Debunking the myth: A redefined perspective on Islam and feminism

 Although contemporary feminists have raised a lot of prepositions against liberalism, one cannot deny the historical framework liberalism provided for feminism and how it influenced its development (Baehr, 2004). If liberalism is the root of feminism, it begs the question: “What is Liberalism, and what is the Islamic perspective on it?”

 Liberalism is a political doctrine that takes protecting and enhancing the freedom of the individual to be the central problem of politics (Minogue et al., 2023) whereas, Allah says in suratul Ahzab verse 36, “It is not for a believing man or woman—when Allah and His Messenger decree a matter—to have any other choice in that matter. Indeed, whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger has clearly gone ˹far˺ astray”. This is the first loggerhead between liberalism and Islam, while liberalism places its fulcrum on individual freedom, Islam restricts it and even calls whoever places personal freedom over her astray.

Feminism is often described as a movement to protect the fundamental human rights of women, their freedom and ensure equal rights with men (Üstün & Süren, 2022). Although this inherently seems innocuous, but on re-evaluation, one would begin to spot the flaws that lie therein. Islam is a religion that emphasizes equity and justice as opposed to equality which is preached by feminism. Allah says in surah Ahzab verse 33, “Indeed, the Muslim men and Muslim women, the believing men and believing women…and the men who remember Allāh often and the women who do so - for them, Allāh has prepared forgiveness and a great reward”. Here Allah promises the same reward to all believers, men and women alike but in other affairs such as inheritance where Islam dictates that the male child is to take twice the female as stated in Suratun Nisa verse 11, feminists would push for equal sharing here which would equate injustice as the male is the one obligated to spend on his wife, children and females under his care.

                                                                  © a book cover 

If feminism is as inconsistent with Islam and reason as we have shown, then why are we witnessing an exponential acceptance of feminism, even among Muslims?

To answer this, we would need to travel back in time to when feminism started. Feminism started in the 18th century in England, after the widespread of liberalism, where in most of Europe and the West, women were not allowed to vote or even own properties (Brunell & Burkett, 2023). At this period, women were even hanged and burned for charges of witchcraft (Ross, 1995). The West was perpetrating all sorts of vices against women as opposed to how women were treated in Islamic communities. Years of injustice and unfair treatment morphed into what started to creep in as feminism, and some of their educated women began to write on the topic and push for resistance by the females. An example is Mary Wollstonecraft’s book “A Vindication of the Rights of Women”, where she advocated for women to be respected and educated.

One may start to wonder how this ideology which started to be almost harmless became the Medusa head it is today. Well, the signs have always been there, Mary Wollstonecraft said in her book that polygamy is a degradation to women, which is the same as saying that Allah degraded women, whereas honour in the sight of Allah has nothing to do with sex, as Allah mentioned in Suratul Hujurat verse 13, “...Surely the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous among you...”

Feminism has metamorphosed through four waves starting from the 19th century down to the 21st, with each one worse than the last. The danger that feminism as an ideology poses to Islam includes: ridiculing the religion, promoting immorality and outrightly antagonising the religion. One of the leaders of feminism, Jill Johnston encouraged females to “reject femininity and its corollary passivity, and to be more aggressive in the pursuit of sexual pleasure” (Chenier, 2004), in simpler terms she was pushing for promiscuity. Lesbianism is another tool used in promoting feminism. As of 1972, lesbians were being institutionalized, but just a year later lesbianism-themed events became common occurrences in Britain due to the concerted efforts of feminists (Chenier, 2004). They -the feminists- held men-prohibited festivals where even boys as young as six were put in segregated areas as they were believed to also be part of the evil patriarchy (Chenier, 2004).

All these absurdities are just in the 20th century, the third wave of feminism. This period also experienced an influx of feminist novels, fiction and plays in a bid to entice unsuspecting females into subscribing to the feminist ideology (Włodarczyk, 2022). This is the same machinery that is being employed by LGBTQ and is still very active to date (Lan & Cheng, 2020).

For a Muslim feminist, it begins as “hijab is a form of oppression and that men should use the hijab too” to “women should be imams too”, the rabbit hole continues till it leads to disbelief. A lot of these examples are in motion already. Amina Wadud, a female professor of Islamic studies popularly described as the “rock star” of Islamic feminists in 2005, led a mixed congregational Friday prayer as reported by Al Jazeera. This is in clear-cut contradiction with Islamic teachings and this is what the affairs of the Muslims would degenerate to if feministic teachings are allowed to take root in the Muslim community.

Feminism is being used as a tool attempting to correct the injustice in society. Although these injustices exist, feminism is another genre of them and the similitude is using urine to clean faeces. There is a need for Muslims to take up the appropriate arsenal, which is pristine Islamic knowledge against these societal ills. As Allah has described us in the Suratu Al-Imran verse 110, “You are the best community ever raised for humanity: you encourage good, forbid evil, and believe in Allah. Had the People of the Book believed, it would have been better for them…”

REFERENCES

Baehr, A. R. (2004). Varieties of Feminist Liberalism. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

Chenier, E. (2004). Lesbian Feminism. Glbtq: An Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Culture. http://www.glbtqarchive.com/ssh/lesbian_feminism_S.pdf

Brunell, L., & Burkett, E. (2023, October 23). Feminism | Definition, History, Types, Waves, Examples, & Facts. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/feminism

Lan, M., & Cheng, Y. (2020). The Role of the Media in LGBT Rights Movements Around the World. 418–422. https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.200826.083

Minogue, K., Dagger, R., Girvetz, H. K., & Ball, T. (2023, November 8). Liberalism | Definition, History, & Facts. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/liberalism

Üstün, K., & Süren, A. (2022). Feminism, Historical Origins Of Feminism And Basic Concepts. Dünya İnsan Bilimleri Dergisi, 2022(2), 151–169. https://doi.org/10.55543/insan.1127334

Włodarczyk, J. (2022). Third-Wave Feminism. In The Encyclopedia of Contemporary American Fiction 1980–2020 (pp. 1–9). John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119431732.ecaf0265

Ball, T. , Girvetz, . Harry K. , Dagger, . Richard and Minogue, . Kenneth (2023, September 14). liberalism. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/liberalism

Chenier, E. (2004). Lesbian Feminism. Glbtq: an encyclopedia of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer culture.

Ross, E. B. (1995). Syphilis, Misogyny, and Witchcraft in 16th-Century Europe. Current Anthropology. https://doi.org/10.1086/204365

by Oladosu Idris