This letter is in response to the article published on the front page of the Iowa State Daily on September 10, 1996, by Kathleen Carlson with a title of “On being Muslim at Iowa State.”

Frankly, we are disappointed that the editor used an interview with one student who claims she is not even religious as a reflection of being Muslim at Iowa State.

Furthermore, in the article, although the Muslim sister who was interviewed admits her ideas are not reflective of what many Muslims believe, she made a derogatory suggestion that Quran be reinterpreted to accommodate women.

It is this statement indeed that has outraged many Muslims in the community and needs an explanation.

Muslims believe Quran as the Word of God revealed to Prophet Muhammad through the Holy Spirit Gabriel 14’h centuries ago.

God is perfect and knows about the conditions, needs, and circumstances of His creatures at all times. His Words, the Quran are preserved as first revealed and always will be to the end of times.

The Quran’s authenticity is unquestionable and its complete preservation is beyond doubt. The non-Muslim scientists who examine the Quran find it somewhat amazing and in fact some of them use it in their research. This has lead many scientists to new discoveries in the field of science and medicine.

The latest example is the work of Dr. Keith Moore, Chairman Department of Anatomy, University of Toronto, who is a world expert in the field of clinical embryology.

He was so surprised on what he read in the Quran that he changed his textbooks and included some material because of what he had found in the Quran (see “Before We are Born” and “The Developing Human” by Keith L. Moore).

This points out that the Quran is not only applicable today but it is even ahead of its time.

What does the Quran say about woman that needs a reinterpretation of it? The Quran states that both man and woman are created in the best of all forms and both are made of the same substance.

Everyone is born in a state of purity and innocence and both are dignified and are trustees of God on Earth. Woman is not blamed for the “fall of man.” Pregnancy and childbirth are not punishments for “eating from the tree” but are bases for respect and love.

Both men and women have the same duties, responsibilities, and face the consequences of their deeds. Quran states that the sole basis for superiority is piety and righteousness, not gender, color or nationality.

Islam has given women the rights to own properties before and after marriage and allowed them to keep their maiden names.

Women are granted additional financial advantages balanced by a lesser share of inheritance.

The responsibility of earning a living and supporting the wife and children is with the man.

The status of woman in Islam is something unique, something novel, something that has no similarity in any other system.

She is recognized as a full and equal partner of man in the procreation of humankind.

He is the father, she is the mother, and both are essential for life. She is equal to man in bearing personal responsibilities and receiving rewards.

She is equal to man in the pursuit of education and knowledge, freedom of expression, the right to vote, and equal pay.

Woman has been granted the honor of providing the proper education, training, and upbringing of the children and wider family relationships.

However, if she is able to do this while working outside the home, there is no objection so long as she does not neglect her religious duties. Islam grants woman equal rights to contract, to enterprise, to earn and possess independently. Her life, her property, her honor are sacred as those of man.

Non-Muslims are simply unable to comprehend why anyone would want to mold his or her life to conform to a religious system established many centuries ago.

They may feel uneasy about this “strange object” — an opaque material which not only covers the woman’s hair but also hides something special to which their eyes can have no access.

They are curious and even ask what is behind this “what you call it.. veil? scarf?” Hijab. “Isn’t this sign of oppression?” they ask.

A person viewing hijab from the outside can never perceive what is observed from within it.

They may view Islam as a prison with no liberty or freedom.

If this is true, then why are so many women in Europe, America, Japan, and elsewhere embracing Islam and on their own will observing the hijab?

Why has Islam become the fastest growing religion in the United States (according to Time Magazine)? Why are the majority of Americans who embrace Islam college-educated women (study by University of Massachusetts)?

An outsider might notice a bearded Muslim man accompanied by a woman covered in black as a caricature of the oppressing oppressed.

But the fact is that woman feels respected and guarded by one who really cares for her.

A woman covers herself in obedience to God for the sake of her own dignity and pride as commanded by God.

She refuses to be possessed by the state of a stranger or to be his object. She feels pity for those women who are displayed as objects of desire.

We are living in a period of cultural crisis.

The very foundations of contemporary society are being threatened and the family as an institution of culture is being undermined by destructive forces.

As a result of free intermixing of men and women, in the United States today 42 percent of women in (the) military are sexually harassed and these are only the reported cases.

Every 18 seconds, a woman is beaten in the United States.

Every six minutes a woman is raped.

The crisis is deepening and the institution of family is weakening. lt is time to pause and re-examine our views.

According to a United Press report, Muslim women own more than 50 percent of the liquid assets in some Middle Eastern countries.

So instead of worrying about women in the Middle East, let us help women in America. A stable family life comes about by the cooperation between the two sexes and not competition.

The Islamic system of hijab protects the family and closes those avenues that lead toward illicit sex.

A person blinded by prejudice may not be able to see the purpose for a woman in hijab — a woman who is self-confident, peaceful and dignified — not a shade of oppression upon her face.

If you don’t believe us why don’t you interview one next time you see a Woman in hijab?

Ibrahim Nassar

President

The Muslim Student Association (MSA) of Iowa State

University