garments that Saudi women must wear in the presence of
men. Since Saudi Arabia is one of the most fanatical and
rigid Muslim countries, the muttawa preferred that the girls
die rather than transgress Islamic law, and they actually
battled police and firemen who were trying to open the
school’s doors.[50] This tragedy was a direct consequence
of the way Islam’s fundamental teachings and laws regard
women.
The Koran teaches male superiority forthrightly:
‘‘Women shall with justice have rights similar to those
exercised against them, although men have a status above
women’’ (Sura 2:228). Also, ‘‘Men have authority over
women because Allah has made the one superior to the
other, and because they spend their wealth to maintain
them’’ (Sura 4:34). Thus, Islam views women as innately
subordinate to men; Allah made them that way. It’s not hard
to see, then, why women are treated as ‘‘second class
citizens’’ in traditional Muslim countries.
- The Koran’s teachings on the status of women
seem to reflect those of St. Paul in the Bible. Didn’t he tell
wives to be submissive to their husbands?
St. Paul’s teaching for wives to be submissive to their
husbands must be read in the entire context of his letter to
the Ephesians; indeed, it must be understood in the context
of his epistles as a whole, and in light of the Gospels.
Immediately prior to his ‘‘wives be submissive’’ injunction,
St. Paul tells husbands and wives to ‘‘be subordinate [or
submissive] to one anotherout of reverence for Christ’’ (Eph