The Problems Experienced by Muslim Women under the Influence of Western Culture

Introduction

Western culture has gradually entered the lives and homes of Muslims, threatening their inner fortifications through media, social networks, virtual worlds, educational curricula, and political, cultural, and artistic symbols that have come to regard the West as their point of reference and destination.

Women have received the largest share of this assault, for they are the backbone of the family, the building block of society, and central to shaping the future of nations. Western culture has consequently left undeniable effects on the lives of many Muslim women.

First: The Effects of the Western Assault on Muslim Women

1. Disturbing the principal concepts that Islam was keen to establish in Muslim society concerning the woman’s role, her partnership with man in stewardship, bearing the trust, and cultivating the earth.
2. Embedding in women the conviction that their rights have been denied and that they must wage a struggle for liberation from religion, customs, and traditions.
3. Contributing to the distortion of men’s qawamah and responsibility toward women, which in its true meaning aims to honor them, uphold their dignity, and spare them the hardships of life.
4. Being influenced by feminist thought that urges women to assert power over men and dispense with men and the family.
5. Being drawn to international charters and laws that prevent a father from exercising his responsibilities in raising his children and nurturing them well.
6. Following international charters that grant a woman the right to complain against her husband, rebel against him, and free herself from her marital duties.
7. Becoming preoccupied with adornment and fashion, and being stripped of her dress and modesty.

Second: The Causes of These Problems

1. The absence of a sound understanding of Islam as a religion that orders all aspects of life.
2. Depriving women of a proper understanding of their mission-bearing role in life.
3. The lack of Islamic social environments that strengthen identity and belonging to Islam amid Islamophobia.
4. The absence, in some societies and families, of a conscious role for men as fathers, brothers, and husbands.
5. The lack, in many homes, of affection, mercy, emotional warmth, and love for women.
6. Presenting distorted models that are far removed from the teachings of Islam, the religion of natural disposition.
7. Giving precedence, in dealing with women, to customs and traditions that have no connection to Islamic teachings.
8. Uncritical openness to social media through the virtual world.

Western Testimonies to the Failure of Western Policies

Gorbachev says in his book Perestroika:

“Women no longer have time to carry out their daily duties at home, raise children, and create a wholesome family atmosphere. We have discovered that many of our problems in the behavior of children and youth, in our morale and culture, and in production are partly due to the deterioration of family relations and a lax attitude toward family responsibilities.”

Former U.S. Secretary of State James Baker says:

“Social permissiveness has produced irresponsible generations for us, generations that have turned to crime. In America, three crimes occur every five minutes. Crime today costs us more than 80 billion dollars annually, but the human price paid in death and the destruction of human life is far greater.”

Keys to the Solution

First: Understanding the Status of Women in Islam

Allah, exalted is He, has given women immense care, and history has known neither a religion nor a legal tradition that honors women as Islam does. Allah says:

﴿يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّاسُ ٱتَّقُواْ رَبَّكُمُ ٱلَّذِي خَلَقَكُم مِّن نَّفۡسٖ وَٰحِدَةٖ وَخَلَقَ مِنۡهَا زَوۡجَهَا وَبَثَّ مِنۡهُمَا رِجَالٗا كَثِيرٗا وَنِسَآءٗۚ﴾ [النساء: 1]

O mankind, fear your Lord, who created you from one soul, created from it its mate, and dispersed from both of them many men and women. [An-Nisa’: 1]

In Islam, the woman is man’s partner in bearing the responsibilities of life. Allah has charged her, alongside man, with rising to the task of stewardship on earth and raising children in a sound and balanced manner. Islam honored her as a mother, sister, daughter, and wife, and preserved her rights in inheritance, marriage, honorable companionship, and financial maintenance.

Second: Following the Guidance of the Prophet ﷺ in Dealing with Women

The Messenger of Allah ﷺ dealt with women in a way that represented a new vision unfamiliar to the Arabs. He forbade mistreating them, commanded that they be treated with kindness and mercy, and said during the Farewell Pilgrimage:

«استوصوا بالنساء خيراً، فإنهن عندكم عوانٍ، وإنكم إنما أخذتموهن بأمانة الله واستحللتم فروجهن بكلمة الله.» [رواه الترمذي]

Treat women well, for they are entrusted to you; you have taken them as a trust from Allah, and intimacy with them has been made lawful to you by the word of Allah. [Narrated by al-Tirmidhi]

وكان ﷺ قريباً من زوجاته يُؤنسهن ويراعي مشاعرهن ويُدخل السرور على قلوبهن. وقال: «خيركم خيركم لأهله، وأنا خيركم لأهلي.» [رواه الترمذي]

He ﷺ was close to his wives, kept them company, cared for their feelings, and brought joy to their hearts. He said: “The best of you are the best to their families, and I am the best of you to my family.” [Narrated by al-Tirmidhi]

Qawamah, as Islam intends it, is a qawamah of mercy, dutiful kindness, goodness, affection, and love, not one of domination, oppression, and anger.

Conclusion

The French social psychologist Gustave Le Bon says in his book The Civilization of the Arabs: “The merit of Islam was not limited to raising the status of women; rather, it was the first religion to do so.”

Glory be to your Lord, the Lord of might, above what they describe. Peace be upon the messengers. And praise belongs to Allah, Lord of the worlds.