My thoughts on Muslim men and Feminism

[Rational Agnostic]

This post may be unpopular with some of you, and I'm okay with that. This is a discussion forum and I have a right to my freedom of speech (right?). In any case, I am generally on the political left, but I hold views regarding Islam, particularly Islamic men, that run contrary to the views of many others on the left. I will tell you straight up, I am not a fan of most Muslim men. The reason: Nearly all of them are misogynists. And much worse misogynists than the average American white guy that feminists like to complain about. Muslim men, if they truly subscribe to the doctrines of Islam, believe that women are inferior to men, and that husbands should have the right to beat their wives (even if they personally choose not to abuse their wives). Why? Because the Qur'an says that this behavior is permissible. The Islamic religion, more than any other religion, promotes misogyny, yet it is the first religion that feminists will defend, and the same feminists who refer to white men as trash will eagerly defend Muslim men, who are by far the most misogynistic demographic in the world. I want to emphasize, this is *not* a racial issue. I have no problems with people of the Arab race, or any race for that matter. I do have major problems with men who hold a belief system that tells them abusing women is OK, even if they are not abusers themselves. What should be done? I don't have any profound solutions, but I think that instead of defending Muslim men, feminists should at least point out their abuse, as well as how the Islamic religion oppresses women.

 

[Jumi]

Muslim men, if they truly subscribe to the doctrines of Islam, believe that women are inferior to men, and that husbands should have the right to beat their wives (even if they personally choose not to abuse their wives). Why? Because the Qur'an says that this behavior is permissible.

How do you know that they are the real doctrines of Islam? Last I checked, even books people consider holy had interpretations and schools of thought. Islam is not different in this.

 

[Trackdayguy]

This post may be unpopular with some of you, and I'm okay with that. This is a discussion forum and I have a right to my freedom of speech (right?). In any case, I am generally on the political left, but I hold views regarding Islam, particularly Islamic men, that run contrary to the views of many others on the left. I will tell you straight up, I am not a fan of most Muslim men. The reason: Nearly all of them are misogynists. And much worse misogynists than the average American white guy that feminists like to complain about. Muslim men, if they truly subscribe to the doctrines of Islam, believe that women are inferior to men, and that husbands should have the right to beat their wives (even if they personally choose not to abuse their wives). Why? Because the Qur'an says that this behavior is permissible. The Islamic religion, more than any other religion, promotes misogyny, yet it is the first religion that feminists will defend, and the same feminists who refer to white men as trash will eagerly defend Muslim men, who are by far the most misogynistic demographic in the world. I want to emphasize, this is *not* a racial issue. I have no problems with people of the Arab race, or any race for that matter. I do have major problems with men who hold a belief system that tells them abusing women is OK, even if they are not abusers themselves. What should be done? I don't have any profound solutions, but I think that instead of defending Muslim men, feminists should at least point out their abuse, as well as how the Islamic religion oppresses women.

YES. I agree, and your right we do have freedom of speech, however some of the moderators of this site are fearful of folks getting offended. Lets hope they dont either edit or remove this post. Nothing like speaking the truth.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

You sure do love strawmanning feminists. Also, you do realize there's over a billion Muslims, right? Apparently you think they're all rigid Wahhabis. Obviously they're not.

 

[metis]

I will tell you straight up, I am not a fan of most Muslim men. The reason: Nearly all of them are misogynists.

And how could you possible know that?

Also, many people in many religions are not literalists, plus many people chose to ignore some teachings. For example, the NT says that married women need to keep their hair covered in public and must be silent in church. However, ...

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

I will tell you straight up, I am not a fan of most Muslim men. The reason: Nearly all of them are misogynists.

And I'm not a fan of transparently bigoted statements.

 

[Trackdayguy]

And I'm not a fan of transparently bigoted statements.

Is he wrong ?

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

Is he wrong ?

Duh.

 

[Mock Turtle]

It's the Muslim females I'm worried about - don't they want the equality that most in the West are fighting for?

 

[Jayhawker Soule]

It's the Muslim females I'm worried about - don't they want the equality that most in the West are fighting for?

How many Muslims do you know?

 

[Mock Turtle]

How many Muslims do you know?

Probably only one for any length of time, but not a friend - besides the point though - do Muslim females in general have as many rights as most non-Muslim females in the West? Those living where some of the more fundamentalist versions of Islam rule certainly don't.

 

[Revoltingest]

YES. I agree, and your right we do have freedom of speech, however some of the moderators of this site are fearful of folks getting offended. Lets hope they dont either edit or remove this post. Nothing like speaking the truth.

I strongly advise against criticizing moderation.
This risks getting rapped knuckles, poofed posts, & locked threads.

 

[Nakosis]

This post may be unpopular with some of you, and I'm okay with that. This is a discussion forum and I have a right to my freedom of speech (right?). In any case, I am generally on the political left, but I hold views regarding Islam, particularly Islamic men, that run contrary to the views of many others on the left. I will tell you straight up, I am not a fan of most Muslim men. The reason: Nearly all of them are misogynists. And much worse misogynists than the average American white guy that feminists like to complain about. Muslim men, if they truly subscribe to the doctrines of Islam, believe that women are inferior to men, and that husbands should have the right to beat their wives (even if they personally choose not to abuse their wives). Why? Because the Qur'an says that this behavior is permissible. The Islamic religion, more than any other religion, promotes misogyny, yet it is the first religion that feminists will defend, and the same feminists who refer to white men as trash will eagerly defend Muslim men, who are by far the most misogynistic demographic in the world. I want to emphasize, this is *not* a racial issue. I have no problems with people of the Arab race, or any race for that matter. I do have major problems with men who hold a belief system that tells them abusing women is OK, even if they are not abusers themselves. What should be done? I don't have any profound solutions, but I think that instead of defending Muslim men, feminists should at least point out their abuse, as well as how the Islamic religion oppresses women.

How many Muslim men do you actually know? Me, one I can think of. He seemed nice enough. Did he mistreat his wife? I have no idea. In fact, most the men folks could be mistreating their wives. I wouldn't really know.

There are men who mistreat their wives. It's reported on. We hear about it after the fact. A few dozen times a year maybe? Not saying any of it should be tolerated, just that we shouldn't be judging the masses by the little information we personally have.

A man says he is a Christian, does that mean you know anything about them? Not really. It's just a religious affiliation. I don't know how you think you know any more about an individual because they are a Muslim. They could be good, bad, the greatest humanitarian the world has ever know.

I just don't understand this assumption of knowledge we don't really have based on what little information we actually do.

 

[Sakeenah]

Actually Islam’s acknowledgment of women’s equity in the societal, familial, and spiritual spheres was unprecedented at its time. Here's a research paper by an American Islamic research centre on gender
equity and the advent of Islam.
( you need to download the pdf)
https://yaqeeninstitute.org/en/mary...-for-women-gender-equity-the-advent-of-islam/

 

[Sakeenah]

It's the Muslim females I'm worried about - don't they want the equality that most in the West are fighting for?

You should be worried about all women globally. Gender inequality has very little do with being Muslim.
Gender inequality is a global problem not just a Muslim problem.
Only four out of over 135 nations have achieved gender equality including Costa Rica, Cuba, Sweden, and Norway.

 

[oldbadger]

I strongly advise against criticizing moderation.
This risks getting rapped knuckles, poofed posts, & locked threads.

What on earth is a 'poofed post'?

 

[Revoltingest]

What on earth is a 'poofed post'?

To "poof" something is to delete it.
(I notice that the term isn't commonly used on RF. How backward.)

 

[Mock Turtle]

You should be worried about all women globally. Gender inequality has very little do with being Muslim.
Gender inequality is a global problem not just a Muslim problem.
Only four out of over 135 nations have achieved gender equality including Costa Rica, Cuba, Sweden, and Norway.

I'm not claiming any have achieved equality, but having some things enshrined in a religious belief will hardly make it easier - as Saudi Arabia is finding out, and possibly Iran. This from your cited article:

Of course, it is not enough to point out the positive changes Islam instigated for women in the 7th century, and ignore the all-too-many negative circumstances Muslim women find themselves facing in the present day.

Perhaps that was not aimed at the religious doctrines but elsewhere, but most Western nations as far as I can see place fewer obstacles in the path of females gaining equality than many Islamic countries or those having a predominantly Muslim population.

 

[David1967]

You sure do love strawmanning feminists. Also, you do realize there's over a billion Muslims, right? Apparently you think they're all rigid Wahhabis. Obviously they're not.

Agree. The OP needs to be streamlined a bit.

 

[David1967]

Actually Islam’s acknowledgment of women’s equity in the societal, familial, and spiritual spheres was unprecedented at its time. Here's a research paper by an American Islamic research centre on gender
equity and the advent of Islam.
( you need to download the pdf)
https://yaqeeninstitute.org/en/mary...-for-women-gender-equity-the-advent-of-islam/

Hello Sakeenah. Gender inequality is by no means unique to certain branches of Islam. Within my own religion (Christianity) there are certain sects that treat women like second class citizens.