“So there are two quite different Islams, an Islam that is in some sense a women’s Islam and an official, textual Islam, a men’s Islam” (37). Leila Ahmed writes talks about this idea of a “men’s” and a “women’s” Islam in her article “A Border Passage from Cairo to America- A Women’s Journey.” In thus articles she notices that there tends to be a division between the Islam of men and the Islam of women. “Men’s Islam” is primary written and concerned with the idea of orthopraxy, or right practice while “women’s Islam” focuses on the ethical applications of Islam within everyday life. Ahmed is one of many women in patriarchal religions who are struggling with how to find their place-if there is one-in their religion. This is a continuous struggle
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Leila Ahmed argues that most Western scholars pay attention to the documents and the mosques and that they assume that that is all there is to know about Islam. I took a class on Islam last spring and I know that I learned mostly about “men’s Islam” because that is the Islam that is easy to study in a classroom. Because of the amount of written texts, and more visible worship, “men’s Islam” is the Islam that gets the most attention. Scholars and students are completely missing the more hidden practices of Islam that aren’t as proper and orthodox in their execution. These traditions are more ways of life than religious observance. These ways of life are in the realm of “women’s …show more content…
She also sees “women’s Islam” as more peaceful than “men’s Islam” and something that is integrated into the everyday lives of the people who have this understanding of Islam. This is very different from “men’s Islam” and because of this discord between men’s and women’s Islam, most women don’t trust the sheiks and the elite men of the religion. Women keep interpreting it the way that they were taught by their mothers and grandmothers before them in hope of maintaining the peaceful element of the religion. Leila Ahmed does note however, that “women’s Islam” isn’t without its flaws. Women’s Islam is still under the patriarchal system and because of this, many women still follow the medieval Islamic rules that they abhor with little resistance and cultural rules can be stricter than the laws
Leila Ahmed argues that most Western scholars pay attention to the documents and the mosques and that they assume that that is all there is to know about Islam. I took a class on Islam last spring and I know that I learned mostly about “men’s Islam” because that is the Islam that is easy to study in a classroom. Because of the amount of written texts, and more visible worship, “men’s Islam” is the Islam that gets the most attention. Scholars and students are completely missing the more hidden practices of Islam that aren’t as proper and orthodox in their execution. These traditions are more ways of life than religious observance. These ways of life are in the realm of “women’s …show more content…
She also sees “women’s Islam” as more peaceful than “men’s Islam” and something that is integrated into the everyday lives of the people who have this understanding of Islam. This is very different from “men’s Islam” and because of this discord between men’s and women’s Islam, most women don’t trust the sheiks and the elite men of the religion. Women keep interpreting it the way that they were taught by their mothers and grandmothers before them in hope of maintaining the peaceful element of the religion. Leila Ahmed does note however, that “women’s Islam” isn’t without its flaws. Women’s Islam is still under the patriarchal system and because of this, many women still follow the medieval Islamic rules that they abhor with little resistance and cultural rules can be stricter than the laws