An investigation and analysis of the role of women in contemporary Islam in the context of a multicultural society

When a person thinks of a Moslem muliebrity immediately the image that forms in your mind is mavin of veils, tent equal garb and the word oppression and suppression surfaces to mind. This image of universe control and oppressed, being without whatever rights or social standing is a westerly stereotypical view of Muslim women. To understand and appreciate the true effect of Islam it is important to c atomic number 18fully investigate the roles of both Muslim women and men in Islam and the unearthly authority for these. It is most important to consider what a Muslim womans rights and obligations ar, and how they argon lived out in daily smell.Alongside this it is relevant to witness out how a Muslim woman may be influenced by her familys culture and the traditions and cultures of different passels in this ordination. In a multicultural nine such(prenominal) as Britain there be galore(postnominal) people of dissimilar religious backgrounds. Britain directly ca n be reassuren as a multicultural society or even a blase society, which is non governed by religious laws and certainly not by Shariah. Muslims living in Britain today come into day-to-day contact with many ideas, beliefs and practices which be not dowery of Islam.Analysing how Muslim women can stay true to their Muslim trust in such a society is an integral part of this essay. In Islam family life from many famous scholars is referred to as being the corner-st hotshot(a) of society as it brings new generations into the world, thereof the pargonnts cod real important duties to play. They in any case turn out vital duties and obligations towards one-another. The duties of a husband and the wife towards each other are clearly verbalise in Islam (Quran 434). This makes the fulfillment of the purpose of marriage easy and removes confusion.The husbands duties take on providing food clothing accommodation as well as earthbound welfare needs for his wife she does not inv ite to provide any of these herself from her own property or her earnings, un little she wishes and is able to help her husband. The husband to a fault provides household help for his wife, or helps her himself, as well as bighearted help to her in training the children. He also must(prenominal) translate to satisfy the sexual needs of his wife and treats her with kindness and honour as Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said The best of you is the one who is best to his family, and I am best to my family Hadith Al-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah) The wife, for her part is take to obey her husband as leader of the family so long as he does not estimate to make her disobey Allah. She must look after the home and children, transport them up as good and righteous people Allah will study her about this indebtedness (Hadith Al-Bukhari and Muslim). In her husbands absence she must ensure that no one not approved by her husband is discontinueed into the home, and also analyze to satisfy her husban ds sexual needs. You can see that the duties of the husband are the rights of the wife, whilst the duties of the wife are the rights of the husband.Allah says the rights of the wives (with regards to their husbands) are equal to the rights of the husband with regard to them. (Quran 2228) The Quran states They (women) are your garments. And you (men) are their garments. The words from the Holy Quran state precisely how men and women have-to doe with to one another like a luggage compartment and its garments. Without garments the body is non bastardlyingful and vice versa, this symbolizes the complimentary roles a husband and wife play and that they must got together, apart they would have little reason to exist.People in multi-cultural society may have noticed how a large number of Muslim women dress disparately from one another, several(prenominal) from head to toe, others in to a greater extent westernized but unrevealing clothing. This is mainly due to cultural impacts, for e. g. covering a womans body does not necessarily require her to wear a jilbab (long dark coat-like dress), Islamically she is required to dress modestly in public. Places like Afghanistans cultural impacts mean women are forced in the way they are dressed, as they have no choice. Say to believing men nd believing women, that they should lower their heed and guard their modesty.. (2430-31) Living in a multicultural society poses many difficulties for Muslim parents or Muslims in general.This is because within the sphere of their homes the environment is Islamic and very sheltered. However outside the home Muslims come into contact with disparate ideas which can act as obstacles for them. This is because Britain concedes what most Islamic societies would not allow for women for example involvement in pornography, modesty of dress, Muslim women do not walk nearly scantily dressed for example in a bikini.Abortion is not allowed except in exceptional circumstances in Islam whereas i t is a common place in Britain. Also divorce is considered one of the worst acts in Islam but like abortion it is a commonplace as well as free mixing amidst the sexes. This shows that such things are taking place in Britain and that they oppose Islamic teachings. For a Muslim living in a multicultural society some of the issues that arise are usually the differences between secular law versus religious law (shariah). The fact that Muslim set are different to secular ranges and a Muslim lifestyle following such values makes more(prenominal) demands.These issues can cause problems for Muslims, especially the 2nd or ternion generation who seem to be becoming more and more secular. These youthfulness can be seen to have adopted secular values in their pursuit of status, placing great value in railroad cars, money and other corporeal possessions more than religious values or practice. These remind parents of their native countries, so they arrange marriages for their children t o people inn the native countries. What the parents dont realise is these native countries have start more secular too and that people there have become more westernized.The benefits for Muslims in a multicultural society like Britain is the access to education, there is a greater chance of Muslims obtaining education in this farming compared to their slim to none chances back in their native countries. at that place is an prospect to be involved in public life occupation wise. As the government in Britain is not ruled by a peculiar(prenominal) organized religion, people are allowed to practice their religion openly, whereas in Turkey a woman is not permitted to wear a headscarf to college, school, or university. Also in communist countries people did not have the right to procl civilize what they believed in. numerous Muslims in Great Britain are lots asked whether they are British or Muslim first. There is a difference of opinion to this answer between the older and younger generations. The younger people tend to say they are British and Muslim whereas the older generation hesitate and reply they are Muslim first. What we should ask ourselves is how come it is only the Muslims this question is posed to? wherefore not the Christians or the Jews? These kinds of questions are asked for example during the Gulf War or since the incident on September 11th.The Muslims are expected to be on the defensive, as if there is going to be a conflict with being a Muslim and British at the corresponding time. This is the way of persuasion for the studyity of Non-Muslim British people it shows their lack of understanding of Islam and their deeply grow misconceptions concerning the religion. This is also a result of lack of integration between people. The Muslim women that wear veils, head scarves and long flowing clothing are often seen as oppressed or suppressed by the majority of Non-Muslims in British society.They see these women as being dominated by men. In rea lity the majority of these women wearing veils or such articles of clothing do so voluntarily, the main aim is protection and not oppression. Prophet, enjoin in your wives, your daughters and the wives of true believers to draw their veils pen up somewhat them. That is more proper, so that they may be recognized (as staring(a) women) and not molested. Allah is Forgiving and Merciful. (3359) It is mistaken to believe that Islam encourages the oppression of women. On the contrary, Islam elevates women in an all-round manner.Islam regards women and men as equals they both have the same religious duties and get equal reinforcements. Allah says I will not allow the good deeds of any of you, male or female, to be lost. You (male and female) come from one-another (Quran 3195 4124) Islam stopped the female infanticide (818 6151) and promises the reward of paradise to parents who look after their daughters. Muslim women like men are encouraged to acquire education from the cradle to th e grave. A Muslim woman retains her legal identity after marriage and can keep her family name.She may seek and obtain divorce if she needs it. She is free to move around in society (with her husbands consent), provided she is modestly dressed and straightforward to avoid molestation by evil men. (Quran 3322-59) As a mother, the greatest assess is paid to her on account of her sacrifices on behalf of her children. (Quran 3113 4615) Paradise lies at the feet of the mothers. In Great Britain Islam is a minority religion it is not the way of life for the majority in this multicultural society. Britain is arguably not religious therefore it can be seen as a secular society.Its laws do not reflect any particular religions beliefs, except in the past Christianity played a major role in the appointed laws. The society is still influenced by religious values, there are laws protecting what most religions consider sacred or valuable, an example of this is the value religions hold for life . There are laws introduced for the sole purpose of preventing death or injury like how a driver and passengers in a car must wear seat belts. The laws in Britain also evolve around individual religions, for example the law in Britain for people riding a motorcycle is that it is compulsory to wear a crash helmet.In the 1980s the Sikh community complained that it was impossible to do so if they were wearing turbans, the government thus made a clause in the law for Sikhs who wore turbans, that when riding a motorbike it wasnt compulsory for them to wear a crash helmet. There are also many problems for Muslims who live in small individual communities that do not integrate with one another. This division often causes misunderstandings between them which results in conflict mostly between the youth of the communities. An incident of this occurred not very long ago in Oldham, between the Pakistani community and the gabardine community.Oldham is one of the most segregated cities in Brita in. The white and Pakistani communities have many riots, this is mainly due to lack of integration. To correct this situation faith leaders of the communities should hold regular meetings to discuss and promote interfaith relationships. This encourages less hostile attitudes between the people like in Leister. The majority of Asians came from Africa where they were employ to British people, when they came to Britain they could relate to the people more easily than the Asians from Oldham. Another major barrier between people is language and dress.If people cannot communicate with one another it is impossible for interfaith relationships. It is also quite common for people from different racial backgrounds to stereotype Muslims by the way the women dress. As they decide it foreign they cannot form a relationship with them, this results in people perceiving Muslims with hostility. In conclusion to this essay I believe there should be more interfaith relationships and language barrier s should be broken down, this way people from different cultural and racial backgrounds can relate to one-another and not stereotype or generalize.There should be more integration especially in schools, also there shouldnt be segregated communities, people from different nationalities should live together. There already is an increase in women choosing there marriage partners, and women having children later on in life so they can actively partake in more career based roles. Due to the education in this country it is estimated that after a couple of generations language barriers would be broken down, that more Westernized dress would be adapted to in a way that seems Islamic and women would take up more prominent roles in the Islamic and in wider communities.This could be an advantage as well as a disadvantage, there could be spokeswomen who is highly educated in the fields of politics and other high profile careers, this way they could be interviewed by the media and as a result th e general Non-Muslim public would be more aware of Islamic teachings and see it in a more acceptable and not so negative light. This is the possible future for Muslim women in this multicultural society.However, my personalized opinion as a Muslim living in British society would be that it is important to remember that though these women may become more prominent in secular society as Islams ahead(p) women, they would be placed under a negative light from young buck Muslims. These women in partaking such active roles would be leaving their idealistic de rigueur role as according to Islam, also to get to this possible future would mean many rules would have to be broken, twisted or forgotten completely. gibe to Islam a womans true worth would be greatly acknowledged if her duty at home first is complete.