Introduction

Islamic and Western thoughts are the leading thoughts of the contemporary global society. One claims historical glory and divinity while other represents itself as supreme civilization of the modern world. No doubt, both have unique status according to their contribution, as one has served as social and technical side of the humanity while other has contributed to the religious and moral side of the human being. The crucial issue is that both thoughts have different views due to their different foundational sources. Therefore, one is called divine and the other is secular. Though both have exclusive contributions, but sometimes they contradict each other completely on certain issues. One of the flash point of the modern world is women's rights, its freedom and feminism. Perceptibly, women are the most important part of the society and have most integral and significant status in both Islamic and Western thought. But both thoughts deal with them in an entirely different way. For example, Islam considers women as most significant part of the society and assigns them exclusive roles, but identifies separate fields of works and contribution from men for their security and sensitivity. Contrary to this, in Modern Western thought, females are free to do anything in any discipline without any limitations or restrictions. In other words, they desire to claim absolute freedom and opportunities equal to men in every field of life, which might be difficult to exercise even in Modern West. Apparently, this approach seems more attractive and glamorous for women, but actually this is not beneficial for them from an Islamic standpoint. The complete gender equality and sexual radicalism are creating serious difficulties and harms for both genders, especially for women.

Keeping this in view, humanity could not bear this radical form of feminism. Consequently, the modern society is bearing its burden in the name of feminism. Actually, it is not only a feminist movement, but an extreme step to evolve other movements in the name of women rights which is not only harming the human ethics and family system, but also the status and importance of women in all religions, especially Islam. Radical feminism after establishing itself in the West, now it is spreading throughout the world. It is affecting the women’s status and importance. The Western thought does not only support such movements, but also reflects image of humanity based on secularism and materialism, which further demolishes divine objectives of human beings. It’s also an interesting matter from some years feminism in Pakistan also gets hype. In this emerging scenario this is dire need to analyses the impact of radical feminism on socio-religious norms of the society. So, this research paper aims to explore the socio-religious impact of radical feminism on human society as well as critical analyses radical feminism from Islamic context.

Understanding of Radical Feminism

The term feminism has no unanimous definition in the entire world. It has a variety of meanings and interpretations. Scholars define and explain feminism according to their own socio-political and religious jurisdiction and norms. But one thing which is common and considered a standard in feminism is gender equality. Scholars and experts of sociology and gender studies consider it as a milestone of the feminist movement. According to research study of M. Ishᾱq, “Feminism defines itself in geo-political and socio-cultural context with an emphasis on gender equality. These varying contexts of feminist contemplation spawns disparate understanding of the term equality, what is it and how it can be achieved?”(^[1])

It means the basic tenets and agenda of the Western feminist movement, including the so called Muslim feminism, has to make women free from male suppression and dominance. There was entirely different behavior of women in the history. In other words, you can say that they were standing against male supremacy and practically, an ideological war was declared against suppression of male in different fields of life: social, political, religious and cultural. Rowbotham describes this issue as under;

“In 1789 the outbreak of French Revolution meant that individual rights, reason, citizenship, and the sovereignty of the people were no longer simply ideas, but part of an assault on hereditary power. Their abstract quality was shed as they became part of politics. They gained historical legitimacy and lost their innocence, all in a few short years. It is hard for us to imagine the impact of such an extraordinary event. Power, which had seemed absolute, was overturned. The new dawn of liberty brought fervor of hope”.(^[2])

Furthermore, the Merriam-Webster Dictionary defined the term feminism as “the theory of the political, economic, and social equality of the sexes. Thus feminism is a collection of movements and ideologies aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights for women”.(^[3]) Modern Feminism essentially represents a culture and phenomena according to which women are being treated differently from men. So they believe that they should be the advocates of female rights, equality and demands. According to Oxford English Dictionary, “A feminist means an advocate or supporter of the rights and equality of women”.(^[4])

Moreover, after crossing the different boundaries of cultures, civilizations and faiths, this movement has produced different versions; one most important and extreme among them is radical feminism. They see the dominance of male as suppression of women. Thus, radical feminism reacts against the patriarchal hierarchy and supremacy of men, hence named as radical feminism. In addition, it drastically affects the human society and is different from other form of feminism and female movements carried out for their rights and demands. In simple words, due to radical behavior and extreme action, it is named as a radical feminist movement. A reputed Western scholar, Echols, defines radical feminism in this way, “Radical feminism sees the male-controlled capitalist hierarchy as the root cause of women's oppression and thus advocates for a total uprooting and reconstruction of society”.(^[5]) A scholarly input of Peter Besong tells ,“The reason this group gets the radical label is that they view the oppression of women as the most fundamental form of oppression, one that cuts across boundaries of race, culture, and economic class”.(^[6])

According to the opinion of a well reputed scholar of the western world. “Radical feminism is a perspective within feminism that calls for a radical reordering of society in which male supremacy is eliminated in all social and economic contexts”.(^[7]) It is perceived from the above discussion that radical feminism is an extreme movement that opposes male dominance and favors gender equality. It is also incurred from many studies on feminist issues that women are very sensitive when it comes to their identity. In fact, this movement blots their identity. Accordingly, this radicalism creates craziness and status complex in the society in the name of women rights and feminism.

Major Impact of Radical Feminism

Radical feminism is affecting human beings and civilized societies of the contemporary era in general and Muslim societies especially. Initially, beginning it was confined to the Western world, but nowadays its venomous impacts have spread all over the world. Its consequences and impacts are so deep that the Western society has started to lament this growing menace. Here, Prof. Tālibul Hāshmī rightly comments;

“It’s an unbelievable fact that the Western feminist movement has influenced in this century not only Europe and America, but also to the majority of Muslim countries including Asia and Africa. Now, this moment has become unbreakable part of Western civilization. The major objectives of this movement are to get absolute gender equality. They have liberation for any activity. They demand equal rights and opportunities in any filed and discipline”.(^[8])

Although, the above mentioned thoughts, as shared by a Muslim scholar, are unacceptable to western critics, yet it is rightly described. Now the situation has become worse than the past because an updated version, the radical feminism has emerged. Factually, it is the fruit of absolute liberation of Western thought and now it has become a serious threat, not only for Muslim societies, but also for the Western world. They are having this feeling that the women should keep their original duty to help out the men and keep household responsibilities. Actually, this movement completely challenges the social and moral norms of the society and creates a serious conflict which has not been seen before it. A scholar shares his concern;

“In so far as recent feminist theory challenges, the public/private dichotomy both as a normative principle and as an institutional arrangement, comes into conflict with liberal political theory. For the latter, some form of this distinction is essential to uphold principles of individual right and justice”.(^[9])

The upcoming points will present major impacts and influences of the Western radical feminism on the society. Following are the alarming impacts of this movement.

1. Absolute Gender Equality and Radical Feminism: The most important slogan and demand of radical feminism is absolute gender equality. Different political and social slogans are meant to exploit the public, but this bright slogan could not prove a remedy for women’s plight. Absolute gender equality is the foremost objective and agenda of the radical feminist movement. Yet, it could not help achieving the desired goal even after a long struggle. The bright slogans and politicizing of matter is not actual success. It is also observed that the helplessness of the women could not be mitigated after launching the so-called radical feminism; in reality, it has increased the women’s troubles on every level.

“Humanist male and female embraces the enlightenment position of rationality and humanism at its starting point. But women have been unjustly expelled from the honor which they deserve as human beings, on the foundation of the sinister supposition that they have lesser wisdom than men”.(^[10])

Some scholars argue that the absolute gender equality is the solution of this clash but, unfortunately like other slogans, the slogan of gender equality is to exploit women. Danny Fredrik validly observes;

“The contemporary radical feminism is not actually concerned with equality for women at all; that in truth it is a movement of puritanical sex oppression which utilizes the problem of women’s equality as concealment”.(^[11])

Seemingly, it is an open fight against male oppression and many violations can be seen from feminist side in the name of women’s rights and liberty in many countries of the world generally and especially in the Western world. There are many examples of radical feminism activities and violation but a new incident in France compels the world’s scholars to rethink about the limitless of women's freedom. The two top most feminist activists with slogans written on their bodies attacked a Muslim ceremony in France. According to an online newspaper, Daily Mail; “this is a shocking moment when two topless feminist protestors storm Muslim conference in Paris (France), before they are dragged off and kicked on the floor”.(^[12]) In another incident, they were absolutely naked; they painted hateful slogans on their bodies. The FEMENS(^[13]) website tells, “No one can enslave me, no one can possess me, and I am my own Prophet, sexism is a kind of racism, hell with your morals, etc., and some other radical slogans which exempted due to its vulgarity”.(^[14])

We also observe this thing now in Pakistan also. Some years before some in Pakistan some west based NGOs launched a radical feminist activity in the name Aurat March(^[15]). In this year the slogans were near about same which we observed in French feminist movement. Majority of Pakistan’s women rejected it and say it a shameful activity in the name of feminism and women’s rights. According to a women Magazine:

“Feminism in Pakistan consist of "good feminism" and "bad feminism" or "hyper feminism. These new terms were observed after 2018 Aurat March, a controversial rally held by several independent women and women's organizations like HWA(^[16]) in Lahore and Karachi for women liberation.”(^[17])

From this discussion, we can easily observe that this path goes to moral and ethical decline and anarchism instead of human liberties and rights. We must revise our approach to absolute women freedom. Although this group claims for unlimited freedom for women all over the world, but actually they are slaves of their desires and wishes. Glancing through the pictures available at their website, one may feel shameful as it is like pornography and cause panic and frustration if seen by a gentleman.

Muslims, Western scholars, and people all over the world do not like and appreciate it, instead they dislike and criticize it. It is not a suitable way to get your rights and protest against male suppression of women. Western comments against this radical feminist activity are enough to answer their radicalism in the name of feminism and women rights. Many Western women are victims of this so called absolute liberty. One example of them is of Monica Luniski. Some days before she conducted a press conference entitled, ‘The Price of Shame’. The title of press conference and her dreadful story tells how infinite and radical freedom destructs the life of a Western woman. Monica Lewinski was an important member of the past legacy of the Whitehouse (USA) in Bill Clinton era. She describes her story after 20 years (2006-2016). Her press conference titled ‘the Price of Shame’ was shocking and a question mark on media ethics and the Western limitless freedom. The story cannot be described here due to serious moral issues. Nonetheless, a piece of advice she shared with the women demanding the absolute freedom was to stop looking for such liberty as it is neither available in the so called free Western world nor beneficial for human beings, both male and female. Freedom is a God’s gift with the terms of responsibility;

“We speak a lot about our right to free speech (including other female rights and freedoms), but we want to (should) speak more about our liability (responsibility) to freedom of speech. We all desire to be listened to, but let’s admit the divergence between talking up with purpose and talking up for consideration”.(^[18])

Obviously, women have right to get respect, equality and other sociopolitical and economic rights equally. Since human wishes and rights have no limits; so, one should not forget the duties and responsibilities which are part of this journey. Russell Letty’s valuable commented as;

“We need to build a new cooperative social order out beyond the principles of hierarchy, rule and competitiveness. Starting in the grassroots local units of human society where psycho-social polarization first began, we must create a living pattern of mutuality between men and women, between parents and children, among people in their social, economic and political relationships, and finally, between mankind and the organic harmonies of nature”.(^[19])

Islam addresses the dispute of gender equality, by taking some important steps. It considers men and women being equal, but allotted different tasks and given these tasks, their rights and duties may differ. It is not discrimination, but a fair division of rights and duties according to their natural role and ability. Even a blind knows that physically and mentally male and female are not equal then how can they exist in absolute equality in this world. Surely, they are equal in virtues, respect and dignity in this world and the hereafter. But their way forward and duties are different from men due to their physical, biological and moral obligations. Though this should remain in mind that both genders have rights and responsibilities and they will get equal reward for their conducts and virtues from Allah. Almighty pronounces this fact in the Nobel Quran;

﴿مَنْ عَمِلَ صَالِحًا مِّن ذَكَرٍ أَوْ أُنثَىٰ وَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌ فَلَنُحْيِيَنَّهُ حَيَاةً طَيِّبَةًوَلَنَجْزِيَنَّهُمْ أَجْرَهُم بِأَحْسَنِ مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ﴾(^[20])

Whoever works righteousness, man or woman, and has Faith, verily, to him will We give a new Life, a life that is good and pure and We will bestow on such their reward according to the best of their actions.

Moreover, Islamic teachings bind them with some moral and religious obligations to guard their dignity, respect and uniqueness. Islam wants to use women's position for social and family reforms and transformation, but the West likes to see them free and wants to use them for human entertainment, which is basically objectification of women. Due to their high status and respect, Islam considers women an important part of the society and assigns them very important roles to contribute in the transformation of society. Many verses of the Quran and Ahādīth of the kind Prophet (ﷺ) emphasize the importance of women in Islam. Therefore, the Nobel Quran recommends their duties and rewards in this way;

﴿وَلَهُنَّ مِثْلُ الَّذِي عَلَيْهِنَّ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَلِلرِّجَالِ عَلَيْهِنَّ دَرَجَةٌوَاللَّهُ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ﴾(^[21])

And women shall have rights similar to the rights against them, according to what is equitable; but men have a degree (of advantage) over them. And Allah is exalted in Power, Wise.

According to this verse of the Quran, God grants equal rights and dignity to both male and female, but sometimes grants sovereignty and authority to male over female. Here comes a misconception regarding this verse which Islamic scholars try to eliminate. Muhammad al-Sābūnī states, “Almighty Allah grants male and female equal rights and respect and if there is any authority is granted male over female then it is due to physical power and to manage the house hold issues and problem which female cannot do rightly”.(^[22])

Likewise, many other verses of the Quran reveal the concept of gender equality between male and female, indicating clearly that no tone of the two genders is superior to the other. The real issue is that pertaining to the physical and moral obligations and responsibilities of men, they are given a rank higher than women otherwise women are not less respectable than males in any case. The Nobel Quran declares about it in this way;

﴿فَاطِرُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ جَعَلَ لَكُم مِّنْ أَنفُسِكُمْ أَزْوَاجًا وَمِنَ الْأَنْعَامِ أَزْوَاجًا يَذْرَؤُكُمْ فِيهِ لَيْسَ كَمِثْلِهِ شَيْءٌوَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْبَصِيرُ﴾(^[23])

The Creator of the heavens and the earth: He has made for you pairs from among yourselves, and pairs among cattle: by this means does He multiply you: there is nothing whatever likes unto Him, and He is the One that hears and sees.

Take into account, Islam considers the gender equality in responsibilities and obligation, not in any the matter of respect and status. A research on feminism clarifies the situation of male and female equality,

“Islam regards men and women as equal beings, despite of their biological differences in spiritual, social, economic and legal contexts. The Qur’an employs clear evidences of equality of both genders that are responsible for their own deeds.”(^[24])

In contemporary era, many demands, protests and political slogans from the feminist movements are presented. Some of them are controversial and these controversial demands and slogans are not the solution of women's rights. In fact, they should work for better understanding of male and female according to the divine instructions of Almighty Allah. Furthermore, there is a need of reconstructing social contract between male and female for happiness and peace of the world. Otherwise the conflict and clash of male and female will destroy the social and moral values of the society. The current radical feminist activities are not the solution; instead these activities increase their problems day by day. The feminist leaders as well as political figures use these movements for their secular agenda and are not ready to give them honor and dignity. Islam gave them significant rights at the time when the world was not familiar with the word “right”. The most important right among them is the right to divorce and marriage of their choice. One of the most important judgments of the Prophet ((ﷺ describes it clearly:

“Ibn e Abbas reported that a girl came to Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ), and she reported that her father had forced her to marry without her consent. The Messenger of God gave her the choice . . . (between accepting the marriage or invalidating it)”.(^[25])

Moreover, as compared to the West, Islam gives dignity and honor to women as mother, sister, daughter and wife. They can work for their needs but are not recommended to work, trade and job. They do not earn money for their fathers, brothers and husband even for family and kids, but they get inheritance from all of them.

2. Radical Sexual Liberation: Open and free sex philosophy is another most momentous and most dangerous impact of radical feminism on human society. Actually, this is the result of Western absolute freedom and fake slogans for woman's liberty. As a result, the Western society has become society of animals. Even animals may feel shame to express their sexual emotions, but the contemporary Western society has crossed the limit of humanity. They refer it to as their freedom, but in reality it is craziness and shame in name of being human. According to Dr. Muhammad Sajjād’s valuable comments, “The most dangerous element of the contemporary Western thought is animal philosophy of sex. This ideology exempts out all impacts of positive human values”.(^[26])

In simple words, according to this philosophy everyone is free to fulfill his or her sexual desire in any way, even male from male and female from female. The most dangerous and dreadful aspect of this philosophy is that they do not feel any hesitation or shame to make it public. According to this philosophy, marriage is an orthodoxy and story of ancient times. This theory says that marriage is a personal and a social contract between male and female and now in post modernism, it can be among more than two males or two females. This extremist trend frees the sacred relationship of marriage from all kinds of moral and social sanctions. These concepts have been received from Greek and Roman civilizations. As Merriam Jamīlah critically evaluate this issue, “What values has modern Western civilization to offer? In the West the purpose of life is happiness, pleasure and enjoyment, even if this can attain at the expense of others”.(^[27]) These issues actually related to a capitalist and materialistic theory of the western world. Syed Abū al-Hassan Nadvī sees this issue as;

“During the industrial revolution when an employee had to stay alive on the meager means provided by the capitalists, he started to work with his women and children to fulfill the material requirement of his family. This unethical change affected the females because in the beginning they were not happy to work in co-environment.”(^[28])

At that time the feminist movement by men and Malthus theory of Population growth(^[29]) played a vital role to bring females into this competitive environment. Now, this is the result of the unnatural philosophy that the male and female have become sex workers and the sacred relationship of marriage has been badly damaged. Male and female are living without marriage, so much so they give birth to children. In this way they think that they are free from all kinds of moral and social responsibilities and sanctions. Therefore, many shameful western theories have joined this movement. As a backup of this movement Western scholars have been presented these theories with hard struggle and proud, but as a result these theories have been becoming venomous for human beings in contemporary era. The Western society has reached at the height of social evils where the return, if not impossible, is extremely difficult. Because the secular minded Western scholars inculcate the poison of infinite liberty and secularism awfully Malthus orates this philosophy;

“The human Population is continuously increasing, but the resources are decreasing. So to overcome this issue, try to control the human population scientifically to save the human resources and fulfill the human sexual requirement freely without legal marriage”.(^[30])

It simply means that it is the fulfillment of sexual needs and requirement without any responsibility and legality. Many other Muslim scholars also show their concerns regarding this illegality and immorality seriously. Therefore, Prof. ‘Abdul-hamīd Ṣiddīquī rightly speaks,

“The Malthus theory of Population adds fuel to fire. The strong family system is demolished and its destructive effects mostly affected the human society in two ways; 1- sexual anarchism and 2- shirking the responsibility of children”.(^[31])

Therefore, the scholars consider it the fight against nature. Thus, it can be depicted that the contemporary Western civilization with its excellent materialistic development tries to demolish the natural human institution. On the rapid social and moral destruction of the Western society, many of the Western scholars also have showed their concerns.

Majority of the West are not happy on the destruction of moral and social values. According to Professor Sorokin Pitirim’s views;

“In the past, the family was an important and biggest institution of children upbringing. In the present age, most of the families are without children, if some have children, they send them to nursery and daycare centers in their infant ages. In this way, the most vital and important objective of the family dies”.(^[32])

Despite sexual distortion in the Western society, they insist that it's their natural sexual right. Every sensible person knows that sex is a human need and Allah Almighty manages this issue for humans through legal marriages. Islam justly manages it and provides a legal way to express it. Islam presents a practical approach to handle this issue. Even if a person can afford and fulfill their rights and other requirements, he can marry two, three or even four times but unlawful sexual relationship is strictly prohibited, which is a strange and unethical yet a popular trend in recent times. Contrarily, the so called western civilization considers more than one marriage as a violation of women’s rights, but there is no objection on more than one or several illegal sexual relations with women in the name of entertainment and relationship. In simple words it’s like a shame for humanity. Islam strictly forbids the adultery in any case. Quran indorses it;

﴿وَلَا تَقْرَبُوا الزِّنَاإِنَّهُ كَانَ فَاحِشَةً وَسَاءَ سَبِيلًا(^[33])﴾

Nor come nigh to adultery: for it is immoral and an evil way.

Once the beloved prophet (ﷺ) to his humble followers likewise;

“O Muhājirūn, there are five things with which you will be tested, and I seek refuge with Allah lest you live to see them: Immorality never appears among a people to such an extent that they commit it openly, but plagues and diseases that were never known among the predecessors will spread among them”.(^[34])

Thus, according to the true prophesy of the last Prophet (ﷺ), the several difficulties and evils have been spread in the Western nations where illegal intercourse is allowed. Many reports and studies tell that due to this sexual anarchism, the West faces many unseen devils.

Consequently, the unlawful sexual intercourse and rapes are increasing day by day in America and Europe. Thus, Dr. Zākir Nāik states, “The United States has one of the highest rates of rape in any country in the world. FBI reports in the year 1990, every day on an average 1900 cases of rape were committed in the U.S.A”.(^[35])

In this way the present Western society has become a cancer for human ethics and morals. Therefore, the scholars claim that the building of Western civilization has reached near its demolition, due to its materialism and human enmity. Here it seems reasonable to quote Allāma Iqbāl on the accountability of Western civilization.

تمہاری تہذیب اپنے خنجر سے آپ ہی خُودکشی کرے گی

جو شاخ ِ نازک پہ آشیانہ بنے گا، ناپائیدار ہو گا(^[36])

Your civilization will commit suicide with its own dagger;

Because a nest built on a slender bough cannot last.

The Western civilization due to its destructive and secular approach has become a killing venom for the entire humanity nowadays and it may become more dangerous in the future due to its misleading and misguided approach.

3. Destruction of Family System: Another most important and notorious impact of the Western radical feminism is destruction of family system, specifically in the Western world. Feminism does not believe in the family system. They have established an anti-family society, and some experts consider it like a practical attack to destroy the family system. According to a Christian scholar Shan Wallock’s views;

“Radical feminists are anti-family by being anti-men, anti-husbands, anti-fathers, and anti-gender-roles that have been in place since God created man and woman and that have been practiced for 6000 years. They have a militant agenda, and in pursuit of it they want to eradicate the two-parent family. And the reason they want to destroy it is this due to their Marxist view that the family is a repository of gender-oppression. Men are bourgeois; women are proletariat”.(^[37])

Now, due to these destructive activities and impacts on the families, the family system of the West is totally destroyed and no cure has been found for it, because the absolute liberty and radical feminism trends are the major hurdles to achieve it. Women are not ready to take responsibility for this important issue and as a result, they produce a generation of illegal children which are not only harmful to Western society and for mankind.

Moreover, due to excessive participation in social activities and public gatherings, the divorce rate is increasing day by day in the Western countries. The Western family system is going towards destruction and they are now trying to spread this destruction around the whole human world. A study report presents very dangerous numbers and critical situation of the American society on divorce issues;

“In America, each year, over 1 million American children suffer the divorce of their parents; moreover, half of the children born this year to parents who are married will see their parents’ divorce before they turn to 18. (So), the devastating physical, emotional, and financial effects that divorce is having on these children will last well into adulthood and affect future generations”.(^[38])

The report also suggests that American society must care for the family system, saving it, raising generations through the institution of the family and teaching them the core principles and importance of the family system. Furthermore, the report suggests that family is the most significant social institution and a generation cannot be nourished with defunct system. Radical feminist movements and some other related factors are threatening the family system. So, there must be strategies to revive this institution because without it, a good society cannot be established. Now the west is compelled to call up the society for legal marriages for the stability of society and social norms. Western scholar Wilkin Richard urges;

“We must call upon society at all levels to return to basic truths regarding the family: truths that have been recognized for centuries and validated by scientific research in modern times. The best way to improve society is to improve its families. By contrast, the quickest way to destroy society is to weaken its families”.(^[39])

Here, an interesting story is worth sharing, when the erstwhile American Lady Hillary Clinton came to Pakistan, she visited a school in Islamabad. She asked a girl, “What is your biggest problem in the school”. The girl replied; “We do not have enough high quality labs for research”. The girl also asked Mrs. Clinton; “What is the biggest problem of American school girls?” She responded with the shocking answer; “The biggest problem faced by our school girls is that they have (an illegal) child when they reached the age of matriculation”.(^[40]) Notice how it is admitted by a high representative of the Western civilization. It means they are actually going towards moral decline. Even the Western societies now wish to adopt the marital status and revise their approach towards the single marriage and describe the benefits of marriage in a most likely way.

“Married people are generally healthier; they live longer, earn more, have better mental health and better sex lives, and are happier than their unmarried counterparts. Furthermore, married individuals have lower rates of suicide, fatal accidents, acute and chronic illnesses, alcoholism, and depression than other people”.(^[41])

Now in the West and as well as in the modern countries of the East, the family system is losing its importance and the societies have become more mechanical and materialistic, if compared with the previous history of the world. Every kind of relationship revolves around economic issues. A converted Muslim scholar Allāma Muhammad Asad rightly observes;

“In West, the family system is breaking fatly. It is basically an industrial society and its administration is being rapidly done on mechanically way. In this society a relationship between father and son is not socially or morally established but economically. This society is killing the sacred relations and impacts of what are the recommended rights of family relationships”.(^[42])

The present trend in the West is alarming for the humanity. So it is necessary to find the solution to this problem otherwise this cancer will penetrate the body of whole humanity. It should not be taken lightly, as it is seen and understood. We must care about family system especially when this evil has been crossing the border from West to the East. It is noted from the reports of different institutes and organizations that the gap between poor and rich is increasing day by day and the economy of an individual is falling, more interesting issue is that the reports tell the major factor behind this uncertainty and poverty is decreasing trend of getting married. According to Patrick Fagan’s valuable notes;

“Analysis of the social science literature demonstrates that the root cause of poverty and income disparity is linked undeniably to the presence or absence of marriage. Broken families earn less and experience lower levels of educational achievement. Worse, they pass the prospect of meager incomes and family instability on to their children, making the effects inter-generational”.(^[43])

Once the Eastern family system was considered a role model but nowadays the family system is going to distort which is a distressing situation. Particularly, the American family system is at a decline. An eminent Western scholar Bertrand Russell observed at that time; “In different spheres of our society, the biggest ethical breakdown occurs in the sphere of those (teenagers) who are the most important for us. It is an open fact; if our moral and social system goes on in the same way, the next generations will ethically become the most corrupt and dangerous”.(^[44]) It is making Western society selfish and utilitarian totally. The security and feeling of the relationship are entirely changed. Every member of the Western world is working and dying to attain more benefit. They don't care about the family and other relations. Keeping this scenario in mind, the Western civilization is based upon the materialistic merits and demerits instead on morality and spirituality, so it cannot survive for long time. A renowned Muslim scholar ‘Abdul Reḥmān Kawākbī writes;

“A Western man has total materialistic approach and is very hard in dealings. His conduct is full of selfishness, malevolence and revenge. So it seems that he has nothing in moral principles and kind passions. He has rude and brutish behavior. Any weak person has no right to live in his sense. Only power and wealth is a base of every honor”.(^[45])

On the other hand, Islam promotes the family system and recommends the legal marriage to save and support it. Many verses of the Quran and the wise traditions of the kind prophet (ﷺ) are directly related to the safety of family system through the institution of marriage. Almighty Allah pronounces in the Nobel Quran;

﴿وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ أَنْ خَلَقَ لَكُم مِّنْ أَنفُسِكُمْ أَزْوَاجًا لِّتَسْكُنُوا إِلَيْهَا وَجَعَلَ بَيْنَكُم مَّوَدَّةً وَرَحْمَةًإِنَّ فِي ذَ‌ٰلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِّقَوْمٍ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ﴾(^[46])

And among His Signs is this that He created for you mates from among yourselves, that ye may dwell in tranquility with them, and He has put love and mercy between your (hearts): verily in that are Signs for those who reflect.

The wise Prophet (ﷺ) many times advised his companions for selection of good and beloved wives. “Hazrat Abdullah bin ‘Amr reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying, “The whole world is a provision, and the best object of benefit of the world is the pious woman”.(^[47])

The above verse of the Quran and related Hadīth of the Holy Prophet (ﷺ) tells us how Islam focuses on the selection of good wife to protect and produce good generation. A wise and beloved wife is a God’s gift which values man’s respect, dignity and assists him to solve issues of the society and go forward in moral and physical race of the world. This is however not possible without a strong family system.

4. Decline of Moral Values: The 4th most notorious impact of the radical feminism is destruction of moral and ethical values. The interest in the spiritual and moral activities is decreasing day by day in women due to their so called club activities and lack of interest in religion as the modern Western thoughts has no concern with revealed ethics. So, their concept of ethics is entirely different from that of Muslims. The Western scholars say that morality is not a unifying issue and it differs from society to society and culture to culture. The theory of Materialism has been replaced by the theory of Neo-Materialism or Unitarianism. In simple words, the result of all human efforts is to get utility and benefits. Pros and cons of every issue are related to the rewards. It means that the merits and demerits of this world are the universal values for the Western school of thought. A renowned Western scholar Johan Stuart Mill presents his views regarding the doctrine of utilitarianism(^[48]) amorality which stands for materialism;

“The faith that the basis of morals is utility or the greatest happiness principle holds that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong in proportion as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness”.(^[49])

It means happiness and self-interest has no moral values. Everyone is free to achieve the goal of happiness by any possible means. As the Western society does not have any unanimous criteria of goodness and badness, so every person has set his own criteria of goodness and badness. So, there everyone has a right to achieve his self-interest and happiness the way he deems right, without any moral sanction.

Actually the religion and spirituality ties a person with a strong rope of hope which does not break even in the tense and difficult situation. But when a person does not have the belief in Almighty Allah then he instantly exhausts and commits suicide for salvation of these grievances and difficulties. As a result the rate of suicide in Western countries is increasing and interest in life is vanishing. After renaissance movement and the age of industrialization, the Western civilization was lacking in certain values, but now, after advent of feminist movements, rest of the values seem to fade away. The divine ethics has not remained a concern of the Western society at any period of time in the history. A report tells us;

“Suicide in USA has surged to highest levels in nearly 30 years, a federal data analysis has found, with increases in every age group except older adults. The rise was particularly steep for women. It was also substantial among middle-aged, sending a signal of deep anguish from a group whose suicide rates had been stable or falling since 1950”. (^[50])

More shocking is the fact that between the ages of 15 to 24 years suicide is critically observed higher than others. According to many reports and studies, there are more than 30,000 people who commit suicide in America each year which is highest rate in the world. Scholars reveal that the excess of wealth and worldly luxuries are priority of the Western society and they do not care about morality and ethics. In simple words, we can say that they have become animal in the garb of human.

It is very dangerous that the reasons of suicide in the Western world are lack of moral teaching, the weak role of religious institutions and destruction of family system including increase in the divorce rate. The scholars of West and East are crying on this human dilemma and are searching the solution of these issues. Most Muslims and Christian scholars consider the radical feminism and absolute liberty behind this destruction. Actually the radical feminism has challenged all social and religious existing norms which are very painful and shocking not only for Muslim societies but also for Western societies. Nachescu investigates as;

“Radical feminists challenged the traditional understanding of politics under slogan of ‘personal is political.’ This opened room in the political arena for human experience that was previously relegated under the personal sphere. Women wanted to create a sense of class consciousness and sisterhood among participants, for this reason they emphasized similarity and avoided differences. They were a grass-root movement that wanted to transform the women and society through radical actions”. (^[51])

Although these are views of a western scholar, but very valid and relate to the values of the Muslim as well. This analysis is also an awareness and warning for Muslims because nowadays some secular and materialistic Muslims families are trying to follow the Western lifestyle which is a way towards destruction. We must follow the rules established by Allah for success and wellbeing in this world and the hereafter.

Islamic and Western thoughts have entirely different and opposite dimensions. One is based on divine revelation and the other is based on man-made experience and human intellect. This direction and strategy shows the dimension of priorities of Islamic and the Western thoughts. The Islamic priority is the safety of moral and social values, whereas the Western thought and civilization focuses on maximum human rights and liberties without moral limits. This difference of priorities has produced clash between Islam and West. When we try to compare the Western and Islamic impacts of freedom on both thoughts, they differ from each other in most of the issues. The important matter is that after the rejection of religious and moral values, they could not get any solid moral foundation of human society. Therefore, in the West, we see a kind of internal war of ideas and anarchism in the society. Despite having plentiful materialistic resources, every person is dissatisfied and hopeless from his future and life. Carl Jung presents a scenario, “I have very clearly felt that I am hopeless to any reasonable future of this world. It was a censorious dream that we live in a peaceful, happy and harmonious world which has been broken”.(^[52]) The modern Western society due to its deeds is continuously running on the lines of destruction. What is the cure for this mental and physical sickness? Let us come to Allah’s refuge and blessings;

﴿وَسَارِعُوا إِلَىٰ مَغْفِرَةٍ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ وَجَنَّةٍ عَرْضُهَا السَّمَاوَاتُ وَالْأَرْضُ أُعِدَّتْ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ﴾(^[53])

And race towards forgiveness from your Lord and a Garden as wide as the heavens and the earth, prepared for the righteous.

Every society depends and lives on the basis of morality. Islamic standpoint of morality is very clear. In Islam, the revelation is the base of every moral and ethical value.

Obviously, Islam focuses on women’s respect, equality and human dignity. For that purpose, the Quran very deeply focuses on the creation of a child from one man and woman. Also, the rights and status of women are equal to men, but some things differ in status because both male and female have their own field of work to contribute and carry out respective responsibilities. In other words, Islam grants equal status to male and female ideologically, but practically gives more authority to men to manage socio-political and socio-religious issues. One important Hadith of the Prophet (ﷺ) presents a beautiful solution for equality of humanity;

“Indeed you have rights over your women, and your women have rights over you. As for your rights over your women, then they must not allow anyone whom you dislike to treat on your bedding (furniture), nor to admit anyone in your home that you dislike. And their rights over you are that you treat them well in clothing them and feeding them.”(^[54])

This Hadīth of the kind Prophet (ﷺ) presents a beautiful solution of feminine issues. Islam gives equal rights to women but marks certain limits for their own wellbeing. If anybody considers it inequality and prejudice against women then it is the fault of their understanding and perception. Practically, radical feminism is just a political slogan to exploit women, by demanding a set of rules which cannot be implemented successfully anywhere in the world. Therefore, the actual salvation of the humanity lies under the sacred teachings of Allah. If we follow them with true spirit, we will succeed and if we ignore them, we will fail.

Conclusion

The above study perceives that the radical Feminism is a toxic fruit, resulted from the Western secular thought and drastic liberty. West allows and claims absolute liberty for human beings, especially for women; so that everyone feels free to fulfill their desires as he/she want and wish without any divine instructions. Principally, Radical feminism challenges all political, social, natural and moral laws which revolve around male dominance. They also believe in an open sexual relationship, as well as gay and lesbian rights. The most notorious impact of the movement is that it has damaged the status and respect of women. The pathetic point about radical feminism is that it is highlighting the unnecessary issues in the name of women’s rights and liberty, but actually this drastic liberty has created uncountable problems and issues for human being collectively.

It is also observed, there is seen a flood of difficulties and evils under the umbrella of radical feminism. Which socially, morally and politically is damaging the status and dignity of women. The very sad situation is that there is no cure of this evil found in western thought at all. Ultimately, Islam is a complete code of life, which was sent to provide solvation and mercy for all grieves of humanity. Islam grants all kinds of women's rights and liberties which are the guarantee of women's safety, respect and dignity. Moreover, Islam respects women as a mother, sister, daughter and wife. Likewise, Islam does not compel women to earn, however, if a woman wants to do job, it does not prohibit her, but facilitate her and ensure her security and sanctity at all and in any cost. It’s also an interesting fact that Islam dos not put liability of earning on women but it’s their right rather than a duty. Hence, it’s recommended there is a dire need of time to critically evaluate the issues, aims, impact and consequences of radical feminism in Muslim socio-religious and sociopolitical context.

References