The image of Eve as temptress in the Bible has resulted in an extremely negative impact on women throughout the Judaeo-Christian tradition. All women were believed to have inherited from their mother, the Biblical Eve, both her guilt and her guile. Consequently, they were all untrustworthy, morally inferior, and wicked. Menstruation, pregnancy, and childbearing were considered the just punishment for the eternal guilt of the cursed female sex. In order to appreciate how negative the impact of the Biblical Eve was on all her female descendants we have to look at the writings of some of the most important Jews and Christians of all time. Let us start with the Old Testament and look at excerpts from what is called the Wisdom Literature in which we find:

"I find more bitter than death the woman who is a snare, whose heart is a trap and whose hands are chains. The man who pleases God will escape her, but the sinner she will ensnare....while I was still searching but not finding, I found one upright man among a thousand but not one upright woman among them all" (Ecclesiastes 7:26-28).

In another part of the Hebrew literature which is found in the Catholic Bible we read:

"No wickedness comes anywhere near the wickedness of a woman.....Sin began with a woman and thanks to her we all must die" (Ecclesiasticus 25:19,24).

Jewish Rabbis listed nine curses inflicted on women as a result of the Fall:

"To the woman He gave nine curses and death: the burden of the blood of menstruation and the blood of virginity; the burden of pregnancy; the burden of childbirth; the burden of bringing up the children; her head is covered as one in mourning; she pierces her ear like a permanent slave or slave girl who serves her master; she is not to be believed as a witness; and after everything--death."[2]

To the present day, orthodox Jewish men in their daily morning prayer recite "Blessed be God King of the universe that Thou has not made me a woman." The women, on the other hand, thank God every morning for "making me according to Thy will." [3] Another prayer found in many Jewish prayer books: "Praised be God that he has not created me a gentile. Praised be God that he has not created me a woman. Praised be God that he has not created me an ignoramus." [4]

The Biblical Eve has played a far bigger role in Christianity than in Judaism. Her sin has been pivotal to the whole Christian faith because the Christian conception of the reason for the mission of Jesus Christ on Earth stems from Eve's disobedience to God. She had sinned and then seduced Adam to follow her suit. Consequently, God expelled both of them from Heaven to Earth, which had been cursed because of them. They bequeathed their sin, which had not been forgiven by God, to all their descendants and, thus, all humans are born in sin. In order to purify human beings from their 'original sin', God had to sacrifice Jesus, who is considered to be the Son of God, on the cross. Therefore, Eve is responsible for her own mistake, her husband's sin, the original sin of all humanity, and the death of the Son of God. In other words, one woman acting on her own caused the fall of humanity [5]. What about her daughters? They are sinners like her and have to be treated as such. Listen to the severe tone of St. Paul in the New Testament:

1. Eve's Fault ?

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The three religions agree on one basic fact: Both women and men are created by God, The Creator of the whole universe. However, disagreement starts soon after the creation of the first man, Adam, and the first woman, Eve. The Judaeo-Christian conception of the creation of Adam and Eve is narrated in detail in Genesis 2:4-3:24. God prohibited both of them from eating the fruits of the forbidden tree. The serpent seduced Eve to eat from it and Eve, in turn, seduced Adam to eat with her. When God rebuked Adam for what he did, he put all the blame on Eve, "The woman you put here with me --she gave me some fruit from the tree and I ate it." Consequently, God said to Eve:

"I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband and he will rule over you."

To Adam He said:

"Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree .... Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life..."

The Islamic conception of the first creation is found in several places in the Quran, for example:

"O Adam dwell with your wife in the Garden and enjoy as you wish but approach not this tree or you run into harm and transgression. Then Satan whispered to them in order to reveal to them their shame that was hidden from them and he said: 'Your Lord only forbade you this tree lest you become angels or such beings as live forever.' And he swore to them both that he was their sincere adviser. So by deceit he brought them to their fall: when they tasted the tree their shame became manifest to them and they began to sew together the leaves of the Garden over their bodies. And their Lord called unto them: 'Did I not forbid you that tree and tell you that Satan was your avowed enemy?' They said: 'Our Lord we have wronged our own souls and if You forgive us not and bestow not upon us Your Mercy, we shall certainly be lost' " (7:19:23).

Women in Islam versus Judaeo-Christian Tradition The Myth & The Reality

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Introduction

Five years ago, I read in the Toronto Star issue of July 3, 1990 an article titled "Islam is not alone in patriarchal doctrines", by Gwynne Dyer. The article described the furious reactions of the participants of a conference on women and power held in Montreal to the comments of the famous Egyptian feminist Dr. Nawal Saadawi. Her "politically incorrect" statements included : "the most restrictive elements towards women can be found first in Judaism in the Old Testament then in Christianity and then in the Quran"; "all religions are patriarchal because they stem from patriarchal societies"; and "veiling of women is not a specifically Islamic practice but an ancient cultural heritage with analogies in sister religions".

The participants could not bear sitting around while their faiths were being equated with Islam. Thus, Dr. Saadawi received a barrage of criticism. "Dr. Saadawi's comments are unacceptable. Her answers reveal a lack of understanding about other people's faiths," declared Bernice Dubois of the World Movement of Mothers. "I must protest" said panelist Alice Shalvi of Israel women's network, "there is no conception of the veil in Judaism." The article attributed these furious protests to the strong tendency in the West to scapegoat Islam for practices that are just as much a part of the West's own cultural heritage. "Christian and Jewish feminists were not going to sit around being discussed in the same category as those wicked Muslims," wrote Gwynne Dyer.

I was not surprised that the conference participants had held such a negative view of Islam, especially when women's issues were involved. In the West, Islam is believed to be the symbol of the subordination of women par excellence. In order to understand how firm this belief is, it is enough to mention that the Minister of Education in France, the land of Voltaire, has recently ordered the expulsion of all young Muslim women wearing the veil from French schools [1]! A young Muslim student wearing a headscarf is denied her right of education in France, while a Catholic student wearing a cross or a Jewish student wearing a skullcap is not. The scene of French policemen preventing young Muslim women wearing headscarves from entering their high school is unforgettable. It inspires the memories of another equally disgraceful scene of Governor George Wallace of Alabama in 1962 standing in front of a school gate trying to block the entrance of black students in order to prevent the desegregation of Alabama's schools. The difference between the two scenes is that the black students had the sympathy of so many people in the U.S. and in the whole world. President Kennedy sent the U.S. National Guard to force the entry of the black students. The Muslim girls, on the other hand, received no help from any one. Their cause seems to have very little sympathy either inside or outside France. The reason is the widespread misunderstanding and fear of anything Islamic in the world today.

What intrigued me the most about the Montreal conference was one question : Were the statements made by Saadawi, or any of her critics, factual ? In other words, do Judaism, Christianity, and Islam have the same conception of women? Are they different in their conceptions ? Do Judaism and Christianity , truly, offer women a better treatment than Islam does? What is the Truth?

It is not easy to search for and find answers to these difficult questions. The first difficulty is that one has to be fair and objective or, at least, do one's utmost to be so. This is what Islam teaches. The Quran has instructed Muslims to say the truth even if those who are very close to them do not like it:

"Whenever you speak, speak justly, even if a near relative is concerned" (6:152) "O you who believe stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to Allah, even as against yourselves, or your parents or your kin, and whether it be (against) rich or poor" (4:135).

For years, misconceptions about the roles which Muslim women play have abounded. Many people believe that Muslim women are slaves to their husbands, beaten by their husbands, forced by their husbands to cover or that they are completely devoid of rights. In essence, none of this is true. There may be individual cases where these actions may occur, but the same can be stated about any religion or culture. In Islam, however, it is very easy to differentiate between the action of the individual, and the teachings of Islam.

Islam is based upon the teachings of the Glorious Quran and the tradition of the prophet, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. The tradition of the prophet (PBUH) is collected in a series of narrations, collectively know as the Hadiths. Through the Quran and the Hadiths, we, as Muslims can identify our roles, rights and duties.

These sources have some passages which are meant for all Muslims, male or female. There are some which have been dedicated to men, while others speak only to women. With the help of these sources, we, as Muslims, learn our freedoms and our limitations.

In reference to women, the Quran and the Hadiths have mandated various rules in regard to behavior, appearance and rights. Some of these may seem constricting to western women, causing them to pity Muslim women, but these women fail to realize that Muslim women do not feel constricted by these rules; we feel liberated, and in fact, as Muslim women we should pity western women. The Muslim woman is not forced to display herself to find a husband. She does not lower herself into competition with other women, using her body as a lure. Secondly, the Muslim women supports no man. Her property is off limits to her husband. It is his duty to provide for her and her children, regardless of her personal wealth. Thirdly, the man has no right to physically harm his wife. While some western scholars negate this by quoting from the Quran that a man is allowed to beat his wife, they fail to mention that the only condoned instrument for this beating is a siwak. (A siwak is a piece of wood, used as a toothbrush, about as thick as a pencil, and about half the length.) It is highly doubtful that this instrument could cause a child any damage, much less a woman. Yet, in the United States, there are still states which have no laws against a man beating his wife. Even, I once read an article where a man beat his girlfriend and killed her pet rabbit. This man was to six months for beating the woman but six years for killing the rabbit. What kind of society values the life of a rabbit more than the welfare of its women. Allah is the Just, the Supreme. Furthermore, Islam gave women the right to own property, work, inherit, and divorce long before the West had even decided that women were human and that they had souls.

The Danish writer Wieth Kordsten explained the view of the Catholic Church towards women. He said: “During the Middle Ages very little care was given to women, following the teaching of the Catholic church which regarded woman as a second class creation.” In France, a council in 586 CE decided to research the case of woman and whether she was to be counted as human or not. After some discussion, they decided that woman was human, but she was created to serve man. 

The 217^th clause of the French law states the following: “A married woman – even if her marriage is based on the condition of separating what belongs to her and what belongs to her husband – is not permitted to give anything as a gift or to transfer any of her property or use it as collateral, or to take possession of anything whether in return for payment or otherwise, without her husband being a party to the contract or agreeing to it in writing.” 

In England, Henry VIII forbade the English woman to read the Bible. Until 1850 CE women were not counted as citizens, and until 1882 CE they did not have any personal rights. 

(Silsilat Maqaarinah al-Adyaan, by Dr. Ahmad Shalaby, vol. 3, p. 210-213) 

As for contemporary woman in Europe, America and other industrial nations, she is a creature which is degraded and abused for commercial purposes. She is a feature of advertising campaigns, and things have reached a stage where she takes off her clothes in order to advertise products on posters, and she sells and displays her body according to systems devised by men, so that she is no more than an object of pleasure for them in every place.  

Woman is cared for so long as she is able to give and contribute physically or mentally. When she becomes old and cannot give any more, society – individuals and institutions – forsakes her and she lives alone in her house or in a mental hospital. 

Compare this – and there is no comparison – with the teachings of the Noble Qur’aan, in which Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): 

“The believers, men and women, are Awliya’ (helpers, supporters, friends, protectors) of one another”

[al-Tawbah 9:71] 

كتب الله لقلبى حبها---فانارت الكون بجمالها ----اجعلنى انا وقلبى حبيبها---وتنفست شوقا لانفاسى --اجعلنى ياربى من هواها ---اجعلنى يا رب من رزقى وحلالى---واجعل حبها سعدى وهناءئ ---واجعل حبها نور سرمدى---اسالك ياربى حبها وودها -سالت الله ان يدوم حبها----ويسعد قلبها ,urgih* *ياربى لا تلومنى على حبها---فحبك احلى من شهدها* *قلبى يشدوا بانوارها---ونور الله امل العاشقى* *جمعت روحى بروحها----فجمعنا فى جنتك العاليا* *يارب اشهد ان حبها عفاف ورضا--فجعلنى وقلبى سبب سعدها* *يارب القى على محبتك----فانت الكريم بحبك احبها* *ياربى هل اذنبت بحبها---فقلبى اسير حبك وحبهااغفر لى يارب هفوات قلبى----فانت الرحيم بقلبى وقلبها*  كتب الله لقلبى حبها---فانارت الكون بجمالها سالت الله ان يدوم حبها----ويسعد قلبها وعقلهاياربى لا تلومنى على حبها---فحبك احلى من شهدها قلبى يشدوا بانوارها.

كتب الله لقلبى حبها-

كتب الله لقلبى حبها---فانارت الكون بجمالها ----اجعلنى انا وقلبى حبيبها---وتنفست شوقا لانفاسى --اجعلنى ياربى من هواها ---اجعلنى يا رب من رزقى وحلالى---واجعل حبها سعدى وهناءئ ---واجعل حبها نور سرمدى---اسالك ياربى حبها وودها -سالت الله ان يدوم حبها----ويسعد قلبها واهلها* *ياربى لا تلومنى على حبها---فحبك احلى من شهدها* *قلبى يشدوا بانوارها---ونور الله امل العاشقى* *جمعت روحى بروحها----فجمعنا فى جنتك العاليا* *يارب اشهد ان حبها عفاف ورضا--فجعلنى وقلبى سبب سعدها* *يارب القى على محبتك----فانت الكريم بحبك احبها* *ياربى هل اذنبت بحبها---فقلبى اسير حبك وحبهااغفر لى يارب هفوات قلبى----فانت الرحيم بقلبى وقلبها* [image: كتب الله لقلبى حبها---فانارت الكون بجمالها سالت الله ان يدوم حبها----ويسعد قلبها واهلها ياربى لا تلومنى على حبها---فحبك احلى من شهدها قلبى يشدوا بانوارها.