Indonesia and the Misconceptions of Muslim Women and how it Parallels to Muslim Women in America

Muslim women have often been stereotyped in westernized civilizations as heavily veiled women who do no more than tend to their household and children. According to Camilla Fawzi El-Sohl’s book titled Muslim women’s choices: religious belief and social reality, this is simply not true anymore as it pertains to the contemporary Muslim women. This concept of the Muslim women may have been true in the past or even true of certain groups in certain Muslim societies but it has little relevance to understanding the everyday lives of these Muslim women. Indonesia, with a population of over 238 million has the largest population of Muslims. Muslim women on the many islands of Indonesia have been scrutinized in the media and other westernized arenas. To fully understand the concept of the modern day Muslim women, you would have to analyze the history of Indonesia, the history of Islam, and the gender relations as it pertains to Islam. After examining those aspects, looking further into how Muslim women are viewed in society and westernized societies and also their own specified role in society can give a deeper overview of the misconceptions perpetuated today. Finally, paralleling these concepts in Indonesia with those of American Muslim women can fully advocate for ideas of Muslim women in the world. Adequate understanding of these aspects can further delve into the ways of Muslim women and their effects on their country.

Indonesia, according to Wikipedia, is officially called the Republic of Indonesia and is a country Southeast Asia an Oceania. Indonesia is comprised of 17, 508 islands and thirty three provinces. It is the world’s most populous country with over 238 million people and governs under a Republic, with an elected legislat...

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...ve as many rights as men but because the women do not have equal opportunities does not mean that they are living under means that are uncomfortable or wrong to them. The westernized depiction of these women leads us to believe these views and though there is an ideology of an Ideal” Islamic women” (El-Sohl) they are not living in a completely controlled lifestyle and there is some flexibility.

Works Cited

El-Sohl, Camillia Fawzi. 1994. “Muslim women's choices: religious belief and social reality”. Providence, RI: Berg Publishers Ltd.

Karim, Jamillah Asira. 2009. “American Muslim women: negotiating race, class, and gender within the Ummah”. New York and London: New York Univeristy Press.

“Indonesia”. Wikipedia. Retrieved June 13, 2011 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indonesia).

“Islam”. Wikipedia. Retrieved June 12, 2011 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam).