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described as a lecherous arch-seducer who utilized God to justify his own sexual indulgences.
Such concepts, whose popularity was transmitted from one generation to the other, were simultaneously coupled by the misogyny inherent in the European psyche. Consequently,
Muslim women were doubly demeaned (as
Easterners and as women).2
Sir Richard Burtons licentious translation
of the Arabian Nights, which gained great
popularity in 19th century Victorian England
was regarded as a highly literary work. In it
he portrays the cunning Scheherazade, whose
knowledge and education only serve to keep
her alive for a thousand and one nights by recounting erotic tales to her king. Here it should
be mentioned that the original is nothing but
oral folklore traditions from India, Persia, Iraq,
Syria and Egypt recorded in a vulgar vernacular to appeal to the popular prejudices among
the illiterate masses to whom they were recounted. Other Eastern women who gained
iconic value in Renaissance and late 19th century painting, literature and music were the
exotic Cleopatra who seduced Mark Anthony
and the wicked Salom rewarded with the
head of John the Baptist. Orientalist paintings
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3. Ibid., p. 150.
4. Ibid., pp. 150-151.
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only knowledgeable in matters of their religion but were also referred to as authorities to
interpret religious traditions and instruct Muslims in matters of their faith.6 Islam gave
women the right to political participation,
holding public office and lawful debate, fraternizing and practising all the professions that
were available to men. Since the early days of
Islam women took part in war and commerce
(Khadija, the Prophets first wife, was a merchant in whose employment was the Prophet
himself before the revelation came to him),
practised nursing and medicine, and instructed
the people privately and in mosques.7
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were imposed on men, among them total equality in the treatment of their wives, although if
he could not abide by this stipulation then he
was allowed only one spouse.8
Despite the various interpretations regarding the veil and seclusion of Muslim women,
there is no clear text in the Quran that imposes either on women. The Quran itself does
not mandate that women should be completely
veiled or separated from men, but tells of their
participation in the life of the community and
common religious responsibility with men to
worship God, live virtuous lives, and to cover
themselves or dress modestly.9 During pilgrimage to Mecca, both men and women perform their ritual without being segregated and
a womans hands and face must be uncovered
both at pilgrimage and while performing the
five daily prayers; both rites are among the five
pillars of Islam.
We finally come to the applications of religious and social rules to Muslim women
which call for a retreat in history. The subordination of women and the discrimination
practised against them is the outcome of the
gradual evolution of social and economic conditions that had been in existence in the Middle East since Neolithic times. The rise of urban life which first appeared in Mesopotamia
(present-day Iraq) accelerated the existing division of labour between women and men,
which had previously allowed men an increasingly large role in their agricultural societies
as bread winners and a source of revenue thus
allocating women to dedicating more time to
childbearing and domestic activities. Urban
life further reduced womens social and economic power, fostering a development of atti-
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12.
13.
14.
15.
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