Fresh from their takeover of Afghanistan, the Taliban said women will be given rights under Islamic Shariah. This is a good thing because Shariah isn’t the barbaric, scary and oppressive law people are scared of. Millions of Muslims live their lives by Shariah, which literally means “the path to life-giving water”. The religious values which govern a Muslim’s day to day affairs is Shariah. At a state level, the main principles the Qur’an prescribes are of justice and humanity.
In practice Shariah for ordinary Muslims means no alcohol or pork (just like Jews), no lying, cheating or bribing, no wanton killing or injustice. Islamic Shariah actually advocates the same principles set out in the ten commandments. The reason the west is worried is because they think Islam inherently denies women their rights; it doesn’t. The only problem is that the Taliban are either lying or have a warped concept of Islam like Isis and other militant groups. So what they’ll actually implement is anyone’s guess. In the meantime here’s what it'd look like if they followed true Islamic values. Islamic Shariah is based upon the Holy Qur’an and the sayings and practices of Prophet Muhammad. What most people tend to do is conflate Muslim extremism with Islamic Shariah. What they should do is judge Muslims by the principles written in the Holy Qur’an, not judge Islam by the actions of fringe radicals. If the Taliban knew their faith, they'd realise women covering up for the purposes of modesty and dignity is a commandment not enforceable by the state. The only way for women to adopt the hijab is by personal choice, otherwise you create a whole generation of hypocrites and hollow religious belief. This is why implementation of Islamic values is by advice, not force, otherwise you make people resent the religion. The Holy Qur’an addresses Prophet Muhammad saying: 'You are only one who exhorts, you are not a enforcer... you have no authority to compel anyone to practice their faith.' So when the Prophet of Islam would not forcefully implement Islam, who gave the Taliban or other extremists the authority? A country’s penal code is another matter but even here, Islam encourages forgiveness and reformation over retribution and punishment, justice being the overriding principle. That’s conveniently forgotten by the radicals. But religious code is never allowed to be implemented by force. “There is no compulsion in religion,” the Qur’an states. Instead, Muslims are meant to show the value of a religious lifestyle by personal example, education and advice. “Mother Mary covered up, and she is honoured in the Holy Qur’an,” is a stronger argument than “cover up or we will beat you”. Every Muslim woman desires to emulate her. But before we get that far, people always forget that it is men who are told to put their hijab on first. Hijab isn’t just a physical garment but an innocent and pure lifestyle. Men are told to keep their glances down, not gaze at the opposite sex, and respect women. The Taliban should be reminded to fulfil that part of the commandment too. The wife of Prophet Muhammad, Aisha was an Islamic scholar in her own right. The Prophet told his followers to learn half of the faith from her. If Taliban leaders did so, they’d have a good perception of what Islamic values really are. They’d also do well to remember that the person credited with founding the first university in the world was a Muslim woman - Fatima al-Fihri. Muslim women have a long history of scholarship. It’s not without reason the Prophet told his followers that “seeking knowledge is compulsory for every Muslim man and woman”. And the Holy Qur’an makes no distinction between the spiritual rewards of either gender: “But whoso does good works, whether male or female, and is a believer, such shall enter Heaven.” (4:124). Also let’s not forget the Prophet’s first wife Khadija was a wealthy businesswomen who supported her husband. Other rights Islamic Shariah affords women (some which the West belatedly gave):
Privileges women enjoy over men in Islam:
The problem of course with the west trying to be the saviours of Afghani women is they don't treat their own women too well either. The Taliban may have a history of repression, but in the West women are subtly oppressed and abused. The only difference is the west has found new ways to oppress women like denying equal pay and creating entire media industries objectifying them. Not to mention the havoc created and families displaced by Western wars in recent years. This is why it's no good preaching to the Taliban when they can turn around and level similar accusations at us. You have to speak their language. Do implement Islamic Shariah, by all means. Not your own version of it, but the one which the Prophet practiced by affording women rights we only gave women here a century or so ago. The Taliban do seem to have turned a new leaf by offering a general amnesty and pledging to give women all rights under Islam. They’d do well to honour that as outlined above. There is a caveat to all this. The Taliban is not an Islamic organisation and never has been. They are not scholars of the faith nor inspired by service to God. They're more political than religious and more nationalistic than spiritual. They are a militant creation of the US which was designed to counter Russian influence in the area. A radical alien form of Islam was used as a tool to motivate and provoke them into violent action. Now they're sounding moderate to the world, but can an old dog learn new tricks? We're all hoping it can.
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AuthorAtif Rashid writes about faith, extremism & mental health. Categories
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August 2021
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