Many cultural studies state that the Qur'an provides for the mercy killing of women who have been failed to have been adequately protected and have, as a result thereof, been raped. In fact, Muslim countries have a disproportionate amount of honor killings; yet, this should be understood as a cultural phenomenon as the scripture and the practice of the Qur'an do not dictate or specifically set forth the proposition that women should die as a result of being assaulted (Quraishi,, 2000).
Conclusion and Commentary:
Importance of Cultural Relativism and Understanding the Sociological Differences Between Women of the United States and Women of Islam
After September 11th and the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City by Osaama Bin Laden and his progeny, a cultural relativist approach which bases itself in understanding the Islamic worldview became under attack and, as a society, we have created less understanding, increased prejudice, and more unfair stereotyping and racial profiling of both Middle Eastern women as well as men.
If we understood that the veil was designed as a part of a religious tradition to promote a focus on the protection of women, then perhaps America would see a commonality. In fact, the United States has a long tradition of fathers and brothers seeking to protect his daughter or his sister from violence and abuse. However, instead of seeing the commonalities, the humanity, and the differences between the cultures as merely indicative of cultural and sociological differences, many individuals now just see difference and feel hostility solely because of distance. This is evidenced by a horrendous rise in crimes against women merely because they are wearing a traditional hijab and the negative attitudes that these people contain regarding the perceived threat of allowing anyone from the Middle East into the country. In fact, the Gap has fired many female employees for failure to take their baseball caps off and, moreover women are stopped on freeways because of the hijab, and some Americans have been spit on, denied service, and/or had their scarves literally pulled off of their heads while in public.
(Ashraf, 1998). In short, due to the recent turmoil in the news regarding the failure of Christians to treat Islamic women with respect, it is even more critical than ever for this story to be told as the first step in eradicating more hostility between the two cultures.
References
Ahmed,...
(1994). Living Islam: from Samarkand to Stornoway. New York: Facts on File.
Ashraf, S. (1998). Shattering Illusions: Western conceptions of Muslim women. Stanford Boothe Prize for Excellence in Writing. Retrieved from Questia.com.
Brandt, R. (2009, September 11). 10 Differences Between Christianity and Islam | Relijournal. Retrieved May 7, 2010, from http://relijournal.com/religion/10-differences-between-christianity-and-islam/
CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Sociology of the Church. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04060a.htm
Craik, E.M. (1984) Marriage and property, Aberdeen.
Danish Mother Sues New York State for 20 Million Dollars, the Copenhagen Post Online, May 21, 1998. Retrieved March 2005 from http://www.cphpost.dk/get/55274.html.
Flanagan, C. (2007). Role of the Christian Woman (W. Cox, Ed.). Christian Churches of God. Retrieved from Www.ccg.org.
Flynn, M. (1981). The European Demographic System, 1500-1820. Johns Hopkins, 1981, p. 121-127.
Haddad, Y. And Esposito, J.. Islam, Gender, and Social Change, Published 1998. Oxford University Press, United States.
Hartmann, S.M. (1982). The Home Front and Beyond: American Women in the 1940s. Boston: Twayne Publishers.
Horne, W.C. (1993) Making a heaven of hell: the problem of the companionate ideal in English marriage, poetry, 1650-1800 Athens (Georgia).
Quraishi, a. (2000). "Her Honor: An Islamic Critique of the Rape Laws of Pakistan from a Woman-Sensitive Perspective," in Windows of Faith: Muslim Women Scholar-Activists in North America, Gisela Webb (Ed.), Syracuse University Press.
Tilley, John J., "Cultural Relativism," Human Rights Quarterly 22, no. 2 (2000): 501-
Explain how families are different "between" various cultures.
Please note that throughout the world, even though a nation may have a designated national religion, there are diverse religions within nations as well as diversity within the religions themselves. Accordingly, for the purpose of this analysis, generalizations will inevitably be made in the discussion of each religion as there is not room in an eight page paper to fastidiously note elements of all of the sects.
Similar to women in the world of Christianity, there are many different types of sects with differing views of what role the woman should have in a marriage as well as within the greater society (Ashraf, 1998).
