[quote author=“dougsmith”]Yes, well, in general religions are highly conservative institutions ... not a surprise since they exist solely by the “conservation” of irrational, millennia-old texts.

A lot of it is exercised simply as raw power ... and who are the powerless? In many cultures, the women.

It’s quite awful really.

In Islam woman very powerful. We the examples have Khadijah who was the financial supporter of Islam in it’s establishments. Then we have Aisha who led wars. We have Rabbia who is a saint in Islam. We have Mary the mother of our Prophet Jesus who is the most honered among the women etc.

You’re going to be in so much trouble if our wmen here this. They will come over here and proove you so wrong.

http://www.myislamweb.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9368

[quote author=“EverLastingGodStopper”]Masturbation is forbidden in Islam?  Wow!  That sure explains a lot.  No wonder they’re so hostile and frustrated.

Islam is not a religion of hostility or frustration. It is a religion of peace and tolerance.

[quote author=“Salah ad-din”]In Islam woman very powerful. We the examples have Khadijah who was the financial supporter of Islam in it’s establishments. Then we have Aisha who led wars. We have Rabbia who is a saint in Islam. We have Mary the mother of our Prophet Jesus who is the most honered among the women etc.

Well, Salah, it’s one thing for women to play a nice role in the stories, and it’s another thing for them to have power in the society. To take one example, Mary has always been an extremely important figure in Catholic Christianity, and yet women have been discriminated against for hundreds of years in Europe. This is something that only changed within the last century or two.

So what you say may be true, but it is a non sequitur. That is, it is irrelevant.

I have plenty more to say, but will let others answer for themselves.

[quote author=“dougsmith”][quote author=“Salah ad-din”]In Islam woman very powerful. We the examples have Khadijah who was the financial supporter of Islam in it’s establishments. Then we have Aisha who led wars. We have Rabbia who is a saint in Islam. We have Mary the mother of our Prophet Jesus who is the most honered among the women etc.

Well, Salah, it’s one thing for women to play a nice role in the stories, and it’s another thing for them to have power in the society. To take one example, Mary has always been an extremely important figure in Catholic Christianity, and yet women have been discriminated against for hundreds of years in Europe. This is something that only changed within the last century or two.

So what you say may be true, but it is a non sequitur. That is, it is irrelevant.

I have plenty more to say, but will let others answer for themselves.

I didn’t give you stories. I gave you history. History that is blind to people who fail to see truth.

Out of the Islamic world it has changed in the last century. In America woman gain their rights in 1920. Muhammad came in the 7th century and gave women rights.

Mary is not just an important figure in Islam, she the MOST important woman in Islam.

When Islam ruled Europe, women were treated Islamically which means they were treated well.

I can’t see how it is irrelevant as you have said and the others haven’t answered yet. It’s been a week so far. So please say what you have to say.

Salah, I have opinions, but I will readily admit that I am no expert on Islam. So I will have to leave it to others who know better the religion than I to decide what they want to say.

Re. women, clearly the problem here is that there is not one thing “Islam”, there are many “Islams”, that is, many way the religion is practiced in different parts of the world. Just as there are very liberal, open Christians and very conservative Christians. Liberal Christians may be open to women’s rights, may, indeed, be in the forefront of giving women rights, while conservative Christians are largely against changing a woman’s role in the family and allowing her to work for herself (for instance).

When discussing Islam, I think a lot of us have in mind the more conservative or extreme forms of it, such as we see in Saudi Arabia where women are not allowed to drive, and must cover themselves completely, or the Taliban where women were not allowed to go to school. This is not women’s liberation, but women’s debasement.

I am sure there are also more liberal forms of Islamic practice, where women have more rights, as I have heard is the case in Turkey and other parts of the Middle East, for example.

So it is well for us to discuss the nuances.

Saudi Arabians are extremists. They are called Wahabis. It’s very not intellegent for one to look at the practionaires and not know the text and judge.

http://www.myislamweb.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9851