WHAT ABOUT MUHAMMAD?

"A person didn't shoot her; an ideology did." Ziauddin Yousafzai, speaking of his daughter Malala, who survived to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

While not wishing to incur a fatwa, it is necessary to discuss Muhammad, peace be upon him. Muslims believe that he is both God's Messenger and the last Prophet. It is unclear whether there is a distinction between those two honorifics, though Molly and I certainly don't consider ourselves to be prophets. Muhammad was indeed a messenger, but he was not the final one. Nor do we expect to be. God speaks whenever and to whomever She pleases.

The Qur'an is believed to be the literal word of God, as given to Muhammad by the Angel Gabriel over a period of 23 years. After our experiences, we cannot dispute the claim that Gabriel did appear to him. But as with other holy texts, it is arrogance to assert that the Qur'an is the definitive or final message from God. Does not a mother continue to provide wisdom and guidance to her children throughout their lifetimes? So it has been with God and humankind.

Moreover, the Qur'an is obviously inconsistent with the Truth that was revealed to us in several respects. Notably, ayah (verse) 4:34 declares that men have authority over women because God made them superior, which is the opposite of what we have previously shared in posts about Grace and Humankind. The verse further gives men permission to beat their wives for disobediance. Assuming that Muhammad actually preached that verse, it is incomprehensible that the words originated with God.

Muhammad was a man of his time and place, and women in that time and place were generally considered to be little more than property. A girl belonged to her father and a wife to her husband. The concept of gender equality would have seemed more radical to Muhammad than monotheism, which was already a tenet of Judaism and Christianity. Convincing pagan men to worship one god instead of many was challenging enough, without also asking them to convert to feminism. Muhammad was trying to attract followers and raise an army among such men, so it would have been undeniably more enticing to say things like: "Women are your fields; go into [them] whence you please." Qur'an 2.223.

It is not surprising that an androcentric (male centered) religion like Islam arose in a patriarchal society. Men have historicaly used societal customs, laws and religious dogma as a means of repressing women. This was largely successful until the late 19th Century. God did not intervene, choosing instead to wait for women to affect change themselves. After all, a few thousand years is a brief period of time to God. In this new millennium, women have made sustantial progress towards equality in much of the world not controlled by Islam. But relying on a literal interpretation of the Qur'an, far too many Muslim men still insist that male superiority is the will of Allah, and far too many Muslim women acquiesce.

Next: What About Muhammad continues