STORY FOR ALL AGES:
The story of Muhammad as told by Kimi Riegel [1]
Muhammad was the founder of the Islamic religion.  The followers of Jesus founded Christianity.  Moses and Abraham were very important to the Jewish tradition. Buddha was the founder of the Buddhist faith.  As Unitarian Universalists we believe in learning from all the world’s traditions. I will be talking with your families about Islam today.  Some of you may have learned about Muhammad and the religion he started.  People who follow his teachings are called Muslims. Muhammad was an child without parents.  His father died before he was born and his mother when he was very young.  Muhammad was raised by his grandfather first and then his uncle.  He traveled with his uncle leading caravans on long trading journeys through the desert. When he was older he married a woman who was quite wealthy and lead caravans for her.

 Although his own family and live was very happy, several problems worried him.  Muhammad often wandered to the mountains outside his home in Mecca.  In a cave in the mountains he used to sit and think in peace and solitude: I wonder he thought how it happened that I who was a child without parents, am now such a rich man.  I have a good wife and loving children and yet I am still not entirely happy.

 Muhammad has long been troubled by the way most children without parents were treated.  He was a child without parents so he understood. He also noticed the people in his city didn’t help the poor.  They did not bother nursing the sick back to health.  People in his town seemed interested only in having a lot of money and when they had it, they wanted even more. These thoughts troubled Muhammad for many years.

 Then one day when he was 40 years old and in the cave in the mountains an angel came to him.  The angel told him what he was to do.

 Muhammad went to the city and told the people that Allah created them.  He said Allah has created all that humans need to live.  Therefore humans need to be grateful to Allah.  We should pray and be thankful to Allah and obey Him, he said. It is Allah’s will that the poor and the sick are cared for, and people should strive with all their might to do good and lead honorable lives.

 For many years the angel spoke to Muhammad in the cave and at other times.  At first Muhammad was frightened but soon with the help of his wife and his family he became brave and a great leader.  The messages that Allah gave Muhammad are written down in the scriptures of Islam called the Quran.  Today people who are Muslim follow these teachings and many other sayings of Muhammad. The five most important things a Muslim must do are; believe that Allah is the only God, pray five times a day, celebrate the month Muhammad first heard the voice of the angel, give to the poor, and make a trip if they can back to the city where Muhammad was born.

Mohammed’s teachings changed the world.  As Unitarian Universalists we can learn from Muslims. We too believe it is important to care for children and the poor and the sick.  We can work with Muslims to make the world a better place.

Reference
1. Islam for Children  Ahmad Von Deniffer p13-22
 

READINGS
1 Corinthians 11: 4 Any man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head, but any woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head – it is the same as if her head were shaven.  For if a woman will not veil herself, then she should cut off her hair; but it is disgraceful for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her wear a veil.  For a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man. (For man was not made from woman, but woman from man.  Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man.)

Leviticus 27: 1-6 The Lord said to Moses, "Say to the people of Israel, when a man makes a special vow of persons to the Lord at your valuation, then your valuation of a male form twenty years olds up to sixty years old shall be fifty shekels of sliver.  If the person is a female your valuation shall be thirty shekels. …

Sura iii 195 Never will I suffer to be lost the work of any of you, be ye male or female.  Ye are members of one another, of the same human status … I will blot out their iniquities (also translated evil deeds), and admit them into the Gardens.

Finally this Sufi story which is the Mystic tradition of the Islamic faith:

Mullah Nasrudin was sitting in a teashop when a friend came excitedly to speak with him. "I'm about to get married, Mullah. Have you ever thought of marriage yourself?" Nasrudin replied "I did think of getting married.  In my youth in fact I very much wanted to do so.  I waited to find for myself the perfect wife.  I traveled looking for her, first to Damascus.  There I met a beautiful woman who was gracious, kind and deeply spiritual, but she had no worldly knowledge.  I traveled further and went to Isphahan.  There I met a woman who was spiritual and worldly, beautiful in many ways, but we did not communicate well.  Finally I went to Cairo and there after much searching I found her.  She was spiritually deep, graceful, and beautiful in every respect, at home in the world and at home in realms beyond it.  I felt I had found the perfect wife." His friend questioned further, "Then did you not marry her, Mullah?" "Alas'" said Nasrudin as he shook his head, "She was, unfortunately, waiting for the perfect husband."

SERMON : "Women are Better off Being Muslim?"
 I often think it would be easier for Westerners to accept Islam if it weren’t for the way Islam treats women. "Let’s free the enslaved women of Islam now!" shout the feminists. When I used to think of Muslim women I imagined women who walk ten paces behind men, required to hide themselves in veils.  I carried images of polygamy and harems that perpetuate the idea that women are objects for the pleasure of men.  These images would raise in me the strong feminist urge to demand Muslim women see their slavery and stand up for themselves.  "Fight back!  Don't let your Holy Scriptures and religious traditions keep you covered."  But then... I did some reading. I watched and listened during the Gulf War.  I met some Islamic women and talked with them… It’s not as simple as it first seemed.

For my part, I want to respect another faith.  Yet one can’t ignore news reports from Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan. I can not tolerate human rights abuses, even in the name of religious freedom.  But what is actually Islamic and what is cultural?  Can the two be separated? What is our ethnocentric way of looking at another culture? How much of our impression of Muslims is inaccurately colored by the media?  What does it mean to accept another faith with integrity?

 Do you know that Islam is the fastest growing religion in the US?  In fact, four in every five converts to the faith are woman so it must have something to offer women.  I became interested in Islam many years ago.  I was a student teaching in one of the most transient neighborhoods in Chicago; in a Junior High in a class for emotionally disturbed kids.  It was tough duty.  My supervising teacher was an amazing woman named ---------.  This was not her birth name but the name she had chosen when she became a Muslim.  She was born and raised in Southern Indiana and converted to Islam in college.  She then married a Pakistani man and moved to Chicago.  We spent many lunch hours talking about Islam.  I was interested in how and why an American woman would choose to veil herself.  She talked about the freedom she felt wearing a veil.  She talked about the family and its importance. She talked about a community that cared about her.  The more I learned the less I was afraid.  From my study of Islam I have learned about the bias of our media and government. I have learned there is more than one way to view the world.

 As Unitarian Universalists we have been a religiously tolerant group since 1638.  It was at that time, over 350 years ago, that the King of Transylvania, the first Unitarian King, declared, his the Edict of Toleration, that all his people would live in harmony and tolerance with one another no matter what their faith stance. Human history is riddled with bloodshed based on religious belief.  His hope was to end the terror.  But it takes time and effort to truly tolerate the "other". And still 350 years latter, humanity struggles to understand and live peaceably with those who are different than us, especially when it comes to religion.

Islam feels like a foreign faith from a foreign land.  It is hard to grasp with the few images we are given.  Since what we understand we are more likely to accept.  What we don’t understand we are more likely to fear.  Fear breeds protection strategies that lead to separation and division leading to more fear and possibly violence.  Our Unitarian roots demand of us an attempt to understand others.  They call to us through the centuries to create a world where people are treated fairly and are allowed to practice their faith.  Islam is perhaps one of the most misunderstood religions in this country.  Muslim people wish to be included and understood.  It is up to us to make the effort.

A full portrait of any faith is difficult, especially in 15 minutes.  One has the behavior of its various adherents, its scriptures, the sayings of its famous people, and its history to consider.  Every world religion has a continuum of believers.  Every world religion has conservative and liberal strains. Every world religion has a mystical lineage as part of the tradition.  Every world religion has those who interpret the scriptures with good intent and those who use it to grab power and oppress.  Islam is no different. Simply looking at the pictures the media presents us is not enough.  We need to make some effort to look beyond our assumptions and fears to the inner workings of the Muslim world.

We receive a portrait from the Islamic world of women’s basic human rights being denied.  The most recent one, and perhaps the most vivid, is the treatment of women in Afghanistan.  Women in some parts of that country are not allowed to work or go to school.  They must wear a type of dress that covers them from head to toe, with a mesh veil covering their faces.  They must only leave the house in the company of a male relative.  The media and the leaders of the Taliban movement in Afghanistan tell us that these restriction are in keeping with the letter of Islamic law.  As with all religions what is law and what is not is up for interpretation.

Critics of Islam unfairly state that Islam is by far the most misogynist of the world religions. On the other hand apologists writing on Islam consider it the answer to all the woes of the woman of the world. As with most things there is some truth in each statement.

First let me set aside the notion that Islam is the only misogynist faith.  As you could tell from this morning’s readings, Christianity’s most valued writers demand not just a second class status for woman but an evil one.  Women are aligned with nature and evil in the Hebrew and Christian scriptures.  To find proof that women are lesser beings one could read from Exodus where woman is lumped with the other things that belong to man; his servants and livestock. Or, one could read from Genesis, which places woman under Adam, being made from his rib.  Christianity in particular has assigned women the responsibility for the original sin that caused the fall of Adam and necessitated the death of Christ.

Modern interpretations of the Christian scriptures that now seek to place women in a positive light depend on the metaphorical language of the Bible.  Or with jokes like this one we laugh at the inequality.

One day, Eve was walking in the garden with the Lord. She said,
"Lord, the garden is wonderful, and the animals and birds provide
such joy, but I am still lonely sometimes."

"No problem!" the Lord replied. "I will make you a man for a
companion. He will desire to please you and to be with you. But I
have to warn you he won't be perfect.  He'll have a difficult time
understanding your feelings, will tend to think only of himself if
allowed to, and will stay out late with his bowling buddies."

"What's bowling?" Eve asked.

"Oh... never mind. I was just getting ahead of myself, sorry."

"That's OK I think I can handle this 'man'," Eve replied.

"Great, I'll get right to it!" God said, and started grabbing some
mud and shaping it. Suddenly, the Lord stopped and said to Eve,
"Oh, there's one other thing about this man I'm making for you."

"What's that?" asked Eve.

"You'll have to tell him he was here first."

In contrast the Islamic scholars, feminists, and apologists need only turn to their scripture to find evidence for a more positive position of women.  As you can tell by the readings, in strictly scriptural comparison, women fair better in Islam than in many other major world religions.

The Quran teaches that women and men exist on an equal level. This pertains to religious as well as legal matters.  The Quran uses the words male and female side by side in many verses making men and women on equal standing before Allah.  The Quran is devoid of stories that denigrate women.  The Prophet Mohammed’s sayings and lifestyle provide many examples of his high valuing of women. In the stories of the faith women are frequently given a place of questioning authority.  Usually in these stories the women are proven to be right!  In addition women are given equal legal rights.  A wife does not require the permission of her husband to spend her money or deal with land she inherited.  Unlike Western society, where until just recently women were the property of their husbands and their property was in his control, under Islamic law the husband "has no rights or claim to the earnings of his wife, her savings, or other property." (Hussian p115).  The money that is paid to her upon marriage by the husband remains in her control. I could go on.  But I am sure you have the sense now that on this issue; women are equal to men, Islamic scripture leaves little room for alternative interpretations.

In practice, however, women are often regarded as "lacking the spiritual and mental strength of men, women are regarded as neither fit nor equipped for public life." (Wilkan p 56).  The guarantees of equality exist but are counteracted by the view that women are different than men because of different strengths and weaknesses.  Scripture, which encourages women and men to do that which is best suited to their nature, supports this different but equal status.  Women are considered to be physically, intellectually, and intuitively best equipped for motherhood.  This inequality is part of the religion, and, part of culture and tradition.

The separate but equal status for women is in part due to the belief that women are in need of protection from the men.  This is based on the assumption that men are physically stronger than women.  While this is particularly necessary in times of war, of which the time of Muhammad was one, this is in some ways less true today.  Or is it?  Women are just as subject to violence in today’s world.  The protection of women from men may require some special rules even today.  Thus, the veil and physical separation of women are a result of a desire to protect women.

The veil is considered by most of the west the greatest symbol of women’s oppression and servitude.  Islam did not invent the veil.  During many periods of history both Christian and Jewish women wore veils.  Catholic nuns have been covering their heads for hundreds of years.  Some apologists for Islam have suggested that the Quranic verses regarding the wearing of veils were intended only for the Prophet’s wives and then only to give them some privacy as people often besieged them. (Mernissi p.86)  Others suggest (Faruqi p. 9 and Muhammad p. 10) the veil is a way for Muslim women to be protected and modest.  They mention that the wearing of the veil was common custom of the time of Muhammad.  Some Muslim women have voluntarily returned to the use of the veil as they feel it is a statement of their faith.

It is true that in many Muslim countries veiling, different clothing and physical separation have been used to keep women in their place. However, close examination of Quranic statements regarding these practices gives an unclear picture.  Like many scriptural passages in other faiths the Quran has been used to maintain traditions and oppress groups.  While it can not be denied that the Quran asks women to preserve their role as mothers and it asks men and women to be modest, it does not require that women withdraw from society.

One would think that encounters with modern western feminists would bring changes to Islamic societies.  And it has to some extent.  But the strong interdependence of Muslim families runs counter to the individualistic nature of Western feminism.  Many Muslim women have no concept of themselves as separate.  The family is a unit.  This strong bond has meant survival in a hostile environment.  The Quran demands that the family come first.  The Quran and Hadith are clear that men must take care of widows, children without parents, and divorced women.   Many Muslim feminists look at these injunctions and compare it to latchkey children, lonely elders, sexual harassment, and rising teen pregnancies; all very real Western problems. They then choose to work within their system rather than adopt ours.

As Westerners, we lump all Muslims into one large group and view them as homogeneous clones of one another.  There is a large variety in Muslim women around the world just as there is in Jewish and Christian women.  For instance one probably wouldn’t classify a Mexican woman with a French woman even though they are both Roman Catholic.  (Ashraf p. 1) In the same way American Muslim women are different from Pakistani Muslim women who are different from Saudi Muslim women.  And even within a single country, like Afghanistan, women are afforded different rights and restrictions based on what political tribe is in charge of the area in which they live.  Though different all of these people are Muslims.

In its original state, Islam gave women privileges and imposed no harsh restrictions or double standards. In Saudi Arabia women must be covered from head to foot and they are not allowed to drive.  The Quran does not require this.  In Pakistan women have no control over her own property or money.  This in fact runs counter to Quranic injunctions and comes from the Hindu culture.  In many ways the United States comes the closest to providing a culture and governmental system where Islamic women can practice their faith as it was intended.  However, even here Muslim women are treated with prejudice and harassment.  They may have the right to vote, participate in public life, and move as they please, but they are harassed for wearing a headscarf.  Muslim women are spit on, fired, verbally assaulted, and denied services because they are dressed differently. (Ashraf p. 6) And in the US we certainly aren’t ready to elect a woman head of state as has happened in Pakistan.  These mixed blends of restrictions, prejudice, and privilege means that no where is Islam practiced as it was intended.

In the final analysis Islam can not be blamed for the human rights violations in Afghanistan any more then Christianity can be blamed for the southern Baptist recent statements about women becoming more submissive to men.  Both religions are used and misused by people seeking power and control.  Our role is not to buy any of it wholesale.  Nor is it our role is not to succumb to the excuse that people have a right to practice their faith.  Our role is to stand up for human dignity and human rights.  It is not our role to decide for others what they need to make their faith more suitable.  As Raffat Hassan said on Nightline the other night, "more and more (Muslim) women are now claiming the right to understand their own religious tradition, to interpret it and to work with the belief that God is just, that God gives rights not only to men but to women."  She continued, "I see a paradigm shift, a really radical shift of perception taking place at the grass roots level and also amongst many, many young people who are strong believers in Islam but they understand Islam to be human rights oriented, women's rights oriented. It's a different kind of Islam. It's a totally different understanding and this is what gives me hope."

We need to use our reason and our insight to ascertain what is propaganda and what is real.  As Unitarian Universalists we are called to affirm and protect religious freedom. We must listen to those from inside the tradition, the women, and hear what they need from us.  We must struggle to understand, we must not freely criticize, but we must not ignore what goes on for fear of offending.
 
 
 
 

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