Question:
Do you think that the traditional images of Mother Mary do her
justice?
Traditional
images of Mother Mary present her as pure, virginal, chaste,
submissive, subordinate, obedient, and in the background.
From
what we can derive from the gospel accounts, in fact Mary must have
possessed considerable physical stamina and strength of character:
- she accepted the Divine commission to be God's partner in the Incarnation of the Son, risking social ostracism and the loss of her fiancé Joseph;
- she (perhaps) gave voice to her joy in the egalitarian Magnificat;
- she undertook a journey during the last trimester of her pregnancy; she and her family fled to avoid Herod's slaughter of baby boys;
- she lived with her family as refugees in Egypt before moving back to the Galilee;
- she had several other children (at least four other boys and at least two girls, possibly more);
- she prompted Jesus to begin his ministry (at the wedding in Cana);
- she was a matriarch, present during at least some parts of that ministry;
- she saw Jesus die and be taken to the tomb;
- she was so loved by her firstborn son that his last thought was to ensure her well-being.
This
is not a meek, vulnerable woman, although of course like all of us
she no doubt had her vulnerabilities. This is a resilient woman, a
woman who confidently talks to angels, participates in God, raises a
man like Jesus, a man of courage and faith and vision and compassion
and a sense both of true justice and of mercy. She is a great role
model for us all.
Question:
How are the accounts of the Annunciation in the gospel of Luke and in
the Qur'an similar, and how are they different? Does Mary's response
to Gabriel in Luke's account differ in any significant way from her
response in Sura Maryam? Do you find anything meaningful about one
rather than the other account?
In
Luke's account of the Annunciation, God sends Gabriel to Mary (a
'virgin' espoused to Joseph) in Nazareth. Gabriel hails Mary as God's
favoured one, and affirms that 'the Lord is with' her. Mary is
puzzled at this greeting - but not that an angel should greet her at
all! Gabriel tells her not to be afraid, because she has 'found
favour with God' and will conceive and bear a son, Jesus. Mary
questions this, as she is 'a virgin'. Gabriel tells her that the Holy
Spirit will come upon her, and the power of 'The Most High' will
overshadow her, so her child will be holy, and called the Son of God.
The angel goes on to tell Mary of Elizabeth's conception 'in her old
age' - a sign that 'nothing will be impossible with God'. Mary then
says 'Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it me with me according
to your word'.
In
the Surah Maryam, Mary retires from her family into 'an eastern
place' and takes a veil to screen herself. God's spirit in the
semblance of a 'well-made man' comes to her as a 'messenger' to
'bestow on her a pure boy'. Mary again protests that no man has
touched her and she is not a 'harlot'. The messenger says it is easy,
and a 'decided matter'. And Mary conceives.
The
two accounts have some similarity, in so far as Mary is approached by
a messenger/angel from God/the Lord; and in both accounts Mary
conceives and bears the child who will be Jesus. However, in Luke's
account, Mary, while initially questioning how she could be pregnant
when she is a virgin, subsequently tells the angel 'Let it be with me
according to your word'; that is, she concurs in God's plan. In the
Qur'ān, despite her similar protestation of being a virgin, she is
not given a choice: it is a 'decided matter'.
This
significant difference perhaps indicates a major difference between
the faiths of Christianity and Islam, namely that in Christianity men
and women, although children of God, are seen as partners with God in
many things, while the focus in Islam is on submission to the will of
Allah/God.
Question:
In your opinion, does the Qur'an portray Mary as a goddess? Does her
presence in their holy book ingratiate her to modern Muslims? Why do
modern Muslims, more than any other people on earth, seem to oppress
and mistreat their women?
The
Qur'ān definitely does not portray Mary as a goddess: any gods or
goddesses other than Allah are anathema within Islam. She is referred
to (Surah 19.28) as Aaron's sister (which may be an honorary epithet,
or a simple confusion of Mary's!) and (19.59) as amongst those 'to
whom God has been gracious'.
Since
Muslims regard Isa (Jesus/Yeshua) as a prophet, then Maryam is
revered as his Mother, chosen by Allah for that role, and she
therefore is featured more than any other woman in the Qur'ān. This
includes Hagar, mother of Ishmael, from whom the Muslim bloodline is
believed to derive, and whom one might have expected to be a more
significant figure than Mary.
It
may be that Mary is given this attention in the Qur'ān as one of the
links between the Islamic faith and those of Judaism and
Christianity, all of which share the same father/patriarch, Abraham.
It may also have been a way of dealing with the Christian concept of
Isa's divinity, which Islam denies. Mary/Maryam is depicted as pure
and devout, submissive to the will of Allah and to the laws of her
religion. She may therefore have been intended to act as a role model
for Muslim women: unquestioningly submissive, faithful, and chaste.
In
Surah 3, the Family/House of Imran, Mary is portrayed as Imran's
daughter, given into the care of Zachariah in the Temple (chosen by
lot!), where she is reminded to be obedient, to live in awe, and
prostrate (experiencing her 'inexistence' in the sight of Allah's
existence) as Allah's chosen one who has been purified, cleansed from
the 'filth of duality', and bearing Isa according to Allah's
indisputable will.
Surah
An-Nisah (156-159) comments on the disbelief of the Jews in accusing
Maryam of committing 'illegal sexual intercourse' and their claim to
have killed Isa, son of Maryam and 'the Messenger of Allah'.
Such
reverence for Mary hinges on the belief in her purity and her
submission to Allah's will, rather than for any other qualities,
either womanly or 'goddessly'. Islam does teach that men and women
are equal in the sight of Allah, are individually accountable for
their actions, and will be judged equally. And women do,
theoretically at least, have the right to choose who they marry, to
study, to own property, to conduct business, and to take part in
politics.
But
although they are 'equal', men and women are not regarded as the
same: men and women are believed to have different purposes, and
therefore have difference physicalities and characteristics. Men, for
example, are regarded as being the ones who should provide
financially for his family, while the woman should look after the
home and the family members. This is partly what may have led to the
oppression of some Muslim women, and sadly Muslim women are still the
victims of vile cultural practices such as genital mutilation, forced
marriage, the punishment of rape victims, the denial of education,
and being confined to the home.
I
believe that this reveals a wide-spread ignorance - both the lack of
knowledge, and the literal ignoring of such knowledge - of the true
precepts of Islam, which teaches that women be treated with respect,
honour, and justice, and within which any kind of oppression is
condemned. The Prophet Muhammad is quoted as saying 'Paradise lies at
the feet of your Mother' (Hadith Sunan An-Nasai).
It
is also very important to remember that the oppression of women is
not only confined to Islam but is still a world-wide and
cross-cultural phenomenon wherever men are weak.
In
Your Image
Mary,
Maiden, Mother, Matriarch;
once
alone with the angel,
forever
after surrounded by your family:
cousin
Elizabeth, sharing the joy of pregnancy,
Joseph,
loyal and loving husband, taking responsibility,
Jesus,
precious first-born, source of wonder and of sorrow,
James
and Joses, Simon and Judas, sons to be proud of,
daughter-in-law,
Magdala, to inherit your crown,
beloved
friend of Jesus, to take you as his mother,
un-named,
un-known daughters to teach and love and to succeed you.
Take
us as your daughters, we women of this time, this place:
teach
us your strength, your wisdom,
that
we may raise our children within your family,
to
speak with angels and cast out demons,
to
be the daughters and the sons of God.
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