Women and the Koran

Anwar Hekmat, himself born and raised in a Muslim country, believes Islamic society is long overdue for an enlightened critique. Unflinching in his criticisms of the slavelike treatment of women by Islam, Hekmat's groundbreaking work, Women and the Koran, shows that the many deprivations and humiliations suffered by Muslim women have their roots in Islam's holy book, the Koran, and the life of its Prophet, Muhammad. Hekmat analyzes key aspects of Muslim social life from a historical perspective. He looks critically at marriage and divorce laws that give men all the advantages; the prevalence of polygamy (really polygyny) and the use of concubines (female slaves); the severe punishments imposed on women for adultery and other sexual misconduct; legal acceptance of wife beating; and the many laws requiring women to be veiled in public and confined to the house through most of their lives. Hekmat concludes his controversial study optimistically by pointing out that some liberalization has already taken place in the Muslim world, for example in Turkey. He predicts that as education increases and the pervasive influence of the media keeps exposing Muslim society to accomplished women in non-Muslim nations, the demand for equal rights for women in Islam will be impossible to suppress. Contrary to the orthodox view, this inevitable awakening will not spell the end of Islam but its rejuvenation.