At the US Bishops Conference . . .
LOOKING FOR LIFE BEYOND CABLE NEWS AND FINDING THAT RESISTANCE IS FUTILE
You can have wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, or democracy. But you cannot have both.
- Louis BrandeisTension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are.
- Chinese ProverbRecent Comments
Whatever Works 
Catholics who want women admitted into the priesthood have been asking the same question for years.
LikeLike
And all that time, the Church hierarchy has been getting more and more conservative and working hard ot roll back all the liberal reforms of John XXIII.
LikeLike
But Muslim Women can achieve the same status in “religious hierarchy” as of their Male counterparts, i.e. same level of Islamic Scholarship.
LikeLike
For e.g. Yasmin Mogahed (Preacher), Farhat Hashmi, Ingrid Mattson, Zainab al Ghazali are few of the most prominent alive or recently passed Islamic Scholars or Dayes (Reminders/ preachers).
LikeLike
You just instructed me on something I did NOT know. Does a female Preacher or Reminder have the same status in Islam as a male? Catholics have a seperate and less powerful body of women religious – nuns. But they are NOT policy makers. They are not permitted to perform the Sacraments.
LikeLike
Yes, in Islam the scholarship is based on the criteria of scholarship, it has nothing to do with Gender, Race, Color or Language.
People think (you asked me this question at Part 3) that Muslim men make laws for women. That is inaccurate assumption.
Laws are given by God, who is the Creator of both Men and Women and the Universe. God revealed the Noble Qur’an on the Prophet Muhammad, who not only taught the verses to the people but practically showed (explained) how to implement in day to day life.
Among the companions of the Prophet were those who excelled in the understanding of the laws and the wisdom. Because of their scholarship, common people used to come to them to learn about Islam. One of the wife of Prophet Muhammad, Aisha, was among the most learned. Even the most highest of the Companions used to consult with her on religious matters.
When we study the lives of the greatest of the scholars in Islamic Scholarship we find that some became great scholars after studying under 40+ women scholars. Meaning not only women were scholars in great numbers but that they were busy in the discourse. Also note that back in those days people used to travel long distances. So all the women scholars were not in one town, they were spread all over the Muslim empire.
It is not like Men are making laws to subjugate women. In contemporary times in cultural terms that is certainly the case, but in religious sphere this has no standing.
I think “Feminism” started with a sincere thought but has gone narrow minded in of itself and has started perceiving the world from the lense of ethnocentrism. Just because women were oppressed and mistreated by the Church in the west (an idea stemming from blaming Eve for everything), the same brush has been used to paint all other religions.
Study the life of Aisha, you will find a ‘feminist’ there but not the kind of today. I will share more information with you on this subject.
LikeLike
I look forward to that umer – you’ve given me a lot to chew on here. Thanks – I’ll read it a few times morre before I reply.
LikeLike