I am writing a book about women in Islam

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- Klingschor
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I am writing a book about women in Islam
OP - June 21, 2012, 03:41 AM

I am writing a book about women in Islam, and I'd love to get the input of as many ex-Muslimas as possible. If you're interested, please add me on Skype or add me on my pseudonymous facebook account and send me a message:

SKYPE: Klingschor

FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/Klingschor

Here's an example of my work on women in Islam:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26o_EO0t4v0

http://klingschor.blogspot.com.au/2011/08/is-islam-sexist.html

I'd appreciate anyone wishing to assist me in the writing of my book.

Thank you all kindly,

~ V
- PureInertia
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Re: I am writing a book about women in Islam
Reply #1 - June 21, 2012, 01:53 PM

I'll help out in whatever way I can, but it seems you really have this under control. I'm not even sure how I could help.

I used to be powerful, then I started blogging.
- Tonyt
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Re: I am writing a book about women in Islam
Reply #2 - June 21, 2012, 02:53 PM

You have made a great video there Klingschor . That is a very good resource, I just favorited it.

The only constructive tip I can think of is that the Muslim apologists will usually try to argue that, for it's time (7th century AD), Islam was progressive in terms of women's rights. So in your book you might want to address that issue to. I.e. present the case that the apologists use and then point out any flaws in it.

I believe that usually the case that Islam actually advanced women's rights when it first came out is centered around divorce rights and property owning rights which apparently they lacked in Pre-Islamic Arabia.

I do not know how much evidence there is specifically for these rights in Pre-Islamic Arabia, but the obvious flaw to this is that most of the areas where Islam came to dominate, in fact most of the areas that are known today as the "Muslim World" or the "Arab World" were not following the customs of Pre-Islamic Arabia anyway. For example in places like Syria, Egypt, North Africa, those areas were all part of the Christian / Byzantine World, and the laws in place under Byzantine rule already gave women property rights and divorce rights, so when Islam came to those areas there were really no advancements in women's rights.
- Tonyt
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Re: I am writing a book about women in Islam
Reply #3 - June 21, 2012, 03:02 PM

By the way if you did want to delve into the topic of women's rights in the Byzantine area prior to Islam (as background research for your book), then I can reccomend this book:

Gillian Clark - Women in Late Antiquity: Pagan and Christian Lifestyles

I think it would be interesting to compare and see if there were any differences between what laws the Byzantines had in place and what Islam brought.

I am not an expert on the subject, but it seems to me that the kinds of laws that the Byzantines had with regards to women's rights were surprisingly similar to Islamic law and thus Islam was really bringing nothing new in this area. But then again I am no expert.
- yeezevee
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Re: I am writing a book about women in Islam
Reply #4 - June 21, 2012, 03:05 PM

Quote from: Tonyt on June 21, 2012, 02:53 PM
You have made a great video there Klingschor . That is a very good resource, I just favorited it.

The only constructive tip I can think of is that the Muslim apologists will usually try to argue that, for it's time (7th century AD), Islam was progressive in terms of women's rights. So in your book you might want to address that issue to. I.e. present the case that the apologists use and then point out any flaws in it.

I believe that usually the case that Islam actually advanced women's rights when it first came out is centered around divorce rights and property owning rights which apparently they lacked in Pre-Islamic Arabia.

I do not know how much evidence there is specifically for these rights in Pre-Islamic Arabia, but the obvious flaw to this is that most of the areas where Islam came to dominate, in fact most of the areas that are known today as the "Muslim World" or the "Arab World" were not following the customs of Pre-Islamic Arabia anyway.........................

Well If my Guess is right Klingschor is right from Arabian Desert.. So he should be able to explore that subject visiting some remote places of Saudi Arabia and look in to the 16th/17th and 18th century books from that area..

Do not let silence become your legacy.. Question everything
I renounced my faith to become a kafir,
the beloved betrayed me and turned in to a Muslim
- Klingschor
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Re: I am writing a book about women in Islam
Reply #5 - June 22, 2012, 04:23 PM

Quote from: PureInertia on June 21, 2012, 01:53 PM
I'll help out in whatever way I can, but it seems you really have this under control. I'm not even sure how I could help.

I'd still appreciate any input from any ex-Muslimas, or even ex-Muslims in general. Feel free to add me on Skype or Facebook.
- Al-Ma`arri
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Re: I am writing a book about women in Islam
Reply #6 - June 22, 2012, 05:44 PM

That is splendid, Klingschor! Tonyt wrote something important: take a deep look into if per-Islamic society was indeed misogynistic as Muslim apologists and Islamic history say so. Why was Khadijah successful businesswomen if the society she lived in was hostile towards women? What about Hind?

I will give you more references on books and passages in Islamic scriptures next week.

PS: I see that you wrote a splendid essay on Muslim Spain, in the reference list I see you haven't used these books edited by some history-professors at Cambridge: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Christians-Moors-Spain-Hispanic-Classics/dp/0856684503/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1325527300&sr=8-1

"Beauty is truth, truth beauty," - that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.

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- moi
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Re: I am writing a book about women in Islam
Reply #7 - June 22, 2012, 05:54 PM

Don't forget the other great empire then - Persia - and their rules. Tom Holland Shadow of the Sword doesn't discuss this but his bibliography may have some good leads - on slavery for example.

When you are a Bear of Very Little Brain, and you Think of Things, you find sometimes that a Thing which seemed very Thingish inside you is quite different when it gets out into the open and has other people looking at it.

A.A. Milne,

"We cannot slaughter each other out of the human impasse"
- EastMidlands
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Re: I am writing a book about women in Islam
Reply #8 - July 05, 2012, 09:03 AM

You might be able to attract a few more respondents by joining the Facebook pages "Liberal and Inclusive Religions" and "UK Unitarians".
- Tonyt
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Re: I am writing a book about women in Islam
Reply #9 - August 10, 2012, 12:04 AM

Quote from: moi on June 22, 2012, 05:54 PM
Don't forget the other great empire then - Persia - and their rules. Tom Holland Shadow of the Sword doesn't discuss this but his bibliography may have some good leads - on slavery for example.

On Persia, I just stumbled on this wikipedia article:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_the_Sassanid_Empire
- sturmgewehr
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Re: I am writing a book about women in Islam
Reply #10 - August 10, 2012, 12:35 AM

Good Luck Klingschor
- TheDashingRabbit
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Re: I am writing a book about women in Islam
Reply #11 - August 12, 2012, 05:15 PM

I'm not a woman but I can tell what I've seen within my extended family and family friends. Women are respected if they wear the hijaab and in general act like a good muslimah. But it's pretty much the same standards for men (i.e. being a good muslim).

The thing I have noticed though is that married women with kids tend to experience a more elevated status and get more respect from the muslim community than when they were single.

In my opinion a life without curiosity is not a life worth living
- Yume
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Re: I am writing a book about women in Islam
Reply #12 - September 19, 2012, 12:18 PM

Good luck
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