The History of Ingrid Mattson - Article Example

Religion and Theory Ingrid Mattson, Women of Muslim Ingrid Mattson is one of the frontiers in the female empowerment in the Muslim community who have come up to condemn female discrimination. The agenda of female discrimination has generated heat not only in the muslim community but also across the global sphere. The perception that males should dominate in the society has been acquired and propagated through generation in majority of the world cultures. In Islam, the situation is worse and women still have to stand up to be included in the social, political, economic and religious spheres in the contemporary society. These are major concerns of Ingrid in her series of videos on “Women of Muslim” and their roles in the society. One of the major concerns of Ingrid is the role of women in leadership position in the Islamic community. She points out that women in the Islamic society have been discriminated by being denied the chance to participate in the leadership position. She feels that the major reason why the role of women does not go beyond the domestic capacity is because they have no channels to air their cries to the world. Their participation in leadership is suppressed by a culture that regards men in the society as the superior beings who should take up all the top positions in the society as women take a basic role to serve and to adore men in the society (Ingridi). She points out that this is the principle reason why women in the Islamic community have remained static as women in all other regions of the world remain dynamic and disentangle themselves from the power of male chauvinism. One particular position that she pinpoints is the discrimination of church in religious worship. In this society, women serve as the congregation but cannot preach or even participate in leadership positions. In essence, they are an inferior lot and their basic position is to serve and to listen (Bennett 42). On the contrary, women in the Christian religion in regions such as US have been empowered and can take part in officiating mass, a role that Muslim women only dream about. The most touching idea of Ingrid is the fact that women in this society have always been ready to take these positions but have been denied. As a matter of fact, numerous ladies have embraced change and have even engaged in theology classes and yet have no place to serve. In her opinion, giving the woman a position in the society will allow the woman to serve the community and to salvage the position of women in the society. The words of Ingrid Mattson are to a great extent convincing as well as controversial in the society today. Loewenstein (1) is among the authors who have reacted to a group of videos that have circulated in the public regarding the position of women in the typical Islamic community. Although the war against women discrimination has been fought persistently in the contemporary society, few women have come up to fight for women in the Muslim society. As a matter of fact, the community has suppressed the voices of women and their opportunity to express their grievances seems not to have arrived yet. Ingrid, being a leader among the North American Muslim, is one of the bravest women in history who have stood out to assert on the position of women in the American society. This position has empowered her to come out as a female activist to assert on the rights of women in the society. In the western society, there is a notable religious empowerment of the Muslim women. Karim (218) and Bano and Kalmbach (323) have expressed the absorption of women in western Muslim culture as they climb the ladder to serve as leaders in the mosques. The increasing number of Islams women in leadership in America can be associated with the empowerment they have received from their fellow women. As more women take up more leadership positions, they empower other women to join in the cadre. Although this trend has been criticized by women in the traditional Muslim communities, this seems to be the source of the force propelling women to higher height in the American Muslim community. In this view, the words of Ingridi are way convincing and her idea to empower Muslim women by assigning them some authority seems a viable option. The words of Ingridi raise questions about whether the religious authority is the platform for women in the society to express their grievances, especially in the Muslim society. Although the wave of women empowerment has swept across the world, it is a concern about whether this wave is also sweeping the religious morals expected in the society today. Shehabuddin (5) points out the argument of those people oppose the fact that women should be allowed to hold leadership positions in the Muslim society and their Quranic reference. In the book of Bhukari in Quran, it is stated that any nation that accords a woman in a leadership position is bound to fail. Secondly, the book of Tirmidhi in Quran points out only the superior in the society can be allowed to take the position of rulers or else the earth would be a terrible place. From the above Biblical references, it would be controversial to accord women the position of leadership in a religion that does not support this kind of gender sensitivity. In this case, it appears that the Islamic religion has gone way in suppressing the position of women in the society (Beyer Para. 2). Having this in mind, helping the women rise up in the ladder of leadership would be contravening the social norms breaking from religious ties. In conclusion, Ingrid can be regarded as one of the sources of inspiration of the Muslim women. She asserts on the need for the Muslim society to back up women as they stand up to acquire leadership positions in the society. This is the ultimate solution to the suppression of women that is evident in the Muslim community. As this has worked in the western Muslim societies, it is convincing this would also apply to the situation in the local Muslim countries. However, this is a war against the odd as the antagonists of women religious leaders provide a Quranic evidence to disapprove the war of women to acquire leadership position. In this view, the war to empower the Muslim seems to be a controversy whose solution is far from being found. Works Cited Bano, Masooda, and Hilary Kalmbach. Women, Leadership and Mosques: Changes in Contemporary Islamic Authority. Leiden: Brill, 2011. Print. Bennett, Clinton. Muslim Women of Power: Gender, Politics, and Culture in Islam. London: Continuum, 2010. Print. Beyer, Lisa. The Women of Islam. Accessed from: < http://content.time.com/time/ world/article/0,8599,185647,00.html>[Accessed on 15th Nov, 2013] Ingridi, Mattson. Muslim Women in Leadership. 2010. Audio Karim, Jamillah A. American Muslim Women: Negotiating Race, Class, and Gender Within the Ummah. New York: New York University Press, 2009. Internet resource. Loewenstein, Jenniffer. Women in Islam: Four Islam. Accessed from: < http://minds. Wisconsin .edu/bitstream/handle/1793/22193/fcloewen.htm?sequence=3>[Accessed on 15th Nov, 2013] Shehabuddin, sarah. Female Leadership in Islam. Islamic Research Foundation, 433. 2012. Web Read More