27/04/2013
The Islamic Prophet Muhammad was in a precarious position as he began to spread his teachings to his disciples. As a man with no male descendants, in a natalist and patriarchal culture, his proclaimed identity as the messenger of God and temporal head of a new religion was viewed as an affront by many who attached authority to a man with a proliferation of wives and children, and in particular, a male heir to ensure the descendants of his authority.[15] Nonetheless, Islam spread to become the dominant religion in the Arab regions of the Middle East, as well as Maghreb in Northern Africa, the Anatolian region such as Turkey, and into South Asia as far as Pakistan, India, Malaysia and Indonesia.
The patriarchal character of pre-Islamic Arabic culture influenced not only the content of the Quran and related doctrine, it persists today in the interpretation and application of Islamic dogma. Theological scholarship and practices vary widely according to the country, region, or sectarian beliefs where an Islamic community is located. The largest groups of Muslim women are in: Indonesia (over 100 million), Bangladesh (over 75 million), Pakistan (over 85 million), India (over 80 million), Egypt (nearly 40 million), Nigeria (nearly 40 million), Turkey (over 35 million) and Iran (over 35 million). These countries total more than 60% of the world's Muslims; there are more than 750 million Muslim women worldwide, including sizeable minorities in several countries of Africa and Europe, and in China.[16]
Islamic doctrine is the product of Quranic guidelines, as understood by Islamic jurisprudence (fiqh), as well as of the interpretations derived from the traditions of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad (hadith), that were agreed upon by majority of Sunni Muslim scholars as authentic beyond doubt based on the science of hadith.[1][17]
The Sunni Muslims are the largest Islamic sect, comprising approximately 80% of the world's Muslims. The Sunni sect includes many theological schools and doctrines interpreting the Quran. To Sunni Muslims, the hadith constitutes an important source of legislation. The fiqh is the basis of jurisprudence, or legal practise, developed by Muslim jurists during the centuries following the creation of Islam, and largely influenced by the hadith.[18] These interpretations and their application were shaped by the historical context of the Muslim world at the time they were written.[1] Many of the earliest writings were from a time of tribal warfare which could have been inappropriate for the 21st century, but most remain appropriate to how a Muslim following the sunnah should behave.
