Religion Isn't to Blame (islam)

Religion isn’t to Blame

There has been much focus on the correlation of Islam and the oppression of women in recent western media. Many people across the world view Islam as the cause of oppression of women in Islamic countries. But is the whole religion of Islam really to blame for the behavior of men in these countries? I believe that it is unfair, irresponsible, and utterly useless to blame a whole religion for the actions of people.

If we want to sit back and point fingers at another religion and society that many of us know very little about let’s take a step back and look at one of the most influential religions in Western society, Christianity. Is there oppression is a Christian society? The answer is undoubtedly yes. We have groups such as the Westburo Baptist Church that basically wants most Americans sentenced to death. We also still oppress many groups of people of our society on the basis of Christianity and the bible. God says homosexuality is a sin, therefore these people should not enjoy the same rights of heterosexuals and currently they don’t in the United States. How about the current debate about denying woman contraceptives? Is this not in a way oppressing women’s rights based on a religion? What about families that teach their children that they and all others are going to hell if they are not a “good Christian”. I could go on and on with examples on how some people view groups of people as lesser than themselves because of their own interpretations of Christianity. How you view this oppression is of course in some ways biased but isn’t this the case for other religions too?

Some may argue that the examples of oppression in current Christian societies are nowhere near the severity of oppression faced in Islamic societies. Most people would agree that this statement is true. However, this is still not a legitimate reason to blame solely a religion for the “faults” of a society where it is dominant. Let’s take a look into the past of our own society. The physical oppression that we don’t really have in Christian societies today we can definitely find in its past. In the past Christianity has been used to legitimize multiple forms of oppression. People used it to argue in favor of slavery and segregation. Did you know that Islam has supported women’s right to vote and own property before it was even legal here in the U.S? People also used Christianity to keep these rights away from women, and to condone the belief that women are second class citizens. Let’s take a look at some quotes in the bible.

1. "For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man. Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man." (I Corinthians 11:8-9)

2. "Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law.