Bicycling in Islam is a topic of discussion in Islam, primarily in regard to its use by Muslim women. Religious scholars are worried in particular about the effects of cycling on women's modesty (not revealing the body) and mobility (social control).
In some parts of the Ottoman Empire, bicycling was taken up by women in the early 1900s. Women have fought against opposition from orthodox religious scholars and conservatives, while moderates maintain that there is textual evidence that Muslim women should be allowed, and even encouraged, to cycle. Regardless, increasing numbers of Muslim women have participated in cycle rallies and international competitions in recent years.
History
The first Western travelers with bicycles were documented in the Ottoman Empire starting in 1885, including an American woman, Annie Londonderry, who made a bike trip around the world from 1894 to 1895. Most early Ottoman cyclists were likely members of the middle and upper classes, as bicycles imported from Europe were expensive.
Referred to in the press as velospid or bisiklet, in rural areas the bicycle was often called şeytan arabası, meaning "devil's cart" or "devil's chariot"; similar terms were used in Iran and Central Asia. By 1906, bicycles had become part of the urban landscape of Istanbul, used by the police, postal workers, and the army as a means of transport, but also regarded as a vehicle for "sport". Cyclists were also seen in other port cities on the eastern Mediterranean. As bicycles became more affordable, they were used by students and intellectuals.
According to Alon Raab, a professor of Religious Studies at UC Davis, opposition to cycling in the Ottoman Empire was quick to form from conservatives and religious fundamentalists who frequently criticized bicycles as the Devil's Chariot. Orthodox scholars claimed that cycling would harm reproductive organs, embolden sexual permissiveness and lead to the destruction of the family. Raab additionally notes that their unmentioned objective was to keep women in their homes and to restrict non supervised contact between men and women. Raab reports that many Muslim religious authorities castigated women's cycling as bid’ah (any technical innovation deemed heretical). He points out that women's cycling was not only criticized in the media and by law but in some places female cyclists faced physical assaults. He reports nevertheless, that despite opposition, in the early 20th-century women in the Ottoman Empire went on to adopt cycling for varied purposes with a new sense of freedom. Feminist activists' efforts to expand the political rights of women, like those of Fatma Aliye Topuz, were helped along by the bicycle.
Perspectives
Conservative perspectives
The primary concern of religious scholars is that bicycling, especially in public spaces, could lead to increased sexual promiscuity. This belief is based on the Quran's requirement that women should protect their chastity. It initially led to the prohibition of horseback riding and was later extended to cycling.
The 1977 book Women in the Arab World by the Egyptian feminist Nawal El Saadawi, reports that Arab culture used to place undue importance on female virginity. For example, a girl whose hymen was damaged as a result of sports activities like cycling or horse riding had to face negative consequences in her family life and social stature.
Critical response
Critics condemn bicycle bans and the proposed Iranian prohibition as tools of oppression. Traditions record that Muhammad encouraged parents to teach their children swimming, riding and archery. There is a commonly shared hadith that recounts a race between Muhammad and his wife, Aisha. Persian miniatures show Muslim women playing polo with men in the same field.