Estimated reading time: 20 minute(s)
by Fudia Muhammad
Sexism can be as insidious as racism. Although it is pervasive in every culture and every religion; it is not always immediately recognized for what it is. Like racism, it is systemic and shelved as just being a part of the fabric of our society. Sexism is defined as, “discrimination against a group of persons because of the fact or character of being male or female.” Sexism is a vice whose root must be exposed to the light in order to be destroyed. The demographics for the United States of America claim a population that is only 13.3% Black or African-American; but 50.8% female – yet somehow, we all knew that this country would see its first Black male president in office before there would be a white female president; not that we’re complaining. However, it is something to ponder: if Black people are only 13.3% of the population, then we did not put Barack Obama in a position to hold the country’s highest office; white people did. They chose a Black man over a woman.
Fudia Muhammad
During a recent lecture at Mosque Maryam on May 27, 2018, The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan discussed the pervasive disrespect and outright abuse of Black and Gentile women. He said, “The #MeToo Movement is real, women are tired of being misused by men in power.” Allah (God) is not the Originator of racism nor sexism. Racism and sexism are two great impediments – along with nationalism and materialism – that are the byproduct of the madness of this world. Sexism, ironically has its root in this world’s most prominent religious doctrine. Unlike racism, which many justify by misinterpreting the scriptures; the language of the Bible was intentionally tampered with to condone sexism in order to relegate women to a status of lesser beings.
The Bible reads, “So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of man’s ribs and then closed up the place with flesh. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man” (Genesis 2:21-22, NIV). The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan said that if the woman were made from the rib of man, this would make her inferior and she is not. Not to mention that according to Biblical doctrine, the woman was not only made subsequent to God making the man, but she was His last creation. Supposedly she was created after all of the lower animals, the streams and rivers, celestial bodies and all plant life. Not so! According to the Teachings of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, “Before there was Sun, there was a Woman. Allah came out of the womb of darkness with a womb within Himself. Every man has a woman in him. If you notice, the male has the X and Y chromosome, which has the male and female part. The female has the X chromosome. As Allah came out of the womb – the Holy Qur’an calls it ‘triple darkness’ – He had a womb within Himself. He studied Himself and from Himself He fashioned Woman. She is His First Act of Creation. This is why you don’t understand the woman and you cannot deal with a woman; you think she is a man’s woman. She is the Woman of God” (Self-Improvement: The Basis for Community Development). Obviously this knowledge would cause a huge shift in the psyche of both men and women since there is a tremendous difference between being first on the planet (after the Supreme Being) and being dead last.
To add insult to injury, the first woman, who the Bible calls Eve, is then blamed for all that is wrong in the world and as a result she must suffer. “To the woman He said, ‘I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you’ ” (Genesis 3:16, NIV). There it is – the go-to scripture used to explain menstruation and pain during childbirth as well as to keep women in “their place.” The Bible has been diluted, mixed and tampered with to such a degree that even the scholars cannot seem to find consensus as to the authenticity and correct interpretation of such a verse because contradictions run rampant throughout.
So, what is the pain of Eve? It cannot be childbirth, because the pain of childbirth is a natural pain; it’s a demonstration of the universal difficulty factor attached to everything of value. Nothing is more valuable than producing human life; hence the high degree of difficulty? It also cannot be menstruation. Menstruation is actually a blessing from God – it gives women the capability to detox and expel impurities from their bodies every single month, keeping them salubrious and in a state of balance. According to the Bible, Adam named his wife Eve because she would become the mother of all the living. The Black woman is indeed the mother of all the living, all of civilization; therefore, Allah (God) provided a process for her temple to be in a continual cycle of purification.
Within the woman lies the secret of God. A replica of the womb out of which the Originator created Himself is found in the woman. The fact that God would place His secret in her is a demonstration of His immense love for women. However, there is a serious responsibility that comes with being God’s co-creator; and there is also a serious consequence when we are negligent or rebellious against an instruction from Allah (God). The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan explained the true interpretation of the pain of Eve in his lecture, How to Give Birth to a God. He first asked the Sisters, “What burden do you bear in producing children that are a scourge to you and to the earth? How do feel, mother, when you behold your son, your flesh, your blood – a thief, a liar, a rapist, a murderer, a drug addict, a prostitute, a low-life, a degenerate?”
The Minister goes on further to explain, “The pain is that you bring forth children into the world that will one day curse you and give you, the mother – pain. Your own children make your life burdensome and miserable and you die in pain because you have left behind you, children that cannot cope with the realities of this life. Sons who are still waiting for you to give them something though they’re 20, 30 and 40 years old. Your children are born and they die giving their parents pain…If something new and better is to come about, this must come about through men and women who are careful of the way they think, careful of the way they live, careful of the foods that they eat, careful of their obedience to the laws of God.”
For this to be our new reality, we must elevate women. She is the second-self of God. Through her womb, He can create His likeness. The feminine side of the expression of God must also be encouraged to contribute to humanity in every field of endeavor. The world is in a state of imbalance and chaos because the feminine side of God, which brings the equilibrium to politics, religion, science, education, health, defense, and justice is absent. Men who see home as the woman’s place and not her base, do not desire to include her. Deep-seeded misogyny is alive and well today; but it is the Will of Allah (God) that this terrible perversion in society be destroyed. Allah (God) desires that His divine intention for women be firmly established throughout the earth. And we are now seeing evidence that anyone who interferes with His Will is being eliminated expeditiously.
(Sister Fudia Muhammad is a member of Muhammad Mosque No. 64 in Austin, Texas. She is married to Student Minister Robert L. Muhammad and they have been blessed with four children. Sister Fudia holds a Master’s degree in Education – she is a writer, an educator and an advocate for God-centered child-rearing.
