Mohammad Qutub – Deconstructing Feminism

			I think like
		

			Prof. mentioned, in the beginning,
		

			I believe that there was a
		

			justified movement to try to empower women that were truly not given their rights.
		

			That, let's say Islam established centuries ago, right? So in the very beginning, they were talking
about having simple rights that that are their God given rights, okay, right to wealth and property.
They didn't have that they didn't have the right to wealth and property, forget, voting and power
and political participation. This came much later, this came much later. So just at one point, there
was the issue of the right to life itself. So women have been treated very badly across history.
This is there's no doubt about it. Okay. So that's why we maybe we might say that feminism in the
beginning, seemed to be justified, right, in order to give women the rights. But slowly, it started
		

			metamorphosizing to in a very repulsive way, and it started to become associated with severe hatred
of men, teaching the woman that she doesn't need men, that men are the devil. That, yes, yes,
imagine that. Okay, that men and you know, the same happen with the whole fight between white
supremacy and black supremacy. It's always like this one extreme begets another. So men are the
worst, men are dictators, men are oppressive. You don't need your husband, you don't need your
father to spend on you, you are independent, you are a woman, you can make it on your own, and so on
and so forth. Right, you can see how it's quickly becoming ugly. And if you want to call it modern
		

			feminism, this happened with the sexual revolution, right in the 50s, and 60s, right of the past
century. So not only that, now you have something called Modern modern contraceptives. So therefore,
live your life, right? You live your life, have as many partners as you want. And you will be
surprised.
		

			Of course, so the point is, founded feminism quickly started becoming an enemy, to something called
the nuclear family.
		

			And a wife and children, right, forget about, you know, what's happening now about same parent, God
forbid, same gender, marriages and so on. But no, no, just simply that, you know, the traditional
marriage, nuclear family, husband and wife and children, you know, they, they, they despise that.
And they made women including Muslim women despise that? What does motherhood mean to many of the
feminists? To them, it's almost an enemy to their independence, how can they be independent? And how
can they have, you know, a job and career and so on and so forth. So
		

			you can see that it started becoming very ugly. And that's why
		

			like I said in the very beginning, you have to look at the context. So if we talk about the context
of a society, that is, let us say, very much,
		

			that has a lot of cultural overtones and undertones and do not have proper understanding and
practice of Islam. Okay. And maybe women are being prohibited from getting an education. And they
look down upon women and they have that type of anachronistic perception, then absolutely, feminism
will look like an angel, right? Yes, we need feminism. This is what is going to empower us. We need
to have that kind of understanding. But if you look at the context, I might even say of
		

			a country like Malaysia. Okay, Professor, so many women becoming professors, associate professors,
full professors in academia, working here and there. And even in some of the Arab countries, by the
way, you mentioned political participation. Prof. You'd be surprised to know, they keep harping on
all, you know, Islam oppresses women, the hijab oppresses women, you have to have political
participation and gender equality and this and that. Do you know that if you look at the studies,
the numbers tell you, there is higher political participation in Arab and Muslim non Arab
Parliament's, then in some of the Western societies themselves,
		

			participation in parliament this is political participation. So
		

			What feminism are you preaching to us? Okay. So this when you look at the data, it might be
surprising. So but so, when you look at that type of a situation, then feminism will look very ugly.
It will look like a movement and a theory that is trying to destroy the family. The fabric of
society itself, okay? This institution, the secret institution of marriage, which Allah subhanaw
taala tells us about, okay, and,
		

			and a lot of women will say, destroyed our lives. And the Prophet sallallahu Sallam told us, okay,
in the authentic hadith, that you are going to follow them, the people before you into the lizards
holy. And they said, O Messenger of Allah, who the Jews and the Christians, he said, Who else you're
going to follow them into the lizards hope? I have
		

			a small observation here.
		

			They're coming out of the lizards.
		

			They're already coming out. And we are entering, they've already realized its its failure to a large
extent now they're backtracking. Look at some of the the founding mothers of second wave feminism,
they are regretting some of the things they said they realize that this is not correct. Okay, and
that they have ruined the lives of so many of so many women. So when you look at it this way, and
you look at the context, you can see, feminism takes on a very different understood for what is
woman empowerment and equality in terms of like feminism, woman mean in terms of Islam in Islam,
Islamic perspective and the modern society how there is any value between these two? As Prof.
		

			mentioned, absolutely, the IMF saw that they were Allah subhanaw taala is showing people, men and
women are equal in the sight of Allah subhanho wa taala. Okay, I'm mentioning all of these amazing
qualities, the obedient, the patient, the truthful, the charitable, right and so on and so forth.
		

			Allah subhanaw taala says in the Noble Quran, and this he also has a reason of Revelation he said
about our membership on a gem similar another theme while at Noma football Allah who will be Heba
Baku, Mahara about literally jolliness EBO Magda Cebu while in
		

			in Cebu MK seven was arugula humming firmly in Allah How can I be good Alicia even on EMA? So Allah
subhanaw taala said, Well, they're determined, very interesting, I am so applicable today do not
wish for that which Allah subhanahu wa Allah favored some of you over others, okay. And then he said
nearly surely no single magnetizable men will have a share of what they earn and women will have a
share of what they earn. Ask Allah of His Bounty, do not wish what Allah gave, in other words do not
wish what Allah gave to others. So, Allah subhanho wa Taala made what men and women are different my
brothers and sisters. So when feminism tells us men and women are the same, we say no, absolutely
		

			not. They are not the same. And guess what, that is amazing. That is that is the beautiful part. If
you can just finish this equally, it is different biologically different, no one can say otherwise
the soul is the soul and the spirit may be the same but the human being is different men and women
are different. When we talk about gender equality in Islam, we might say we might correct that term
and say it is rather gender equity rather than gender equality, okay. And as Prof rightly said, when
they say equality, meaning sameness, we say absolutely not. They are not the same. Allah created
them different and this is very beautiful and miraculous, and in their differences, they complement
		

			each other. And this is the crux of the problem with feminism, trying to make men and women are
identical. And they are simply not but they are complementary. They complement each other. And as
they are different in that way.
		

			Allah subhanaw taala has given them slightly different functions and capabilities. Okay.
		

			Different roles with different roles slowly, Prof and do. Just
		

			do the woman have an inferior
		

			We complex over the men over the past, I thank you for bringing this up. I find that this is
something. This is one of the biggest problems of feminists today. And especially of Muslim females
who are possibly toeing that line, there seems to be an inferiority complex about what it means to
be female, female is inferior in some way. My dear sisters
		

			femininity is not about being more like males. That's a paradox. That's a contradiction in terms
		

			of crushes precious thing or you say like the femininity is about being yourself and being proud of
being a female, not the other way around. So a lot of feminists, okay, who espouse feminism, talk
about, you know, we're gonna be just like, the meals that what happened to your femininity, that's
the whole idea. There's a complex, special in there. Absolutely, absolutely. God's creation, and all
men and women have their own specialities. We cannot say that, you know, like, men is superior
medicine period, although we
		

			have the responsibility and, you know, right, we
		

			both have responsibilities, obligations, rights, but they may be slightly different. And this is
what feminism has gotten wrong. So
		

			I've never been pregnant.
		

			Any males in the audience? Pregnant? No.
		

			We cannot.
		

			So this is something very special that Allah subhanaw taala made for the female herself. I mean, is
this so difficult to understand? That's why you understand the feminist war on something called
motherhood and pregnancy and the nuclear marriage the nuclear family or household right, because
without attacking that, they cannot further the agenda that there is. So I think there will be
feminists whose whose
		

			intention might be positive and goodwill, but there are others who are doing otherwise, contact you
again. Now to Shaima. Okay,