Islam: The Religion and the People

Chapter 11: Women in Islam

Comment by an Egyptian author

The best of women is the tallest when she stands, the strongest when she sleeps, the most truthful when she speaks; she is magnanimous in anger and smiles when amused and excels in what she does. She stays in her house and obeys her husband; she is proud of her people and modest of herself.

—Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti (1445-1505)

In the course of the 19^th century, Muslims were becoming more and more aware of the weakness and poverty of their world, compared with the rich, powerful, and advancing West. Among the Turks, Arabs, Persians, and other Muslim peoples, the debate began and grew with increasing anguish and intensity: “What have we done wrong? How can we put it right?”

Many diagnoses ...