Women and Islam Essay -- Islamic Females Islam Essays

Women in Islam Religious institution has a profound impact on any and every society. Social norms, mores, and expectations are generally defined by our belief systems, even if we ourselves dont practice a religion. Government too is always based on common proportionateness upon what is right and wrong, and who is to rule. A society can experience violent opposition and revolutions because of radical religious groups. Theres no doubt about it. In any society, small or large, primitive or modern, religious institution plays a leading role. Islam is no exception. This paper will explore three tiny aspects of Islamic society. The low gear is Democracy. Just how incompatible is an Islamic society with democracy? Secondly, how are women treated by Islamic society? Are they treated as equal to men, and why? Lastly, is Islam conducive to human rights? Is this reflected by Islamic governments? All of these questions and more will be considered in the following. Its definitely not the firs t time its been asked. Can Democracy really function in an Islamic society? Some say yes, some say no. save the answer doesnt seem to be quite so black and white. The Muslim countries in the world today are all different, and all concord or feed had different relationships with democracy. In order to better understand the answer to this question, we must look at some of the factors that influence the relationship amidst Islam and Democracy. According to Daniel E. Price, there are seven major categories of influences on the relationship between Islam and Democracy. These are historical influences, regime strength, regime strategy for dealing with policy-making Islam, Islamic political groups, modernization/economics/demographics, politicized sectarian, ethnic, linguistic, or class cleavages, and minority religious groups.In history, there kick in been several notable aspects of society that have influence on Muslim countries. Colonialism has obviously induced a sort of backfiri ng from Radical Islam, and it is for this reason that most Muslim Countries that have had a history of Colonialism have a stronger presence of Radical Islam. These countries include Algeria, Syria, and Egypt. There is a stronger lingering hostility toward ideas attributed to the West (liberalism and democracy) and Westernized classes because of their association with the former colonial overlords. (Price, ... ...rn ideology. There is nothing in the Quran or Sharia that very directly confirms that these three aspects of Islamic society are exactly as we in the West perceive. The problem is that the way that Muslims attend their scriptures is contrary and even offensive to the West and its common ideologies. Lastly, the criticism and influence from the West toward Islamic culture, in addition to historical colonialization, only intensifies their rejection of the West and its criticism, and actually seems to make the problems concerning Democracy, women, and human rights even worse. BibliographyEsposito, John L.1980 Islam and Development Religioni and Sociopolitical ChangeSyracuse University Press Syracuse.Macionis, John J.1992 Society The BasicsLehigh Press, Inc. New Jersey.Price, Daniel E.1999 Islamic Political Culture, Democracy, and benevolent Rights A Comparative StudyPraeger Publishers Connecticut.Spellberg, D.A.1994 Politics, Gender, and the Islamic Past The Legacy of Aisha Bint Abi BakrColumbia University Press New York.Turner, Bryan S. 1974 Weber and IslamWestern Printing Services Ltd long Britain.