COMPARISON BETWEEN MUSLIM WOMEN AND NON-MUSLIM WOMEN

COMPARISON BETWEEN MUSLIM WOMEN AND NON-MUSLIM WOMEN

Women are described as precious in Islam. Before the advent of Islam to this world , for example women in Arabia were treated like slaves or property. Their personal consent concerning anything related to their well-being was considered unimportant, to such a degree that they were never even treated as a party to a marriage contract. For them, women are used for one purpose, for lust and then can be discarded. They had no independence , cannot own a property and were not allowed to inherit any property. In addition , in times of war , women were treated as part of the prize. It is an unspeakable condition. Outside Arabia, conditions for women were no better. In India, Egypt, and all European countries in the Dark Ages, women were treated worse than slaves. They were not regarded as human beings but as sort of a sub-species between humans and animals.

At that time, women were not appreciated by anyone. On top of that, married couples thought that having a male baby is more much better than a female baby.

With the advent of Islam , women were given their rights such as to be treated as an individual ,with the right to own and dispose of her own property and earnings, enter into contracts, even after marriage. She has the right to be educated and to work outside the home if she so chooses. She has the right to inherit from her father, mother, and husband. Unlike other non-Muslim women , Muslim women can be an imam , a leader of communal prayer, for a group of women. They also has obligations such as all laws and regulations pertaining to prayer, fasting, charity, pilgrimage and the others. In the West ,Islam is believed to be the symbol of the subordination of women par excellence. In order to understand how firm this belief is, it is enough to mention that the Minister of Education in France, the land of Voltaire, has recently ordered the expulsion of all young Muslim women wearing the veil from French schools. A young Muslim student that just wearing a headscarf is denied her right of education in France , while a Catholic student wearing a cross or a Jewish student wearing a skullcap were not. There also a scene where French policemen preventing young Muslim women wearing headscarves from entering their high schools. The reason here is the widespread misunderstanding and fear of anything Islamic in the world today.  The issues are that were Islam and other religions have the same conception of women ? Or they have their own conceptions ? Or do other religions offer women a better treatment than Islam does ? We can differentiate between Muslim women and non-Muslim women in some aspects such as the birth of female baby, menstruating women, women bearing witness, adultery, vows of women, veil, female inheritance, divorce, widows and many more.

The first aspect is birth of a female baby. The difference between Muslim women and non-Muslim women starts as soon as they were born to this earth. A birth of non-Muslim baby is considered as a burden to the whole family. For example, the Catholic Bible states that :“The birth of a daughter is a loss.” Jewish Rabbis made it an obligation on Jewish men to produce offspring in order to propagate the race. At the same time, they did not hide their clear preference for male children : "It is well for those whose children are male but ill for those whose are female", "At the birth of a boy, all are joyful...at the birth of a girl all are sorrowful", and "When a boy comes into the world, peace comes into the world... When a girl comes, nothing comes".  A daughter is considered a painful burden, a potential source of shame to her father as the daughter would make the father as a laughing stock for their enemies. This same situation, that treating daughters as sources of shames was practiced by pagan Arabs before the advent of Islam. They practice female 

infanticide. When a female baby is born, they killed the baby as they thought that the baby would bring shame to the family when she grew up. Al-Quran severely condemned this heinous practice :

"When news is brought to one of them of the birth of a female child, his face darkens and he is filled with inward grief. With shame does he hide himself from his people because of the bad news he has had! Shall he retain her on contempt or bury her in the dust? Ah! what an evil they decide on?" .

In order to stop all the female infanticide in the nascent Muslim society, Prophet Muhammad promised that :"He who is involved in bringing up daughters, and accords benevolent treatment towards them, they will be protection for him against Hell-Fire" (Bukhari and Muslim). Al-Quran, however makes no distinctions between boys and girls. In contrast of other religions, Al-Quran considers the birth of a female as a gift and a blessing from God, the same as the birth of a male. The Quran even mentions the gift of the female birth first:" To Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth. He creates what He wills. He bestows female children to whomever He wills and bestows male children to whomever He wills" (42:49). As a conclusion, Al-Quran states that in reality, and in Islam, the rights and responsibilities of a woman are equal to those of man, but they are not necessarily identical with them. This is because equality and sameness are two very different things. Unlike other religions which the right of women were not created voluntarily, or out of kindness to the female.

When it comes to the issue of menstruating women, Muslim women and non-Muslim women also have their own prohibitions based on their religions. For Jewish laws and regulation, it is extremely restrictive. The Old Testament considers any menstruating woman as unclean and impure. Moreover, her impurity "infects" others as well. Anyone or anything she touches becomes unclean for a day. They were considered as having a “contaminating” nature. Sometimes, a menstruating women was “banished” for the whole period of her impurity and was sent to special house called “the house of uncleanness” in order to avoid any contact with her. 

In addition, the menstruating women’s husband was forbidden to enter the synagogue if he had been made unclean by her even by the dust under her feet. They usually thought that menstruation as a curse for the women. A menstruating women are considered as “fatal” even without the physical contact by the Talmud :"Our Rabbis taught:....if a menstruating woman passes between two (men), if it is at the beginning of her menses she will slay one of them, and if it is at the end of her menses she will cause strife between them" (bPes. 111a.) Differ from other religions, Muslim women do not possess any kind of “contagious uncleanness” nor “curse”. This is because the a menstruating women in Islam can practises her normal life with only one restriction: A married couple are not allowed to have sexual intercourse during the period of menstruation. Any other physical contact between them is permissible. A menstruating woman is exempted from some rituals such as daily prayers and fasting during her period. For example, Al-Quran has states that :"And they ask you (Prophet Muhammad) about menstruation. Say, 'It is an impurity, so keep apart from women during menstruation and do not approach them until they have purified themselves. But once they have purified themselves, then go to them in the way that Allah has enjoined on you.' Allah loves those who turn back from wrongdoing and He loves those who purify themselves." (2:222) 

There are various superstitions among Muslims about menstruation that are not part of the true teachings of Islam. Menstruation is not treated in the Holy Qur’an and Traditions as if it were a kind of supernatural curse. Instead, it is treated as a natural occurrence that causes discomfort and inconvenience. It is showed that Islam is a simple religion. The Prophet Muhammad himself indicated more than once that menstruation is not some kind of supernatural defilement that can bepassed on by contact. This is how Muslim women are different from non-Muslim women in aspect of menstruation. 

Another aspect that can compare Muslim women and non-Muslim women is from the aspect of bearing witness. In early Jewish society, women were not allowed to bear witness. They believed that women were not being able to bear witness is among the nine curses inflicted upon all women, because of Hawa’s fault.Women in today's Israel are not allowed to give evidence in Rabbinical courts. In the Christian West, both ecclesiastical and civil law debarred women from giving testimony until late last century.  According to Bible, If a man accuses his wife of unchastity, her testimony will not be considered at all. The accused wife has to be subjected to a trial by ordeal. In this trial, the wife faces a complex and humiliating ritual which was supposed to prove her guilt or innocence. If she is found guilty after this ordeal, she will be sentenced to death. If she is found not guilty, her husband will be innocent of any wrongdoing. Besides, if the husband accused his wife of not being a virgin, her own testimony will not be counted .It is stated that :

"If a man takes a wife and, after lying with her, dislikes her and slanders her and gives her a bad name, saying, 'I married this woman, but when I approached her, I did not find proof of her virginity,' then the girl's father and mother shall bring proof that she was a virgin to the town elders at the gate. The girl's father will say to the elders, 'I gave my daughter in marriage to this man, but he dislikes her. Now he has slandered her and said I did not find your daughter to be a virgin. But here is the proof of my daughter's virginity.' Then her parents shall display the cloth before the elders of the town, and the elders shall take the man and punish him. They shall fine him a hundred shekels of silver and give them to the girl's father, because this man has given an Israelite virgin a bad name. She shall continue to be his wife; he must not divorce her as long as he lives. If, however, the charge is true and no proof of the girl's virginity can be found, she shall be brought to the door of her father's house and there the men of the town shall stone her to death. She has done a disgraceful thing in Israel by being promiscuous while still in her father's house. You must purge the evil from among you." 

If non-Muslim women cannot bear witness, it is different with the Muslim women. It is true that the Quran has instructed the believers dealing in financial transactions to get two male witnesses or one male and two females (2:282).  However, it is also true that Al-Quran states that in other situations accepts the testimony of a woman as equal to that of a man and can even invalidate the man’s. Unlike other religions, in Islam, If a man accuses his wife of unchastity, he is required by the Quran to solemnly swear five times as evidence of the wife's guilt. If the wife denies and swears similarly five times, she is not considered guilty and in either case the marriage is dissolved (24:6-11). 

Next , the aspect of adultery also can differentiate between Muslim and non-Muslim women.Adultery is not only considered sin in Islam but in all religions. But the definitions of adultery for each religion that were differentiate one to another. For example, the Bible only considers the extramarital affair of a married woman as adultery. "If a man is found sleeping with another man's wife, both the man who slept with her and the woman must die. You must purge the evil from Israel" In addition, it is not considered as a crime if a married man sleeps with an unmarried woman. They are both not considered as adulterer and adulteresses.The crime of adultery is committed only when a man, whether married or single, sleeps with a married woman. In this case the man is considered adulterer, even if he is not married, and the woman is considered adulteress.

 In short, adultery is any illicit sexual intercourse involving a married woman but not for the married man. This is because the wife was considered to be the husband's possession and adultery constituted a violation of the husband's exclusive right to her; the wife as the husband's possession had no such right to him.  That is, if a man had sexual intercourse with a married woman, he would be violating the property of another man and, thus, he should be punished.In Israel, the children of married man which has extramarital affair with an unmarried woman are considered legitimate. But the children of a married woman by another man, whether married or not married, are not only legitimate but also considered bastards and are forbidden to marry any other Jews except converts and other bastards. This ban is handed down to the children's descendants for 10 generations until the taint of adultery is presumably weakened. 

On the other hand, adultery, according to the Quran, is the involvement of a married man or a married woman in an extramarital affair. Islam never considers any woman to be the possession of any man. The Quran eloquently describes the relationship between the spouses by saying:" And among His signs is that He created for you mates from among yourselves, that you may dwell in tranquillity with them and He has put love and mercy between your hearts: verily in that are signs for those who reflect". This is the Quranic conception of marriage: love, mercy, and tranquillity, not possession and double standards. It showed that Islam put women in a higher place and not be underestimated like in other religions thus showing that Islam is the most beautiful religions of all religions in the world.

The next aspect is women’s vows. The definition of vow isan earnest promise to perform a specified act or behave in a certain manner, especially a solemn promise to live and act in accordance with the rules of a religious order. According to Bible, a woman's vow is not necessarily binding on her. It has to be approved by her father, if she is living in his house, or by her husband, if she is married. If a father or husband does not endorse his daughter's or wife's vows, all pledges made by her become null and void:"But if her father forbids her when he hears about it, none of her vows or the pledges by which she obligated herself will stand ....Her husband may confirm or nullify any vow she makes or any sworn pledge to deny herself" "But if her father forbids her when he hears about it, none of her vows or the pledges by which she obligated herself will stand ....Her husband may confirm or nullify any vow she makes or any sworn pledge to deny herself". 

This situation happened because they believed that a woman is owned by her father before marriage or by her husband after marriage. The father has an absolute authority to her daughter. He could also sell her if he want it. The writing of Rabbis states that :"The man may sell his daughter, but the woman may not sell her daughter; the man may betroth his daughter, but the woman may not betroth her daughter." The Literature of Rabbinic making a woman as the inviolable property of someone, that is she cannot make any pledges which are not approved by her owner. A married woman in Western world has no legal status.No act of hers was of any legal value. Her husband could repudiate any contract, bargain, or deal she had made. Women in the West (the largest heir of the Judaeo-Christian legacy) were held unable to make a binding contract because they were practically owned by someone else. Western women had suffered for almost two thousand years because of the Biblical attitude towards women's position. 

However, the vow in Islam, whether male or female is binding on him or her. No one has the power to repudiate the pledges of anyone else like other religions. The one who fail to keep their vows has to be expiated. Al Quran states that :"He [God] will call you to account for your deliberate oaths: for expiation, feed ten indigent persons, on a scale of the average for the food of your families; Or clothe them; or give a slave his freedom. If that is beyond your means, fast for three days. That is the expiation for the oaths you have sworn. But keep your oaths." Islam also states that a man could not swear the oath on behalf of his daughter or his wife. Nor could a man repudiate the oath made by any of his female relatives. This showed Islam gives speciality for women to make their own vows and not depends on her father or husband. Muslim women also not considered as a property or as a pet who has to follow the instructions given by their owner. 

Other aspect is veil. As we know, veil is considered as the greatest symbol of women’s oppression and servitude, the veil or the head cover in the West.According to Rabbi Dr.Menachem M. Brayer (Professor of Biblical Literature at Yeshiva University) in his book, The Jewish woman in Rabbinic literature, it was the custom of Jewish women to go out in public with a head covering which, sometimes, even covered the whole face leaving one eye free. "Rabbinic law forbids the recitation of blessings or prayers in the presence of a bareheaded married woman since uncovering the woman's hair is considered "nudity". The veil of the Jewish women not only for modesty but also symbolized a state of distinction and luxury. It personified the dignity and superiority of noble women anwoman’s inaccessibility as a sanctified possession of her husband. The veil also signified a woman’s self-respect and social status. Some Jewish women more prefer to wear wig to replace veil. In addition, in Christian tradition, St, Paul in the New Testament has mode some interesting statement about the veil :

"Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonours his head. And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonours her head - it is just as though her head were shaved. If a woman does not cover her head, she should have her hair cut off; and if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut off or shaved off, she should cover her head. A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man. For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. For this reason, and because of the angels, the woman ought to have a sign of authority on her head" St.Paul means that the veil represents a sign of the authority of the man, who is the image and glory of God, over the woman who was created from and for man. St. Tertullian in his famous treatise 'On The Veiling Of Virgins' wrote, "Young women, you wear your veils out on the streets, so you should wear them in the church, you wear them when you are among strangers, then wear them among your brothers..." Among the Canon laws of the Catholic church today, there is a law that requires women to cover their heads in church. 

Based on the above evidence, it is proven that Islam did not invent the head cover. Al-Quran mentions why modesty is important :"O Prophet, tell your wives and daughters and the believing women that they should cast their outer garments over their bodies (when abroad) so that they should be known and not molested" In short, the only purpose of the veil in Islam is protection. The Islamic veil is not like Jewish and Christian tradition, but only sign of modesty with the purpose of protecting women, all women.In West, they argue that the best protection is the spread of education, civilised behaviour, and self-restraint. It is fine but not enough.

Wife’s property also plays its role in differentiate between Muslim and non-Muslim women. Religions such as Islam, Christian and Judaism share an unshakeable belief in the importance of marriage and family life and the leadership of the husband over the family. However, blatant differences do exist among these religions with respect to the limits of this leadership.For example, Christian tradition, virtually extends the leadership of the husband into the ownership of his wife. The Jewish tradition regarding the husband's role towards his wife stems from the conception that he owns her as he owns his slave.  This conception has also been responsible for denying the wife any control over her property or her earnings. As soon as a Jewish woman got married, she completely lost any control over her property and earnings to her husband.Jewish Rabbis asserted the husband's right to his wife's property as a corollary of his possession of her. 

Christianity, has followed the same Jewish tradition until recently.Both religious and civil authorities in the Christian Roman Empire (after Constantine) required a property agreement as a condition for recognizing the marriage. Families offered their daughters increasing dowries and, as a result, men tended to marry earlier while families postponed their daughters' marriages until later than had been customary. Women's rights under English law were compiled and published in 1632. These 'rights' included: "That which the husband hath is his own. That which the wife hath is the husband's." The wife not only lost her property upon marriage, she lost her personality as well. Her husband could repudiate any sale or gift made by her as being of no binding legal value. The person with whom she had any contract was held as a criminal for participating in a fraud. Moreover, she could not sue or be sued in her own name, nor could she sue her own husband.  A married woman was practically treated as an infant in the eyes of the law. The wife simply belonged to her husband and therefore she lost her property, her legal personality, and her family name.

Islam has granted married women the independent personality. In Islam, the bride and her family are under no obligation to present a gift to the groom.It is the groom who must present the bride with marriage gift and the gift is considered her property and neither the groom nor the bride's family have any share in or control over it.The bride retains her marriage gifts even if she is later divorced. The husband is not allowed any share in his wife's property except what she offers him with her free consent. Al-Quran states that :"And give the women (on marriage) their dower as a free gift; but if they, Of their own good pleasure, remit any part of it to you, take it and enjoy it with right good cheer" The wife's property and earnings are under her full control and for her use alone since her, and the children's, maintenance is her husband's responsibility.  She is not obliged to act as co-provider unless she voluntarily chooses to do so.An American judge once commented on the rights of Muslim women saying: " A Muslim girl may marry tentimes, but her individuality is not absorbed by that of her various husbands. She is a solar planet with a name and legal personality of her own." 

Based on aspect of divorce, Christianity abhors it altogether. The New Testament unequivocally advocates the indissolubility of marriage.It is attributed to Jesus to have said, "But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become adulteress, and anyone who marries the divorced woman commits adultery." When a couple realizes that their married life is beyond repair, a ban on divorce will not do them any good. Forcing ill-mated couples to remain together against their wills is neither effective nor reasonable. No wonder the whole Christian world has been obliged to sanction divorce.

On the other hand, in Judaism, it allows divorce even without any cause. The Old Testament gives the husband the right to divorce his wife even if he just dislikes her. It is like the full authority is in the husband’s hand. Wives, on the other hand, cannot initiate divorce under Jewish law. A Jewish wife, however, could claim the right to a divorce before a Jewish court provided that a strong reason exists. Very few grounds are provided for the wife to make a claim for a divorce. These grounds include: A husband with physical defects or skin disease, a husband not fulfilling his conjugal responsibilities, and many more.The Court might support the wife's claim to a divorce but it cannot dissolve the marriage. Only the husband can dissolve the marriage by giving his wife a bill of divorce. The Court could scourge, fine, imprison, and excommunicate him to force him to deliver the necessary bill of divorce to his wife The husband also has the authority for not granting her divorce and leave her unmarried and undivorced. He can marry another women or even live with any single woman and have children with her while the deserted wife, on the other hand, cannot marry or live with any other man since she is still legally married. If not, she will be considered as an adulteress and her children from this union will be illegitimate for ten generations.

On the other hand, marriage in Islam is a sanctified bond that should not be broken except for compelling reasons. Couples are instructed to pursue all possible remedies whenever their marriages are in danger. Divorce is not to be resorted to except when there is no other way out. In a nutshell, Islam recognizes divorce, yet it discourages it by all means. The Prophet of Islam told the believers that : “Among of all permitted acts, divorce is the most hateful to Allah.”(Abu Daud). A Muslim man should not divorce his wife just because he does not like her.The Quran instructs Muslim men to be kind to their wives even in cases of lukewarm emotions or feelings of dislike:"Live with them (your wives) on a footing of kindness and equity. If you dislike them it may be that you dislike something in which Allah has placed a great deal of good" In short, Islam has offered the Muslim woman some unequalled rights: she can end the marriage through Khula' and she can sue for a divorce. A Muslim wife can never become chained by a recalcitrant husband. To sum up, Islam offers Muslim married couples much viable advice to save their marriages in cases of trouble and tension. If one of the partners is jeopardizing the matrimonial relationship, the other partner is advised by the Quran to do whatever possible and effective in order to save this sacred bond. If all the measures fail, Islam allows the partners to separate peacefully and amicably.

Next is plight of widows. In Jewish population, widows were among the most vulnerable because of the fact that Old Testament recognizes no inheritance rights to them. Widows have no other choice but have to live on the mercy of others as their deceased husband’s estate was inherited by the male relatives. Widows are considered among the lowest classes in ancient Israel and a symbol of great degradation. In addition, In the Jewish legislation, a woman who has been widowed three times with all the three husbands dying of natural causes is considered 'fatal' and forbidden to marry again. Differ from Jewish, the plight of widow in the Biblical tradition extended even beyond her exclusion from her husband's property. 

According to Genesis 38, a childless widow must marry her husband's brother, even if he is already married, so that he can produce offspring for his dead brother, thus ensuring his brother's name will not die out. The widow’s consent to this type of marriage is not required as she is treated as part of the deceased husband’s property whose main function is to ensure her husband’s posterity. This Biblical Law is still practiced Israel today.If the deceased husband’s brother is too young to marry, she has to wait until he comes of age. If the deceased husband's brother refuses to marry her, she is set free and can then marry any man of her choice. Besides, widows and divorced women were so looked down upon in the Biblical tradition that the high priest could not marry a widow, a divorced woman, or a prostitute:"The woman he (the high priest) marries must be a virgin. He must not marry a widow, a divorced woman, or a woman defiled by prostitution, but only a virgin from his own people, so he will not defile his offspring among his people" (Lev. 21:13-15)The pagan Arabs before Islam had similar practices.A widow was considered a part of her husband's property to be inherited by his male heirs and she was, usually, given in marriage to the deceased man's eldest son from another wife. The Quran scathingly attacked and abolished this degrading custom:"And marry not women whom your fathers married--Except what is past-- it was shameful, odious, and abominable custom indeed" 

In Islam, widows and divorcees have the freedom to marry whomever they choose. There is no stigma attached to divorce or widowhood in the Quran:"When you divorce women and they fulfil their terms [three menstruation periods] either take them back on equitable terms or set them free on equitable terms; But do not take them back to injure them or to take undue advantage, If anyone does that, he wrongs his own soul. Do not treat Allah's signs as a jest" ."If any of you die and leave widows behind, they shall wait four months and ten days. When they have fulfilled their term, there is no blame on you if they dispose of themselves in a just manner" ."Those of you who die and leave widows should bequeath for their widows a year's maintenance and residence. But if they [the widows] leave (the residence) there is no blame on you for what they justly do with themselves"