Jeen you said:

"When will you men stand up for your wives and stop treating them like maids and nurses to just care for you and your families?"

You also said:

"This is very different than the actions in many part of the Islamic world especially Southeast Asia where they get the newly married girl and move here in to the hubands families house and turn her in to a new maid to cook and clean for the whole family. They grooms family also expects her family to pay a large dowry for them which is why in India and Pakistan it is such a burdon to have daughters. Why are these cultural practices takeing place still?"

First and foremost quit judging Islam based on Pakistani and Southeast Asian culture, Islam is neither Pakistani nor Asian religion. Whatever practices they observe (in addition to Islam) in Pakistan or in Asian cultures are an incorporation of Islamic tradition and are not orthodox teachings in which general Muslims are commanded to follow. So please spare us generalizations. Oh BTW if you plan on responding by saying "I wasn't generalizing please look at the last sentence of your first post and your middle sentences to show otherwise.

I'm saying don't generalize all Muslim men because of what you've experience in Southeast Asia. Not all men practice going about marriage the same way e.g a married man's family may give the bride wedding gifts. It is tradition in the U.S for a married couples family on both sides to give gifts including friends of the couple. What I meant eariler that that many cultures tend to incorporate culture practices with Islam. I cannot say its right or wrong because its their culture and whatever I practice is my culture.

If you disagree with how they practice this is your choice, but what I wanted to comment is a woman coming here and generalizing other Muslim men of her experience with another culture, that is offensive. In all honesty I'm quite sick of "liberal Muslim women" asserting liberal ideas about so-called sexist cultures and not belonging to them. I believe if such actions are occuring in those societies its good to speak out against it, so long as you do it appropriately. My main problem is people generalizing other Muslim men who do not share in that culture. These are such generalizations comparable to non-Muslims at the wake of 9/11

Bismillah

Jenni,

In response to your question I have sourced out for you the Islamic stand on the subject and have put it for your attention earlier in the thread. And to my mind, it is made very clear. This is Islam.

As far as culture is concerned, it is not part of Islamic teachings and Islamic stands. If one's culture requires cooking for in-laws and serving them - by all means... but do not make it an obligatory Islamic practice. Respect to elders is very much encouraged in Islam and it is up to you how you want to express it, be it cooking, hugging, visiting or smiling. You are not required and you are not prohibited from doing that either.

Majority of Muslims in south east asia eat extremely spicy food. That does not mean that Islam advocates or prohibits regular consumption of chilis. It is up to you as long as it is not against Islamic teachings.  

Jenni,

I gave my opinion earlier but obviously you care not comment on it but I'll give it again. The culture in Southeast Asia I cannot comment on whether its right or wrong but since you want an answer obviously I would have to say that I have no answer. In your last sentence you said:

"Why not try to change these cultural practices"

Now in light of that you are concerned about gender biases and social financial problems in the Southeast Asian culture. Now as MOCKBA has stated anything not in accordance to Islam--is something obviously don't agree with (So I believe that is your answer) but at the same time to want to change a culture is not only a hard fight but its a fight that you would wage not only with that culture but many others. Try looking at the reality of the situtation.

Bismillah

Jenni, 

A person not quite accustomed to eating spicy food i might want to save those people of SE Asia from the torture they are inflicting on their tongues, throats and stomach tissues. And replace that with mashed potatoes, so popular at my geographical and cultural setting. But are they truly suffering from it? Would they share my preferences? Is it un-Islamic?

You've started the discussion questioning the necessity of serving the in-laws. (Mistakenly, you've started few with the same heading simultaneoulsy). If that's the cultural way, the way which is not strictly established by Islam as compulsory, but corresponds with general notion of respecting the elder and obedience to one's husband... why do you want to change it, by seemingly, relying on your personal understanding or tryin to impose your culture?

When it comes to establishment of obligatory dowry from the girls side by the boy's side, it is a different matter...  it is against what Islam has prescribed us to do.

These are different issues and as you noticed they require different approach in handling. Our guide and reference book is the Qur'an and it must remain as such.

And Allah knoweth best!