Women in Islam Culture vs. Religion

Women + Culture

Cultural - depends on where you live and different rules or roles for Mulsim depending on the part of the world they live in
Where you live depends if Shari'ah law is used, some ideas of this could be deemed cultural - not used worldwide, the law is also a reflection of the time it was written so could be seen itself as cultural
Roles are created from interpretation e.g. role as wife and choosing a husband for your daughter
The veil is not religious but cultural, people do believe modesty comes from the Qur'an but the veil is forced on some women, e.g. Afgan - this is cultural

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E.g. not allowing a women to go out alone/speak to certain people
The Taliban force ideas on women that are nothing to so with the religion - no make up, no laughing, etc.
The status of women could be deemed as cultural - the Qur'an was revealed when things such as polygamy and infanticide occured - could be seen as a response to this
The role of women in society in terms of things like voting is cultural - depends on where she lives. In some countries, women can have an education and be doctors, teachers or nurses - the role they play in the job sector is also cultural

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Modern Muslim women have different roles, you could say this depends on where they live e.g. behaviour of Muslim women in England compared with that in Afgan
The idea of women being subservant to men is cultural - the Qur'an and Muhammad showed alot of respect to women
Polygamy is cultural, men aren't allowed more than one wife in the UK but are in countries like Afghanistan. This influences the role of the wife - it started religious as it comes from the idea of there being more women than men, they needed to be provided for
"Marry women of your choice, 2, 3 or 4" - Qur'an

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Religious - these roles are the same for all women simply because they are Muslim, the roles come from the Qur'an, Hadith and Sunnah
Muhammad endorsed the status of women
Women will be answerable on the day of judgement
Men and women are equal but have different roles
Women are not expected to attend friday prayers at the mosque as they should be at home with the family. They pray seperately from men so they don't distact each other - as laid down in the Qur'an, a woman should keep an Islamic home (Halal - main role)
'Paradise lies at the feet of the mother'

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The Hadith and Sunnah show Muhammad treated women well e.g. 2 of his wives Aisha and Khadijah, he gave them basic things such as marriages
Islam teaches women lie at the heart of the religion
Women should seek education
Roles such as bringing up children - religious
Women inherit less than men
Women should be provided for by their husbands - they should be looked after - men are the protectors and maintainers of women, as said in the Qur'an
Women should be modest

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When chosen to be worn, some women see the veil as a religious symbol, coming from the idea of modesty - some people believe Muhammad's wives wore similar things
The Shari'ah law comes from the Hadith and Qur'an however, it is seen to reflect the culture of the time so may be seen as cultural
Keeping a halal home, taking children to the Madrassah and taking part in festivals are all religious roles roles, true for where you live

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