Islam considers women to be inferior creatures. Muhammad himself once said that he would "never touch the hand of women" because women were viewed as unclean temptresses. In addition to the humiliating dress code, women are thought to be half-human and in need of guidance:

4.34.: "Men are in charge of women, because Allah hath made the one of them to excel the other, and because they spend of their property (for the support of women). So good women are the obedient, guarding in secret that which Allah hath guarded. As for those [women] from whom ye fear rebellion, admonish them and banish them to beds apart; and scourge [beat] them. Then, if they obey you, seek not a way against them. Lo! Allah is ever High Exalted, Great."

The sayings of caliphs, leaders of Islam, were like proclamations of Catholic popes, and their words became the foundation for later Islamic traditions and law. Their misogyny has profoundly influenced Islamic culture. For instance, the second caliph Omar said, "Prevent the women from learning to write! Say no to their capricious ways." He also remarked, "Adopt positions opposite those of women. There is great merit in such opposition."

Ali, Mohammed's cousin and the fourth caliph, said that "The entire woman is evil and what is worse is that it is a necessary evil! ... You should never ask a woman her advice because her advice is worthless. Hide them so that they cannot see other men! ... Do not spend too much time in their company for they will lead you to your downfall! ... Men, never ever obey your women. Never let them advise you on any matter concerning your daily life ... They have three qualities worthy of an unbeliever: they complain of being oppressed when in fact it is they who oppress; they take solemn oaths and at the same time lie; they make a show of refusing the advances of men when in fact they long for them ardently. Let us implore God's help to escape their sorcery."

The Muslim scholar al-Ghazali, living in the eleventh century, wrote that the Muslim woman should

stay at home and get on with her spinning, she should not go out often, she must not be well-informed, nor must she be communicative with her neighbours and only visit them when absolutely necessary ... her sole worry should be her virtue, her home as well as her prayers and her fast ... she should be clean and ready to satisfy her husband's sexual needs at any moment.

al-Ghazali goes on to say that Allah has punished women in eighteen separate ways, including:

• menstruation
• pregnancy
• childbirth
• lesser share in inheritances
• liability for divorce but inability to initiate divorce
• seclusion
• exclusion from many religious rituals and ceremonies
• disqualification for positions as rulers and judges

In addition, the testimony of one woman in an Islamic court is only worth half of the testimony of a man. Some modern Muslim scholars give weight to discredited theories allegedly showing that female cranial capacity is far below that of males. Since the primary function of marriage in Islam is procreation (for the woman) and pleasure (for the man), Muslim women cannot ask for divorce unless their husbands' penises have literally withered away. The Heaven of Islam is full of wide-eyed female virgins ready to fulfill the sexual needs of dead, pious, Muslim men. There are no equivalent male servants for devout Muslim women who have passed on to the next world.

Here are some interesting examples of the treatment of women under Muslim law as reported by Ibn Warraq. In the Pakistan of the late seventies, martial law was imposed and holy days like Ramadan were enforced by armed soldiers. Women were forbidden to compete in sporting events and the zina laws were introduced. "Zina" is a word for illicit sex that includes adultery, fornication, rape, and prostitution, and the zina laws recommended amputation of hands and executions for violators. What this meant in practive was that rape victims were often charged with violating the zina laws.

For instance, a Muslim in Pakistan kidnapped and raped his friend's daughter. Her father brought charges against the rapist but his daughter was thrown in prison for committing zina. Her father successfully bribed the police to release her and when she returned home she was severely beaten for dishonoring her family. In another case, a sixteen-year-old domestic worker named Safia Bibi was raped and impregnated by her landlord and his son. Bibi's father had the two men charged in court, but since the testimony of even one man automatically outweighs the word of one woman, they were not convicted. However, Bibi's pregnancy was evidence of adultery (it is thought that pregnancy can only result from consensual sex) and therefore she was sentenced to three years in prison, fifteen lashes, and a fine of 15,000 rupees. Human rights groups in Pakistan report that a rape occurs every three hours in Pakistan, half of all rape victims are juveniles, and 72 percent of all women in police custody are physically and sexually abused. Most of those women are in prison on charges of violating the zina laws.

Speaking of Pakistan, many people cite the 1988 election of Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto as an example of a more liberal Islam, since under traditional Islamic law, women cannot act as heads of a Muslim state. However, her government lasted almost two years, at which point she was forced out of office on charges of "corruption" and her husband imprisoned. In a hopeless attempt to cling to power, Bhutto frequently gave in to the demands of the Muslim clerics and theologians and refused to acknowledge the rights of women, whose lot was no better when Bhutto left office. Bhutto has since won and lost national office yet again.

Copy And Pasted from Islamanics!

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