No one likes a change, not even you, the reader of this article. You will tell
me to go to hell if I told you to change the clothes you wear, the food you
eat, the smile you have on your face or the way your talk. If we allow anyone
to dictate changes, it amounts to forcing everyone in the society to change by
the one who holds the laathi (the one who owns the Cain), owns the water
buffalo.
There are plenty of stories of brave men and women in just every religious,
ethnic, and nationalistic group where they fought the proposed changes
valiantly and at times committed suicide en masse rather than surrender to the
rulers. The exceptions are also there in China
and Russia where religions
were suppressed but when Russia
splintered, religion surfaced right back.
The banishment of Sati, a practice where a Hindu widowed woman would throw
herself into her husband’s funeral pyre and immolate to death, succeeded not
because of the Mogul and British rulers, but because of the wisdom and persuasive
Hindu leadership presenting alternate meaning of the scriptures.
The dawn of the 19th century produced two great Hindu thinkers and reformers;
Swami Sahajanand who argued that the practice of Sati was not Vedic but a
product of 4th century kings, and Raja Rammohan Roy, who saw his own
sister-in-law forced to commit Sati, which prompted him to take up the issue
strongly and go on a campaign of writing and quoting scriptures. Finally the
practice was outlawed in 1829 and it is rarely practiced since then.
Now coming to the Muslim personal laws, the scriptures do not support triple
Talaq in one sitting, it is suppose to be three periods of waiting to make sure
the woman is not pregnant and more importantly, it gives the time for a couple
to rethink and re-align before they make that final decision. Hilla,
a docudrama illustrates the point well.
Indeed, in the United States,
which is more Islamic than most Muslim nations, it takes 90 days to finalize
the divorce proceedings after it is filed, just as the Qur’aan calls for it.
Permitting a man to marry four wives was rather a severe restriction at a time
when men were marrying and divorcing women with no restrictions, this was the
norm in most societies. Indeed, the restriction was a sign of change, a move to
adapt to the needs of the society when Men to women ratio was lopsided. In the
Indian context there are reports showing more Hindu men having a second woman
than Muslim men having two wives.
The second part of the equation was prompted by the need for social justice,
where women were forced to be single through wars and deaths of their spouse,
father, brother or other financial supporter. A thousand years ago, women were
dependent in all societies and in such cases, they only option dumped on them
was to sell their flesh, as men in all societies look at a single women with
ill-intent. It was to uplift the dignity of woman, that polygamy was permitted,
it was for social justice and not lust.
Muslims are as open to change as any one, so we have to take steps and quote
the scriptures in support of the change.
I suggest the Muslim organizations to hold symposiums, debates and conferences,
and give a genuine room to people who have opposing views. We are holding a
Sharia symposium in Dallas
and inviting the nation’s foremost anti-Sharia activists along with the
scholars. Let’s sincerely table the issue and find lasting solutions; when we
bring the yes men who support our views, we fail in our integrity and our
obligation to find the truth. We need to be inclusive of opposing views to find
genuine solutions.
Prophet Muhammad has set a variety of examples in handling different
situations. When he asked an opinion on an issue, he asked it to be different
than what prevailed at that moment. There is a difference when you ask for
support and ask an opinion, in the former you ask them to say yes to your
opinion, in the latter you want to know if there is another point of view.
Indeed, he accepted opinions of his associates even though they were different
than his own during the battles of Trench and Uhud.
Let’s bring a closure to this gnawing problem that is constantly biting Muslims
every few years.
Mike Ghouse is committed to building cohesive societies and offers pluralistic
solutions on issues of the day. He is a speaker, thinker and a writer and his
work is linked to thirty blogs and four websites indexed at www.MikeGhouse.net