Women in Quran

In the Quran, Satan asks Adam to eat an apple from the Tree of Knowledge. So, Adam and Eve(depicted as his wife) both eat from the Tree. It is of great significance that Satan is encouraging and thereby tempting Adam and NOT Eve to eat the apple. In the Bible, Eve has been vilified as the sole temptress in cahoots with Satan who beckons Adam to go astray. Yet in the Quran it is Adam that makes the fatal decision and fallacy.

Usually, when you hear of Islam and women, stories abounds in mainstream media how Islam, or rightly the fundamentalist strand, suppresses women's rights and identities. Women fall under the full jurisdiction of being contolled, dictated by, and living for and under the rule of their fathers or husbands. However, once you start reading the Quran, you will encounter, oftentimes, gross misinterpretations of the passages propagated by extreme Muslims. In many instances, the Quran dictates that women need to be taken care of and not subjected to the rigid control of men. Furthermore, the Quran heralds women as equal to men in all aspects.

Yet, fundamentalists Muslims strive to dominate and discriminate against women using the Quran as justifiable proof for their absurb and downright bizarre rules. The Shiite Law under contention in Afghanistan, and the video of a young Pakistani girl being whipped in public by men for a minor transgression such as leaving her home without permission or having an affair (the actual reason still shrouded in mystery) add credence to Islam being portrayed as the lone dissident against women rights.

Mainstream media loves a good story especially if it comes packed with tangible victims and villains. Too often, the very nature of Islam is seen as the ultimate villain when stories such as the above are making the rounds.