Sex Discrimination in Hell

Some interesting bits of Islam, printed in our local paper’s regular Friday religion feature:

“The Messenger of Allah [the Prophet Mohammed] … passed by the women and said ‘O women! Give in charity, for I have been shown that you shall be the majority of the people of the Fire.’”

“The Prophet said ‘I was shown the Fire and found that the majority of its inhabitants were women.’”

“The Messenger of Allah said, ‘There are three whose prayers will not be raised above their ears - … a woman who spends the night whilst her husband is angry with her…’”

All three quotes are from the Hadith, or traditions of the Prophet, reported by those who knew him during his lifetime, and not from the Qur’an. This makes them less authoritative. But finding them in separate Hadith is significant.

Feminists might well want to object to Islam over this; it does seem to present women as morally inferior, and not equal to men. But if you’re a Muslim, you’re faced with a stark choice: who are you going to trust, in particular with your immortal soul? The Prophet Mohammed, who spoke for God himself, or Gloria Steinem?

Interestingly, the Hadith also present Mohammed as consistent on why so many women are going to Hell: “They are ungrateful to their husbands, and deny the good they do.”

Touche?

Surely it is fair to observe that Steinem and the feminists, at least, are somewhat stinting in their praise for men in general, and for the hard work they do and have done throughout history. Why shouldn’t this be considered, objectively, a failing?

It’s almost as if Mohammed were talking specifically about the modern feminist movement. But then, he is supposed to be a prophet, isn’t he?

On the other hand, might modern feminism also be an expression of a feminine tendency that is much older? The Greeks, for example, had many legends of women taking over control in one place or another: the Amazons, or the women of Lemnos. It always seemed to end in killing all the men.

If nothing else, it all sure puts the kibosh on the silly claim, popularized by, among others, Dan Brown in his popular novels, that Christianity is somehow uniquely hostile to women.