Tradition vs. Faith
In his Ted Talk titled Faith Versus Tradition in Islam Mustafa Akyol, argues that some of the most toxic traits of Islam as a faith come from the culture of those practicing the faith rather than the faith itself. The talk lasts a little over 17 minutes in which Akyol goes into great depths why tradition is to blame for divisive Islamic practices such as seclusion of women. Akyol's arguments say that these troubling Islamic aspects should not be blamed on the faith, but on the cultures around from which Muslims adopted them.
Akyol says that traditions such as female genital mutilation are not part of the religious practices rather than the culture of the people who practice Islam. He argues that even non-Muslims who leave around these areas also practice these horrible practices. Honor killings which are highly condemned are also part of the culture and not part of the religion. The troubling practices of stoning non-believers and alcoholics were added after a later interpretation of the Quran (Akyol, 2011).
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Fundamentalism and Extremism
In her Op-Ed piece, Ayaan Hirsi Ali argues that there are currently three types of people practicing the Islam faith. There are the Medina's who practice fundamental Islam. The Mecca's who practice Islam, but not in its fundamental practice. The last group is the modern modifiers who recognize that religion should be separate from political influence and are trying to rebuild modern Islam faith. The first group or the Medinas are the people responsible for the extreme problematic practices such as women seclusion. She argues that modern extremists such as Osama Bin Laden held the belief of separating women to prevent them from being corrupted by western morals. She takes note that when the extremist group the Taliban took over in Afghanistan, it banned the education of women.
Ali cites specific cases in which fundamental Muslims were responsible for extreme practices. A good example is when Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Sheikh, who is Saud Arabia's grand mufti allowed girls between 10 and 12 years to be married. Pakistan Council of Islamic Ideology approved men to punish their wives by beating them "lightly." Ali also cites countries under Islamic sharia law where women require men's permission to travel. In these countries, women are not believed in the court of law and generally treated as lesser beings. She argues that fundamental Muslims are responsible for Jihad and the need to impose their religious beliefs on non-believers. (Ali, 2017)
A report filed by the library of congress agrees with Ali's view that the more fundamental an Islam society, the more inequality exists in that society. Islam, at its fundamental nature, is a patriarchal, religious, and political system. This means that the more fundamental a Muslim majority country is, the more inequality exists. In Afghanistan, the literacy gap between men and women is high. This is because of the extreme years in which the Taliban occupied Afghanistan. Secular countries that practice the Mecca faith, such as Turkey show that the inequality gap is equal to that in Western countries. (Offenhauer, 2005)
Conclusion
The patriarchal system enforced by fundamental Muslims that power structures ultimately rests with the male religious leaders. They instill harsh penalties in the name of religion to ensure that they are in power and are sturdy. This is evidenced by Islam countries with visible secular leaders who enforce fundamental Islam faith in the population. This view comes from Islamic states such as Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Iran around the world whose political structure is derived from the fundamental Islamic faith. This epistemology is good for this course. My views on this issue have been strengthened by the reading I've done on this assignment.
References
Akyol, M. (2011, March). Faith versus tradition in Islam . Retrieved from TedX: https://www.ted.com/talks/mustafa_akyol_faith_versus_tradition_in_islam?language=en
Ali, A. H. (2017, April 19). Ayaan Hirsi Ali on What the Future Holds for Muslim Women. National Review . Retrieved from https://www.nationalreview.com/2017/04/ayaan-hirsi-ali-islam-treatment-women-predicting-evolution/
Offenhauer, P. (2005). WOMEN IN ISLAMIC SOCIETIES: A SELECTED REVIEW OF SOCIAL SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE . Library of Congress.
