Women, The West, and Sharia Law

2014 Ramadan Prayer Day 22The Law Society represents solicitors in England and Wales. In the United Kingdom, a solicitor is a lawyer who generally advises clients and prepares legal documents. The Society has written a guide on Sharia inheritance laws for use in the British legal system, and also conducted a seminar in June called, “Developing Services for Muslim Clients – An Introduction to Islamic Rules For Small Firms.”

The seminar covered inheritance laws, Islamic finance, marriage, divorce, and child custody issues. Sharia or Islamic law discriminates against women in several of these areas. For instance, when adjudicating a case dealing with inheritance laws, under sharia law male heirs receive twice the amount inherited by a female heir (Qur’an 4:11). Non-Muslims are not allowed to inherit anything from a Muslim and only Muslim marriages are recognized. Children born outside of an Islamic marriage cannot inherit anything.

The Sharia law position regarding child custody says that the children go to the mother until the age of 7, but thereafter they are returned to the father. The best interest of the child, which is the usual consideration in Western courts, is not taken into account.

Polygamy is allowed within sharia law with men marrying up to four women, however women cannot marry more than one man (Qur’an 4:3). Under sharia law a wife has no right to divorce her husband without his permission, although a man may divorce his wife for any reason. The Qur’an also states that if a husband divorces his wife, he cannot remarry her until after she has married another husband and he has divorced her (Qur’an 2:230).Discrimination Shoe

As one participant in the seminar noted, “By promoting these services for Muslims in England and Wales, they are offering the prospect for Muslims to live according to a different set of rules than other people.” There are now at least 85 sharia courts in the United Kingdom operating from mosques. They are used to settle financial and family disputes according to Islamic law.

The Australian reported in 2011, that sharia law had become a shadow legal system within the nation by endorsing polygamous and underage marriages that are outlawed by Australian law.

Several states in the U.S. have passed laws against the use of sharia law in American courts. Critics have argued that sharia is not considered in cases in the U.S., however an assessment of state appellate court cases have shown that sharia has been considered in many cases across the United States, and in at least 15 trial court cases and 12 appellate cases, judges made decisions based on sharia law even when the decisions conflicted the U.S. law.

Prayer Points:

The multiculturalist movement in the West has convinced many politicians and lawmakers that sharia law is simply religious law that Muslims observe. Pray that lawmakers will awaken to the fact that sharia law is in conflict with Western laws that consider men and women equal.

Jihad Watch reported about a talk show on Egyptian television where an Islamic cleric compared the teachings of Islam to the teachings of Christianity in regards to women. He said, “the Christian religion does not differentiate between women and men, but it confirms their perfect equality: it gives them an equal share in inheritance, it bans divorce, and it bans polygamy. ….Now, if my son hears such things while he’s in school, he’ll come home and say to me, ‘Father, why do you have many wives? You are unjust – unlike Christianity which is full of justice!’” Pray that Muslim sons and daughters will hear the teachings of Christianity and realize that sharia law is unjust.

Many Westerners believe Christians and Muslims worship the same God. Some even have a fascination of Islam and are drawn toward it. Ask God to reveal the stark differences between Christianity and Islam, disclose the bondage of living under sharia law and draw them to a relationship and fellowship with the living Christ.

Women Are Deficient in Religion

2014 Ramadan Prayer Day 10Galatians 3:28, says, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male or female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” This is one of many verses in the Bible that teach the equality of men and women within Christianity.

The view of women in Islam however is much different. In the both the Qur’an and hadith, women are viewed as being less than a man. In fact, Muhammad declared that the majority of the inhabitants of Hell are women (Sahih Bukhari 1:6:301). The Qur’an states that it takes two women to equal the witness of one man (Qur’an 2:182), and the hadith references this Qur’anic verse to “prove” women are deficient in intelligence.

In religion, women are also considered inferior. When Muhammad was asked why, the hadith states, “He said, ’Isn’t it true that a woman can neither pray nor fast during her menses?’ The women replied in the affirmative. He said, “‘this is the deficiency in her religion.’”

Islam is a works-based religion, and teaches that at the Day of Reckoning, the mizan or scaleScales will weigh everyone’s good deeds and sins. “We shall set up scales of justice for the day of Judgment, so that not a soul will be dealt with unjustly in the least” (Qur’an 21:47).

If you good deeds outweigh the bad, you will enter paradise, however if the sins outweigh your good deeds you will go to hell. “Then those whose scales are heavy, they are the successful. But those whose balance is light, will be those who have lost their souls, in Hell will they abide” (Qur’an 23:103).

So the reason that the majority of inhabitants in Hell are women is because women are unable to pray or fast if they are having their menstrual period. In fact many Muslims do not allow a woman having her period to enter the mosque or touch the Qur’an during this time. In essence the Qur’an teaches that many women will end up in hell simply because they were born female.

A Muslim lives their entire lives without knowing if they have been good enough to attain enough good deeds to enter Paradise.

Prayer Points:

Thank and praise God that because of His grace and the finished work of the cross of Jesus Christ, we do not have to fear if we have been good enough to make it to heaven. We are grateful we are saved by grace through faith, not by our works!

Pray that Muslims will begin to question the teachings of their religion and ponder why their God (Allah) would create women – only to have most of them end up in Hell.

Pray that they will begin to awaken to the fact that the God of the Christians is a merciful, loving God who is not willing that ANY should perish – but rather come to the knowledge of the truth through Jesus Christ.

Ask the Lord to open their understanding to the value and worth that they have in God’s sight and receive His revelation that He has a plan for them to give women a good future and a life of hope (Jer. 29:11).