Islamic Feminism as an Umbrella for Different Tendencies Research Paper

Islamic Feminism as an Umbrella for Different Tendencies - Research Paper Example Awde (2005) believes that Islamic feminists may or may not share the main tenets of Western feminism. What Feminists believe Feminists generally criticize a number of discriminatory Islamic rules. A large number of these feminists formulate their criticisms from within the Islamic framework. They profess a double allegiance, to Islam and to women rights. Doorn-Harder(2006) states that feminists generally express the belief that the divine message of Islam is inherently egalitarian. Yet, its egalitarian content has been partly or wholly destroyed by human interpretation. Souaiaia(2007) states that feminists, however, do not all think the same way or even about the same kind of problems and the immensely diversified topics under feminism are self-speaking proof of this. The issue of marriage and divorce, the veil and its necessity as an adornment for Muslim women in order to protect them from causing seduction or discomfort to the society in general, the struggles that women have faced over centuries and the pain that they have borne to make their place in the mainstream market are just a few of the issues that feminists deal with. In the pre-Islamic era and where the woes of polytheism and polyandry prospered, women were gravely burdened by highly discriminated societal views. Rituals like the killing of young girls at birth, restricting of women to household chores, giving women no right over property or land and depriving them of the most essential human rights were some of the major problems. Souaiaia(2009) claims that feminists over the years have raised questions on traditions such as the Crimes of Honor and inform the law upholders how for honour's sake; the protectors of women take away their lives and are unjustly supported by our religious scholars. According to Wilson (2011), the helplessness of a woman in a male-dominated society is a major bone of contention for feminists; a woman is merely a puppet whose strings can be tightened, loosened or even cu t by her guardians.