Book review of A landmark Book on status of women in religions
"Women in Islam versus Judaeo-Christian Tradition: Myth and Reality", 1996, p. 77
Author Sherif Mohammad

Table of Contents: 17 chapters


    1. Introduction;
    2. Eve's Fault?;
    3. Eve's Legacy;
    4. Shameful Daughters;
    5. Female Education;
    6. Unclean Impure Woman?
    7. Bearing Witness;
    8. Adultery;
    9. Vows;
    10. Wife's property?
    11. Divorce;
    12. Mothers;
    13. Female inheritance;
    14. Plight of Widows;
    15. Polygamy;
    16. The Veil;
    17. Epilogue;
    Notes
Dr. Sherif Mohammad, an eminent writer-thinker with an academic background in electrical engineering, is active in preaching and propagation of Islam and has written extensively on Islamic issues and contemporary social and political problems affecting humanity at large. He currently lives in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.

Dr. Sherif says in the Introduction (p.4), " ... my concern is, mainly, the position of women in the three religions as it appears in their original sources not as practised by their millions of followers in the world today. Therefore, most of the evidence cited comes from the Quran, the sayings of Prophet Muhammad, the Bible, the Talmud, and the sayings of some of the most influential Church Fathers whose views have contributed immeasurably to defining and shaping Christianity. This interest in the sources relates to the fact that understanding a certain religion from the attitudes and the behaviour of some of its nominal followers is misleading. Many people confuse culture with religion, many others do not know what their religious books are saying, and many others do not even care."

This booklet addresses a timely issue concerning the status of women as documented in the three Abrahamic religions. The status of women in revealed faiths defined by, among other things, rights, privileges and responsibilities, is perhaps one of the least understood and most distorted , yet most talked about issues concerning women - specially the myths surrounding the status of Muslim women.The booklet is well-documented with sources of information being drawn and properly referenced from the holy books of Jews, Christians and Muslims and other literatures. I am most impressesed by the logic and eloquence expressed in the writing style of Dr. Sherif Mohammad.

While Dr. Jamal Badawi's women articles give an overall understanding of women's status in Islam, Sherif's is a comparative analysis of the Abrahamic religions' views on a whole gamut of issues affecting women. Together, they anwser the relentless propaganda and onslaught against Islam in this regard. Specially, Sherif booklet exposes the hypocrisy and double standard that wrongly scapegoat Islam.

This booklet dispels many misperceptions about women's status as evidenced in the Qur'an, distinguishes between real Islamic belief and varied Muslim practices influenced by culture and social customs and highlights the heterogeneity of Muslim women's status. In view of widespread misperceptions not only among non-Muslim Westerners but also among many Muslims in this regard, this booklet should be read by all conscious people. In dispelling certain myths, the booklet also holds out the prospect of building up harmonious relations among Muslims and non-Muslims

This landmark booklet is a must for all who take interest in knowing the status of women in the three revealed faith and those who would like to search for the truth themselves.

    Reviewed by Nazre Sobhan
AVALABILITY OF THE BOOK FROM THE NET AS MENTIONED BY DR. NADEEM SIDDIQUI: This book is available *free of charge*, on a first-come first-served basis, to all individuals and organisations, anywhere in the world. To get your copy, send an email to with your full name and complete postal address. For organisations, please indicate number of copies required [sorry, only 1 copy per individual]. The book will be mailed to you directly by the publisher.

An electronic, plain text version [2135 lines] of the book may be obtained directly via the Web, anonymous ftp, or by email:


    1. WWW URL: http://www.unn.ac.uk/societies/islamic/about/women/judochri.htm
    2. Anon ftp: site=ftp.isnet.org, dir=/pub/outgoing, filename=sherif.txt
    3. By Email: send email as follows :
      To: ftpmail@decwrl.dec.com
      Subject: [leave blank]
      chdir /pub/outgoing/
      get sherif.txt
Those wishing to keep copies on their home pages, ftp sites, etc are encouraged to download the above file and keep online copies. [please do not make a link to this site since it is only temporary].

Please pass on this information to others, including organisations and individuals who may not have access to the internet.

Dr. Nadeem Siddiqui further writes about the book citing Dr. Sherif Mohammad

This valuable book starts off with:

    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". ...

    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?

and ends with the following:

    At the end of this study, I would like to offer the following advice to the global Muslim community. So many Muslim women have been denied their basic Islamic rights for so long. The mistakes of the past have to be corrected. To do that is not a favor, it is a duty incumbent upon all Muslims.

    .......

    Furthermore, we must have the courage to confront our past and reject outright the traditions and customs of our forefathers whenever they contravene the precepts of Islam. Did the Quran not severely criticize the pagan Arabs for blindly following the traditions of their ancestors?

    .....

    It is to the non-Muslim reader, Jewish, Christian, or otherwise, that these final words are dedicated. It is bewildering why the religion that had revolutionized the status of women is being singled out and denigrated as so repressive of women. This perception about Islam is one of the most widespread myths in our world today.

    ...

    To label the status of women in the Muslim world today as "Islamic" is as far from the truth as labelling the position of women in the West today as "Judaeo-Christian". With this understanding in mind, Muslims and non-Muslims should start a process of communication and dialogue in order to remove all misconceptions, suspicions, and fears. A peaceful future for the human family necessitates such a dialogue.

    ...

    Ambassador Herman Eilts, in a testimony in front of the committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives of the United States Congress on June 24th, 1985, said, "The Muslim community of the globe today is in the neighbourhood of one billion. That is an impressive figure. But what to me is equally impressive is that Islam today is the fastest growing monotheistic religion. This is something we have to take into account. Something is right about Islam. It is attracting a good many people." Yes, something is right about Islam and it is time to find that out. I hope this study is a step on this direction.
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