하나님의 시선에서 바라본 현대 이슬람 여성들―이슬람 젠더 비평에 관한 참여

Abstract

In Genesis 12, Abraham was elected and received God’s blessing to enlarge his promise to all people-groups. God’s divine purpose was to multiply his universal blessing through Abraham’s descendants. The Son of Hagar, Ishmael, was also included in Abraham’s family, and blessed in Genesis 21 to become a great nation. Some scholars find the origin of the Muslims’ alienation and conflicts in history from the broken family of Abraham in Genesis. Muslims at the present time, believe in the legitimacy of firstborn child, Ishmael, and celebrate annually Eid al-Adha, the feast of the Sacrifice, commemorating Ishmael’s submission to God’s command. Taking into consideration the divine plan to bless all peoples, Christians today should recall to their attention to the neglected history of Muslims identified as the descendants of Ishmael and Hagar. With respect to God’s mission, the issues of women in Islam and Islam and feminism are very important, because the manner in which we understand this current trend in Islam affects the way we response to this dynamic cultural flow. The historical traditions found in the Quran and the Hadith provided standards by which women were to be judged as being good Muslim females. This tradition, prohibited Muslim women from interpreting the Sharia, the moral code and the source of Islamic law system, and the Fiqh, Islamic jurisprudence. In contemporary times, however, a growing grass roots movement of Islamic women and the worldwide-feminist movements are challenging the roles of Ulama and religious leaders. With the spread of Internet and the so called SNS (social network system), the hidden spaces underneath veil are disclosed. After the recent civil wars in the Arab world including Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Yemen, some people question “was the Arab Spring really worth?” or “Has a power shift really occurred?” During the civil uprisings, women was the centre of the revolutionary wave of protests. Controversial topics including women’s divorce, inheritance, social state, and rights to participate in politics, and wearing of the hijab are being discussed in Asia, Africa, Europe, and America, because the waves of reformation inside Islam disclose the tyrannical and unjust Islamic family laws. Many Christians are unaware of this new wave within Islam. This is partly due to dynamic characteristics of present movement among Muslim women, but also due to a lack of understanding of the meaning of the renewal in Islam through gender jihad or gender critique. The practices of Islam and the implementation of Islamic law vary according to the country, region, or sect in which each Islamic community is located. Incremental reformists proclaim gender jihad and demand the renewal and reform of Islam within the wave of ijtihad, and critical reading of the texts or traditions. Radical reformists, on the other hand, ascribe gender inequality to Islamic tradition and assert the separation of Islamic society and religion.Secular feminists and Islamic Feminists view patriarchic society and Islamic law as the primary source of oppression. Conservative and faithful Muslim women living in western countries, however, protest laws banning the hijab while defending their faith and their human rights. The new term ‘islamic gender critique’ encompasses the dynamics of women in Islam and feministic movements. In terms of oppression, complex and varying perspectives exist on Islamic women’s issues. Outsiders from western societies fix their gaze upon the low income, honor killings, veils, and polygamy in Islamic countries. Conversely, insiders within Islamic cultures, argue that Islamic teachings do not create gender inequality but rather disparity or difference between men and women. In the process of applying redemptive history to female-male relationships in Islam, Christians therefore, need to acknowledge the practical dimensions and spiritual darkness behind the oppression. In history, western societies established on the Christian heritage also misunderstood the divine purpose of men and women in creation and disregard women’s role in church and the State. Women and slaves were mistreated and regarded as inferior to free males. Due to many institutional or social sins, the order of creation designed to glorify God, in particular, the relationships between men and women were distorted and broken. However when Jesus came, he confronted the social evil and institutional sin. He warned the treacherous men who manipulated their wives and claimed their rights to divorce according to their misinterpretation of Mosaic law. He perfectly kept the Law of Moses but brought the perfect law of liberty in himself. Therefore, Gentile Christians, who were formerly outside the covenant and had no hope, but through Christ are redeemed and indebted to God for salvation are obligated to proclaim this good news to Muslims. In Gal 3:28 the apostle Paul declared the equality of gender role and human unity in Christ. Every human being, including Muslims and Christians, are all insecure without a sense of belonging or a strong identity from God, the creator. To fulfill God’s divine plan for the salvation of all people-groups and rediscover the imago dei in men and women, Christians must defend the oppressed but also live out the Gospel within the Islamic contexts. We are called to represent the teachings of Christ, as faithful stewards of God’s creation. We are asked to participate in new Islamic movements as outsiders but also as neighbors of Islam. Thus we need to pray for God’s sovereignty over the Islamic societies and cultures. Muslims also have the rights to be blessed along with Abraham and justified by faith in Jesus.