Western Influences on Islamic Women

Paper Summary:

The author of this paper asserts that western society has a very biased opinion against the Islamic peoples and culture. It argues that contrary to what most westerners think, western influence on women in Islamic societies does not help develop their rights and freedoms, but hinders their development instead.

From the Paper:

"September 11th and the war on Iraq have managed to demonize and stereotype Islam in the popular Western mind even more than its foreign nature had independently achieved. In addition to the furor over Islam spawning terrorism, renewed attention has been pointed at the supposed oppression and abuse of women in Islamic cultures, to the degree that these human rights abuses have been cited as one of the justifications for Bush's war on Iraq. However, there remains among thinking people, particularly those with cultural, religious, or ethnic ties to both Islamic and Western cultures, as to whether or not Islam has a negative impact on women's rights in the modern and historical Middle East. Because the false dichotomy between "good" Western ideals and "bad" Islamic ideals has been propagated for so long, it might surprise a Western reader to learn that many people, including many women, do not feel that Islam is abusive to women, and may even feel that it is Western ideals that threaten the well-being and freedom of women. When one attempts to answer the questions regarding the positive and negative impact which the West has had on the lives and status and rights of Islamic women, one is immediately confronted with the difficulty of determining what one will define as positive and what as negative."

More papers on Western Influences on Islamic Women:

• Research Paper # 24037 : "The Impact of Global Telecommunications Improvements on Islamic Women"
• Analytical Essay # 123450 : "Muslim Women in the U.S."
• Term Paper # 110062 : "Women and Islam"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: