Comparing and Contrasting Two Articles on the Role of Women
The status of women in early Islam is a concept that is covered by authors Barbara Freyer Stowasser in her article "The Status of Women in Early Islam" and Leila Ahmed in "Women and the Rise of Islam". These two articles differ significantly in terms of the role that women played within society during the development of Islam, despite the fact that both Stowasser and Ahmed address similar time periods and geographic regions. The views of these two authors shall be explored within this paper in order to better define the image of the woman in early Arabia.Ahmed and Stowasser are both quick to note that it is a challenging feat to identify those social traits that existed in the period before the Koran, or the Islamic Holy Scriptures. The period that predates the Koran is one that tends towards ambiguous research. However, the authors agree on the concept that the evolution of the Koran creates a window through which the pre- existing social roles between men and women can be examined. Stowasser, for example, Notes that " the majority of pre- Islamic urban women appear to have lived in a male- dominated society in which their status was low and their rights were negligible." (15)"Islamic reforms apparently consolidated a
It is a factual document, to be certain, but there is too much of an emphasis on how the Koran sees women as "inferior" to men rather than exploring their roles within society as a whole. Rather, Islam selectively sanctioned customs already found among some Arabian tribal societies while prohibiting others. In order to gain a clear portrait of women from this period, the differences between Stowasser and Ahmed must be successfully reconciled. She also justifies the perspective of the Koran in presenting similar historical views or interpretations of the Koran made through the centuries. What the reader gains from both documents is the concept that the Islamic culture as outlined in the Koran and as maintained by the Islamic people evolved from existent social and cultural practices, and was set down as fact within the Koran itself. While the treatment and bias for the articles strongly differs, the themes that emerge from both documents can be successfully compiled into a single comprehensive image. This respect for life elevates the rights of females and creates a sense of law that helped the pre- Islamic society to function more smoothly. trend toward patriliny in sixth- century Arabia. The reader witnesses the image of women as forced to conform to specific sexual practices, marriage rites, and were viewed by men as being lesser beings. She refers to women as the property of men, notes that men can see women as "cows" or fertile fields in need of planting, and goes point by point through the Koran in order to clearly demonstrate to the reader exactly how and why this document treats women. The type of marriage that Islam legitimized was, like its monotheism, deeply consonant with the sociocultural systems already in place throughout the Middle East. Simply put, the role of the Koran was one of maintaining a remarkably firm patriarchal society, which drew upon ancient traditions. Where Stowasser grabs citation after citation that demonstrates the misogynistic efforts of males in respect to the Koran, Ahmed goes over the historical record from not only documents but social evidence dating from the time. " (45)The inference that the wedding rites, as well as social roles that determined the relationship of men and women, was drawn from the era before the emergence of the Koran therefore suggests that much of the ritual social text defined in the Koran is the result of social norms influencing policy.
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