DOES TASLIMA KNW WHAT A GIRL WNT?

I happened to see an article tittled '' women the only victim'' written by Taslima Nasreen in the 92nd page of the december edition of the magazine '' THE WEEK ''.Truly speeking , the article was utter absurdity .There is no wonder that a person possess misconsepts about islam, but I was astonished at the irresponsibility of the editor of the magazine in publishing such an article in which the author herself is ignorant of the subject .Islamic religion is based on the glorious Qur'an and the Sahih Hadith. So inorder to point out this is islam, one has to provide proof either from the Qur'an or from the Sahih Hadith.

In the 2nd stanza of the article, the author says women's desires hold no value in islam. Let me draw your attention to [surah Nisa ,chapter 4 verse 19] the Qur'an, it says, ''o ye who believe you are forbidden to marry women against their will''.Aaccording to Sahih Bukhari vol 7 chapter 43 hadith 69,a marriage is considered invalid if a man marries a woman against her will .This proves the above declaration of the author to be wrong.

In the 3rd stanza of the article, the author says '' according to islamic law, there is no punishment for a rapist father- in-law '' how can this statement be true when islamic shariah prescribes capital punishment for a convicted rapist. The Qur'an in surah Nur [24:31] prescribes hijab for both men & women . Its obligatory for a woman to cover her complete body except her face & hands up to the wrist with loose,non transperant cloths and in the same chapter , verse 30 , Allah says the moment a man looks at a woman and any unashamed thought comes to his mind, he should lower his gaze . In chapter no:33, verse: 59 ,Allah says that hijab has been prescribed for the women to that they are recognized as modest women & this would prevent them from being molested.And even after wearing an islamic hijab, if a man comits rape, islamic shariah prescribes capital punisment for him.Like all other major religions,islam too declaers rape and molestation as grave sins . Islam not only preach rape as a sin but also gives guidance as to how society can eliminate it . So the statement put forward by the author is nothing but lack of islamic knowledge.

In the article, the author is criticizing the act of a group of muslims because of whom a woman was forced to accept her father-in- law as her husband .In surah Nisa [4:23] of Qur'an , Allah prohibits man from marrying the wives of his sons .So a muslim who follows the words of holy Qur'an will not support the marriage of a woman with her father -in- law . So author's criticism should not be against islam but against the muslims who fail to follow islam . One cannot criticize islam based on the behaviour of a muslim or two. There are blacksheeps in every community.Islam should be judged , not by its followers, but by its authentic sources, the glorious Qur'an and Sahih hadith. Allah himself asked us to criticize islam but the one who criticizes must be truthful.

In the fourth stanza of the article , the author is ridiculous at the people who demand shariat or Islamic law.She also feels that educated and scientific minded people with conscience cannot accept such a law.Let's see what happens if islamic shariat is implimented - whenever a man looks at a woman and any unashamed thought comes to his mind , he lowers his head.Even after wearing hijab and a man comits rape, he gets capital punishment .Every rich person gives Zakat ( 2.5% of his savings in charity above 85 gms of gold for every lunar year) and every convicted robber has his or her hands chooped off as punishment will surely reduce the rate of rape, poverty and robbery.What is wrong if an educated , scientific minded person with conscience demand such a law ? Glance at USA which is supposed to be the most advanced countries of the world.According to National Crime Victimization Survey Bureau of Justice Statics (US Department of Justice ) in 1996, 3,07,000 cases of rape were reported .Only 31% of actual cases of rape were reported .So 9,90,322 rapes took place in 1996, i.e every 32 seconds one rape is taking place in America.

Later in her article in the sixth stanza, she refers Shah Bano , Imrana & Guriya to be sinned for having born in a muslim household.Let me ask - is it sin to be born in a religion which uplifted women and gave them equality and which asks men to respect women ( surah Nisa 4 : 1) and lower their head the moment a bad thought creeps into their mind Is it sin to be born in a religion which prescribes not less than capital punishment for a rapist?Is it sin to be born in a religion which not only preaches but gives practical solutions to the problems of mankind.

Allah says in Qur'an that men and women are equal.( surah Al Shura 42 :11).England gave economic rights to women in the year 1870 only.But Islam gave her ecnomical rights 1300 years back.[surah Nahl 16:72 ] In Islamic view, while marrying, a woman is on the receiving end ''Give the women in dower , a maritial gift.[surah Nisa 4:4] Qur'an asks men to treat their wives on a footing equality and kindness even if they dislike her [surah Nisa 4:19 ].It also says ''accusing a women falsly is a big crime [surah Nur 24:4 ] .According to Qur'an men and women are supporters and maintiners each other [surah Tawbah 9:71 ] , men and women are garments of each other [surah Baqara 2:187 ]. Can you find any other releigion asks men to support their wives financially even after a divorce ? This is the secureness and freedom which woman wants. Bringing Islam into the mind of each and every one is the only solution for wipping off the male dominated society .

Let me make myself clear that i am not writting this against the author, Taslima Nasreen . But my words are pointing to the misconcepts of many including her.If she still holds on to her words, let her produce a surah or atleast a verse from Qur'an to support her statement.

If a person like me can find these many mistakes in that article , Then surely an islamic scholar will find a lot more . It is the editor's duty to prevent such articles from being published . If a known writer gives you an utter stupid article, will you publish it blindly ? This small article of Taslima Nasreen published in the week might have brought misconcepts in the hearts of many .