Another subject criticized and attacked by Christian theologians was the position of woman in Islam. A closer look at the conditions prevailing in Muhammad's time leads to a different conclusion. (168:1)

One cannot deny that, according to Qur'anic law, marriage reflect a patriarchal system. In this respect, Islam is different neither from Judaism nor from Christianity. The 'Qur'an' indubitably gives more rights to men than to women as far as inheritance, witness-deposition, polygamy and divorce are concerned. But this was only a "concession made to the hard-heartedness and brutality of the male who was still emerging out of the pagan way of life". This conclusion must be understood as the Prophet's struggle against ancient Arab paganism reflected in his legislation. Any kind of legislation is dependent upon the prevailing structures and must take them into account. Muhammad could not at a stroke lead his people out of the barbarism of the past ages into the way of thinking and living which are appropriate today. In the context of ancient Arabic paganism, the Qur'anic prescriptions (which also forbade the barbaric pagan practice of burying new-born baby girls alive) meant a significant improvement of the social and legal position of women. This is also true of the polygamy permitted by Muhammad which has caused so much consternation in the West where monogamy is legally the rule. To critics one may answer that Muhammad did not introduce polygamy but rather greatly restricted it by limiting the number of wives to four: "Of women who seem good in your eyes, marry but two, or three or four; and if ye still fear that ye shall not act equitably, then one only... this will make justice on your part easier." From the early days, there have been Islamic commentators who, from this exhortation to marry only one wife in order to protect oneself against injustice, drew the conclusion that, in fact, Muhammad had encouraged union with one woman only, as it is impossible to treat several wives justly. The following verse supports this interpretation: "And ye will not have it at all in your power to treat your wives alike, even though you fain would do so." The representatives of the Islamic women's rights movement refer to these passages of the Scriptures in their discussions with conservative theologians. In view of the conditions of that time Muhammad could not abolish polygamy any more than he could do away with slavery. The time was not yet ripe for that action. For, as Georg Christoph Lichtenberg once remarked: "To want to do everything all at once is to destroy everything all at once." Muhammad could only mitigate both institutions and eliminate their abuses. And this he did. (168:2)

However antiquated it may appear to us today, the right of divorce granted by the 'Qur'an' was also a great step forward in relation to the state of affairs found by Muhammad. The woman was no longer prey to man's despotism but attained a secure legal position. Limits were imposed on the male's power, his right of repudiation was checked, his responsibilities to support the woman he had divorced were stipulated and the right of divorce by means of legal action was introduced for women. Like Moses, Muhammad too, taking into consideration the "hard-heartedness" of men, allowed divorce in the form of a one-sided repudiation. But on the other hand, according to the Islamic concept, divorce is heinous to God. As Muhammad once said, of all that is legally permitted, divorce is the institution God abhors most. (169:1)

One cannot deny that to a certain extent the legal practice led to grave abuses as they tightened up the laws on divorce in favour of the man by means of an exegesis which was often inclined to split hairs. On the whole, divorce is looked upon as a necessary evil which should be avoided as for as possible. Besides it is a fact that in Islamic countries divorce is less frequent than in European states or in the U.S.A. (169:2)

The fact that men and women receive different legal treatment in the 'Qur'an' does not in the least mean that they are not equal before God. The authority of men is relevant to the external circumstances of this earthly life only. Before God, men and women are equal. In the Scriptures women are not spiritually or intellectually inferior. In rank they are men's equals. Muhammad enjoins upon the believers a moral concept of marriage and commands men to treat women with "kindness, friendliness and justice". (170:1)

History provides plenty of evidence to show that Muslim women were often not treated with justice. There are two institutions in particular which have oppressed Muslim women for centuries and which have been rightly criticized by Europeans: the inhuman obligation for women to wear the veil and their confinement within the home. Women must leave the house as little as possible and must remain confined in their apartments as long as there are male visitors in the house. If they go out they must cover not only their arms and neck but also their face with a veil which falls down from their forehead and leaves only two holes for the eyes. But all Islamic scholars agree that neither the wearing of the veil nor confinement were desired by Muhammad. These institutions cannot be traced back to the 'Qur'an', to the traditions or to the consensus. There are four passages in the 'Qur'an' which at a superficial glance seem to urge the wearing of the veil and confinement. They are surahs 33:32, 33:53, 33:59 and 24:31. Apart from the fact that the obligation to wear the veil cannot be derived from the verses of surah 33, it is out of the question that they should be taken as the basis of this institution because according to their wording they refer to the prophet's wives only. Surah 24, verse 31 reads: "And speak to the believing women that they refrain their eyes, and observe continence; and that they display not their ornaments, except to their husbands or their fathers, or their husbands' fathers, or their sons;... or male domestics, who have no natural force, or to children who note not women's nakedness... The question was to know where the feminine charms which have to be covered up begin. Muhammad spoke of the bosom, so the Muslim women did not originally wear a veil. The Arab woman of the first centuries was in no way repressed or in bondage. Muhammad's wife, the confident, quick-witted, intelligent Khadijah, who took part in public life, was a leading example of the Arab aristocracy. In conformity with the Prophet's exhortations that women, too, should seek education and knowledge, important lawyers demanded that women be granted the permission to exercise the office of judge. Sigrid Hunke writes on this subject: "Women lawyers are seen appearing in the mosques to hold public lectures and expound laws.." (170:2) see

Veils and harems must be traced back to Persian and Byzantine influences during the time of the 'Abbasid caliphs, especially during the regency of the narrow-minded al-Qadir. "What had started so harmlessly as a fashion became religious compulsion under their gloomy influence. And seclusion in the harem which, in the Persian manner, was carried out with the help of eunuchs in accordance with the traditional Byzantine custom, and which started as the elegant fashion of the distinguished, the rich and the indulgent, took on daemonic proportions under the 'stay-at-home' appeal addressed by the Prophet to his own wives and led to the compulsory banishment of women and the exclusion of anything feminine from public life." From then on the theologians decided that even the female face should be considered as one of the forbidden attractions. And thus even today the wearing of the veil and confinement are still customary in large circles in the Islamic world, especially in cities. The Bedouin woman never wore the veil nor did she ever live in the seclusion of the harem. "Economical and practical reasons would never have allowed the simple inhabitants of the steppes and desert such luxury, any more than they would have made possible the luxury of marrying four wives as allowed by the Prophet... And this is why the Bedouin woman of the first Islamic centuries is even freer, more independent and influential than the very respected, distinguished women of the highest court circles of Damascus." The suppression of the Islamic woman is therefore not rooted in the law of the Prophet. It is a manifestation of corruption and decadence for which Muhammad cannot be held responsible. (171:1)

On the whole it should be noted that it is unjust to judge the position of woman in Islam by our modern standard of what is moral and just. Those who criticize the stipulations in the 'Qur'an' concerning women's rights should remind themselves that the equality of women in Germany (the writer's country) was realized only recently with the German national constitution of 23 May, 1949 and the change of the civil code of laws of 1953. In many parts of the world marriage is still settled in a patriarchal way. (172:1)

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