference between men and women lies in the strength of their body. Men have superior strength than women; but in intellectual capabilities, both are equal. To conclude, treating women as second class citizens in some of the Muslim culture is an example for religious radicalism. Women are essential for the sustainment of human life in this earth. Even male animals give some respect to their female counterparts. Under such circumstances, in a civilized world like ours, treating women as slaves is unpardonable. Works Cited Bates, Claire. “The Smile That Defies The Taliban: Afghan Teenager Whose Mutilated Face Shocked The World Unveils Her New Image”. 2010. Web. 15 October 2011. Chu, Jeff. “Many Faces of Islam”. Time CNN Sunday, Dec. 08, 2002. Web. 15 October 2011. Read More