Secularism is a contemporary phenomenon, both ancient and modern, and it is one of the challenges facing Arab and Islamic societies. Secularism has vigorously sought to control the thoughts and beliefs of peoples, obscuring the cultural and religious identity of societies, especially Islamic societies, in order to distance them from divine laws and impose upon them a secular, civil identity far removed from heavenly laws.
The focus has been, and continues to be, on women due to their fundamental and influential role in shaping generations and influencing their thoughts and beliefs. The establishment of malicious feminist associations, carrying within them a culture of religious warfare and defiance of the Muslim woman's identity, seeks to grant women their rights through agreements and international laws, such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Meanwhile, Islam has taken great care of women, granting them their full rights and making them protected jewels, punishing anyone who attempts to harm or oppress them and resolving their issues in the Quran and the Sunnah, which will remain timeless.
However, what Western media machinery and, of course, secular propaganda in Muslim countries promote as liberation for Western women is undoubtedly false advertising. Western women have gained nothing but their enslavement, entering the workforce during the industrial revolution, and as an attempt to align with Western thought, they demanded new concepts and reinterpreted religious texts, focusing on the hijab, polygamy, and working outside the home through secular schools and scientific missions, turning intellectual invasion into colonization. What suffering does a woman endure from a religious discourse dominated by political control and extremist currents? Despite the multitude of questions and the need for further research on the relationship between religion and liberation, especially women's liberation, and the challenges faced by Muslim women, we had a meeting with various segments of society to gather their opinions on this matter.
Our meeting with Sister Hind, who holds a Masters in Sharia Law, provided insight. She answered our question by saying, "The biggest challenge facing Muslim women today is the convening of international conferences that focus on women's issues, such as the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), issued in 1979. In this case, the role of the media should be strong in exposing the goals of these agreements and their aim to corrupt Muslim societies, spread pornography and debauchery. The spotlight should be on family fatwas and personal status issues. Efforts should be united to establish educational channels specialized in educating Muslim women remotely in various Islamic sciences, as is happening now at Al-Baqa'a University through the Sharia Secondary School and the Faculty of Sharia."
Hussam, a bookstore owner, believed that what women need is Islamic media support for events that highlight the positive image of Muslim women. He also advocated for hosting dialogue programs that address issues facing Muslim women, emphasizing both the correct and opposing views of Islamic legitimacy and working to respond with the correct arguments, presented by scholars and experts in Sharia, education, and social sciences, as well as other advocates and thinkers who carry the banner of Islamic invitation, in order to understand the opposing party's perspective and argue against it.
"Their goal is to reach a world turned upside down, where family, chastity, modesty, manhood, and womanhood fall. This is how Saad, a laboratory director, began her conversation. They have succeeded in a way that the mind in the West couldn't believe and are dragging our countries into this fire using the pretext of rights. They talk about harassment but don't talk about its causes because the truth is, they don't care about ending harassment; what matters to them is achieving systems that give girls the right to present themselves without religious inhibition or modesty, without fear of any exposure under the worst circumstances. While preventing harassment of girls means preventing any form of exposure to them entirely."
Lama, a sociology major, pointed out that misinterpretation leads to wrongful practices. The discourse defining the ideal woman contributes to influencing women in reality. It is necessary to reform judgments to be in line with our era and our reality. She emphasized the importance of understanding the purpose, pointing out the necessity of reading the Quran with an emphasis on justice, a principle that must be insisted upon regarding women's issues. Justice is giving everyone what they deserve, and that is why it is never mentioned in the Quran that Allah orders equality, but rather "Indeed, Allah orders justice" (Surah An-Nahl: 90). Therefore, Islam did not equate women and men in matters that, if equated, would have been unjust to one of them.
Ilham, a teacher, believes that exaggerating individual wrong cases and talking about them abundantly, portraying them as if they were a social epidemic occurring in every household, serves only to establish a comprehensive system that aligns with feminist thought. An example of this is the marriage of minors to elderly individuals, which is portrayed as if it happens in every household, aiming to promote illegitimate relationships among young people. Conversely, they do not talk about spinsterhood or seek a solution to the problem of young people delaying marriage, because the truth is that the problem lies with youth and marriage, not with remaining unmarried or finding alternatives to spinsterhood other than marriage.
In a similar context, Mahmoud, a lawyer, believes that the optimal way to combat male tyranny against women is to draw men towards their families and their societal duties, rather than taking women out of their context and putting them in a competitive position with men. This would lead to the disintegration of the family and impact the dismantling of the role assigned to this nation.
When asked about guardianship, Ghada, a third-year Sharia student, said that guardianship means adhering to religious matters in accordance with Sharia, and adhering to justice and fairness. It is an obligatory responsibility on the man in his family to provide for the material and spiritual needs, ensuring satisfaction, and providing protection, which is a sign of justice in both levels. So, the man's guardianship over women means his responsibility for her affairs and the affairs of his family and justice in them, unlike if it were expressed as authority or the like.
It is worth mentioning that women in Islamic law have been given a high status, and Islamic law has distinguished between men and women, giving them what is due to them and obliging them with what they are obliged to do. Among these rights is the right to education and learning, as evidenced by the fact that the Prophet allocated a day to teach women matters of their religion and educate them about it. Women also enjoyed good treatment and kindness, as evidenced by the fact that the Prophet's last advice in his farewell pilgrimage was about women. It is also worth noting that women have the right to choose a righteous spouse, and they have the right to participate in political and social life, as evidenced by the Prophet's saying, "Each of you is a guardian and is responsible for his ward. The ruler is a guardian and is responsible for his subjects, the man is a guardian and is responsible for his family, the woman is a guardian and is responsible for her husband's house and his offspring, and the servant is a guardian and is responsible for his master's property." Based on this hadith, it can be said that one of the goals of Islam is to build a complete society in which both men and women play important and integrated roles, each according to their personality, gender, ability, and competence.
We hope that in the next article, we will address doubts about discrimination between men and women, such as inheritance, polygamy, divorce, dowry, and other differences.
On this occasion, I would like to highlight the book "Secularism and its Relationship to the Globalization of Women" by Dr. Iman Antar, which came after a study conducted on a segment of society. One of the results reached is that women resemble men in some matters and differ from them in others. Most of the provisions of Islamic law apply to both men and women equally. The differentiation between the sexes is viewed by Muslims as a mercy from Allah and His knowledge of His creation, while non-believers see it as injustice. The Muslim remains reassured by faith, surrendering to the command of Allah. Among the recommendations that emphasized the importance of the role of the Muslim family in equipping women with religious knowledge from a young age to confront the evil of this globalization and strengthen adherence to the Islamic creed, and to warn women and society of the danger of globalization by allocating programs specifically for women and families to introduce them to the rights of women granted to them by Islam, which are among the greatest rights among laws and religions. Finally, the importance of preparing cadres to educate women about the danger of this globalization by preparing lectures and training courses to acquaint them with the goals of this Satanic globalization, which seeks to corrupt Muslim women, dismantle families, and disintegrate them. In conclusion, we thank everyone who has contributed their opinion in this article, which we hope will benefit those who read it.
