Changes

====Women in Islam====

====Women in Islam====

[[File:Muslim girls at Istiqlal Mosque Jakarta Indonesia.jpg|left|thumb|240px|Muslim girls at Istiqlal [[Mosque]], Jakarta.]]

[[File:Muslim girls at Istiqlal Mosque Jakarta Indonesia.jpg|left|thumb|240px|Muslim girls at Istiqlal [[Mosque]], Jakarta.]]

In pre-Islamic times women's rights were defined by tribal laws which differed amongst the tribes. Some women had absolute equity and the ability to hold power, while some women were treated worse than chattel; bride prices, unlimited polygamy, and female infanticide were a common theme. Islamic law standardised the situation on the Arabian peninsula, at a level slightly above the lowest,granting women limited rights an distinct legal individuals, a restricted right to divorce, and required her not to directly object to a marriage contract in order for it to have validity. It also limited polygamy to a maximum of four wives at any one time, though the use of "temporary" marriage in effect rendered this restriction meaningless.  That was over a thousand years ago and there has been little progress since.  The reality of traditional Sharia law as applied in the modern era has shocked the modern conscience. <ref>Linda Rae Bennett, ''Women, Islam and Modernity'' (2005)</ref>.  

In pre-Islamic times women's rights were defined by tribal laws which differed amongst the tribes. Some women had absolute equity and the ability to hold power, while some women were treated worse than chattel; bride prices, unlimited polygamy, and female infanticide were a common theme. [[Sharia law|Islamic law]] offered a path for which Muslim men could regulate women in a legal system based on Muslim principles of jurisprudence on the Arabian peninsula. Treated merely as individual sex objects, women were granted very limited rights but as distinct legal individuals; forced to marry who their parents tell them to, women are required not to directly object in order for the marriage contract to have some form of validity.  

Women are treated as inferiors to men in almost every regard. For example, women are required to cover the head and body in public, by wearing the hijab.  Hijab is applied in different ways: a small scarf around the head and western street clothes may be acceptable in Cairo or Damascus but a full length opaque [[Burqa]] was enforced in Taliban Afghanistan. The treatment of women may depend upon rural or urban settings, educational level, society norms, tradition, or other factors. As of 2008, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Pakistan are the most significant Middle Eastern countries where the government requires women to wear some form of restrictive garb, though cultural pressure in most Islamic countries lives women little choice but to submit to the dictat of hijab. [[Honor killing]] is winked at.

Unlike the pre-Islamic times where unlimited polygamy occurred, [[Sharia law]] limits [[polygamy]] to a maximum of four wives at any one time, though the use of "temporary" marriage in effect rendered this restriction meaningless. Once married, only men are entitled to divorce any time they please. The reality of traditional Sharia law as applied in the modern era has shocked the modern conscience.<ref>Linda Rae Bennett, ''Women, Islam and Modernity'' (2005)</ref> These restrictions on women were put into place over a thousand years ago, and there has been little progress since.  Women are still not allowed to drive a [[car]], they cannot ride [[bicycle]]s, are unable to [[vote]], have been prohibited from traveling abroad without permission, and they can't use public facilities when men are present.  

Islamic dress is a regular grounds for conflict in multicultural education.

Women in Islam are treated as inferiors to men in almost every regard. In [[Sharia]], the testimony of one man equals that of five women. Women are required to cover the head and body in public, by wearing the hijab.  Hijab is applied in different ways: a small scarf around the head and western street clothes may be acceptable in Cairo or Damascus but a full length opaque [[Burqa]] was enforced in Taliban Afghanistan. As of 2008, [[Saudi Arabia]], [[Iran]], and [[Pakistan]] are the most significant Middle Eastern countries where the government requires women to wear some form of restrictive garb, though cultural pressure in most Islamic countries offers women little choice but to submit to the dictat of hijab. Women who disgrace their family are put to death in "[[honor killing]]s"; buried halfway or sometimes up to their neck so they cannot run, women, who are in most cases victims, are stoned to death.  

Treatment of women varies widely by country. In the Islamic state of Saudi Arabia women are forbidden from driving a car, traveling in public without their husband or a male family member as an escort, leaving their home without wearing Islamic dress, working or voting. Though not formally forbidden from owning property, they have no way of obtaining this as work is forbidden and only males are permitted to inherit - should a man die, his brothers, sons and father will all inherit before his wife. These restrictions are part of the criminal law of the country, and enforced by the police and a special Islamic office. Pakistan has similar restrictions, but to a lesser extent. In contrast, Turkey has a majority Muslim population yet still grants women rights near-equal to those of men including property ownership, employment, and education to university level.

=====Islamic dress is a regular grounds for conflict in multicultural education=====

Muslim apologists suggest the extremely repressive policies of countries such as Saudi Arabia and Pakistan are cultural rather than religious, though these are the countries were traditional Islam is strongest. They point to the more moderate Islam practiced in Turkey as a demonstration that Islam and womens' rights are compatible, ignoring the efforts of traditionalists in Turkey  to end the freedoms women enjoy.  

Treatment of women varies widely by country. In the Islamic state of Saudi Arabia women are forbidden from driving a car, traveling in public without their husband or a male family member as an escort, leaving their home without wearing Islamic dress, working or voting. Though not formally forbidden from owning property, they have no way of obtaining this as work is forbidden and only males are permitted to inherit - should a man die, his brothers, sons and father will all inherit before his wife. These restrictions are part of Sharia law and enforced by the police and a special Islamic office. Pakistan has similar restrictions, but to a lesser extent. In contrast, [[Turkey]] has a majority Muslim population and yet grants women some rights similar to those of men including property ownership, employment, and education to university level.  

Muslim women's status is controversial. Whilst Muslim men control and oppress Muslim women by compelling them to remain hidden behind the veil, sequestered in the home, and ignorant of the world by denying them access to education and worldly opportunities, Islamic apologists defend some practices suggest that many of them, such as the veil, are cultural traditions that pre-date Islam and are intended to protect women from predatory men.

 

Muslim women's status is controversial. Whilst Muslim men control and oppress Muslim women by compelling them to remain hidden behind the veil, sequestered in the home, and ignorant of the world by denying them access to education and worldly opportunities, Islamic apologists defend some practices. These men claim that many of the restrictions on women, such as the veil, are cultural traditions that pre-date Islam and are intended to protect women from predatory men. Unfortunately, such Muslim men ignore the fact that if a predatory man or group of rapists were to sexually assault a Muslim woman in Islam, she would be punished under Sharia law for "allowing" such an act to occur, and she would likely receive hundreds of lashes and years of jail time; the predatory man or men commonly go unpunished.

====Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem====

====Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem====