Explain how Muslim teachings affect the Muslim attitudes towards the role of women

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Explain how Muslim teachings affect Muslim attitudes to the role and status of women

The Qur’an teaches that women and men have the same right to life and are equal in God’s eyes. Qur’an 16:97 stated this very clearly: ‘whoever performs good deeds, whether male or female, and is a believer, we shall surely make them lead a good life, and we will certainly reward them for the best of what they did.’ Muhammad, in particular, has put great emphasis upon the importance of women, especially mothers, as shown in the following quotation from Qur’an’ A typical example is when Muhammad was asked about whom to care for, Muhammad answered ‘your mother’ three times before saying ‘your father’.

The way the Qur’an is expressed and interpreted in a culture that affects the status of women in society more greatly than the Qur’an itself. Muslim teachings certainly encourage that women should be treated equally to men, but the historical, social and cultural influences could sometimes override the original message from the Qur’an.  For example, Qur’an 4:12 states that: ’You shall inherit the half of your wives’ estate if they die childless. Your wives shall inherit one quarter of your estate if you die childless.’ Some Muslims in the Western world might believe that men have no more right to inheritance than women, and therefore might secretly disagree with it.  If a Muslim was brought up under a different culture, the Qur’an might not be able to convince them beyond doubt that it was right. For example, women are still believed to be inferior to men in some Muslim communities even though the Islam teachings certainly strongly discourage discrimination against women, as shown from the Hadith: ‘The rights of women are sacred; ensure that women are maintained in the rights assigned to them.’ This inequality between men and women are the results of legacy from old traditions, not Islamic teachings.

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Although Muslim teachings insist upon the equality between men and women, it does not state that they should be identical in every way. It recognizes the different roles which men and women played in society. The Qur’an states that ‘men are protectors and maintainers of women because Allah has given the one more strength than the other’, and "a woman is the guardian of the family of her husband and of his children.’ According to Muslim teachings, women are discouraged from going to the mosque, as shown in the quotation from the Qur’an: ‘’A woman is closest to God’s face, if ...

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