The True Status of Women in Islam

The Veil Unveiled

The Islamic veil or hijab refers to the loose-fitting, plain and opaque outer garments which cover a Muslim woman’s body.  While basically identical to the clothing depicted in traditional Christian representations of Mary (may God praise her and her son), and every nun who has sought to emulate her since, the hijab is readily singled out as sign of extremism, the supposedly inferior status of Muslim women, Those who see Muslim women as little more than sex objects are dismayed at the phenomena of educated, professional or, in any case, ‘free’ Western women turning to Islam.  The claim that female converts are either brainwashed fanatics blinded by their veils or suppressed victims frantic to be liberated is no longer accepted.  Although, sensationalist and often politically-motivated reports of oppressed Muslim women in some contemporary backward societies still enforce the negative stereotype.  What follows is a brief look at the status of women in Islam though comparing the role of the veil in both Islam and Christianity.

“Whoever works righteousness, man or woman, and has faith, verily , to them We will give a new life, good and pure.  And We will bestow on such their reward according to the best of their actions.” (Quran 16:97)

In what would form part of a ‘New Testament’, St. Paul obligated the then common practice of the veil for all women:

‘And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head - it is just as though her head were shaved.  If a woman does not cover her head, she should have her hair cut off; and if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut off or shaved off, she should cover her head.  A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man.  For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; neither was man created for woman, but woman for man.[1]  For this reason, and because of the angels, woman ought to have a sign of authority on her head.’ (I Corinthians 11:4-10)

St. Tertullian (the first man to formulate the Trinity), in his treatise, On the Veiling of Virgins, even obliged its use at home: ‘Young women, you wear your veils out on the streets, so you should wear them in the church; you wear them when you are among strangers, then wear them among your brothers.’

So Islam didn’t invent the veil, it merely endorsed it.  However, while Paul presented the veil as a sign of man’s authority, Islam clarifies that it is simply a sign of faith, modesty and chastity which serves to protect the devout from molestation.

“O Prophet!  Tell your wives and daughters and the believing women that they should cast their c1oaks over their bodies (when outdoors) so that they be recognized as such (decent, chaste believers) and not molested...” (Quran 33:59)

The 19th century Orientalist, Sir Richard Burton, observed how:

‘The women who delight in restrictions which tend to their honor, accepted it (the veil) willingly and still affect it, they do not desire a liberty or rather a license which they have learned to regard as inconsistent with their time-honored notions of feminine decorum and delicacy.  They would think very meanly of a husband who permitted them to be exposed, like hetaerae, to the public gaze.’

In truth, the Muslim’s veil is but one facet of her noble status ­a status due in part to the tremendous responsibility that is placed upon her.  Simply put, woman is the initial teacher in the building of a righteous society.  This is why from the most important individual obligations upon a person is to show gratitude, kindness and good companionship to their mother.  Once, the Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, was asked:

“O Messenger of God!  Who from amongst mankind warrants the best companionship from me?  ‘The Prophet replied: ‘Your mother.’  The man asked: ‘Then who?’  The Prophet said: ‘Your mother.’  The man asked: ‘Then who?’  The Prophet repeated: ‘Your mother.’  Again, the man asked: ‘Then who?’  The Prophet finally said: ‘(Then) your father.” (Saheeh Al-Bukhari, Saheeh Muslim)

While the mother is given precedence over and above the father in kindness and good treatment, Islam, like Christianity, teaches that God designated man to be the natural head of the household.

“…And they (women) have rights (over their husbands) similar (to the rights of their husbands) over them­ according to what is equitable.  But men have a degree (of responsibility) over them…” (Quran 2:228)

In Islam, man’s authority is in proportion to his socio-economic responsibilities,[2]  responsibilities which reflect the psychological and physiological differences with which God created the sexes.

“…And the male is not like the female...” (Quran 3:36)[3]

Marriage is the means by which both sexes can fulfill their different but complementary and mutually beneficial roles.

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Footnotes:

[1] Islam teaches that God is not a man, but the Creator of man (and woman); and He created both sexes for one noble purpose: “I have not created jinn (spirits) and humans except that they may worship and serve Me (alone).” (Quran 51:56)

[2] Hence, the Muslim man is granted a greater share of inheritance than the woman. He is legally bound to provide for and maintain all the females of the household from his personal wealth while the woman’s wealth is hers alone to spend, invest or save as she pleases.

[3] Dr. Alexis Carrel, the French Noble Laureate, reinforces this point when he writes: ‘The difference existing between man and woman do not come from the particular form of the sexual organs, the presence of the uterus, from gestation or from the mode of education. They are of a more fundamental impregnation of the entire organism ... Ignorance of these fundamental facts has led promoters of feminism to believe that both sexes should have the same powers and the same responsibilities. In reality, woman differs profoundly from man. Every one of the cells of her body bears the mark of her sex. The same is true of her organs and, above all, of her nervous system. Physiological laws ... cannot be replaced by human wishes. We are obliged to accept them just as they are. Women should develop their aptitudes in accordance with their own nature, without trying to imitate males.’ (Carrel, Man and the Unknown, 1949:91)

“And among His signs is that He created for you mates from among yourselves; that you may dwell with them in serenity and tranquility.  And He has put love and compassion between your hearts.  Truly in that are signs for those who reflect.” (Quran 30:21)

‘Islam’s appeal, wherever it has triumphed, has been in its simplicity.  It requires submission to some basic, straightforward rules which are easily kept, and in return it offers that most wonderful and rare commodity, peace of mind ... its discipline, safety and certainties have an appeal for girls lost in the churning seas of permissiveness, whose own families have been weakened by the crumbling of the two-parent family, the absence of fathers and the impermanence of husbands, if there are husbands in the first place rather than boyfriends and “baby-fathers”.  And in most societies it is the women who sustain religions in the home and among children.’ (Peter Hitchens, Will Britain Convert to Islam?  Mail on Sunday, 2/11/03)

“…They (your wives, O men) are a garment for you and you (men) are a garment for them…” (Quran 2:187)

Sex itself is not taboo in Islam.  On the contrary, lawful sexual relations are regarded as deeds of charity!  Renowned scholar and former nun, Karen Armstrong, writes:

‘Mohammed certainly did not think that women were sexually disgusting.  When his wife had her period he used to make a point of reclining in her lap, of taking his prayer mat from her hand, saying for the benefit of his disciples, “Your menstruation is not in your hand.”  He would drink from the same cup, saying, “Your menstruation is not on your lips” ... The harsh sexual punishments meted out to sexual offenders in some Islamic countries is because sexuality is valued and the ideal has been debased, not, as in the past in the West, because sexuality is abhorrent.’ (The Gospel According to Woman, 1986:2)

The Church’s traditional justification for man’s authority is one it inherited from Judaism: the inherent evil of woman!  According to the bible, Satan seduced Eve to disobey God by eating from a forbidden tree and Eve, in turn, seduced Adam to eat with her.  When God rebuked Adam for his disobedience, Adam blamed Eve, and so God condemned her:

“I (God) will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will bear children.  Your desire will be for your husband and he will rule over you.” (Genesis 3:16)

It was this image of Eve as a deceiving temptress that left a negative legacy for women throughout both Judaism and Christendom.  Paul, himself a once vehemently anti-Christian Jew, wrote in the bible: ‘A woman should learn in quietness and full submission.  I don’t permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent.  For Adam was formed first, then Eve.  And Adam wasn’t the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner, but women shall be saved through childbearing.’ (I Tim. 2:11-5)[1]

Again, the Islamic conception of woman is radically different.  The Quran clarifies that Satan was the only deceiver in the story of the Garden, while Adam and Eve receive equal blame for their disobedience.  There is not the slightest hint that Eve was the first to eat the forbidden fruit or that she tempted Adam to do so.  Both Adam and Eve committed a sin, asked God for His Forgiveness, and He duly bestowed it:

“They said: ‘Our Lord!  We have wronged our own souls and if You forgive us not and do not bestow upon us Your Mercy, we shall certainly be lost.” (Quran 7:22-23)

Linguistically, the Quranic terms for ‘womb’ and ‘mercy’ are synonymous.  This is because, rather than God’s punishment, childbirth in Islam is seen as one of His countless blessings.  Besides, the notion that God condemns the innocent is quite blasphemous!  And, while Christianity holds every newborn baby to be a sinner - the fruits of its mother’s punishment, Islam teaches that all children are born innocent and sinless upon the fitra: a natural monotheistic and righteous disposition.  Hence, one who embraces Islam is said to revert back to their natural religion.  It is only the child’s immoral upbringing that converts it into a rebellious sinner.

“Whosoever works evil will not be requited except with its like; and whosoever works righteousness, whether male or female, and is a true Believer, such will enter Paradise, wherein they will have provision without limit.” (Quran 40:40)

Paul’s words, earlier, also show how Eve’s sin was used to justify limiting women’s educational aspirations.  In Islam, however, women are equal to men in the pursuit of knowledge.  The Prophet said:

“The seeking of knowledge is compulsory upon every (male or female) Muslim.” (Ibn Maja)

Furthermore, the most honored position one can reach in Muslim society is that of a scholar [Islam has no Priesthood].  The Prophet’s wife, Aa’isha, from whom leading Companions acquired knowledge, is but one example of learned women who continue to greatly influence Islamic society.  As were several female teachers of the celebrated sage, warrior and master of the Islamic sciences, Ibn Taymiyya (d. 1328).

“…Are those who know equal to those who know not?  It is only those with understanding who will remember.” (Quran 39:9)

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Footnotes:

[1] The Church’s founding fathers, men who formulated Christian belief and canonized the Bible, supported this view: ‘Don’t you know that you are each an Eve?’ God’s sentence on this sex of yours lives in this age: the guilt must of necessity live too. You are the Devil’s gateway: you are the unsealer of the forbidden tree: you are the first deserter of the divine law: you are she who persuaded him whom the devil wasn’t valiant enough to attack. You destroyed so easily God’s image, man. (St. Tertullian)

“Woman is a daughter of falsehood, a sentinel of Hell, the enemy of peace; through her Adam lost paradise.” (St. John Damascene)

‘God created Adam Lord of all living creatures, but Eve spoiled it all. Women should remain at home, sit still, keep house and bear children. And if they (women) grow tired or, even, die (from giving birth), it does not matter. Let her die from in childbirth; that’s why they are there.’ (Martin Luther).

Many of the resurgent pre-Islamic cultural practices that have tragically come to be associated with Islam, such as forced marriages, female genital mutilation, bridal (as opposed to groom-paid) dowries, honor killings and the criminalization of rape victims, only resurfaced following the disruption caused by colonialism and the resulting disconnect between the common Muslims and their sources of knowledge.  It is always the learned scholars of Islam, men and women, who are the first victims of any imperialist purge.  Nevertheless, in light of the Quran and Sunnah, the veil of misinformation cloaking the true status of women in Islam is easily removed.  Moreover, Islam continues to grow faster than any other way of life with women, accounting for some 75% of all European and American reverts - ironic, given the widespread Western prejudice that ‘Islam oppresses women!

‘Westerners despairing of their own society - rising in crime, family breakdown, drugs and alcoholism - have come to admire the discipline and security of Islam.  Many converts are former Christians, disillusioned by the uncertainty of the church and unhappy with the concept of the Trinity and the deification of Jesus.’ (Lucy Berrington, “Why British women are turning to Islam”, Times, 9/11/93)

These women have acknowledged the same truth that led the Christian Negus of Abyssinia to embrace Islam following a speech in which the Companions informed him: ‘God’s Messenger forbade us to speak evil of women.’ (Ibn Hisham)

“Verily, those who slander chaste women; innocent unsuspecting believing women: they are cursed in this world and the next.  And for them will be a great torment.” (Quran 24:23)

Today, many nuns and devout women of the Orthodox, Catholic, Near Eastern and African churches still wear the Christian veil.  The Muslim woman too wears her hijab, declaring her faith in humility and servitude before God.  Only those given divine sanction - her immediate family and other believing women - may view her bodily beauty.  In effect, she is saying: ‘Judge me for my faith, not my body - I give you no other choice.’  When faithfully implemented, as it was by its earliest adherents, Islam offers women the freedom, dignity, justice and protection that have long remained out of their reach.  Mankind inherited from the Prophet a great Islamic tradition when he said:

‘The best of you (men) are those who best treat their women.’

While Christian women inherited a tradition of misogyny from both Jewish rabbinism and Greek thought.  It was Western woman’s reaction to this poor status afforded to her and to her ‘s exploitation’ that led to the rise of the feminist movement.

“The believing men and women are protectors of one another.  They enjoin the good and forbid the evil; they establish prayer and give alms (to the needy); and they obey God and His Messenger.  These, God will have mercy on them.  Lo!  God is Mighty, Wise.” (Quran 9:71)

Islam granted women contractual rights, conjugal rights, the right to inherit, to initiate divorce, to independently own and control wealth and property, to set up and run businesses, to earn and receive equal pay, to retain their maiden names, etc., over 1400 years ago while the democratic West granted similar rights only in the last 50 years of the 20th century!  In fact, besides casual abortion, much of what feminists still fight for had already been sanctioned by Islam.  Not to mention that Western-style emancipation – essentially women copying men – ­has not only imposed impossible demands on the weaker sex, but has also left womanhood without any intrinsic value.  As for the veiled Muslim celebrating her womanhood, she is but a reflection of chastity, humility and dignity, a mirror of her devotion to and belief in God - factors which liberate, not subjugate - and for this she can expect a great reward.

“For Muslim men and women, for believing men and women, for devout men and women, for truthful men and women, for patient men and women, for humble men and women, for charitable men and women, for fasting men and women, for men and women who guard their chastity, and for men and women who engage much in God’s praise: for them has God prepared forgiveness and a great reward.” (Quran 33:35)

The Population of Muslims

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Statistics & Data

Islam today is a global religion.  It is no longer confined to Muslim majority countries such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia or Indonesia.  Small but significant communities exist across Europe, the Americas and Australasia.  For some time Muslims have been an invisible presence in the western world but one decade into the 21^st century Muslims are no longer curiosities.  They are as much at home in London Paris or Chicago as they are in Istanbul, Damascus and Jakarta. 

In 2011 Muslims in the West also no longer exist in immigrant communities but are second, third and fourth generation citizens participating in professional and civic life.  Islam is said to be the fastest growing religion in the United States.  It is estimated that more than 1 million Americans have converted to Islam.  In recent years due to an Islamic revival, believing and practicing Muslims have established a visible presence not only in Islamic societies but also in the West. 

What do the latest data and statistics tell us about the number of Muslims in the world.  Where do they live? How many are born into the Muslim faith and how many choose to convert to Islam? The majority of the following statistics and data come from the Pew Research Centre.

According to the Pew[1]  Islam is growing about 2.9% per year.  This is faster than the total world population which increases about 2.3% annually.  The world’s Muslim population is expected to increase by about 35% in the next 20 years.  In mid 2010 the Pew forum estimated that there were 1.57 billion Muslims in the world.  This represents 22% of the world’s population.  Islam is the second largest religion in the world, beaten only by Christianity which represents 33% of the world’s population with a little over 2 billion adherents. 

The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life stated that Islam is the fastest-growing religion in Europe.  Driven by immigration and high birth rates, the number of Muslims on the continent has tripled in the last 30 years.  Most demographers forecast a similar or even higher rate of growth in the coming decades. 

If current trends continue 79 countries will have a million or more Muslim inhabitants in 2030, up from 72 countries in 2011.  The seven new countries are expected to be Belgium, Canada, Congo, Djibouti, Guinea Bissau, Netherlands and Togo.  About 60% of the world’s Muslims will continue to live in the Asia-Pacific region, while about 20% will live in the Middle East and North Africa, as is the case in 2010.  One of the biggest changes expected is that Pakistan will almost certainly surpass Indonesia as the country with the single largest Muslim population.[2]

In 2011 statistics tell us that 74.1% of the world’s Muslims live in the 49 countries in which Muslims make up a majority of the population.  More than a fifth of all Muslims (23.3%) live in non-Muslim-majority countries in the developing world.  These minority Muslim populations are often quite large.  India, for example, has the third-largest population of Muslims worldwide.  China has more Muslims than Syria, while Russia is home to more Muslims than Jordan and Libya combined.[3]  About 3% of the world’s Muslims live in more-developed regions, such as Europe, North America, Australia, New Zealand and Japan.[4]

In the United States, the population projections show the number of Muslims more than doubling over the next two decades, rising from 2.6 million in 2010 to 6.2 million in 2030.  The number of Muslims in Canada is expected to nearly triple in the next 20 years, from about 940,000 in 2010 to nearly 2.7 million in 2030.  Muslims are expected to make up 6.6% of Canada’s total population in 2030, up from 2.8% today.  Argentina is expected to have the third-largest Muslim population in the Americas, after the U.S.  and Canada.  Argentina, with about 1 million Muslims in 2010, is now in second place, behind the U.S.

 In Europe as a whole, the Muslim share of the population is expected to grow by nearly one-third over the next 20 years, rising from 6% of the region’s inhabitants in 2010 to 8% in 2030.  In absolute numbers, Europe’s Muslim population is projected to grow from 44.1 million in 2010 to 58.2 million in 2030.  Nearly three-in-ten people living in the Asia-Pacific region in 2030 (27.3%) will be Muslim, up from about a quarter in 2010 (24.8%) and roughly a fifth in 1990 (21.6%).  Muslims make up only about 2% of the population in China, but because the country is so populous, its Muslim population is expected to be the 19th largest in the world in 2030.

The growth rates of religions are usually due to conversions, higher birth and fertility rates and in many countries religions grow because of immigration.  While the global Muslim population is expected to grow at a faster rate than the non-Muslim population, the Muslim population nevertheless is expected to grow at a slower pace in the next two decades than it did in the previous two decades. 

Finding statistics and data about the number of people converting to Islam from other religions or atheism can be difficult.  This is usually not a question asked by government authorities or research centers.  In the next article we will discuss Muslim growth rates across the globe due to conversion and immigration.

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Footnotes:

[1] The Pew Research Centre is an American think tank organization based in Washington, D.C.  that provides information on issues, attitudes and trends shaping the United States and the world.

[2] http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1872/muslim-population-projections-worldwide-fast-growth

[3] according to  Pew reports in 2009

[4] http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1872/muslim-population-projections-worldwide-fast-growth.

Immigration and Conversion

Islam is a global religion, and as we learned in the previous article it is no longer confined to those countries we think of as Arabic or Asian.  Close to 1.6 billion people across the globe identify as Muslim.  Growth projections paint a picture of unprecedented growth, faster than the world population growth.  2011 statistics tell us that 74.1% of the world’s Muslims live in the 49 countries in which Muslims make up a majority of the population.  More than a fifth of all Muslims (23.3%) live in non-Muslim-majority countries in the developing world, and about 3% of the world's Muslims live in more-developed regions, such as Europe, North America, and Australia.  Where in fact do these 3% of Muslims come from?

Immigration and conversion account for a large percentage of Muslims living in predominantly western countries.  Governments tend to keep strict immigration records however religious affiliation is not always recorded.  Conversion statistics are notoriously unreliable but do reveal that the number of people converting to Islam is also experiencing a high growth rate.  From across the globe and from various sources, both Muslim and non Muslim, government and nongovernmental, we have collected and collated statistical data in an effort to present a clear picture of how Muslim growth rates are proceeding into the second decade of the 21^st century.

Let us begin in Australia.  According to the 2006 census, 1.7% of the Australian population identified with Islam, this represents a population growth of 20.9% on the 2001 count – only Hinduism (55.1%) and “no religion” (27.5%) had bigger percentage jumps in the same five-year period.  Where did this 20% growth rate come from? Apparently 36% were born in Australia, the majority claiming Lebanese, Turkish or broadly defined Arab ancestry.[1]  Other immigration source countries include the predominantly Muslim Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Indonesia and Bangladesh.  However, approximately two-fifths of Australia’s Muslims live in Melbourne, and originate from over 70 countries.[2]  There are no reliable statistics for conversions to Islam but mosques across Australia report that conversions take place frequently.

A report published in January 2011 by the Washington-based Pew Research centre[3]  suggests  Muslim numbers in Australia will increase by 80 percent, compared with 18 per cent for the population overall, growing from 399,000 at present to 714,000.  This is due first to higher reproduction rates - Muslim families typically have four or more children, while other Australians have one or two - and, second, to migration from Muslim majority countries such as mentioned above.

The estimates of how many Muslims live in Europe vary wildly, depending on where the statistics are from.  It is made even more difficult by the fact that they are the largest religious minority in Europe, and Islam is the fastest growing religion.  As would be expected Europe’s Muslim population are ethnically and linguistically diverse and Muslim immigrants in Europe hail from a variety of Middle Eastern, African, and Asian countries.  Converts are a tiny subset of the Muslim population, but their numbers are growing.  Studies in Germany and France have each estimated around 4,000 conversions a year in Europe or their respective countries.

In Germany, the estimated 4,000 converts each year[4], can be compared with an annual average of 300 in the late 1990s, still, less than 1 percent of Germany’s 3.3 million Muslims are converts.  A report by France’s domestic intelligence agency, published by Le Figaro, estimated last year[5]  that there were 30,000 to 50,000 converts in France.  The bulk of French Muslims are French citizens, and Islam is France’s second highest ranked religion.

Muslims are a minority in the United Kingdom, making up 2.7 per cent of the country's total population of some 60 million people.  The number of converts to Islam is, as expected very difficult to either predict or find hard data about.  One British newspaper however, the Independent, reports that the number of Britons converting to Islam has nearly doubled in the past decade, despite the fact that the UK has witnessed a rise in Islamophobia.  This is according to a comprehensive study by inter-faith think tank Faith Matters.

Previous estimates have placed the number of Muslim converts in the UK at between 14,000 and 25,000, but this study suggests that the real figure could be as high as 100,000, with as many as 5,000 new conversions each year.  By using data from the Scottish 2001 census - the only survey to ask respondents what their religion was at birth as well as at the time of the survey - researchers broke down what proportion of Muslim converts there were and then extrapolated the figures for Britain as a whole.[6]

In the United states of America, according to the Pew Research Centre, roughly two-thirds (65%) of adult Muslims living in the United States were born elsewhere, and 39% have come to the U.S.  since 1990.  A relatively large proportion of Muslim immigrants are from Arab countries, but many also come from Pakistan and other South Asian countries.  Among native-born Muslims, slightly more than half are African American (20% of U.S.  Muslims overall), many of whom are converts to Islam.[7]

As is the case in Europe and Australia, researchers say getting accurate estimates of converts to Islam is the most difficult challenge of all.  Data on conversion from another religion to Islam is virtually non-existent, and what estimates exist are based on conversion rates to other faiths that may not apply to the Muslim experience.

Statistics about converts to Islam are much easier to find in Arabian Gulf countries where Islamic Cultural Centres keep meticulous records.  For instance in Dubai, Huda Khalfan Al Kaabi, head of the New Muslims Section in the Islamic Affairs and Charitable Activities Department (IACAD) said, 1,365 people converted to Islam from January to June 2009 as compared to 878 over the same period in 2008.  Observing that 3,763 expatriates from 72 countries had converted to Islam in an 18 month period, Al Kaabi said most of them were from the Philippines, Russia, China and India.

Globalisation has contributed to the spread of Islam around the world, either by immigration or conversion.  Borders are more fluid than ever before and many people are able to make clear decisions about where they want to live and what religion they want to follow.  With or without hard statistical data it is possible to see clearly that across the globe people are converting to Islam in large numbers.  Islam is a global religion, no longer based on ethnicity or nationality.

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Footnotes:

[1] Statistical snapshot on Muslim Australians from a Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) fact sheet.

[2] http://museumvictoria.com.au/immigrationmuseum/discoverycentre/your-questions/muslim-australians/

[3] Pew Research Centre's Forum on Religion and Public Life, The Future of the Global Muslim Population: Projections for 2010-2030.  Using figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

[4] A study financed by the Interior Ministry and carried out by the Soest-based Muslim institute Islam Archive Germany.  (2004-5)

[5] http://www.religionnewsblog.com/7916/europe-fears-threat-from-its-converts-to-islam

[6] http://faith-matters.org/resources/publicationsreports/218-report-on-converts-to-islam-in-the-uk-a-minority-within-a-minority

[7] http://pewresearch.org/assets/pdf/muslim-americans.pdf

 

Muslim Scientists are the founders of Current Science and Technology

Islamic Inventions [Part Four]

Islamic Inventions [Part Three]

Islamic Inventions [Part Two]

Islamic Inventions [Part One]

Islam, a Profound Civilization

The Islam that was revealed to Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, is the continuation and culmination of all the preceding revealed religions, and hence it is for all times and all peoples.  This status of Islam is sustained by glaring facts.  Firstly, there is no other revealed book extant in the same form and content as it was revealed.  Secondly, no other revealed religion has any convincing claim to provide guidance in all walks of human life for all times.  But Islam addresses humanity at large and offers basic guidance regarding all human problems.  Moreover, it has withstood the test of fourteen hundred years and has all the potentialities of establishing an ideal society as it did under the leadership of the last Prophet Muhammad. It was a miracle that Prophet Muhammad could bring even his toughest enemies to the fold of Islam without adequate material resources.  Worshipers of idols, blind followers of the ways of forefathers, promoters of tribal feuds, and abusers of human dignity and blood became the most disciplined nation under the guidance of Islam and its Prophet.  Islam opened before them vistas of spiritual heights and human dignity by declaring righteousness as the sole criterion of merit and honor.  Islam shaped their social, cultural, moral and commercial life with basic laws and principles which are in conformity with human nature and hence applicable in all times as human nature does not change. It is so unfortunate that the Christian West instead of sincerely trying to understand the phenomenal success of Islam during its earlier time, considered it as a rival religion.  During the centuries of the Crusades, this trend gained much force and impetus and huge amount of literature was produced to tarnish the image of Islam.  But Islam has begun to unfold its genuineness to the modern scholars whose bold and objective observations on Islam belie all the charges leveled against it by the so-called unbiased orientalists. Here we furnish some observations on Islam by acknowledged non-Muslim scholars of modern time.  Truth needs no advocates to plead on its behalf, but the prolonged malicious propaganda against Islam has created great confusion even in the minds of free and objective thinkers. We hope that the following observations would contribute to initiating an objective evaluation of Islam. Canon Taylor, Paper read before the Church Congress at Walverhamton, Oct. 7, 1887, Quoted by Arnond in The Preaching of Islam, pp. 71-72: “It (Islam) replaced monkishness by manliness.  It gives hope to the slave, brotherhood to mankind, and recognition of the fundamental facts of human nature.” Sarojini Naidu, Lectures on “The Ideals of Islam”, see Speeches and Writings of Sarojini Naidu, Madras, 1918, p. 167: “Sense of justice is one of the most wonderful ideals of Islam, because as I read in the Qur’an I find those dynamic principles of life, not mystic but practical ethics for the daily conduct of life suited to the whole world.” De Lacy O’Leary, Islam at the Crossroads, London, 1923, p.8: “History makes it clear however, that the legend of fanatical Muslims sweeping through the world and forcing Islam at the point of the sword upon conquered races is one of the most fantastically absurd myths that historians have ever repeated.” H.A.R. Gibb, Whither Islam, London, 1932, p. 379: “But Islam has a still further service to render to the cause of humanity.  It stands after all nearer to the real East than Europe does, and it possesses a magnificent tradition of inter-racial understanding and cooperation.  No other society has such a record of success in uniting in an equality of status, of opportunity, and of endeavors so many and so various races of mankind...  Islam has still the power to reconcile apparently irreconcilable elements of race and tradition.  If ever the opposition of the great societies of East and West is to be replaced by cooperation, the mediation of Islam is an indispensable condition.  In its hands lies very largely the solution of the problem with which Europe is faced in its relation with East.  If they unite, the hope of a peaceful issue is immeasurably enhanced.  But if Europe, by rejecting the cooperation of Islam, throws it into the arms of its rivals, the issue can only be disastrous for both.” G.B. Shaw, The Genuine Islam, Vol. 1, No. 81936: “I have always held the religion of Muhammad in high estimation because of its wonderful vitality.  It is the only religion which appears to me to possess that assimilating capacity to the changing phase of existence which can make itself appeal to every age.  I have studied him – the wonderful man and in my opinion far from being an anti-Christ, he must be called the Savior of Humanity.  I believe that if a man like him were to assume the dictatorship of the modern world, he would succeed in solving its problems in a way that would bring it the much needed peace and happiness: I have prophesied about the faith of Muhammad that it would be acceptable to the Europe of tomorrow as it is beginning to be acceptable to the Europe of today.” A.J. Toynbee, Civilization on Trial, New York, 1948, p. 205: “The extinction of race consciousness as between Muslims is one of the outstanding achievements of Islam and in the contemporary world.  There is, as it happens, a crying need for the propagation of this Islamic virtue.” A.M.L. Stoddard, quoted in Islam – The Religion of All Prophets, Begum Bawani Waqf, Karachi, Pakistan, p. 56: “The rise of Islam is perhaps the most amazing event in human history.  Springing from a land and a people alike previously negligible, Islam spread within a century over half the earth, shattering great empires, overthrowing long established religions, remolding the souls of races, and building up a whole new world – world of Islam. “The closer we examine this development the more extraordinary does it appear.  The other great religions won their way slowly, by painful struggle and finally triumphed with the aid of powerful monarchs converted to the new faith.  Christianity had its Constantine, Buddhism its Asoka, and Zoroastrianism its Cyrus, each lending to his chosen cult the mighty force of secular authority.  Not so Islam.  Arising in a desert land sparsely inhabited by a nomad race previously undistinguished in human annals, Islam sallied forth on its great adventure with the slenderest human backing and against the heaviest material odds.  Yet Islam triumphed with seemingly miraculous ease, and a couple of generations saw the Fiery Crescent borne victorious from the Pyrenees to the Himalayas and from the desert of Central Asia to the deserts of Central Africa.” Edward Montet, “La Propaganda Chretienne it Adversaries Musulmans”, Paris, 1890, quoted by T.W. Arnold in The Preaching of Islam, London, 1913, pp. 413-414: “Islam is a religion that is essentially rationalistic in the widest sense of this term considered etymologically and historically.  The definition of rationalism as a system that bases religious belief on principles furnished by the reason applies to it exactly... It cannot be denied that many doctrines and systems of theology and also many superstitions, from the worship of saints to the use of rosaries and amulets, have become grafted on the main trunk of Muslim creed.  But in spite of the rich development, in every sense of the term, of the teachings of the prophet, the Quran has invariably kept its place as the fundamental starting point, and the dogma of unity of God has always been proclaimed therein with a grandeur, a majesty, an invariable purity and with a note of sure conviction, which it is hard to find surpassed outside the pale of Islam.  This fidelity to the fundamental dogma of the religion, the elemental simplicity of the formula in which it is enunciated, the proof that it gains from the fervid conviction of the missionaries who propagate it, are so many causes to explain the success of Mohammedan missionary efforts.  A creed so precise, so stripped of all theological complexities and consequently so accessible to the ordinary understanding might be expected to possess and does indeed possess a marvelous power of winning its way into the consciences of men.” W. Montgomery Watt, Islam and Christianity Today, London, 1983, p.IX: “I am not a Muslim in the usual sense, though I hope I am a “Muslim” as “one surrendered to God”, but I believe that embedded in the Quran and other expressions of the Islamic vision are vast stores of divine truth from which I and other occidentals have still much to learn, and ‘Islam is certainly a strong contender for the supplying of the basic framework of the one religion of the future.’” Paul Varo Martinson (editor), ISLAM, An Introduction for Christians, Augsburg, Minneapolis, 1994, p. 205: “Islam is an authentic faith that shapes our Muslim neighbors’ innermost being and determines their attitude in life.  And the Islamic faith is generally more tradition oriented than the recent Western shape of Christian faith, which has experienced considerable secularization.  Yet we are only fair to the Islamic population when we understand them from their religious core and respect them as a faith community.  Muslims have become important partners in faith conversation.” John Alden Williams (editor), ISLAM, George Braziller, New York, 1962, inside dust cover: “Islam is much more than a formal religion: it is an integral way of life.  In many ways it is a more determining factor in the experience of its followers than any other world religion.  The Muslim (“One who submits”) lives face to face with God at all times and will introduce no separation between his life and his religion, his politics and his faith.  With its strong emphasis on the brotherhood of men cooperating to fulfill the will of God, Islam has become one of the most influential religions in the world today.” John L. Esposito, ISLAM, The Straight Path, Oxford University Press, New York, 1988, pp. 3-4: “Islam stands in a long line of Semitic, prophetic religious traditions that share an uncompromising monotheism, and belief in God’s revelation, His prophets, ethical responsibility and accountability, and the Day of Judgement.  Indeed, Muslims, like Christians and Jews, are the Children of Abraham, since all trace their communities back to him.  Islam’s historic religious and political relationship to Christendom and Judaism has remained strong throughout history.  This interaction has been the source of mutual benefit and borrowing as well as misunderstanding and conflict.”