bestcurrentnews 2024 Ramadan Prayer

Sharia: A Violation of Women’s Human Rights

On March 8, 2024, International Women’s Day, a group of Muslim and non-Muslim people from many nations lodged a formal complaint before the UN Human Rights Council on the violation of women’s human rights caused by Sharia (Islamic) law. This group includes victims of Sharia, human rights defenders, journalists, activists, and other concerned professionals from around the world. 

The complaint names the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), “the collective voice of the Muslim world,” as the violators. The OIC has 57 member nations, 56 of which are also members of the UN. 

This complaint addresses three different areas: violence against women, Sharia, and aspects of Islamic culture, which include practices such as unequal educational opportunities, female genital mutilation, and head coverings for women. According to the press release of the complaint, 71% of the Quran and 91% of the Hadith give women a lower status than men. In addition, the press release highlights Sharia-linked violence:

“Sharia-linked violence is inflicted upon women in the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and Asia, and includes the recent extreme sexual violence committed against Israeli women in October 2023 by Hamas, proven by the UN. 

The complaint continues regarding the violation of women with the infliction of sexual slavery on Yazidi women by the Islamic State (IS); the killing of Iranian women for not wearing the hijab; the trafficking, kidnapping, and forced conversion of Coptic Christian girls in Egypt; and abduction of girls and women in Nigeria by Boko Haram. It also includes the mass attacks on women in Germany in 2015; the rape of girls in the UK by the so-called ‘grooming gangs’; the forced conversion, kidnapping, and murder of Hindu girls in India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, to name a few.”

PRAYER

It is encouraging to see that an awareness of Sharia-linked violence against women has been presented at the UN Human Rights Council. Our concern is that some of the 47 nations that presently sit on this Council may allow this violence against women. 

  • Ask God to open the eyes of those nations who allow this violence and bring His conviction, causing them to change their mindset against women. 
  • Pray for an outpouring of healing, hope, comfort, and courage for all the women who have experienced this Sharia-linked violence, asking for visions and dreams of Jesus to appear in their midst, bringing them to salvation in Christ.
bestcurrentnews 2024 Ramadan Prayer

A Global Look at FGM

In observance of International Women’s Day on March 8, 2024, UNICEF released a report entitled Female Genital Mutilation: A Global Concern. The report provides new global statistics on the practice. Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) refers to the practice of partially or totally removing the external female genitalia for non-medical reasons.

Compared to data from 2016, there is a 15% increase in the number of girls and women who have undergone the procedure. This means the total number of girls and women worldwide affected by FGM is now over 230 million, 30 million more than in 2016.

The majority of FGM victims are in Africa, with over 144 million cases, followed by over 80 million in Asia and over 6 million in the Middle East. The type of FGM varies, but most girls experience cutting with the removal of flesh. The most severe form of FGM is a procedure in which the genital area is sown closed. Each year, over half a million girls experience this extreme form of FGM, primarily in the nations of Sudan and Somalia. 

In most nations, the procedure is frequently performed without anesthesia by people without medical training; however, Sudan and Egypt are the exceptions. In those nations, medical workers (doctors, nurses, and midwives) perform the majority of procedures. 

Although FGM predates Islam and is practiced by people from different religious backgrounds, some Islamic scholars support and encourage FGM. Many Muslims believe that the failure to perform the procedure on their daughters will bring shame to the family. 

PRAYER

Many of us live in nations where this would never be practiced and recognize it as a   violent and invasive practice in a young girl’s life, causing permanent damage and ruining any future intimate enjoyment in marriage. The cultures have a spiritual stronghold where this is approved and practiced. Based upon II Corinthians 10:4-5, God has declared that “our weapons in God are mighty for the pulling down of strongholds, casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought (of those who are blinded) into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” Take a moment to pray for the perpetrators, using the authority Christ has given us! Your prayers will make a difference in the lives of these young girls and women.

bestcurrentnews 2024 Ramadan Prayer

The Women in Gaza and Hamas

Hamas won a majority in elections in 2006 and took control of the Gaza Strip. Elections have not been held in almost 18 years, and during this time, the status of women in Gaza has steadily eroded. 

The 1988 Hamas charter states, “The Moslem woman has a role no less important than that of the Moslem man in the battle of liberation. She is the maker of men…Woman in the home of the fighting family, whether she is a mother or a sister, plays the most important role in looking after the family, rearing the children and embuing them with moral values and thoughts derived from Islam. She has to teach them to perform the religious duties in preparation for the role of fighting awaiting them.”

Women make up approximately 50% of the population in Gaza, but under Hamas rule, their influence and fundamental rights are often denied. Since Hamas’ rise to power, the unemployment rate for women has risen by 27%, with only 22% of women in the labor force. 

Beginning in 2013, Hamas instituted gender segregation in schools and began to enforce a “code of modesty” in public places mandating that women wear a hijab. The code also included a prohibition on women using a male hairdresser, smoking in public, and even submitting complaints of incest. 

No law in Gaza prohibits violence against women, and those who submit an official complaint may find themselves the subject of public shame and abuse. 51% of married women in Gaza admitted to being victims of some form of violence from their husbands. 16.7% of 12-17-year-old girls reported suffering physical or psychological violence from teachers or classmates. Child marriage is common, with 29% of women married before the age of 18 and 13.4% before the age of 15.

PRAYER POINT

Consider the present life of a Muslim woman in Gaza. Not only is she living amid war around her, but she does not have the liberties in her home or her community that Western women enjoy. She is expected to raise her sons to be a jihad warrior and teach them to hate the Jewish people. Her life is stressful and fearful, and she is without peace in her heart. As we realize how our God loves her, pray He will draw her to Himself, and reveal the tenderness of Jesus to bring her to salvation.

bestcurrentnews 2014 Ramadan Prayer

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).

bestcurrentnews Ramadan Prayer

Ramadan 2013 – Day 8 – Dualism

2013 Ramadan PrayerIslam is dualistic in nature, meaning Muslims believe in ideas that westerners would perceive as opposites. For instance, the passages written in the early days of Islam in Mecca, (the peaceful passages) are contradicted by the later passages written after Muhammad migrated to Medina when they became political and warlike. The Medina passages take precedent over the Mecca ones, but they are not negated because the Qur’an is considered the verbatim words of Allah. A Muslim can believe “you have your religion and I have mine,” but at the same time also believe you must submit to Islam or I can wage jihad against you.”

This dual nature of Islam is carried over in many aspects of Islamic teachings. As an example, we look at Islam’s treatment of women.  In discussing (Day 7) the epidemic of rape perpetrated by immigrant Muslim men in western nations, it was stated that immigrant Muslim males have been raised since birth to think of women as inferior. However Muslims repeatedly tell westerners that the issue of women in Islam is misunderstood and distorted, and that women are equal in Islam.

One passage that is quoted in an attempt to show equality is Sura 4:124. It does indicate the “whoso doeth good works, whether of male or female, and he (or she) is a believer, such will enter paradise.” However Sura 4:34 says, “Men are in charge of women, because Allah hath made the one of them to excel the other, and because they spend of their property (for the support of women). So good women are the obedient, guarding in secret that which Allah hath guarded. As for those from whom ye fear rebellion, admonish them and banish them to beds apart, and scourge them. Then if they obey you, seek not a way against them. Lo! Allah is ever High, Exalted, Great.”

The Hadith states, “The Prophet said, ‘Isn’t the witness of a woman equal to half that of a man?’ The women said, ‘Yes.’ He said, ‘This is because of the deficiency of a woman’s mind.’”

If a woman does good works such as obeying her husband she is capable (like a man) of going to paradise.

Although this is only a small example, it is possible to go through the Qur’an, the Hadith and the Sira and examine the passages regarding women. In order to understand the truth about women or anything in Islam, westerners must rely on all the texts (Qur’an, Sira and the Hadith) of Islam rather than the words of media experts or even Muslims themselves in order to draw their own conclusions. With modern translations and the ability to study the history of Islam, it is possible for westerners to know the true nature of Islam.

Prayer Points:

The Qur’an is written in classical Arabic. With today’s technology and scholarship there are multiple translations of all three of Islam’s texts available for study. Pray that Muslims themselves will begin to study the texts of Islam to see its true nature.

The vast majority (4 out of 5) of Muslims are not Arabs, and relatively few of the non-Arab Muslims understand Arabic. Yet, for practicing Muslims, Arabic is a language they use on a daily basis in their prayers. The Bible is available in Arabic and also their native language on the Internet.  Ask God to draw them to the Word of God (the Bible) in their own language that they may learn about Jesus Christ, who is the Way, the Truth and the Life – and receive salvation.