Mernissi tends to make the claim that “Any man who believes that a Muslim lady who fights for her dignity and right to citizenship excludes herself necessarily from the umma…is a man who misunderstands his own religious heritage, his personal cultural identity” (Mernissi viii). She goes about supporting this claim by delving into the really detailed documentation of Islam history. She attributes misogyny in the past and present Muslim culture to the male elite. She provides many examples of how Muhammad and Islam have only supported equality of the sexes and also how the male elite made use of false hadiths and really narrow interpretations of the Koran and correct hadiths for their purpose.
She begins by describing how the male elite began operating items ideal from the onset of Muhammad’s death. When a successor to Muhammad was picked, it did not involve the persons of the neighborhood at all or any women. It was done by a small group of followers which have been very close to the prophet, a sort of elite group. This sort of leadership in Islam continued in the very same manner as only the elite have been involved. This helped preserve what they thought was critical and according to the interests of the participants the essentials varied.