ARE MUSLIM WOMEN INFERIOR TO OTHER WOMEN?

Howard Dean in his "Face the Nation" interview claimed that Women are and will be worse off under the New Democratic Iraqi government. His contention is that Islamic law essentially demeans women, traditionally making them second class citizens because they are “inferior” to men.

There are two elements that scream to be discussed. First are Islamic women inferior to men generally, and are they inferior to women of other beliefs and national origin. Implications from what Islamic clerics and scholars say and write seem to blatantly support the concept their (Islamic) women are inferior.

The National Organization of Women ignores this completely preferring rather to derail the effort to build Iraqi democracy instead of encouraging democracy that confers equality for and of women.

The second element of comparative inferiority to females of other religious beliefs and origin should send NOW and women’s groups into a state of hysteria, but it doesn’t.

What is sad, is that by relegating women to second class citizenship by Islamic law and Muslim tradition, Islamic countries are (stifling education for women) cutting in half their intellectual base toward progress for medical, security and equality for all. But then “equality” has never seemed to be a concept practiced in Islam.

To put it bluntly, Islamic law seems too convoluted to conclude that Muslim women are equal to Muslim men. To suppress half the intellectual base of a “religious” culture seems beyond idiocy. No wonder Islamic artistic, intellectual and educational progress has been truncated.