Why me?

In July 1990, during a conference on women issues, held in Montreal (Canada) � An Egyptian feminist Dr. Nawal Saadawi was hunted down by the Jewish and Christian feminists participants for equating Islam with their religion. � For her politically incorrect statements included: the most restrictive elements towards women can be found first in Judaism in the Old Testament then in Christianity and then in the Qur�an.

After hearing this episode of non-Muslims� hatred and ignorance � Dr. Sherif Abdel Azim wrote a interesting rebuttal to the western myths about the treatment of women in Islam as follows:

The three religions agree on one basic fact: Both women and men are created by God, The Creator of the whole universe. However, disagreement starts soon after the creation of the first man, Adam, and the first woman, Eve. The Judaeo-Christian conception of the creation of Adam and Eve is narrated in detail in Genesis 2:4-3:24. God prohibited both of them from eating the fruits of the forbidden tree. The serpent seduced Eve to eat from it and Eve, in turn, seduced Adam to eat with her. When God rebuked Adam for what he did, he put all the blame on Eve, The woman you put here with me --she gave me some fruit from the tree and I ate it; Consequently, God said to Eve: I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing; with pain you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband and he will rule over you. To Adam He said: Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree .... Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life....

The Islamic conception of the first creation is found in several places in the Quran, for example:

O Adam dwell with your wife in the Garden and enjoy as you wish but approach not this tree or you run into harm and transgression. Then Satan whispered to them in order to reveal to them their shame that was hidden from them and he said: 'Your Lord only forbade you this tree lest you become angels or such beings as live forever.' And he swore to them both that he was their sincere adviser. So by deceit he brought them to their fall: when they tasted the tree their shame became manifest to them and they began to sew together the leaves of the Garden over their bodies. And their Lord called unto them: 'Did I not forbid you that tree and tell you that Satan was your avowed enemy?' They said: 'Our Lord we have wronged our own souls and if You forgive us not and bestow not upon us Your Mercy, we shall certainly be lost -  Holy Qur�an 7:19:23.