Every culture is different. Over the course of hundreds or thousands of years, groups of people develop customs that set them apart. These customs can be completely different from another group. For example, in Eastern cultures, white is a color that symbolizes death whereas Western cultures believe the opposite. The way humans go about their lives, their manners, and even the way they raise children, comes from years of cultural development.
However, that’s only one way a culture can develop. Similar to how a long drizzle and a sudden downpour can produce the same amount of rain, cultures can develop over the years or they can be rooted in a series of beliefs that were all decided around the same time. Greek, Roman, and Norse mythologies all developed over hundreds of years, whereas a majority of the New Testament was written within an eighty-year period.
A large aspect of culture is religion. Contrary to popular belief, everyone is religious; it’s just a matter of who or what is being worshiped. Modern Americans worship things like money and fame. Other cultures may worship family or status. The religions that most people think of, such as Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, worship a god.
The three religions mentioned above, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, are similar in a multitude of ways; in fact a Venn diagram may be helpful as you’re reading. All three worship a single God, and Judaism and Christianity worship the same one. All three acknowledge that Jesus lived, though Jews believe He was a liar and Muslims believe that He was a prophet.
However, no matter how similar these religions may seem, Islam stands out in its treatment of women.
Throughout the Bible, God commands women to be treated with respect as in 1 Peter 3:7 “Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered” and “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” from Ephesians 5:25.
Similarly, Judaism holds women in high regard as the creators of the future generation. Some customs performed in Jewish ceremonies are only done by women, such as the lighting of candles.
Islam teaches “The best among you is he who is best towards his wife”. However, looking around the world, it isn’t easy to see the treatment of women as described in that quote.
Horror stories of abuse and torture often flood the news, terrifying people. It’s understandable. Reading these stories can make a person sick as they wonder how a human being can be so cruel. To make matters worse, many of these abusers justify their actions under their religion.
How can a religion claiming to be peaceful produce such awful people?
First, it’s important to remember that the media portrays things that will catch the reader’s attention. Horror stories do that well. “Although some people, like me, wouldn’t mind a newspaper full of happy stories, in reality happy stories don’t sell. Therefore a person should not judge an entire group based on a single group of radicalists.
It’s even more imperative that Christians remember that they live in a broken world. People will say one thing and do the complete opposite; look at the US politicians! It’s sad when there is hurt and injustice in the world caused by Satan to purposely lead God’s children astray. It should break Christians’ hearts to see the pain around them. And then, just like a little child to their parents, we should run to our Heavenly Father for reassurance. He will hold us and remind us of where we will be someday. He’ll remind us that He has a plan. He’ll remind us that prayer is our strongest weapon against the Enemy.
So pick up your sword. We have a dragon to slay.
http://www.muslimmarriageadvice.com/womens-treatment-in-islam/
https://www.reviewofreligions.org/14054/the-essence-of-islam-the-treatment-of-women-in-islam-2/
https://www.islamreligion.com/articles/3344/does-islam-oppress-women/
Photo Credit:
https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/abused-beautiful-arabic-middle-eastern-woman-wearing-hijab-gm1088256462-291946778