President Carter’s Gender Manifesto: A Wake-up Call for Muslims in America

Dr. Robert D. Crane

Posted Jul 13, 2009      •Permalink      • Printer-Friendly Version
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President Carter’s Gender Manifesto: A Wake-up Call for Muslims in America

by Dr. Robert D. Crane

  President Carter’s article on human rights in today’s The Observer, dealing with gender equity, perhaps was timed to appear with a great article in today’s Washington Post, Sunday, July 12th, 2009, in the Outlook section by Carlos Lozada reviewing Kevin Mattson’s new book, What the Heck Are You Up To, Mr. President? Jimmy Carter, America’s “Malaise,” and the Speech that Should Have Changed the Country.

  This article claims that Carter’s famous “malaise” speech on July 15, 1979, is greatly needed today from President Obama.  The thesis of this 263-page book is that this appeal to Americans “far from a political miscalculation, was a brave attempt by a thoughtful president to re-imagine the nation and bind citizens and government in a common purpose. ... He criticized American materialism [and consumerism]: ‘Human identity is no longer define by what one does, but by what one owns’.”  Carter’s approval rating shot up eleven points, but the Republican strategists turned the whole theme of his most famous speech on its head.  They managed to pervert its meaning by a bold strategy to convince the American electorate that Carter was a born loser, in contrast to Ronald Reagan who told Americans how wonderful they are and could be if only they had a bold leader in Washington.  Carter never mentioned the word “malaise,” but Reagan dubbed it the “malaise” speech.  The word stuck and catapulted the Republicans into the presidency.

  Carter’s article in today’s Observer on the dignity of women might similarly doom the presidential legitimacy of any American bold enough to say the same thing, unless he were Barack Obama.  It certainly would undermine the support given to Obama by 90% of America’s Muslims, many of whom might theoretically agree with the thrust of Carter’s article but would not admit its relevance to their own lives.  In discussions with American Muslim leaders at last week’s ISNA Convention, it seemed clear that most Muslims here see marital rape as thoroughly legitimate and even essential in a country where the only other option, polygamy, is illegal.

  It is interesting that today’s Sunday Washington Post carries a relevant article on the NAACP’s search for a new identity now that Obama’s election has spelled a successful end to its original mission of civil rights.  The new mission to be adopted this weekend at the NAACP’s 100th Birthday Celebration, with an address by President Barack Obama, probably will shift to human rights, where both black and white and Hispanic communities might mouth support for Carter’s manifesto on gender equity but in practice would fight it to the death.
 
  The most remarkable phenomenon in American history, according to the dean of historians of religion in America, William R. Hutchison, as discussed in my article, “Thank God for Justice: Renewing the Spirit in Uncertain Times,” http://www.theamericanmuslim.org, November 26, 2008, published in Arches Quarterly, Winter 2008, is that in the spectrum from tolerance, to diversity, to pluralism, “We consistently think that we are one level higher than we actually are, while most of us seem insistently to act as if we were one level lower.”

  President Carter’s new manifesto on gender equity should serve as a wake-up call for Muslims and others who have fallen victim to patriarchal distortions of the world religions.  His words are simple:

“Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status ...” (Article 2, Universal Declaration of Human Rights)

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28)

I have been a practising Christian all my life and a deacon and Bible teacher for many years. My faith is a source of strength and comfort to me, as religious beliefs are to hundreds of millions of people around the world.

So my decision to sever my ties with the Southern Baptist Convention, after six decades, was painful and difficult. It was, however, an unavoidable decision when the convention’s leaders, quoting a few carefully selected Bible verses and claiming that Eve was created second to Adam and was responsible for original sin, ordained that women must be “subservient” to their husbands and prohibited from serving as deacons, pastors or chaplains in the military service. This was in conflict with my belief - confirmed in the holy scriptures - that we are all equal in the eyes of God.

This view that women are somehow inferior to men is not restricted to one religion or belief. It is widespread. Women are prevented from playing a full and equal role in many faiths.

Nor, tragically, does its influence stop at the walls of the church, mosque, synagogue or temple. This discrimination, unjustifiably attributed to a Higher Authority, has provided a reason or excuse for the deprivation of women’s equal rights across the world for centuries. The male interpretations of religious texts and the way they interact with, and reinforce, traditional practices justify some of the most pervasive, persistent, flagrant and damaging examples of human rights abuses.

At their most repugnant, the belief that women must be subjugated to the wishes of men excuses slavery, violence, forced prostitution, genital mutilation and national laws that omit rape as a crime. But it also costs many millions of girls and women control over their own bodies and lives, and continues to deny them fair access to education, health, employment and influence within their own communities.

The impact of these religious beliefs touches every aspect of our lives. They help explain why in many countries boys are educated before girls; why girls are told when and whom they must marry; and why many face enormous and unacceptable risks in pregnancy and childbirth because their basic health needs are not met.

In some Islamic nations, women are restricted in their movements, punished for permitting the exposure of an arm or ankle, deprived of education, prohibited from driving a car or competing with men for a job. If a woman is raped, she is often most severely punished as the guilty party in the crime.

The same discriminatory thinking lies behind the continuing gender gap in pay and why there are still so few women in office in Britain and the United States. The root of this prejudice lies deep in our histories, but its impact is felt every day. It is not women and girls alone who suffer. It damages all of us. The evidence shows that investing in women and girls delivers major benefits for everyone in society. An educated woman has healthier children. She is more likely to send them to school. She earns more and invests what she earns in her family.

It is simply self-defeating for any community to discriminate against half its population. We need to challenge these self-serving and out-dated attitudes and practices - as we are seeing in Iran where women are at the forefront of the battle for democracy and freedom.

I understand, however, why many political leaders can be reluctant about stepping into this minefield. Religion, and tradition, are powerful and sensitive area to challenge.

But my fellow Elders and I, who come from many faiths and backgrounds, no longer need to worry about winning votes or avoiding controversy - and we are deeply committed to challenging injustice wherever we see it.

The Elders have decided to draw particular attention to the responsibility of religious and traditional leaders in ensuring equality and human rights. We have recently published a statement that declares: “The justification of discrimination against women and girls on grounds of religion or tradition, as if it were prescribed by a Higher Authority, is unacceptable.”

We are calling on all leaders to challenge and change the harmful teachings and practices, no matter how ingrained, which justify discrimination against women. We ask, in particular, that leaders of all religions have the courage to acknowledge and emphasise the positive messages of dignity and equality that all the world’s major faiths share.

Although not having training in religion or theology, I understand that the carefully selected verses found in the holy scriptures to justify the superiority of men owe more to time and place - and the determination of male leaders to hold onto their influence - than eternal truths. Similar Biblical excerpts could be found to support the approval of slavery and the timid acquiescence to oppressive rulers.

At the same time, I am also familiar with vivid descriptions in the same scriptures in which women are revered as pre-eminent leaders. During the years of the early Christian church women served as deacons, priests, bishops, apostles, teachers and prophets. It wasn’t until the fourth century that dominant Christian leaders, all men, twisted and distorted holy scriptures to perpetuate their ascendant positions within the religious hierarchy.

I know, too, that Billy Graham, one of the most widely respected and revered Christians during my lifetime, did not understand why women were prevented from being priests and preachers. He said: “Women preach all over the world. It doesn’t bother me from my study of the scriptures.”

The truth is that male religious leaders have had - and still have - an option to interpret holy teachings either to exalt or subjugate women. They have, for their own selfish ends, overwhelmingly chosen the latter.

Their continuing choice provides the foundation or justification for much of the pervasive persecution and abuse of women throughout the world. This is in clear violation not just of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights but also the teachings of Jesus Christ, the Apostle Paul, Moses and the prophets, Muhammad, and founders of other great religions - all of whom have called for proper and equitable treatment of all the children of God. It is time we had the courage to challenge these views.

• Jimmy Carter was US president from 1977-81. The Elders are an independent group of eminent global leaders, brought together by Nelson Mandela, who offer their influence and experience to support peace building, help address major causes of human suffering and promote the shared interests of humanity.

 

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