The way that unbelievers strive to struggle against Allah is a miracle created by him

- < - < - "Published by, M NajimudeeN Bsc - INDIA|®|- - - -
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- > If someone denies Allah, if he does not believe in
Creation and is reluctant to believe that this world will come to an
end and that he will be recreated with death and exist for all
eternity, if he thinks that all he has belongs to this world, then
this person will have a frightening and terrifying wait. He seeks to
give the impression he is unaware of this. He will maintain that his
purpose is to enjoy the things of this world. He will say he never
thinks about tomorrow and lives only for the moment. Yet
subconsciously he is still worried about "ceasing to exist." The life
of this world, which he believesin as an absolute entity, will
increasingly abandon him. Death is approaching. And after death,
according to his own superstitious belief,there is only non-existence.
This really terrifies that person.
The terror of someone who denies Allah is not limited to the fear of
ceasing to exist. Everything is equally terrifying for someone who
denies Creation, imagines that everything came into being
spontaneously and that the universe and he himself are both entirely
haphazard. Under his feet there is a thin crust over boiling magma,
while the Earth revolves at great speed in the vastness of space. If
everything were a coincidence, as he believes, then a meteor would
inevitably one day collide with the Earth, and the Earth would be
shattered in a moment with gigantic tremors. Any of the billions of
delicate balances that make the Earth hospitable to life could
similarly be eliminated. Therefore, just about everything represents a
threat and source of anxiety for such a person. The heart he believes
beats by chance, the veins he believes carry nutrients to the body by
chance and the eyes he believes see by chance are all in danger at
every moment.
These are the people who, as stated in a verse,believe that the life
of this world is all they possess: "What is there but our life in the
dunya? We die and we live and we will not be raised again." (Surat
al-Muminun, 37)
The aim behind such people's denial is to make the greatest use ofthe
life of this world, no matter how great their fear and terror.
Therefore, one would expect such a person to do all he can and use all
the means at his disposalto remain, in his own eyes at least, in this
world he imagines to be a random one, to strive to that end alone. But
that is not what happens. The great majority of such people MOBILIZE
ALL THEIR MEANS TO OPPOSE MUSLIMS, and not to stay alive or to enjoy
earthly pleasures. This is an astonishing state of affairs. It is
amazing how they expend all the power, money and means they would
appear to acquire in the life of this world, in short, everything
given them by Allah, SOLELY in order to oppose Him andHis religion and
to weaken and inflict suffering on Muslims, in their own eyes at
least.
Our Almighty Lord has revealed this in verses:
When We let people taste mercy after hardship has afflicted them,
immediately they plot against Our signs. Say: "Allah is swifter at
plotting." Your plotting is recorded by Our Messengers. (Surah Yunus,
21)
When unbelievers, who see and appreciate the might of Allah in times
ofdifficulty, attain well-being they imagine that the mercy bestowedon
them from His own Grace by Allah is actually theirs, and they then
stupidly direct all their energies to striving against Muslims in the
belief that their power and well-being belong to them. Allah creates
these people specially in order to test Muslims. Their Creation in
this way is one of the greatest proofs of the existence of Allah.
Almighty Allah Has Spoken of this Attitude of Unbelievers in Verses
Almighty Allah reveals in the Qur'an how some unbelievers unwilling to
live by the moral values of the Qur'an will use all their power to
strive against Him and Muslims.Some of these verses read:
When those who are unbelievers were plotting against you to imprison
you or kill you or expel you: they were plotting and Allah was
plotting, but Allah is the Best of Plotters. (Surat al-Anfal, 30)
Allah desires to turn towards you, but those who pursue their lower
appetites desire to makeyou deviate completely. (Surat an-Nisa', 27)
Those who prefer the life of this world to the Hereafter, and bar
accessto the way of Allah, wanting to make it crooked; they are
greatly misguided. (Surah Ibrahim, 3)
There was a group of nine men in the city causing corruption in the
land and not puttingthings right. They said, 'Let us make an oath to
one another by Allah that we will fall on him and his family in the
night and then say to hisprotector, "We did not witness the
destruction of his family and we are telling the truth."' They hatched
a plot and We hatched a plot while they were not aware. (Surat
an-Naml, 48-50)
They swore by Allah withtheir most earnest oaths that if a warner came
to them they would be better guided than any other community. But then
when a warner did come to them, it only increased their aversion,shown
by their arrogance in the land and evil plotting. But evilplotting
envelops only those who do it. Do they expect anything but the pattern
of previous peoples? You will not find any changing in thepattern of
Allah. You will not find any alteration in the pattern of Allah.
(Surah Fatir, 42-43)
You who believe! do not take any outside yourselves as intimates. They
will do anything to harm you. They love what causes you
distress.Hatred has appeared outof their mouths, but what their
breasts hide is far worse. We have made the signs clear to you if you
use your intellect. There you are, loving them when they do not love
you, even though you believe in allthe Books. When they meet you, they
say, 'We believe.' But when they leave they bite their fingers out of
rage against you. Say, 'Die in your rage.' Allah knows what your
hearts contain. If something good happens to you, it galls them. If
something bad strikes you, they rejoice at it. But if you are
steadfast and have taqwa, their scheming will not harm you in any way.
Allah encompasses what they do. (Surah Al 'Imr'an, 118-120)
Among people there is one who argues about Allah without knowledge or
guidance or any light-giving Book,turning away arrogantly, to misguide
people from the Way of Allah. He will be disgraced in this world and
on the Day of Resurection We will make him taste the punishment of the
Burning. (Surat al-Hajj, 8-9)
Do you not see that Allahhas subjected to you everything in the
heavens and earth and has showered His blessings upon you,
bothoutwardly and inwardly? Yet there are people who argue aboutAllah
without knowledge or guidance or any illuminating Book. (Surat
al-Luqman, 20)
... The demons inspire their friends to dispute with you. If you
obeyed them you would then beassociaters. (Surat al-An'am, 121)
The people of Noah denied the truth before them, and the
Confederates after them.Every nation planned to seize its Messenger
and used false arguments to rebut the truth. So I seized them, and how
was My retribution! (Surat al-Ghafir, 5)
Those who argue about the signs of Allah without any authority coming
to them do something hateful in thesight of Allah and in the sight of
the people who believe.That is how Allahseals up the heart of every
arrogant oppressor. (Surat al-Ghafir, 35)
Unbelievers Never Take Any Pleasure from the Transitory Joys of This World
Our Almighty Lord reveals in the Qur'an that He has created the life
of this world as a bauble, a temporary abode, a short-term benefit, a
thing of distraction. People who imagine the life in this world alone,
denying Allah and the Hereafter, may initially appear to enjoy the
adornments and transitory pleasures of the life of this world and to
live the life of thisworld in the delight and happiness they desire.
The truth is very different, however.
This world is a very frightening and terrifying place for people who
deny Allah for the sake of living the life of this world moment by
moment. These people life with the anxiety of ceasing toexist at any
moment of every day. Even a dead fly reminds them of the death that
will inevitablybe coming their way. Death is the worst terror for
them. Because this world, which they imagine to be all they possess,
will be taken from them and not a trace will remain of theirown
existence. How can a person possessed of such knowledge possiblyenjoy
the moment he is living? Of course, he cannot.
Someone who thinks he will cease to exist is in fact caused great
uneaseby everything he should enjoy in this world. Even if he has tons
of gold, possessing and spendingit will definitely cause him huge pain
and trouble. Everything, listening to music, eating, spending time in
places of entertainment. Going on holiday, traveling, spending time in
a restaurant with friends, getting married,buying a car or a house or
land, in short all the blessings he possesses inthis world, will
inevitably make him unhappy. Since he believes he came into being by
chance and is uncontrolled he will feel unbelievable unease
andanxiety. Worrying about ceasing to exist is worse than all other
concerns. To think for a single moment that he will cease to exist is
enough for all his happiness to fly away. The moment heis living and
his very life will have no meaning. That will cause all the things he
believes will make him happy to anger him instead. Musicwill annoy
him, and places of entertainment and accumulating possessions. Getting
in a car he brought to show off to other people with,looking at a
lovely view, his home, the decorations in that home, and even his
wife,children and other relatives will all become things that annoy
and upset him. That moment of oblivion that he believes in draws
closer by the second. Every passing day therefore inflicts greater
fear, anxiety and anger on him.
Our Almighty Lord describes in a verse how unbelievers are actually
very troubled as they consume the delights of this world:
When Allah desires to guide someone, He expands his breast to Islam.
When He desires to misguide someone, He makes his breast narrow and
constricted as if he were climbing up into the sky. That is how Allah
defiles those who have no faith. (Surat al-An'am, 125)
In another verse, our Lord reveals that because of these people's fear
and anxiety these people experience a taste of thetorments of Hell in
this world:
They say, 'When will this promise be fulfilled if you are telling the
truth?' Say: 'It may well be that some of what you are anxious to
hasten is right on your heels.' (Surat an-Naml, 71-72)
Pleasure and happiness are only possible with love of Allah. A person
can only enjoy music, other people, flowers, a delightful view, the
environment he lives in, entertainments, friendships, shopping and
conversation with the joy of faith. In order for these to be able to
give one any pleasure, one first has to be at peace, with an easy
conscience. It is impossible for someone whose heart and conscience
are not at ease to be genuinely happy and take pleasurefrom anything.
But someone who knows the joy of faith, who loves and fears Allah
andknows that every moment of his life is a blessing from Allah can be
at peace and have an easy conscience before Allah.
In fact, everyone possesses this awareness. Everyone, unbelievers
included, is well aware that he must behave according to his
conscience. Almighty Allah inspires the voice of their conscience in
people. But since these people fail to choose theright course despite
the promptings of their consciences they can never achieve inner peace
and happiness. Onthe contrary, everything that happens to them always
represents fear, anxiety, stress and sorrow.
The Way That Unbelievers Who Spend the Life of This World in Fear Find
the Strength toStrive against Allah and Muslims Is a Miracle
As can be seen from verse 21 of Surah Yunus, quoted above,
unbelievers, to whom allkinds of blessings are given, at once strive
to establish an order against the verses of Allah and to weaken
Muslims, at least in their own eyes. As can be seenfrom other verses,
these unbelievers engage in a great and wide-ranging struggle against
the truth. As revealed in the verse "Those who are unbelivers spend
their wealth barring access to the Way of Allah. They will spend it"
(Surat al-Anfal, 36) , instead of pursuing pleasures as they intend,
they use all their material and psychological means against Muslims.
They have no hesitation about using their most valued earthly means
and possessions to, they imagine at least, inflict defeat on Muslims
and prevent Qur'anic moral values ruling the world. Although they
imagine that the life of this worldis all they have, they have no
problem with spending all their time on setting traps for Muslims and
plotting against them. They put all their energies into plotting evil
against Muslims. And this is truly a very great miracle.
Someone who strives against the moral values of the Qur'an should not
have the strength to do all this. The anxiety over ceasing to exist
one day should never give him a moment's peace in this limited life he
leads. And since he is constantly in this state of anxiety he should
not bother tryingto strive against Muslims.One would expect, since
this person has no faith and does not believe in the Hereafter, does
not trust in and rely on Allah and lives in a constant state of fear
and anxiety,that he would regard hisown life as very valuable. One
would therefore expect him to be terrified of death. He should not
expend the earthly means, which are all he possesses, his money and
the rest, on trying to weaken Muslims, lose time over plotting or
waste energyon such things. One would expect such a person to numb his
mindand devote himself to enjoyment and spend the rest of his time on
earthly pleasures. But they do not.
Because Allah has created them specially inorder to strive against
Muslims. This is their taskin destiny. The way that despite all their
fears, these people spend all their worldly means on opposing Allah
and His supporters, and seek, even though they are so terrified of
death, to eliminate Muslims instead, is clear proof of their special
Creation by Allah as a form of test. Asthis verse makes clear, asa
requirement of this special Creation, setting traps for Muslims is
made to seem highly attractive to these people:
... However, the plotting of those who are unbelievers seems good to
them and they bar theway. Anyone misguided by Allah has no guide.
(Surat ar-Ra'd, 33)
Even if the Unbelievers' Plots Were Great Enoughto Move Mountains,
TheyWould Still be Thwarted
They concocted their plots, but their plots were with Allah, even if
they were such as to make the mountains vanish. (Surah Ibrahim, 46)
According to the law of Almighty Allah, true believers and friends of
Allah are always strong and superior. One of the greatest secrets of
whichunbelievers are ignorantis that they will never beable to defeat
the supporters of Allah. That is why these people will never be able
to escape the troubles awaiting them, no matter what plans or
strategies they employ. Allah has of course surrounded and enfolded
them. Of coursethey are powerless in the face of our Almighty Lord,
the Omnipotent. Muslims will definitely be rewarded for their efforts
on the path of Allah. Almighty Allah reveals in verses:
Do those who plot evil actions feel secure that Allah will not cause
the earth to swallow them up or that a punishment will not come upon
themfrom where they least expect? Or that He will not seize them on
their travels, something they are powerless to prevent? Or that He
will not seize them little by little? For your Lord is
All-Compassionate, Most Merciful. (Surat an-Nahl, 45-47)
Or do those who perpetrate evil deeds suppose that We will make them
like those who have iman and do right actions, so that their lives and
deaths will be the same? How bad their judgment is! (Surat
al-Jathiyya, 21)
And Allah imparts these glad tidings to true Muslims:
Be patient. But your patience is only by Allah. Do not be grieved by
them and do not be constricted by the plots they hatch. Allah is with
those who fear [and respect] Him and with those who are good-doers.
(Surat an-Nahl, 127-128)

Some people do not wish to acknowledge the fact that Allah is everywhere. How can we explain this reality tosuch people?

- < - < - "Published by, M NajimudeeN Bsc - INDIA|®|- - - -
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- > Some people imagine that they themselves, matter and the
world they see all around themare all absolute beings. But they regard
Allah (surely He is beyond that) as an imagination pervading that
absolute matter. Or else, since they cannot see Him with their own
eyes, they say: "Allah must be somewhere we cannot see, in space or
far awayfrom human eyes." (Surely Allah is beyond that.) But these are
all grave errors.
As the sole absolute being, Allah enfolds the whole universe, all
people and places, the heavens and everywhere. He is manifested in the
whole universe. According to the hadith, our Prophet (saas) said that
someonewho said that Allah was in the sky was telling thetruth. But
this account inno way conflicts with the fact that Allah is
everywhere. That is because if someone at your location on Earth
raises his hands and prays to Allah and thinks that Allah is in the
sky, while someone at the South Pole turns to Allah in the same way,
while someone else at the North Pole raises his hands and yet another
individual in Japan, or America or Ecuador raises his hands to the sky
in the same way and turns to Allah, then it is impossible to speak of
any fixed direction. In the same way, if djinn, angels and demons at
various points in space and the universe also pray toward the skies,
it will again be impossible to speak of any fixed direction, and the
situation will be one that covers the entire universe.
We must not also forget that Allah is unfettered by time and space.
Allah's Own Being is different. But the manifestations of Allah are
everywhere. If someone enters a room and says Allah is not there, he
is denying Allah. The manifestationsof Allah are in that room and
everywhere. Wherever you may turn, manifestations of Allah are there.
Several verses of the Qur'an state that Allah pervades all places,that
He is closer to us than our own jugular veins, and that we will see
His Face wherever we look. For example, in verse 255 of Surat
al-Baqara Allah says "... His Footstool encompasses the heavens and
the earth...." Verse 92 of Surah Hud says, "... But my Lord
encompasses everything that you do" meaning that Allah also pervades
what people do.

According to the Qur'an Muslims have possessions and lead a beautiful life in abundance and blessings

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In many verses of the Qur'an Allah promises the dominion of the
morality of Islam all overthe world. The promise of our All-Mighty
Lord is true and Allah never failsto keep His promise.
Those who believe in Allah also believe that Allah's promise will
absolutely come true. Because our All-Mighty Allah gives the news of
the dominion of the morality of Islam over the world and promises it,
what befalls to sincerebelievers is to pray for its realization by
heart, demand it and strive for it with all their might. Believing
that morality of Islam will reign and making effort for the
realization of this blessed event is obligatory for every Muslim who
abides by the Qur'an. In one verse our All-Mighty Allah says:
Allah has promised thoseof you who believe and do right actions that
He will make them successors in the land as He made those before them
successors, and willfirmly establish for them their religion with
which He is pleased and give them, in place of their fear, security.
'Theyworship Me, not associating anything with Me.' Any who are
unbelivers after that, such people are deviators. (Surat an-Nur, 55)
Some other verses in which Allah promises thedominion of the morality
of Islam over the world are as follows:
Allah has written, 'I will be victorious, I and and My Messengers.'
Allah is Most Strong, Almighty. (Surat al-Mujadala, 21)
They desire to extinguish Allah's Light with their mouths but Allah
will perfect His Light, though the unbelievers hate it. It is He Who
sent His Messenger with guidance and the Religion of Truth to exaltit
over every other religion, though the associaters hate it.
(Suratas-Saff, 8-9)
They desire to extinguish Allah's Light with their mouths. But Allah
refuses to do other than perfect His Light, even though the kafirun
detest it. It is He Who sent His Messenger with guidance and the
Religion of Truth to exaltit over every other deen,even though the
associaters detest it. (Surat a-Tawba, 32-33)
Allah confirms the Truth by His words, even though the evildoers hate
it. (Surah Yunus, 82)
Those before them plotted but all plotting belongs to Allah. He knows
what each self earns, and the unbelievers will soon know who has the
Ultimate Abode. (Surat ar-Ra'd, 42)
We destroyed generations before you when they did wrong. Their
Messengers brought them the clear signs, but they were never going to
have faith. That is how We repay evildoers. Then We appointed you
after them to be successors onthe earth so We might observe how you
would act. (Surah Yunus, 13-14)
That those people of pure natural belief in Allah who do not associate
any partners toHim will be the inheritors of this world is a divine
Law which is stressed in many verses of the Qur'an:
We wrote down in the Psalms, after the Reminder came: 'It is My
servants who are righteous who will inherit the earth.' (Surat
al-Anbiya, 105)
We will leave you the land to live in after them. That is the reward
of those who fear My station and fear My threat.' They asked for
Allah's victory, and everyobdurate tyrant failed. (Surah Ibrahim,
14-15)
Moses said to his people,'Seek help in Allah and be steadfast. The
earth belongs to Allah. He bequeathes it to any of His slaves He
wills. The successful outcome is forthose who fear [and respect
Allah].' They said,'We suffered harm before you came to us and after
you came to us.' He said, 'It may well be that your Lord is going to
destroy your enemy and make you the successors in the land so that He
can see how you behave.' (Surat al-A'raf, 128-129)
We destroyed generations before you when they did wrong. Their
Messengers brought them the clear signs, but they were never going to
have faith. That is how We repay evildoers. Then We appointed you
after them to be khalifs on theearth so We might observe how you would
act. (Surah Yunus, 13-14)
Rather We hurl the truth against falsehood and it cuts right through
it andit vanishes clean away! Woe without end for you for what you
portray! (Surat al-Anbiya, 18)

The problems facing modern civilization

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- > A contemporary commentator once observed that just as
perversion has set in Western society, it has also taken root in
Muslim society. Then how do you regard Western civilization as being
wrong and Islamic civilization as being right? This objection, if we
examine it, will be found to be ill judged, becauseour comparison of
Western and Islamic civilization makes a judgment on the basis of
standards versus behavior.
The deterioration of Muslim society is the result of deviation from
Islam, while the deterioration of Western society is the result of
putting into practice the very principles in which it believes.
The evils of Muslim societies stemfrom the gap between principle and
practice, whereas the evils ofWestern society are the result of a
clash between principles and realities. The Western civilization of
modern times has formed principles independent of religious
principles, to govern social life, and has maintained that modern
principles were superior to older principles.
Through colonization and the industrial revolution, etc. the Western
nations achieved political and material dominationover large areas of
the world, which placed them in a position to reject the old
principles of life and construct a human society based on modern
principles.
This experiment in ethics has now been going on with the dominance of
Western nations for more than a century, but practical experiments
have failed to verify the new principles. All that has been
accomplished is to effectively demonstrate that the new principles
favored by the West are completely incompatible with what nature
intends for humankind. The clashbetween ideals and reality has,
infact, given rise to ever-increasing manifestations of depravity in
Western life.
While the solution to moral backsliding in Muslim societies lies in a
return to the Islamic principles adhered to in the past, this cannot
be said about the West. If Western society retreats to its past, this
return will be a return to exactly the same principles on which it
still adheres to the letter.
Those who gave credence to the concept of permissiveness, or those who
insisted on the entrance of women in every department of man, or those
who advocated that marriage is an unnecessary bond, if they were to
return to their past where will they return?
This going back will be to the same principles, which they still
observe and the disastrous consequences, which they are now facing.
The solution to the perversion of Muslims lies in theirgoing back to
the path of Islamic principles, which they have left behind; while the
rectification of Western society lies in renouncing its self-made
principles. Here we present some examples to illustrate this point.
Reverse course
Time magazine, which has a readership of over 23 million, spread over
95 countries, published a revealing report on the condition of women
in America. The following is the gistof the report:
Over the past 25 years, there has been an influx of women into
theAmerican job market. Some 65 percent of women of childbearing age
now form part of the American workforce and 90 percent of them have
had, or will have children during their careers. This has created a
tremendous problem for women -- the onerous task of holding down a job
and having children at the same time.
One such American woman is Lillian Garland, who worked as a
receptionist at the California Federal Savings and Loan Association in
west Los Angeles until she became pregnant and left work to have her
baby in 1982. Her baby girl was delivered by Caesarian section and her
doctor prescribed a three-month period of leave. When she returned to
Cal Fed, Garland found that her position had been filled. She had lost
an 850 dollar job just at a time when with the birth of her child, her
expenses had increased.
Garland filed a suit in the federal court against the company for
having discriminated against her in terminating her employment. The
lawyers of both parties entered into interminable arguments, and after
prolonged litigation -- five years to be exact -- Thurgood Marshall,
former Justice of the American Supreme Court, gave his ruling in
January, 1987, that the State requires an employer to provide special
job protection for workers temporarily disabled by pregnancy.
This ruling triggered a tremendous controversy. On one hand, women are
happy that they have secured the protection of the law for bearing and
rearing children. On the other hand, serious American thinkers
maintain that this ruling will harm the cause of women.
The debate over pregnancy leave has thus created a deep rift among
feminists. One side arguesthat although pregnancy leave benefits
individual women, it poses a general danger to femaleworkers because
it singles them out for special protection. Historically, they point
out, such privileged treatment has eventually led to discrimination
against women. Marsha Levick of the National Organization for Women's
Legal Defense and Education Fund says: "That almost always backfires."
Don Butler, President of the Los Angeles-based Merchants and
Manufacturers Association, said that the decision "spells disaster."
To this, he added:"Larger companies can makeshiftto fill a hole, but
small ones cannot do that very easily. If I employ ten females, and
two or more get pregnant at one time, I might as well file for
bankruptcy." Discrimination against women might increase. Many
companies "just won't hire women in their childbearing years," says
the Chamber's Attorney Lamp.
A well-known feminist, Betty Freidan, said in support of the ruling
regarding Garland's case:"Equality does not mean that women have to
fit the male model." There is something very incongruous about this
argument. When women are so different in their biological structure
that they cannot "fit the male model," where is the necessity to bring
women into every sphere of life to do the same work as men, and then
attempt, by passing laws, to enforce an artificial equality of the
sexes.
As economist Sylvia Ann Hewlett puts it: "This decision means
thatthere is recognition at the highest legal levels that, in order to
get equal status for women in the workplace, you have to createfamily
supporters." This is an indirect acknowledgement of therationality and
appropriateness of the old traditional system.
The concept evolved by modern civilization that woman does not need
man as her supporter implies that she should earn and be her own
supporter. When this principle was put into practice, it soon became
evident that a woman could not do without a supporter. The only
difference was in the name. Formerly it was "husband" now it is "the
company."
In traditional society, when religion was still a positive force, men
used to do whatever was required outside the home, whilewomen took
care of all indoor work. This was a division of labor, which was both
practical and natural. However, modern civilization has held that
this"division" is nothing but sexual discrimination. It is this view,
which launched the women's liberation movement, and encouraged women
to come out of their homes in order to take up employment in offices
and factories.
At an early stage it became apparent that under this new arrangement,
the path to progress for women was strewn with obstacles. To remove
the disadvantages implied for the woman, a law was passed granting
special paid leave to pregnant women and nursing mothers.
This was the kind of law which legislators, who were far removed from
the situation, could pass with no discomfort to themselves but whose
implementation could not be afforded by those who have to come to
grips with the everyday running of a factory or management of an
office. This is a situation, which has sparked offan unending
controversy.
So far, the government is supporting women in this conflict in order
to maintain the superiority of its cultural principle. However, taking
sides against reality is hardly practicable. If the government
required the managements of all offices and factories to give four
months' paid leave to women, how many establishments wouldbe able to
afford what would seem to them an unwarranted extravagance? Finding
the cost ofsuch a cultural luxury prohibitive,many employers would
simply not hire women during their childbearing years, and older women
would themselves opt to stay at home.
It seems very probable that such negative factors will reinforce
thediscriminatory attitudes, which the women's liberation movement
came into being to end.