The Whig Standard - Ontario, CA
What do a billion Muslims think?; Gallup Poll shows that Muslim women do not want to be like Western women
Posted By Hogben, Alia
Posted 3 hours ago
Gallup has recently completed a worldwide poll involving Muslims of 35 countries. The poll was conducted over a six-year period from 2001-07.
It is not surprising Gallup has done a poll. Islam and Muslims have become an industry with much media attention and there have been innumerable polls on Islam and Muslims.
It’s interesting that most of the world’s one billion Muslims are not Arabs, but in the West, Islam and Arabs are often linked.
The intent of the research was to give a voice to Muslims.
The findings were recently published by Gallup Press in a book, Who Speaks for Islam? What a Billion Muslims Really Think.
The poll’s questions were regarding democracy, radicalism, women, and the possibility of a clash or coexistence between Muslims and the West.
The tragic reality for Muslims is that most of the Muslim majority countries are not democratic and their governments control political parties and civil societies’ non-governmental organizations.
The other tragedy has been the disconnect between the rhetoric of the West about encouraging democracy and the pursuance of their self-interests, which have led to dire consequences for so many of these countries.
Muslim men and women are critical of the lack of unity, economic and political corruption, and extremism in their countries and they admire aspects of the West, such as political freedom, liberty and freedom of speech - but they do not want to be westernized or lose their culture or religion.
For Muslims, the perceived cultural disrespect, perception of political domination, and the reality of acute conflicts are the filters through which they view the West.
Although the “war on terror” has lasted for six years, these years have only seen an increase in extremism and violence.
There is pervasive poverty, unemployment and political instability in Muslim majority countries, and though these influence, they do not seem to be the major factors in creating radicalism. People are disillusioned with their governments and as most Muslims are religious, there is a strong movement to return to Islam as the answer to these ills.
It is important to note that the difference between those who condone terrorist acts, and all others, is about politics and not piety.
The Gallup Poll found that about seven per cent think that the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks were justified because of the actions of the U.S government.
Most see the United States as aggressive and there is a high dislike of President George W. Bush.
This does not mean that seven per cent are politically radicalized, but it is from this group that people can be recruited for acts of violence.
The profile of a radical is generally a middle class young man with high achievement motivation, upwardly mobile, and from a normally cohesive family. Some are pious, some are not, and few are educated in religious schools. However, they do use religious rhetoric and its symbolism as their motivation to fight injustices against fellow Muslims.
The report concludes that “for the politically radicalized, their fear of Western control, intervention and domination, as well as their lack of self-determination, reinforce their sense of powerlessness.”
For the West, Muslim women are seen as oppressed and the media’s reporting focuses on the tales of horror perpetrated against women. The sense is that women must be freed from their religion and their men.
However, the poll’s findings do not coincide with the West’s perceptions. Regarding women’s rights, there were differences amongst Muslim majority countries, but generally, it was agreed that women should have the same legal rights, including the right to vote, to hold any jobs for which they are qualified, and to hold leadership positions.
Muslim women do not want to be like Western women. As the West’s perception of them is negative, so is Muslim women’s perception of the lives of Western women.
Muslim women think that promiscuity, pornography, and indecent dress reflect a disrespect of women by men and by women themselves.
The poll raised the issue of sharia/sacred law and jurisprudence. (The term sharia is complex and is far more than mere laws, it encompasses a way of life for Muslims.)
Most Muslims are positive about the role of Islam and the sharia in their lives, but see a gap between the ideal and the Muslim world’s reality for them. They see no issue with religion’s role in the political system, and many would use an Islamic framework when advocating for improvements in women’s lives.
There is a markedly different understanding of equality, and the acceptable terms used are “complementariness” and “gender equity” of the sexes. This means different roles and, therefore, different rights, and not equality. This understanding is also present in the Muslim communities in the West.
There are reasons for the mistrust and cynicism in Muslim majority countries, but fallacies and myths on both sides add to the mutual antagonism. For example, there is no monolithic West - a coherent unit defined by democracy, human rights, gender equality and the division of church and state. But there is no monolithic Muslim world either. These generalizations mistakenly define a clash of civilizations and can only impede any progress towards understanding.
The information is interesting but without the questionnaire being included in the book, it left me wondering how the questions were asked.
The book explains the concept of sharia reasonably well, but the rest of the book does not bear up to the nuanced discussion on the differing concepts of Islamic principles, sharia as sacred law and as manmade jurisprudence.
It is frustrating that the authors continue the blurred and unclear use of these concepts, especially when it is of such importance in understanding the Muslim belief in sharia.
Another weakness is that the focus is on the conflicts between the United States and the Muslim majority countries, but then I guess the reality is that the war on terror and the clash of civilizations is more marked in this relationship. T
Alia Hogben is a social worker and executive director of the Canadian Council of Muslim Women.