Various garments
are not necessarily prescribed by the Quran, but rather are based on
the native culture. The turbans, kufi (cap), naqib (veil), burka (head
to toe garment for women) and other garments are dictated as much by
the climate and cultural tradition as any religious law. While Islamic
governments promote modesty, not all require the covering that the Taliban
or Saudi Arabia do. Turkey, in fact has outlawed the wearing of the
naqib because they feel it gives other nations and peoples the impression
that they are a "backward" people.
The turban is probably
the one garment, that people in the west most associate with Muslim
men. In fact, it has no basis in the Quran, other than how it relates
to commandments for men to not dress like women. The only form of turban
that actually has direct religious meaning is the peaked turban worn
by Sikhs as a symbol of their belief. There are a number of cultures
in which the turban and kufi are worn that are not necessarily Islamic.
Many Hindus in India wear turbans, while Muslims in European countries
do not unless they are from a country where it is indigenous.
Many Muslim women
will tell you that they are "liberated" by keeping the customs
in clothing and behavior dictated by the Quran. This liberation, however,
is again based on the idea of submission to the authority of men, who
are repeatedly spoken of as being superior to women by the Quran, and
especially in Mohammed's Sunnah (his commentary on the Quran). For instance:
while one man can be a witness in a trial, it takes two women to equal
the testimony of one man. According to Muhammad, women simply are not
able to understand the more difficult parts of the Quran. They are not
able to adequately handle the rigors of life that men can. The "liberation"
of a Muslim woman is the liberation of accepting the fact that Allah
has ordained her to be a servant to her husband. Though she has "rights"
in a marriage, the rights of the husband outweigh the rights of the
wife. He is the one who determines whether she is being an adequate
wife. Traditional Muslim women view the lives of western women as being
fraught with frustration, as they try to maintain careers, deal with
the pressure to be sexually attractive to society and raise unruly children.
Allah did not create women to be able to handle such things, according
to the Quran.
This view of the
superiority of men over women is also the justification for polygamy
in Islam. Muslim apologists make the point that western society practices
"polygamy"( they point to the cycle of divorce and remarriage,
or adulterous activities). This is akin to a burglar saying he is not
as bad a criminal as a mugger because he doesn't use a weapon to rob
someone. The Quran says that a man not only can, but should take as
many wives as he can "treat justly". This is to "keep
him out of trouble" by providing adequate sexual partners that
are legally his spouses, as opposed to taking a mistress. The difficulty
in this comes in defining "treat justly". According to how
many Islamic clerics interpret the Quran, treating a wife justly means
providing food, clothing and housing, and not beating her unless she
doesn't something terribly wrong. Some hold the view that by not allowing
women to hold jobs, or wear Western style clothing, men actually are
treating their wives "justly" because they are making sure
their women are only doing those things the Quran says they are able
to do. Anything more would put them in a position of disobeying Allah.
So, within the logic of this interpretation (which is contested by many
Muslims) oppressing women (at least by Western standards) is actually
treating them properly because otherwise they might stray into sinful
behavior.
Wife beating is
viewed by some Muslims as simply a way of addressing a woman's failure
to live up to Allah's standards for a wife. The husband beats his wife
for her own good."As for these from women, fear rebellion, admonish
them and banish them to beds apart and scourge them."(Q 4:34)
Of course, Christians and Jews have their share of offenses in this
area, due to selective interpretation of scripture.
One concept of male
dominance in Islam that is very much in contrast to the teachings of
the Holy Bible is that Allah promises pure, unspoiled wives to the faithful
in Paradise. For eternity, those men who are granted entry into Paradise
will have their way with women who will never menstruate, urinate or
defecate. Nothing is mentioned about the men's bodily functions, or
whether the women will have any say about who they end up being joined
to for eternity.
