MAY 2 — Isma is, at best, a confused lot. They claim to be struggling in the cause of Islam (very arguable if you ask me) yet at the same time they struggle for Malay rights.

On Isma's website, there are articles about the wrongful emigration of certain sections of the rakyat. Is this Islamic? Only if you think Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was an Arab nationalist like his polytheist uncle, Abu Jahl. 

But this is a sign of the times, really. The Malaysian government is very much intimidated when it comes to Islamic matters, and would rather allow these Isma types to rule the roost rather than to risk losing power. 

And let's face it, the level of Islamic consciousness in our country is at an all-time low. At a time when we find Muslims selling ice cream made from zam-zam water. This is water found from a well outside Mecca and allegedly has healing powers and the ability to increase study skills. Never worked for me even when I did believe in it. Islam is a veritable industry for some.

One of Isma's struggles is to keep women firmly in their roles as homemakers and under the thumbs of their husbands. There was a recent report in the Malay Mail Online which exposes Isma's view:

“Feminism does not belong in Malaysia as it is causing women to neglect their husbands and children, choosing instead to work and socialise," Islamist group Ikatan Muslimin Malaysia (Isma) said today”.

It is difficult to conceive of a more sexist remark! Why is the woman’s first priority "husbands and children"? What if they choose other priorities?

Understandably, Isma supporters did try to water this down by pointing to an article on their website in which Abdullah Zaik calls for women to "focus on the family." I would ask, why should only women be called to do so? Why did he not give the same call to Muslim fathers? 

In that article, Abdullah further says that in our present times, divorces can occur because women are too immersed in social relations. I find it very strange that he does not mention that it can happen because men are in the very same situation. It takes two to tango, surely? Why did Abdullah not say the same about men? This shows Abdullah’s inherent sexism. He places the responsibility of marital breakdown squarely on women’s shoulders. They are the temptresses and men are the tempted. Amazing.

Feminism is a big sore point with Islamofascists like Isma. They consider it to be a Western construct designed to poison the minds of Muslim women.

They give the counter claim that Islam "liberates women." I agree with this statement but not with Isma's exposition of it. Islam really does liberate women but not the Islam Isma preaches.

Rather, Isma's  objective now is to use Conservative Traditional Islam (CTI) as a means to keep subjugating women by using God’s name. CTI, it must be remembered, was formulated during the height of the Islamic Patriarchal Elite. Its laws are either literalist or atomistic interpretations of the Quran or simply conjured up from the Hadith literature. 

Here is how to test Isma's commitment to the liberation of women:

1. Ask them if they believe women can be caliphs. In the entire history of the Islamic state, there has never been a woman caliph. The reason for this may be the authentic hadith that if a woman takes the helm of a nation, that nation will be never be able to succeed. 

2. Ask them if they believe that the majority of hell dwellers are women, as per another authentic hadith. The reason for this unfortunate outcome is that women are deficient in religion and reason. They are deficient in religion because they cannot pray while menstruating (a rule from CTI) and deficient in reason because their witness is apparently only half of the male (a poor interpretation of a Quranic verse also from CTI). Does Isma subscribe to this belief? If so, how can they uphold women’s rights?

3. Does Isma support the right of women to marry whomever they choose without permission of their guardians? Or, to ask for something more fundamental, can wives even leave their homes without permission? If Isma subscribes to CTI, then the answer to both is "no." Women can only marry with permission and wives can only leave their homes with their husband’s permission. Is this giving women their rights? No, this is the opposite. This is treating women like cattle.

Muslim women need to open their eyes to Isma's agenda. Their brand of Islam will simply suppress women and deny them any rights.

* This is the personal opinion of the columnist