[Leslie22890]

I've seen it said in the media many times that in Islam, a male who dies fighting for Islam goes to Heaven and gets some large number of virgins (maybe 70? I can't remember). All of which is fine, but I always wonder what the incentive is for Islamic women to behave. Do women go to Heaven? Do they have a role except in relation to men?

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Name : Leslie22890, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, City : Topeka, State : KS Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Zuhair R.]

I guess you would probably expect a woman to answer this, but I hope my point of view will be able to help you out. Rights and responsiblities of men and women in Islam are divided so that they reach an equilibrium. An accusation often made against Muslims is that the Qur'an says Man has been made stronger than women, to be able to handle certain responsibilies. This is not discrimination, but a fact of nature, that man is physically stronger than a women, but the best of people is decided on faith and not whether they are a man or a woman. In regard to women in heaven, they are called Hurs, and believing women will be given Men, called Ghilman. So there is no difference in that. I suggest you check the links below, especially the second one; they should answer all your questions and show you the position of women in Islam. If you require any further information, you can always email me.
Here are the links: 1)http://www.al-islam.org/al-tawhid/default.asp?url=women-society.htm; 2) http://www.al-islam.org/WomanRights/index.html

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Name : Zuhair R., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : African of Asian Decent, Age : 20, City : Dubai, State : NA Country : United Arab Emirates, Occupation : Network Engineer, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Jay31296]

For women, they get to have an afterlife free of sexist-pig-type men!! Why else would they blow themselves up??!! Definately not for 70 virgin men!! I don't understand Christian womens incentive to be Christian being that the whole doctrine demeans them and considers then an after thought. It's ironic too that the majority of contributers in church are women - and that they are paying towards their own exclusion.

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Name : Jay31296, City : New York, State : NY Country : United States, 

[Karim]

The problem with most Westerners is that they are totally convinced that Islam promotes a view of a physical heaven where people enjoy sensual pleasures. This myth is quite excusable because it is widespread even among some Muslims. But the official view of Islam is not that heaven is sensual; heaven is a whole different plane of existence, one not governed by laws we know or understand. Heaven is having communion (but not becoming one) with God. The distinct property of heaven in the Quran is that it is a place of fulfillment. Each soul has fulfillment the way it desires. The Quran describes how this fulfillment comes to some people in the form of orgasm, like ecstasy, and how to some others it comes by existing in a plane where there is 'nothing mundane.' In essence, heaven is what you want it to be. If you want it to be a place where you leave your bodily form and become one with the universe, then so be it. If it is a place filled with fairy-like companions or studs, then so be it. An important point is that Islam does not really shun sex the way Judeo-Christianity does, it embraces sex and sees nothing wrong with using it as a metaphor for heaven. To some Sufis (and to me), orgasm is the state when a human is nearest to God. Heaven in Islam is a place for everyone, not only for men. If a woman wants her heaven to be in the form of a sex machine, so be it! The Quran is very clear about who will end up in the place where there is 'no mundane'; it uses both masculine and feminine adjectives repeatedly when it describes the faithful to drum this concept in. No Muslim believes that heaven is for men only; it is for men and women equally. The reward is equal and the requirements to receive this reward are equal. This is a central and universally accepted principle of Islam. In fact, most Muslims believe that not only humans will end up in heaven, but also animals, plants and every creature that we know or don't know. To some mystics, even seemingly lifeless objects like rocks end up communing with God. The myth of a masculine Muslim heaven filled with a fixed number of virgins per faithful is one of the most inane yet most widespread misunderstandings about Islam. When someone dies in my country, people see that person as being 'with God,' not as being in bed with virgins. To think otherwise is to grossly underestimate the complex feelings that millions of Muslims have about an issue as convoluted as death and what happens after it.

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Name : Karim, Gender : M, Age : 23, City : Los Angeles, State : CA Country : United States, Social class : Middle class, 

[Kimberly26382]

God is so merciful that He protects and provides for us regardless. Islam is freeing in the sense that I don't fall victim to the lastest fashion trend and haircuts. God in all His wisdom protects me from sexual come-ons and other unwelcomed advances.

User Detail :  

Name : Kimberly26382, Gender : F, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Muslim, City : Austin, State : TX Country : United States, Education level : 2 Years of College, 

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