Narratives of Oppression!

In a critique of Donald Trump’s proposed ban on Muslims, George. W. Bush argued ,“Islamic women should come to the U.S. to experience a free society so they can lead the charge for equality in the Middle East.” Similarly, In an infamous televised discussion  on CNN between Don Lemon and Reza Aslan, Don Lemon lambasted what he referred  to as the  “primitive treatment in Muslim countries of women and other minorities” while asking , “Does Islam promote violence?”   The perception that Islam is a uniquely patriarchal and misogynistic religion is a key component of Islamophobic discourse. Such beliefs contributes to a notion of U.S exceptionalism that actively obfuscates the presence patriarchal mentalities that pervades the military planning of the United States.

As an example, the goal of a nuclear free world  has been actively inhibited by patriarchal structures in the United States. Dr. Carol Cohn, a feminist scholar of international relations in “White men in ties discussing Missile Size”  notes that U.S military experts have actually justified holding on to their nuclear arsenals by stating,’To disarm is to get rid of all your stuff,” During the arms race, pentagon military analyst stated,“Look, you gotta understand that it’s a pissing content-you gotta expect them to use everything they’ve got.” In both of these cases, nuclear weapons were portrayed as an extension of the male genitalia and the eradication of nuclear weapons was portrayed as being emasculated.

In Women, Militarism, and War By Jean Bethke Elshtain and Sheila Tobias, they demonstrate exclusively  how patriarchy from United States contributes actively to the proliferation of destructive weapons and a more militaristic world. They write,””One professor spoke of India’s explosion of a nuclear bomb as “losing her virginity”; the question of how the United States should react was posed as “whether we should throw her away.”   These are the  actual statements of the  “great minds”  behind U.S military research! Even further, in The Man Question in International Relations by Marysia Zalewski and  Jane L. Parpart, they argue that the entire field of international relation has been constructed around men with a  hyper masculine culture  leading to continued militarism.  

The problem with Islamophobia is that it seeks to make patriarchy an exclusive problem of the Muslim world while the United States is portrayed as an exemplar of women’s rights. This narrative actively conceals the patriarchal structures upheld by the United States.

Still George. W. Bush believes that Muslim women should experience the freedoms of America in order to transform their own societies.

Tell that to sister Philis Wheatley, a black Muslim woman who was kidnapped from West Africa, forcibly converted to Christianity, and denied freedom on U.S soil.

Tell that to Sister Safiya Bukhari who joined the Black Panther Party for Self Defense; never experienced the freedom that Bush speaks of and for her efforts in black liberation was unjustly incarcerated.

Tell that to Tynetta Muhammad who said within the United States,”They have practiced white supremacy for over 430 years butchering our people.”

The narrative that Islam is “primitive” towards its treatment of women is consistent with a colonial discourse of advanced Western nations that seeks to portray the non-white world as in need of “civilizing,” and Western nations as enlightened. How many media discussions center around critically examining patriarchal theories that continue to pervade western international relations theory?

Yes, the Muslim world must improve with regards to the treatment of woman. The Prophet Muhammad(Peace Be Upon Him) never taught that Muslim sisters should be regulated to the most inferior sections of the Mosque nor did he teach that Muslim sisters  should be inhibited from educational opportunities. Throughout Islamic history, Muslims sisters played an integral role in the transmission of religious knowledge. Even the eschatological themes of the Qu’ran warns us against patriarchy: infants who were killed  merely for being girls will be brought back to life and given a chance to speak while their male killers condemned and subjected to punishment.  Islam was responsible for educational institutions for women from the Middle East to West Africa.

Unfortunately, cultural traditions and ideologies which are foreign and antithetical to Islam have crept into the Muslim world. Many of these authoritarian regimes in the Muslim world (such as Saudi Arabia) have been  put in place by western colonial powers and continue to be backed by the United States.After fully backing such regimes, the United States then steps in as a savior to throw shade at Islam as an inherently oppressive religion completely oblivious at Islam’s  long standing history in uplifting and securing the rights of women. As Muslims we should not go for this and must comprehensively work against patriarchal ideologies whether it come from western theories of international relations, corrupt governments, or anywhere else.