BYU NewsNet - Prayer Meeting Emphasizes Respect for Women

At the Sept. 14 Muslim Student Association prayer meeting, Ahmad Salah from Cairo, Egypt, pursuing a Ph.D. in civil engineering, gave a short lecture entitled "The Dilemma of Muslim Men and the Treatment of Women."

Salah addressed the fact that there is a problem in society that often objectifies women in derogatory ways. He explained that to overcome these problems, "Muslim men need to focus on what Islam would have us do."

Salah said that men who demean women are literally contradicting what the Quran says.

"Islam states that men are responsible to care for women," he said.

In fact, according to Islamic principles, education of women should be held with the highest priority.

"Women cannot contribute to a society if they are not educated, because mothers are the first ones responsible for educating the future generations," he said.

Salah referred to ancient Islamic history, citing the Queen of Sheba as one who embraced Islam and still continued to rule her country. Salah taught that throughout history, women have played an influential role in public and cultural affairs and their opinions should be held with as much regard as men's.

"The concept of 'submissive obedience' is wrong," Salah said. "Women have equality of choice as much as men do."

Salah explained that men are responsible to treat their women well and any problems should be wholly blamed on men.

"[Subjugation of women] is not an Islam woman's problem - it is a man's problem," Salah said.

Myths About Islam

Myth 1: All Muslims are terrorists. FALSE

"Terrorists completely contradict everything Islam teaches," said Ahmad Salah, from Cairo, Egypt, pursuing a Ph.D. in civil engineering. "Islam is the religion of peace."

Myth 2: Women are second-class citizens, who must be completely covered and subjected to the confines of the home. FALSE

"I hate when the media tries to portray women as victims," Ahmad Salah said. "Women are as much involved in society as men."

"We are not second class citizens, or victims of torture," said Shereen Salah, a 29-year-old majoring in second language acquisition and Arabic Club secretary. Ahmad added that any victimization or undue treatment of women is a cultural wrong, and not what the Quran teaches. The purpose of wearing the hijab (Arabic word for 'veil') is to externally show one's inward commitment to modesty. As Salah pointed out, however, wearing the hijab is not an Islamic commandment. "No one can force a woman to wear the hijab," Ahmad said. "It is a choice made individually."

Myth 3: Muslim culture is a mirror image of Islam, the religion. FALSE

"Seeing something culturally based, and thinking it is religiously based, is false," Ahmad said.

The different regions in the world have different cultural influences on how Muslims compose themselves. For instance, there may be an added cultural pressure in Arab-dense regions for women to wear the hijab, compared to areas within the Christian-dominated U.S., Salah said.