"Why should we worry about Muslim law, it only applies to Muslims"
While glancing at India: From Midnight to the Millennium by Shashi Tharoor in the library, I came across a line that really got to me. I don't have the book in front of me, but to the best of my memory there was a brief discussion of the Shah Bano case where the Indian government (or more specifically Rajiv Ghandi) passed a law overturning an Indian Supreme Court decision that after a divorce a Muslim husband had to pay his ex-wife a certain amount of alimony; the new law exempted Muslim husbands from paying it, since according to Shari'ah, the husband only has to pay back the dowry and give her three months' maintenance. It also gave Shari'ah a much greater role in the personal law of Muslims. It is generally agreed that Rajiv Ghandi did this to appease the Islamic fundamentalists; Tharoor accepts that, saying that it was a horrible decision made to appease the fundamentalists, but then he follows it with this line: "Muslim personal law only affects Muslims," and brushes it off completely in the next couple of lines as something that only affected Muslims' personal lives and not of his concern. In other words, it doesn't affect anyone who isn't Muslim, why should I care?
This attitude is unfortunately all too common, and I'll try to explain what about it really frosts me on so many levels. It doesn't just affect India; it has implications for the whole West, and its tradition of liberal democracy and individual human rights.
I have to say that my first thought was something along the lines of "Well, the Nuremberg laws only concerned the Jews; why should anyone else have cared?" This isn't really that far off the mark; it has been said that "Muslims are the first victims of Islam," and to a large extent that is true, especially for Muslim women. The imposition of Muslim Personal Law forces the interpretation of the conservative/fundamentalist Islamic scholars (ulema) on all Muslims, no matter what they themselves may want, whether they believe in it or not. I know if I lived in India, I would be hopping mad that my rights as a Muslim woman under Indian law were being abrogated at the whim of the Islamists.
First of all, take the phrase "only applies to Muslims." All Muslims? Who defines "Muslim"? What if the said Muslims don't want to live under Islamic law? Can they opt out, or are they stuck? To take a hypothetical example, would Salman Rushdie or Taslima Nasreen, both outspoken apostates from Islam, be covered under Islamic law--especially since Shari'ah prescribes the death penalty to apostates from Islam? And what if some Muslims have a different interpretation of Islam and Islamic law than the one embodied in Muslim Personal Law? Are their views to be considered, or simply ignored as they happen to fall under the category "Muslim" and so have to live under Muslim law?
The claim that the imposition of Islamic law is an expression of "religious freedom" for Muslims is a sad joke and points out the incompatibility between "group rights" and "individual rights." If Muslims as a whole get the right to live according to Islamic law, the right to religious freedom of the individual Muslim is completely ignored. There is no provision that one can opt out of Islamic law in favor of secular law, or interpret it in a different way. No, the Muslims simply have to accept the decisions of the ulema, whether they like it or not. The Muslim, under Shari'ah, is denied religious freedom and freedom of expression: he or she cannot convert to another religion or renounce Islam on pain of death; is forbidden to utter any "blasphemous" statement (however that may be defined); may be forced to fast during Ramadan (in many Muslim countries, it is forbidden to sell food or eat or drink in public during daytime hours in Ramadan); and made to live according to Islamic personal law.
In addition, Islamic law, in this case Muslim Personal Law, denies women the same rights that other Indian women have, so the government is openly countenancing discrimination against women and misogynistic practices in the name of religion, which I should think "liberals" and "secularists" would be against, but often they have actually been in favor of. Suppose that Catholic women, because of their religion, were barred from getting divorced or having abortions. I doubt that many of the same people who insist that Muslims should be able to establish Islamic law in their countries or minority regions in the name of religious freedom would be so accepting of such a law for Catholic women. Instead, we would get an earful about how religion has no place in government, and how Catholicism cannot force its will on Catholic women, especially if that means violating their rights under secular law. I suspect that many do not know or care about what Islamic law actually entails. In inheritance, Muslim women get only half of what men do; the man can divorce his wife at any time and for any reason by saying "I divorce you" three times (though it's not supposed to be said all at once but divided over three occasions; all at once is "strongly disapproved of" in Shari'ah--but at the same time, the divorce is accepted as valid); Muslim women's right to divorce is much more limited and more difficult to exercise, as she must go to the court, have a "good reason," and pay back the dowry to the husband; the children can be permanently taken away from the mother if the father so desires, especially if he thinks she is raising them "inappropriately"; there is no provision for ongoing alimony; polygamy is allowed, even without the knowledge or permission of the wife, and so on--and all of this would be considered "personal law"! Why would "liberals" or "secularists" countenance these gross violations of women's rights, just because they happen to be Muslim? What happened to the feminist idea that the violation of the rights of women was everyone's concern?
The establishment of Islamic law for Muslim minorities can be bitterly divisive, as other groups feel that the Muslims are being given special treatment, and often Muslims respond in kind by feeling themselves discriminated against. What is lost is any sense of unity between Muslims and non-Muslims, since the two are not even covered by the same law. Allowing any group special rights and dispensation is disastrous to the entire concept of a liberal democratic state with separation of religion and state; it cuts the foundations right out from under it, since it is based fundamentally on the basic rights of the individual, not the group. The individual should not be seen as a mere member of a group but as a unique individual, a fellow citizen of the country with the same rights as anyone else. Islamic law preserves a view of the state as composed of groups, Muslims and others, in which the concept of the rights of the individual have not even been thought of and have no importance. One only has rights depending on which group one belongs to: Muslims have these rights, others have less. Non-Muslims are not even really members of the Islamic state, but exist only as "tolerated" minorities; the honor of "citizenship" (including serving in the Army and ruling the state) only goes to Muslims. Muslims see themselves first and foremost as Muslims, only incidentally as citizens or subjects of the state they happen to live in. These two views are incompatible, as India is finding out.
It must be noted that it is absolutely false that Islamic law only affects Muslims, not non-Muslims. Here are some examples:
1) Muslim women are prohibited by Islamic law from marrying non-Muslim men, while men are allowed to marry Christian and Jewish women. This can lead to some pretty ugly situations if a Muslim girl should fall in love with a non-Muslim boy. Either she has to brave the wrath and basically leave the community, or risk death, both hers and his, from his family (or the state, if Islamic law is the law of the land--death is the penalty for a non-Muslim man marrying a Muslim woman).
2) In case of divorce or death, a non-Muslim wife has no rights to the children; according to Islamic law, they must be under the charge of a Muslim and raised as Muslim. Ask any of the foreign non-Muslim women whose children have been held in Islamic countries against their will (such as Betty Mahmoody and Patricia Roush) if Islamic law did not apply to them.
3) According to Islamic law, a non-Muslim cannot inherit from a Muslim. If, for example, your father converts to Islam on his deathbed, and neither you nor the rest of the family are Muslim, you and the rest of the family will receive nothing. If, however, your father's cousin has also converted to Islam, he gets everything. There was a case in Jordan where a man claimed that his uncle had converted to Islam on his deathbed; his word was trusted, since it was, after all, the word of a Muslim, and he got the inheritance, cutting out the entire rest of the family.
4) There is the unpleasant fact that when Muslims are the majority and have an Islamic state run according to Islamic law, Shari'ah is invariably applied to non-Muslims, at least in some ways, since, after all, it is the law of the land. For example, the testimony of non-Muslims is not accepted in Islamic courts, certainly not against Muslims. A Muslim may not be executed for killing a non-Muslim. Non-Muslims are second-class citizens, who must pay jizya for the right to even draw breath in the Islamic State. They are discriminated against and must not show any disrespect to Islam. They may not offend Muslim sensibilities. And so on.
In addition, the application of Islamic law may lead to problems for the state. Divorced Muslim women may end up on welfare because of lack of alimony. Polygamous marriages and the traditional Islamic emphasis on having many children may result in large numbers of children that the state is obliged to help support through schools, health care, and the like. And it may affect the country in less tangible ways. Poor education may lead to less productivity and prosperity. Lack of rights leads to some parts of the population feeling disenfranchised, even if Islamic law was enacted to placate Muslim sensibilities, leading to instability. And there are other things that we haven't even thought of.
After all this, would you consider the imposition of Islamic law to be "only the concern of Muslims," not anyone else?
Saturday, June 07, 2003
Thursday, June 05, 2003
Bible vs Qur'an: Part 1
Abraham Bargains With God
In this entry, I will compare and contrast the Bible and Qur'anic stories of one incident: when Abraham pleads for the lives of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. In both versions, messengers from God have been sent to him and his wife Sarah to inform them of the birth of Isaac, and then Abraham is told (by the messengers in the Qur'an, but by God himself in the Bible) that the people of Sodom and Gomorrah will be destroyed for their horrific sins.
Here is the passage from the Bible (NIV translation): Genesis 18:16-33, but I will also include the first part of of the chapter because it is an integral part of the story, and shows up in the Qur'anic version(s).
1 The LORD appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day.
2 Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.
3 He said, "If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by.
4 Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree.
5 Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way, now that you have come to your servant."
"Very well," they answered, "do as you say."
6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. "Quick," he said, "get three seahs of fine flour and knead it and bake some bread."
7 Then he ran to the herd and selected a choice, tender calf and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it.
8 He then brought some curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them. While they ate, he stood near them under a tree.
9 "Where is your wife Sarah?" they asked him. "There, in the tent," he said.
10 Then the LORD said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son." Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him.
11 Abraham and Sarah were already old and well advanced in years, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing.
12 So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, "After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?"
13 Then the LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Will I really have a child, now that I am old?'
14 Is anything too hard for the LORD ? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son."
15 Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, "I did not laugh." But he said, "Yes, you did laugh."
16 When the men got up to leave, they looked down toward Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see them on their way.
17 Then the LORD said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?
18 Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him.
19 For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him."
20 Then the LORD said, "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous
21 that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know."
22 The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the LORD.
23 Then Abraham approached him and said: "Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?
24 What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it?
25 Far be it from you to do such a thing-to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?"
26 The LORD said, "If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake."
27 Then Abraham spoke up again: "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes,
28 what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city because of five people?"
"If I find forty-five there," he said, "I will not destroy it."
29 Once again he spoke to him, "What if only forty are found there?"
He said, "For the sake of forty, I will not do it."
30 Then he said, "May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?"
He answered, "I will not do it if I find thirty there."
31 Abraham said, "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?"
He said, "For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it."
32 Then he said, "May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?"
He answered, "For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it."
33 When the LORD had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home.
Now here is the first Qur'anic version, which, like most Biblical stories told in the Qur'an, is very compressed. I should recount briefly how the Qur'an tells the story of Lot (Lut in this translation). It holds that Lot was the prophet of Sodom, who was sent to make the people stop their despicable homosexual practices (Lot says, "Ye do commit lewdness, such as no people in Creation (ever) committed before you. Do ye indeed approach men, and cut off the highway? And practice wickedness (even) in your councils?" (Qur'an 29-28-29) When the people refused to change their ways, Lot called for help on Allah, who sent him messengers to destroy the city and save him and those who believed with him, but Lot's wife was evil, for what reason we are not told, and she was apparently destroyed with the city, though there are references to her as one who "lags behind," perhaps a relic of the story of Lot's wife looking back and turned into a pillar of salt, which is not explicitly told. There is also nothing of the tale of Lot's incestuous antics with his daughters in Genesis 19:30-38.
Anyway, here, without further ado, is the story from the Qur'an (Surah Hud, 11:69-76; Yusuf Ali translation):
11:69 There came Our messengers to Abraham with glad tidings. They said, "Peace!" He answered, "Peace!" and hastened to entertain them with a roasted calf.
11:70 But when he saw their hands went not towards the (meal), he felt some mistrust of them, and conceived a fear of them. They said: "Fear not: We have been sent against the people of Lut."
11:71 And his wife was standing (there), and she laughed: But we gave her glad tidings of Isaac, and after him, of Jacob.
11:72 She said: "Alas for me! shall I bear a child, seeing I am an old woman, and my husband here is an old man? That would indeed be a wonderful thing!"
11:73 They said: "Dost thou wonder at Allah's decree? The grace of Allah and His blessings on you, O ye people of the house! for He is indeed worthy of all praise, full of all glory!"
11:74 When fear had passed from (the mind of) Abraham and the glad tidings had reached him, he began to plead with Us for Lut's people.
11:75 For Abraham was, without doubt, forbearing (of faults), compassionate, and given to look to Allah.
11:76 O Abraham! Seek not this. The decree of thy Lord hath gone forth: for them there cometh a penalty that cannot be turned back!
Another, somewhat different, version appears in Surah 29, Al-Ankabut, verses 31-35 (it is very, very common for the same story to be told multiple times in the Qur'an, with some differences). This incorporates the destruction itself:
29:31 When Our Messengers came to Abraham with the good news, they said: "We are indeed going to destroy the people of this township: for truly they are (addicted to) crime."
29:32 He said: "But there is Lut there." They said: "Well do we know who is there : we will certainly save him and his following, except his wife: she is of those who lag behind!"
29:33 And when Our Messengers came to Lut, he was grieved on their account, and felt himself powerless (to protect) them, but they said: "Fear thou not, nor grieve: we are (here) to save thee and thy following, except thy wife: she is of those who lag behind.
29:34 "For we are going to bring down on the people of this township a Punishment from heaven, because they have been wickedly rebellious."
29:35 And We have left thereof an evident Sign, for any people who (care to) understand.
The arguing isn't mentioned, except in an oblique way in 29:32, where Abraham shows concern for Lot.
This story is also told in a somewhat different way in Surah 51, Ad-Dhariyat, verses 24-37 (it is very, very common for the same story to be told multiple times in the Qur'an, with some differences):
51:24 Has the story reached thee, of the honoured guests of Abraham?
51:25 Behold, they entered his presence, and said: "Peace!" He said, "Peace!" (and thought, "These seem) unusual people."
51:26 Then he turned quickly to his household, brought out a fatted calf,
51:27 And placed it before them. He said, "Will ye not eat?"
51:28 (When they did not eat), He conceived a fear of them. They said, "Fear not," and they gave him glad tidings of a son endowed with knowledge.
51:29 But his wife came forward (laughing) aloud: she smote her forehead and said: "A barren old woman!"
51:30 They said, "Even so has thy Lord spoken: and He is full of Wisdom and Knowledge."
51:31 (Abraham) said: "And what, O ye Messengers, is your errand (now)?"
51:32 They said, "We have been sent to a people (deep) in sin;-
51:33 "To bring on, on them, (a shower of) stones of clay (brimstone),
51:34 "Marked as from thy Lord for those who trespass beyond bounds."
51:35 Then We evacuated those of the Believers who were there,
51:36 But We found not there any just (Muslim) persons except in one house:
51:37 And We left there a Sign for such as fear the Grievous Penalty.
In this version, Abraham's arguing with Allah for the people of Sodom isn't even mentioned, though it seems to be obliquely referred to in 51:36, about not finding any just people except for Lot's family (or more accurately, those who were in his home who believed in Lot's message).
You will notice that while Abraham is directly speaking to God and being answered by him in the Bible story, the Qur'an simply says that Abraham was "pleading with Us" for Lot's people. It doesn't say that he was directly answered, or that any bargaining took place; it might have just been a simple prayer for all we know. The words of Allah that follow that verse ("For Abraham was, without doubt, forbearing (of faults), compassionate, and given to look to Allah. O Abraham! Seek not this. The decree of thy Lord hath gone forth: for them there cometh a penalty that cannot be turned back!") seem to be more of a later commentary on Abraham's acts than actual words addressed to him. Allah does not converse with mere mortals; instead he sends an angel or a prophet or a vision (42:51: "It is not fitting for a man that Allah should speak to him except by inspiration, or from behind a veil, or by the sending of a messenger to reveal, with Allah's permission, what Allah wills: for He is Most High, Most Wise.") In Genesis and Exodus, God speaks personally with Abraham and Moses, and even addresses the Israelites at Mt. Sinai, who shudder in fear and ask not to hear the voice of God anymore, with which God acquiesces, but he does continue to speak directly to Moses. By contrast Muhammad had to receive his sacred scriptures, which are supposed to be the speech of Allah himself, through the angel Gabriel.
More importantly, the whole concept of Abraham bargaining with God, the spectacle of a mere man telling God Almighty that he is being unjust, is fundamentally against the entire nature of Islam, which after all means "submission" and whose most salient trait is total submission to the decrees of Allah, instead of rebelling against them or trying to bargain out with them. This is why Abraham's request for pity is followed by an "excuse" that Abraham was very tender-hearted, perhaps too much so, and a reproach and an insistence that Abraham must accept the decree of Allah for the destruction of Lot's people. Abraham's kindness and tender-heartedness, which seem to be exceed even that of Allah the All-Merciful, is also referred to in 9:113-114: "It is not fitting, for the Prophet and those who believe, that they should pray for forgiveness for Pagans, even though they be of kin, after it is clear to them that they are companions of the Fire. And Abraham prayed for his father's forgiveness only because of a promise he had made to him. But when it became clear to him that he was an enemy to Allah, he dissociated himself from him: for Abraham was most tender-hearted, forbearing."
The figure of YHWH (God, the LORD) in the Pentateuch is very close to his chosen people (the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, the Israelites, and so on), who is very much a part of the action and susceptible to many quite human traits, such as being bargained with, "regretting" and "repenting" (as in the case of the Flood and threatening to leave the Israelites out in the desert for their disobedience; what this means has been hotly debated by Jewish and Christian scholars). He takes a personal interest in the Israelites, vowing to never abandon them and to admonish them with punishments for the sake of correcting them. The figure of Allah in the Qur'an is much more distant, one who will utterly destroy a people that have rejected his message without a second though, and replace them with a new people, who will be destroyed in their turn if they don't believe, the Qur'an warns. By contrast, God as portrayed in the Prophetic books of the Bible feels a great deal of sorrow about how his people Israel have turned their backs on him and that he has to punish them for their misdeeds, and with the promise that they will eventually be redeemed, that he will always be there waiting for their repentance. In the Qur'an, they would have just been wiped out and that would be that. (44:29: "And neither heaven nor earth shed a tear over them: nor were they given a respite.") In the Old Testament (Hebrew Scriptures; Tanakh) Israel is God's son (Hosea 11:1 "When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son."). In the New Testament, humans are the children of God (Romans 8:16: "The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children."); in the Qur'an they are the slaves of Allah (51:56: "I have only created Jinns and men that they may serve Me."). In the Bible are many references to loving God (Deuteronomy 6:4-5: "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength."--the opening of the Jewish Shema or profession of faith); in the Qur'an are constant references to serving Allah (20:14: "Verily, I am Allah: There is no god but I: So serve thou Me (only), and establish regular prayer for celebrating My praise." 29:56: "O My slaves who believe! truly spacious is My Earth: therefore serve ye Me!")
This topic is also discussed in the essay I wrote called "The Distance of Allah from His Creatures," and I find it a fascinating topic. It really throws into relief one of the major differences between Islam and Judaism and Christianity.
Abraham Bargains With God
In this entry, I will compare and contrast the Bible and Qur'anic stories of one incident: when Abraham pleads for the lives of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah. In both versions, messengers from God have been sent to him and his wife Sarah to inform them of the birth of Isaac, and then Abraham is told (by the messengers in the Qur'an, but by God himself in the Bible) that the people of Sodom and Gomorrah will be destroyed for their horrific sins.
Here is the passage from the Bible (NIV translation): Genesis 18:16-33, but I will also include the first part of of the chapter because it is an integral part of the story, and shows up in the Qur'anic version(s).
1 The LORD appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day.
2 Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.
3 He said, "If I have found favor in your eyes, my lord, do not pass your servant by.
4 Let a little water be brought, and then you may all wash your feet and rest under this tree.
5 Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way, now that you have come to your servant."
"Very well," they answered, "do as you say."
6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah. "Quick," he said, "get three seahs of fine flour and knead it and bake some bread."
7 Then he ran to the herd and selected a choice, tender calf and gave it to a servant, who hurried to prepare it.
8 He then brought some curds and milk and the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them. While they ate, he stood near them under a tree.
9 "Where is your wife Sarah?" they asked him. "There, in the tent," he said.
10 Then the LORD said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son." Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him.
11 Abraham and Sarah were already old and well advanced in years, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing.
12 So Sarah laughed to herself as she thought, "After I am worn out and my master is old, will I now have this pleasure?"
13 Then the LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh and say, 'Will I really have a child, now that I am old?'
14 Is anything too hard for the LORD ? I will return to you at the appointed time next year and Sarah will have a son."
15 Sarah was afraid, so she lied and said, "I did not laugh." But he said, "Yes, you did laugh."
16 When the men got up to leave, they looked down toward Sodom, and Abraham walked along with them to see them on their way.
17 Then the LORD said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?
18 Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him.
19 For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him."
20 Then the LORD said, "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous
21 that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know."
22 The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the LORD.
23 Then Abraham approached him and said: "Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked?
24 What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it?
25 Far be it from you to do such a thing-to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?"
26 The LORD said, "If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake."
27 Then Abraham spoke up again: "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes,
28 what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city because of five people?"
"If I find forty-five there," he said, "I will not destroy it."
29 Once again he spoke to him, "What if only forty are found there?"
He said, "For the sake of forty, I will not do it."
30 Then he said, "May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?"
He answered, "I will not do it if I find thirty there."
31 Abraham said, "Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?"
He said, "For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it."
32 Then he said, "May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?"
He answered, "For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it."
33 When the LORD had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home.
Now here is the first Qur'anic version, which, like most Biblical stories told in the Qur'an, is very compressed. I should recount briefly how the Qur'an tells the story of Lot (Lut in this translation). It holds that Lot was the prophet of Sodom, who was sent to make the people stop their despicable homosexual practices (Lot says, "Ye do commit lewdness, such as no people in Creation (ever) committed before you. Do ye indeed approach men, and cut off the highway? And practice wickedness (even) in your councils?" (Qur'an 29-28-29) When the people refused to change their ways, Lot called for help on Allah, who sent him messengers to destroy the city and save him and those who believed with him, but Lot's wife was evil, for what reason we are not told, and she was apparently destroyed with the city, though there are references to her as one who "lags behind," perhaps a relic of the story of Lot's wife looking back and turned into a pillar of salt, which is not explicitly told. There is also nothing of the tale of Lot's incestuous antics with his daughters in Genesis 19:30-38.
Anyway, here, without further ado, is the story from the Qur'an (Surah Hud, 11:69-76; Yusuf Ali translation):
11:69 There came Our messengers to Abraham with glad tidings. They said, "Peace!" He answered, "Peace!" and hastened to entertain them with a roasted calf.
11:70 But when he saw their hands went not towards the (meal), he felt some mistrust of them, and conceived a fear of them. They said: "Fear not: We have been sent against the people of Lut."
11:71 And his wife was standing (there), and she laughed: But we gave her glad tidings of Isaac, and after him, of Jacob.
11:72 She said: "Alas for me! shall I bear a child, seeing I am an old woman, and my husband here is an old man? That would indeed be a wonderful thing!"
11:73 They said: "Dost thou wonder at Allah's decree? The grace of Allah and His blessings on you, O ye people of the house! for He is indeed worthy of all praise, full of all glory!"
11:74 When fear had passed from (the mind of) Abraham and the glad tidings had reached him, he began to plead with Us for Lut's people.
11:75 For Abraham was, without doubt, forbearing (of faults), compassionate, and given to look to Allah.
11:76 O Abraham! Seek not this. The decree of thy Lord hath gone forth: for them there cometh a penalty that cannot be turned back!
Another, somewhat different, version appears in Surah 29, Al-Ankabut, verses 31-35 (it is very, very common for the same story to be told multiple times in the Qur'an, with some differences). This incorporates the destruction itself:
29:31 When Our Messengers came to Abraham with the good news, they said: "We are indeed going to destroy the people of this township: for truly they are (addicted to) crime."
29:32 He said: "But there is Lut there." They said: "Well do we know who is there : we will certainly save him and his following, except his wife: she is of those who lag behind!"
29:33 And when Our Messengers came to Lut, he was grieved on their account, and felt himself powerless (to protect) them, but they said: "Fear thou not, nor grieve: we are (here) to save thee and thy following, except thy wife: she is of those who lag behind.
29:34 "For we are going to bring down on the people of this township a Punishment from heaven, because they have been wickedly rebellious."
29:35 And We have left thereof an evident Sign, for any people who (care to) understand.
The arguing isn't mentioned, except in an oblique way in 29:32, where Abraham shows concern for Lot.
This story is also told in a somewhat different way in Surah 51, Ad-Dhariyat, verses 24-37 (it is very, very common for the same story to be told multiple times in the Qur'an, with some differences):
51:24 Has the story reached thee, of the honoured guests of Abraham?
51:25 Behold, they entered his presence, and said: "Peace!" He said, "Peace!" (and thought, "These seem) unusual people."
51:26 Then he turned quickly to his household, brought out a fatted calf,
51:27 And placed it before them. He said, "Will ye not eat?"
51:28 (When they did not eat), He conceived a fear of them. They said, "Fear not," and they gave him glad tidings of a son endowed with knowledge.
51:29 But his wife came forward (laughing) aloud: she smote her forehead and said: "A barren old woman!"
51:30 They said, "Even so has thy Lord spoken: and He is full of Wisdom and Knowledge."
51:31 (Abraham) said: "And what, O ye Messengers, is your errand (now)?"
51:32 They said, "We have been sent to a people (deep) in sin;-
51:33 "To bring on, on them, (a shower of) stones of clay (brimstone),
51:34 "Marked as from thy Lord for those who trespass beyond bounds."
51:35 Then We evacuated those of the Believers who were there,
51:36 But We found not there any just (Muslim) persons except in one house:
51:37 And We left there a Sign for such as fear the Grievous Penalty.
In this version, Abraham's arguing with Allah for the people of Sodom isn't even mentioned, though it seems to be obliquely referred to in 51:36, about not finding any just people except for Lot's family (or more accurately, those who were in his home who believed in Lot's message).
You will notice that while Abraham is directly speaking to God and being answered by him in the Bible story, the Qur'an simply says that Abraham was "pleading with Us" for Lot's people. It doesn't say that he was directly answered, or that any bargaining took place; it might have just been a simple prayer for all we know. The words of Allah that follow that verse ("For Abraham was, without doubt, forbearing (of faults), compassionate, and given to look to Allah. O Abraham! Seek not this. The decree of thy Lord hath gone forth: for them there cometh a penalty that cannot be turned back!") seem to be more of a later commentary on Abraham's acts than actual words addressed to him. Allah does not converse with mere mortals; instead he sends an angel or a prophet or a vision (42:51: "It is not fitting for a man that Allah should speak to him except by inspiration, or from behind a veil, or by the sending of a messenger to reveal, with Allah's permission, what Allah wills: for He is Most High, Most Wise.") In Genesis and Exodus, God speaks personally with Abraham and Moses, and even addresses the Israelites at Mt. Sinai, who shudder in fear and ask not to hear the voice of God anymore, with which God acquiesces, but he does continue to speak directly to Moses. By contrast Muhammad had to receive his sacred scriptures, which are supposed to be the speech of Allah himself, through the angel Gabriel.
More importantly, the whole concept of Abraham bargaining with God, the spectacle of a mere man telling God Almighty that he is being unjust, is fundamentally against the entire nature of Islam, which after all means "submission" and whose most salient trait is total submission to the decrees of Allah, instead of rebelling against them or trying to bargain out with them. This is why Abraham's request for pity is followed by an "excuse" that Abraham was very tender-hearted, perhaps too much so, and a reproach and an insistence that Abraham must accept the decree of Allah for the destruction of Lot's people. Abraham's kindness and tender-heartedness, which seem to be exceed even that of Allah the All-Merciful, is also referred to in 9:113-114: "It is not fitting, for the Prophet and those who believe, that they should pray for forgiveness for Pagans, even though they be of kin, after it is clear to them that they are companions of the Fire. And Abraham prayed for his father's forgiveness only because of a promise he had made to him. But when it became clear to him that he was an enemy to Allah, he dissociated himself from him: for Abraham was most tender-hearted, forbearing."
The figure of YHWH (God, the LORD) in the Pentateuch is very close to his chosen people (the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, the Israelites, and so on), who is very much a part of the action and susceptible to many quite human traits, such as being bargained with, "regretting" and "repenting" (as in the case of the Flood and threatening to leave the Israelites out in the desert for their disobedience; what this means has been hotly debated by Jewish and Christian scholars). He takes a personal interest in the Israelites, vowing to never abandon them and to admonish them with punishments for the sake of correcting them. The figure of Allah in the Qur'an is much more distant, one who will utterly destroy a people that have rejected his message without a second though, and replace them with a new people, who will be destroyed in their turn if they don't believe, the Qur'an warns. By contrast, God as portrayed in the Prophetic books of the Bible feels a great deal of sorrow about how his people Israel have turned their backs on him and that he has to punish them for their misdeeds, and with the promise that they will eventually be redeemed, that he will always be there waiting for their repentance. In the Qur'an, they would have just been wiped out and that would be that. (44:29: "And neither heaven nor earth shed a tear over them: nor were they given a respite.") In the Old Testament (Hebrew Scriptures; Tanakh) Israel is God's son (Hosea 11:1 "When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son."). In the New Testament, humans are the children of God (Romans 8:16: "The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children."); in the Qur'an they are the slaves of Allah (51:56: "I have only created Jinns and men that they may serve Me."). In the Bible are many references to loving God (Deuteronomy 6:4-5: "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength."--the opening of the Jewish Shema or profession of faith); in the Qur'an are constant references to serving Allah (20:14: "Verily, I am Allah: There is no god but I: So serve thou Me (only), and establish regular prayer for celebrating My praise." 29:56: "O My slaves who believe! truly spacious is My Earth: therefore serve ye Me!")
This topic is also discussed in the essay I wrote called "The Distance of Allah from His Creatures," and I find it a fascinating topic. It really throws into relief one of the major differences between Islam and Judaism and Christianity.
Monday, June 02, 2003
Islamic Women's Clothing and Heatstroke
I've often wondered how on earth Muslim women in such frying hot locales as Saudi Arabia, Libya, the Sahara and much of the Middle East, deal with having to wear such horribly inappropriate clothing such as black abayas, black chadors, black headscarves, black veils, and the like. And I really feel for those Muslim women in countries that are not just boiling hot but humid as well, such as India, the subtropical or tropical climes of Malaysia and Indonesia, and so on. I shudder to think of Muslim women in the past, who had no air-conditioning and often had much thicker clothing and veils.
This point was really brought home to me today after suffering heat exhaustion caused by spending too long in the sun with "inappropriate clothes," namely long pants, long sleeved shirt and scarf covering the hair. I suppose that's what I get for 1) living in a hot climate, 2) not having a car (much of this was brought on by waiting in the scorching heat for the bus) and 3) being so stupid as to think that it was a good idea to go out like that. (Speaking of which, I wonder how veiled4allah, aka Al-Muhajabah, gets along in her black abaya and veil, since I know she rides the bus--at least as far as I know. Maybe she lives in a cooler climate. As for Sultana Freeman, who wears the same outfit in hot, humid Florida, I can't even imagine it. Maybe it's the heat that drives her crazy!)
Muslim women, when asked, "Isn't it hot to wear that?" will often say, "The fire of Hell is hotter." Well, at some point during this ordeal I was cursing all the Muslim 'ulama (religious scholars) who insist or insisted that women must wear this stuff, thinking that hell couldn't possibly be any hotter! (Yeah, it was probably the disorientation caused by heat exhaustion, other symptoms of which include: dizziness, paleness, nausea, quick and shallow breathing.) Eventually I managed to get myself to an air-conditioned house and took about two hours to get back to normal, during which I wished that I would just pass out to escape the dizziness and nausea.
In Saudi Arabia and other richer Muslim countries, women seem to deal with this problem by 1) not leaving home (which is usually air-conditioned) very often; 2) when they do have to leave, riding in an air-conditioned car, enroute to 3) air-conditioned buildings, shopping malls, hospitals, schools, and so on. In many poorer countries, such as Egypt, many women simply don't wear Islamic dress, instead opting for Western clothing and keeping the hair uncovered. Others only wear a simple head scarf and some kind of loose dress. (This reminds me that throughout history, it was usually only the "idle rich" and middle classes that could afford to veil and seclude women at home; poorer women had to work for a living and typically wore less-constricting clothing, perhaps only a simple head scarf as opposed to the whole abaya and niqab outfit, which doesn't lend itself to doing work, driving, or much of anything, really.) In India and Africa, women often wear some kind of loose, light cloth over their bodies, lightly covering the head. Also, it must be said that the abaya is actually an overgarment; you could be wearing only shorts and a T-shirt underneath, or even nothing! They are very loose, which helps immensely (tight clothes are the absolute worst for the heat; traditional Arab men's clothes are also very loose--but are usually white) and many are made of thin fabric, though it must be said that the very common polyester ones are horrible in this regard--cotton is better. Nevertheless, they still cover the whole body, and are usually BLACK, or at least some dark color, which, as we all should know, absorbs heat like nothing else! Even worse, some of the more pious women wear veils that even cover the eyes, or veils made of thicker cloth, and gloves, not leaving a single square inch of skin visible (and also leaving nowhere for the sweat to evaporate).
I can't help but suspect that one reason for Islamic women's dress is to make it less tempting for women to go outside. If they have to walk around in hot, constricting clothes in 120-degree Saudi Arabian or Egyptian heat, most women will just stay at home. The jelbab, which is basically a long coat, and pants or skirt combo, worn in somewhat more liberal countries like Jordan, Syria and Egypt, also is mighty uncomfortable in hot weather. Most of the traditional women's outfits in the Islamic nations are the equivalent of wearing long pants or jeans and a sweater, or at the very least a long-sleeved shirt. And the hijab, or headscarf, absorbs even more heat, since so much bodily heat escapes through the top of the head. In addition, the face veil tends to make breathing difficult, so sometimes it seems to me that many pious Muslim women are already living in the fires of hell, quite literally!
Muslim women are not supposed to wear perfume outside the home, which the Prophet has said is as bad as if she committed adultery, so you can imagine how good a bus packed with devout Muslim women would smell. I don't know how they manage in humid tropical countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia, especially considering that Islamic women's dress was first conceived with the arid Middle East in mind. I am looking at a picture of Malaysian Muslim women waiting at a bus stop, with their thick head scarves and long sleeves, and I feel like I'm going to faint myself! Another image that sticks out in my mind is one I remember seeing in National Geographic where women were working out in the fields somewhere in Yemen, wearing black clothes and veils, gloves, and topped with a big straw hat (which I doubt compensated very much for the black clothes!)
I don't know how they manage it without all collapsing from the heat (and I have no idea of what the statistics are for death from heatstroke in Muslim countries during the summer; they're probably pretty bad if 430 people have died in one state alone in India from the heat during the past 11 days (here's the sad story). How long before the World Health Orgainization (WHO) denounces women's Islamic clothing for causing heatstroke?!?
UPDATE: It also occurs to me that these clothes may also lead to other health problems. Since they inhibit movement and are hot, they tend to make it very difficult, if not impossible, to exercise or even walk very far, which may lead to weight gain and obesity. And this lack of activity may lead to weakness and overall poor health. In addition, sunlight is a source of some vitamins, and of course not getting any means being deprived of them.
So much for "the benefits of Islamic dress being scientifically proven," as some Muslim propagandists insist.
ANOTHER UPDATE: Reader Alifa sends these comments about the subject, which I found very interesting:
I've often wondered how on earth Muslim women in such frying hot locales as Saudi Arabia, Libya, the Sahara and much of the Middle East, deal with having to wear such horribly inappropriate clothing such as black abayas, black chadors, black headscarves, black veils, and the like. And I really feel for those Muslim women in countries that are not just boiling hot but humid as well, such as India, the subtropical or tropical climes of Malaysia and Indonesia, and so on. I shudder to think of Muslim women in the past, who had no air-conditioning and often had much thicker clothing and veils.
This point was really brought home to me today after suffering heat exhaustion caused by spending too long in the sun with "inappropriate clothes," namely long pants, long sleeved shirt and scarf covering the hair. I suppose that's what I get for 1) living in a hot climate, 2) not having a car (much of this was brought on by waiting in the scorching heat for the bus) and 3) being so stupid as to think that it was a good idea to go out like that. (Speaking of which, I wonder how veiled4allah, aka Al-Muhajabah, gets along in her black abaya and veil, since I know she rides the bus--at least as far as I know. Maybe she lives in a cooler climate. As for Sultana Freeman, who wears the same outfit in hot, humid Florida, I can't even imagine it. Maybe it's the heat that drives her crazy!)
Muslim women, when asked, "Isn't it hot to wear that?" will often say, "The fire of Hell is hotter." Well, at some point during this ordeal I was cursing all the Muslim 'ulama (religious scholars) who insist or insisted that women must wear this stuff, thinking that hell couldn't possibly be any hotter! (Yeah, it was probably the disorientation caused by heat exhaustion, other symptoms of which include: dizziness, paleness, nausea, quick and shallow breathing.) Eventually I managed to get myself to an air-conditioned house and took about two hours to get back to normal, during which I wished that I would just pass out to escape the dizziness and nausea.
In Saudi Arabia and other richer Muslim countries, women seem to deal with this problem by 1) not leaving home (which is usually air-conditioned) very often; 2) when they do have to leave, riding in an air-conditioned car, enroute to 3) air-conditioned buildings, shopping malls, hospitals, schools, and so on. In many poorer countries, such as Egypt, many women simply don't wear Islamic dress, instead opting for Western clothing and keeping the hair uncovered. Others only wear a simple head scarf and some kind of loose dress. (This reminds me that throughout history, it was usually only the "idle rich" and middle classes that could afford to veil and seclude women at home; poorer women had to work for a living and typically wore less-constricting clothing, perhaps only a simple head scarf as opposed to the whole abaya and niqab outfit, which doesn't lend itself to doing work, driving, or much of anything, really.) In India and Africa, women often wear some kind of loose, light cloth over their bodies, lightly covering the head. Also, it must be said that the abaya is actually an overgarment; you could be wearing only shorts and a T-shirt underneath, or even nothing! They are very loose, which helps immensely (tight clothes are the absolute worst for the heat; traditional Arab men's clothes are also very loose--but are usually white) and many are made of thin fabric, though it must be said that the very common polyester ones are horrible in this regard--cotton is better. Nevertheless, they still cover the whole body, and are usually BLACK, or at least some dark color, which, as we all should know, absorbs heat like nothing else! Even worse, some of the more pious women wear veils that even cover the eyes, or veils made of thicker cloth, and gloves, not leaving a single square inch of skin visible (and also leaving nowhere for the sweat to evaporate).
I can't help but suspect that one reason for Islamic women's dress is to make it less tempting for women to go outside. If they have to walk around in hot, constricting clothes in 120-degree Saudi Arabian or Egyptian heat, most women will just stay at home. The jelbab, which is basically a long coat, and pants or skirt combo, worn in somewhat more liberal countries like Jordan, Syria and Egypt, also is mighty uncomfortable in hot weather. Most of the traditional women's outfits in the Islamic nations are the equivalent of wearing long pants or jeans and a sweater, or at the very least a long-sleeved shirt. And the hijab, or headscarf, absorbs even more heat, since so much bodily heat escapes through the top of the head. In addition, the face veil tends to make breathing difficult, so sometimes it seems to me that many pious Muslim women are already living in the fires of hell, quite literally!
Muslim women are not supposed to wear perfume outside the home, which the Prophet has said is as bad as if she committed adultery, so you can imagine how good a bus packed with devout Muslim women would smell. I don't know how they manage in humid tropical countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia, especially considering that Islamic women's dress was first conceived with the arid Middle East in mind. I am looking at a picture of Malaysian Muslim women waiting at a bus stop, with their thick head scarves and long sleeves, and I feel like I'm going to faint myself! Another image that sticks out in my mind is one I remember seeing in National Geographic where women were working out in the fields somewhere in Yemen, wearing black clothes and veils, gloves, and topped with a big straw hat (which I doubt compensated very much for the black clothes!)
I don't know how they manage it without all collapsing from the heat (and I have no idea of what the statistics are for death from heatstroke in Muslim countries during the summer; they're probably pretty bad if 430 people have died in one state alone in India from the heat during the past 11 days (here's the sad story). How long before the World Health Orgainization (WHO) denounces women's Islamic clothing for causing heatstroke?!?
UPDATE: It also occurs to me that these clothes may also lead to other health problems. Since they inhibit movement and are hot, they tend to make it very difficult, if not impossible, to exercise or even walk very far, which may lead to weight gain and obesity. And this lack of activity may lead to weakness and overall poor health. In addition, sunlight is a source of some vitamins, and of course not getting any means being deprived of them.
So much for "the benefits of Islamic dress being scientifically proven," as some Muslim propagandists insist.
ANOTHER UPDATE: Reader Alifa sends these comments about the subject, which I found very interesting:
A few years ago, some enterprising researcher decided to try to understand why Bedouin men in the Negev wear a skirt-like black robe, and discovered that black in this case actually helped cool the body. Part of the experiment involved comparing light white robes with black ones. I think the reasoning was that the skirt-like robe acted as a kind of chiimney pulling cooler air nearer the ground up through the clothing, and black was more efficient for doing this.
One other problem you didn't mention with the full Islamic dress is that all of us need a certain amount of sun on our skin every day (at least face and forearms) in order to manufacture vitamin D. I think lack of vitamin D and consequent bone problems is a known health risk for women in Muslim countries. Perhaps you could ask someone involved in public health issues.
Around Jerusalem you can still find a few examples of Ottoman-era "air-conditioning" --- in the walls surrounding the flat roofs, you see a kind of pyramid of clay pipes set into the wall. People used to splash these with water to catch the late afternoon breeze and it did lower the temperature on the roof somewhat, as did regular whitewashing.