I am a young Muslim woman born and raised in a western culture. My beliefs are paradoxical, because they are both religious and liberal. I am perceived as an outsider in my own culture because I am westernized, and hold ideas true to my heart that many Muslims, particularly many Muslim men, perceive unfavorably. So why am I telling you all of this? While it sounds like I’m speaking poorly about my religion, like I am bashing my brothers and the principles of the faith, I’m writing to support the fundamental principles of the religion. Not modern “Islamic fundamentalist” ideas that we hear Donald Trump spewing nonsense about, but instead real, Qur’an supported beliefs. I firmly believe …show more content…
Allah continues to reveal throughout the Qur’an that regardless of gender, as long as a Muslim fulfills his duties and lives a wholesome life, he is guaranteed reward when he meets the lord (the “he” in this case is gender neutral, as mentioned above). In the Surah “Al- Ahzab” in the Qur’an it says that for Muslim men and women and for believing men and women, for devout men and women, for true men and women, for men and women who are patient and constant, for men and women who humble themselves, for men and women who give in charity, for men and women who fast (and deny themselves), for men and women who guard their chastity, and for men and women who engage much in Allah 's praise, for them has Allah prepared forgiveness and great reward. (Qur 'an …show more content…
When the Day of Judgment arrives, Allah will judge our quality of life based on our morals and submission to Him, and diminishing the quality of life for women is not what Allah wants to see from us. Women must be granted the same opportunity as men, as it is not up to man to control the actions of their brothers and sisters. I think more men are open to the idea of gender equality now than ever before, especially progressive men. However, forcing even modern patriarchal societies to submit before a female ruler would cause chaos (take the response to Hillary Clinton’s candidacy for example), as societal norms are almost impossible to break. In order to guarantee the full equality of both sexes, men must look back to the fundamental principles of the faith and treat women as their sisters. They cannot deny her the opportunity to learn, the opportunity to flourish: they cannot deny her the opportunity to be what she wants to be. I am hoping with the re-instillation of these principles our world can go from one that condones female genital mutilation to one of absolute equality; not a patriarchy, not a matriarchy- but simply a world of brothers and sisters who are living in submission to the one and only