Re: inquiry

<Does not Islam or Christian or other Christian concepts of heaven plays the 
same role, especially for women.>

Yes, you could probably make that argument if you are interested in a textual 
reading of scriptures as opposed to a historical/contextual one.  The letters 
of Paul in the New Testament are no more liberating to women than any surra of 
the Quran. I recommend that we use the latter, historical/contextual reading. 
The way I try to analyze "Islam" as practiced today is to view it in a 
perspective that enlarges our categories of time and space.  The fact that most 
of what would traditionally pass as "Islamic civilization" has been radically 
transformed into a peripheral region of the modern world system has made this 
one religion by definition "anti-modern".  No matter where you look, what was 
once part of the core of the "ancient world system(s)" has been swallowed up 
whole in the nineteenth century, reducing the Mughal, Ottoman... to become 
subordinate to European and American power.  This effects not only the 
political economy of the "Islamic world", but all aspects of life, including 
gender, identity, language...  Otherwise, if you see all the issues surrounding 
the Islamic world as stemming from a religious system you will fall into an 
orientalist explanation, for what is "within" the system may be partially the 
result of relations of power that stretch far beyond the so-called culture or 
religion you are scrutiniz
ing.

If you are interested in "Islam" and gender, check out the excellent book by 
Leila Ahmed: "Women and Gender in Islam: Historical Roots of a Modern Debate," 
Yale (1993).  Amazon has parts of the book on-line.

Hope this helps, Khaldoun Samman