The Canadian Conversation: Muslims & Gender Equality

Michael Adams, the president of the polling firm Environics, wrote an interesting piece titled The Canadian Conversation in Tuesday's Globe and Mail. Here's an excerpt:

What Canadians are saying is two things. Bienvenue au Canada and read the Charter. In it, you will see we have two core values: freedom and equality. Freedom to be yourself (within the confines of the law) and equality, our way of achieving freedom. First and foremost, women are equal to men. The vast majority of Canadians have rejected patriarchy, which is part of the reason many of us have questioned and often rejected traditional religious belief and practice. We do not require you to reject your religion (religious freedom is protected in our beloved Charter, too), but we do expect you to embrace our value of gender equality. That, in a nutshell, is our concern with sharia law. It also lies at the root of our sometimes irrational-seeming reaction to head scarves. We worry hijabs are signs of patriarchy rather than expressions of Muslim women's lib. But we may be wrong; let's talk.

Let's talk indeed. The values of gender equality can vary depending on perspective. The common view may be to allow for women whatever is allowed for men, and vice versa. And when there appears to be something that isn't the same for both (for example, distribution of wealth in inheritance or type of dress), it seems to be out of line with the concept of gender equality.

Many Muslims look at it from a different perspective. They hold that while both men are women are equal in the eyes of God (i.e. they are held equally accountable/are rewarded for their actions, bad and good), both are inherently different. Men's bodies are different from women's, women's bodies can do what men's can't, and both have their own strengths and weaknesses. Even their minds work differently.

These differences don't make any one better than the other. They're just different.

And because of these differences, many Muslims believe God has given different functions to each, to optimize their productivity in the areas each is more proficient in.

So, since women in general are more sensitive and caring, God has given them the privilege of bearing children (and thus mothers have three times the reward from God and three times higher status compared to men when it comes to parenting), while men, due to their relatively higher levels of physical strength and stamina (in general) have been charged with duties that often have to do with labour and hard work, such as being the main breadwinner of the household.

And that's where the perceived inequality in inheritance comes in. Being the one responsible for the care of the entire family (not to mention seniors such as parents and grandparents too), men are given a greater share of inheritance, while women generally enjoy a smaller share -- by themselves.

As for dress, many Muslims, especially women, will tell you how disappointed they are with the rampant objectification of women in our society, including Canadian society. Despite the "official" image that women aren't treated differently than men, we all know of how females are viewed and treated by males (in the workplace, at school, on the streets, in bars, etc.) and how society at large treats (i.e. uses) women (in the media, women's roles in films, advertising, even the evening newscast!).

"Is this the gender equality the Charter talks about?" wonder many Muslims.

When Canadian Muslim women "cover up" (practically all out of their free will), either with the hijab, niqab or the burqa, they are making a statement: leave me alone, I am not a sex object; value me for who I am, not what I look like.

The choice to dress in whichever manner one wishes to is part of the fundamental right to expression. If men and women have the right to uncover to the point where they are practically naked, why can't they do the opposite?

In the end, it's a matter of personal choice and individual freedoms. Canadian Muslims don't tell anyone what they should or shouldn't be doing, and they especially don't tell others how to practice their faith and what others should believe in. They'd appreciate the same in return.

What's a Moderate Muslim?

There's one word that stuck out like a sore thumb from the CBC's coverage of the MCC death threat:

A moderate Muslim group that called for a separation of religion and state in a recent documentary has received a pointed death threat. (Emphasis added)

I wonder who at the CBC decided the MCC was a moderate Muslim group? Perhaps it was an inside job. MCC founder Tarek Fatah's daughter, Natasha, is a producer at the national broadcaster. Or maybe it wasn't.

And by labelling the MCC as a moderate Muslim group, where does that leave the rest -- the majority -- of Canadian Muslims who don't agree with the MCC? Of course, if the MCC's positions are moderate, then certainly any group or individual that holds an opinion that is opposite of their's is implicitly an extremist or radical.

Want proof?

Main Entry:
moderate
Antonyms:
extreme, outrageous, unreasonable

- Thesaurus.com

Thank you very much, CBC. You've just alienated the majority of the country's (growing) Muslim population.

Also, if you think about it, the MCC isn't really a moderate Muslim group. Examine the spectrum of Muslim in Canada and the MCC is on the extreme left and the folks who might be inclined towards terrorism and take everything very very literally are on the extreme right. In the middle are the majority of the country's Muslims, represented by groups like CAIR, CIC, CMF, COMO, etc.

So who's the extremist now? Certainly the Muslim Canadian Congress is an extremist group -- on the left. A group of radical, extremist, leftist Muslims, wrestling for free publicity by smearing other Muslim groups and intimidating ordinary Muslims who don't agree with them and their tactics. And in the middle of the spectrum are Canada's moderate, everyday Muslims who go about their daily business, practicing their faith without hurting anyone, through actions or words.

Mooselim.ca wrote about this earlier.

The time has come to speak out

For too long now, a large number of Canadian Muslims -- the mainstream -- have watched from the sidelines as their community, their faith, and their beliefs have been taken hostage, spinned, and used for political, personal, and ideological motives. Many Canadian Muslims have been afraid to speak out; afraid of being targeted by special interest groups, the media, and government agencies; afraid of being mislabelled and consequently having their reputations potentially tarnished for a very long time.

This fear has given a free pass to many -- politicians, media outlets, self-appointed community spokespersons, self-declared champions of Canadian Muslims, among others -- to play with the lives and identities of ordinary Muslims. Every quote, every soundbite, every press release, every controversy, eventually has a direct effect on the lives and minds of ordinary Canadian Muslims, yet the majority of ordinary Canadian Muslims have been shunned, subjugated and simply ignored.

The silence must be broken. Beginning tonight, the muck will no longer be left untouched. It will be raked in, examined, and told like it is, open for discussion without any fear.

After all, freedom of thought, freedom of expression, and freedom of association are guaranteed under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Let's excercise those freedoms for once.

Sincerely,
Muslim Muckraker