c


In today's society, people of all ages are highly influenced by the

media. There seems to be a great deal of pressure on men to conform
to be hegemonic, muscular and somewhat successful. For example, a
majority of young men look up to gangster rap artists (50 Cent, DrDre
and Biggie Smalls) and aspire to live the dream - „

 

,
but in the form of an African Americans perspective. They find
inspiration in their role models' stories, and the lyrics they offer
enable the audience/fans to share expe riences and empathise with
them. These are usually tales of ghetto dwellers; coming from broken
homes, involving in narcotics and gang-related violence. Then as if by
magic, evolving into moneymakers and importantly, attracting
abundant female attention.
Another dominating male character that exists in more or less every
society but doesn't appear to be as apparent is "the tyrannical male".
These men believe that women are inferior to them, they will not and
definitely cannot accept the female species chall enging their
authority. With their pride and ego at stake, some will even go as far
as beating their wives/partners to prove their 'higher level of
power'.
Statistics show that at least 1 in 4 women in the UK will experience
domestic abuse in their lifetime (British Crime Survey 2009/10). Also
by analysing the case files given by the Home Office of ASBO
applications from the period of April 1999 to September 2001
(http://rds.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs2/hors236.pdf) it indicates
that 50 per cent of the behavior under consideration takes place as
„  .
However, travelling back in time through the Black Sea flowing
through Damascus to the heart of Islam lays a history of incredible
examples of men.
These were the likes of Salahuddin, Sultan Abdul Hamid ii, Umar Ibn
Al Khattab and many more.
The 'so-called' Muslim men of today, e.g. the Royal Saudis of K.S.A
seem to only show similarities to cowards and not of men. That is, in
order to keep strong ties with the capitalised West - they wash their
hands off Palestine and choose not have anything to do with their
situation.
In contrast, Sultan Abdul Hamid ii of the Ottoman Empire and
Salahuddin of Cairo were the opposite in responding to the atrocities
committed in Palestine.
In 1901 the Caliph/leader of the Islamic state; Sultan Abdul Hamid ii
was asked to meet with the Zionists. However, he stood firm to what
he believed and did not let the land of Palestine fall into the wrong
hands. Thus he said in a letter to the leader of the Zionist
movement,  


„
 
 „

„  

„

 
„
„

 „

 
„  „ „ „
 „„„„„ 


 




Similarly, when the crusaders of Europe captured the Kingdom of
Jerusalem in the 12th century, this young man didnǯt only succeed in
his mission, Salahuddin won the respect of many of his enemies
including Richard the Lionheart and throughout Europe many
remembered him for his great chivalry.
Not only were these men leaders, they were also compassionate
people. For example, Umar Ibn Al Khattab was one of the first Caliphs
of Islam after the death of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) he was known
as a strong-minded man, and definitely not a man that could be
messed with. When he accepted Islam he said to the people, "If there
is anyone amongst you who wants to make his mother cry, who
wants to orphan his child and who wants to widow his wife. Then let
him follow me behind this valley, follow me if you dare ".
In a 1978 book written by Michael H. Hart, 
   „

„ 
„
  !„ ranks Prophet Muhammad (peace
and blessings be upon him) as the first most influential person. Hart
declared Prophet Muhammed (pbuh) as being "supremely
successful" in both the secular and religious worlds.
Islamic history demonstrates that the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)
liberated women, teaching that both genders were created for the
same purpose to worship their Creator and therefore understanding
their full potential as human beings. He also showed respect to those
younger than him. Whenever his daughter Fatima used to enter the
room, he would stand for her in respect.
His beautiful personality preached a deen (way of life), founded a
state, built a nation, laid down a moral code, initiated social and
political reforms and established a dynamic society in which his
teachings could be practised and represented.
Based on the examples given, a real man isnǯt a man who owns a few
sport cars, a man whoǯs built on muscle or a man who devalues
women. Itǯs evident from looking at history that if desired, men can
be successful in character and be men worth looking up to and set
examples for the next generation. This can be achieved if the media
doesnǯt replace important institutions such as religion in the name of
secularisation.
In todayǯs society religion is seen as something demeaning to the
modern way of life. But itǯs often forgotten that because of religion in
the pre-industrial era our societies today have advanced in
technology, politics and even ed ucation.