MuslimWomen

Muslim Speaker Mike Ghouse

2011-04-14T19:58:00.001-07:00

NURTURING PLURALISTIC VALUES EMBEDDED IN ISLAM

A Muslim Speaker, thinker, organizer and an activist committed to building cohesive societies with a belief that what is good for Muslims has got to be good for the world and vice versa to sustain peace, harmony and prosperity.

To be a Muslim is to be a peace maker, one who constantly seeks to mitigate conflicts and nurtures goodwill for peaceful co-existence of humanity. God wants us to live in peace and harmony with his creation; Life and Matter. Over 1000 articles have been published on a range of topics in Islam and Pluralism. Insha Allah, a book outlining the Muslim vision is on the horizon.

In defense of Islam, pursuing a civil dialogue

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/columnists/steve-blow/20100919-In-defense-of-Islam-pursuing-9397.ece
Over and over you hear it said: If Muslims oppose terrorism, why don't they stand up and say it?

If that has been you, Mike Ghouse ought to be your hero.

It is hard to imagine that anyone has worked harder than the Carrollton resident to demonstrate the peaceful and moderate side of Islam.

And that effort includes personally visiting Dallas' First Baptist Church last Sunday just to put a friendly face on the "evil, evil religion" that the Rev. Robert Jeffress denounced a few weeks before.

"It was wonderful," Ghouse said of the visit. "We were so warmly received."
He hopes a quick chat with Jeffress will be the start of deeper discussion about Islam and the importance of respect between religions.

"I want to have a dialogue with him, not to say he is wrong but to share another point of view," Ghouse said.

The 57-year-old Muslim was born in India and has lived in the United States for 30 years. He owns a small property management firm. But most of his day is devoted to building bridges between people of different faiths.

"It is my passion," he said in his distinctive raspy voice.

He has been a guest a dozen times on Sean Hannity's TV and radio talk shows. "I don't like the way Sean cuts me off, but I have to honor him for giving the American public a semblance of another point of view."

Ghouse said he can understand fear and criticism of Islam because he went through a time of similar feelings. As a teen, he was troubled by passages of the Quran. He called himself an atheist for a while.

But he said deeper study led him to realize the Quran had been purposely mistranslated down through history.

In the Middle Ages, European leaders commissioned a hostile Quran translation to foster warfare against Muslim invaders.

Later, Muslim leaders produced another translation to inflame Muslims against Christians and Jews.

"It was all for politics," he said.
Ghouse said he hopes to present Jeffress with a modern, faithful translation and challenge him to find evil verses.

"If he can, I will convert. I will join his church," Ghouse said. "If he can't, I will call on him to retract his statements and become a peacemaker."

Ghouse acknowledges that deep problems persist within Islam. "Three steps forward, two steps back," he said with a sigh.

And he agrees that mainstream Muslims have not done enough to counter violent images of their faith.

"That is very true," he said. "But part of it is that many Muslims have given up hope that we will ever be heard."

He said repeated denunciations of terrorism seem to fall on deaf ears.

And some efforts have backfired - like the proposed Islamic information center in New York. He said it should be hailed for furthering the moderate Muslim cause.
Instead, it has deepened hostility toward Muslims.

I have been astounded by the amount of anti-Islam propaganda that circulates via e-mail. Tons of it has come my way in the last few weeks.

One theme is that people like Mike Ghouse can't be trusted, that Islam encourages deception.

But Ghouse says actions speak louder than words. And he points to elections in Muslim nations.

More than half of Muslims live in countries with some degree of democracy. And time and time again, Islamist parties are overwhelmingly rejected in favor of secular, mainstream parties.

"The religious parties don't get more than 3 percent of the vote," Ghouse said.
Polls show deep mistrust of Muslims. "But the most important question in those surveys is: 'Do you know anything about Islam?' " Ghouse said. "Most people say no."
What keeps him going is faith in Americans, he said.

"The majority of Americans, if they know the truth, they will change their minds."

# # #

Mike Ghouse is a speaker, writer, thinker, futurist and an activist of Pluralism, Islam, India and Civil Societies passionately offering pluralistic solutions on issues of the day.

He is a commentator at Fox News on the Hannity show, nationally syndicated Radio shows along with Dallas TV, Print and Radio networks and occasional interviews on NPR. He has spoken at international forums including the Parliament of Worlds Religions in Melbourne, Middle East Peace initiative in Jerusalem, International Leadership conference in Hawaii, Washington and elsewhere.

Concerned by the divisiveness, he saw the need to bring Americans together and founded America Together Foundation committed to building a cohesive America, indeed it is in response to ACT America which is bent on pitching one American against the other. We will be holding series of educational programs, conferences and workshops to address the issues that divide us such as Civil Right, GLBT, Quraan, Abortion, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, Racial Profiling and Stereotyping.

The Annual Unity Day USA is in its 7^th year now, it is a purposeful event to bring Americans together, on this Unity Day, we the people of the United States of America of every faith, race, ethnicity, culture and background will gather to express our commitment to co-existence, unity, prosperity and wellbeing of our nation.

Thanksgiving Celebration is in its 15^th year showcasing cultural diversity.

The 5^th Annual Reflections on Holocaust and Genocides is to learn and to acknowledge and reflect upon the terrible things we have inflicted upon each other and commit to avert such tragedies. Through this event non-Jewish people have consciously learned about Holocaust for the first time, it was also for the first time that people of 14 faiths came together to join in to commemorate the Holocaust that commemorated within the Jewish Community for years. They are not alone anymore in their anguish, we are all in it together with them, and it is a Muslim initiative to effect a positive change.

The programs, seminars and workshops conducted by the Foundation for Pluralism have become a part of the America Together Foundation. While the Foundation for Pluralism continues championing the idea of co-existence through respecting and accepting the otherness of other, the commitment to nurturing the pluralistic ideals embedded in Islam through the World Muslim Congress continues.

# # #

Full Profile at: http://www.mikeghouse.net/MuslimSpeaker.MikeGhouse.asp

Mike is working on two books scheduled to be released this year; The American Muslim Agenda and My Journey to Pluralism.

Mike has written over 1000 Articles on Pluralism, Islam, India, Peace & Justice and civil societies published in a wide spectrum of Newspapers and Magazines around the world.

Locally, he is a panelist at Dallas Morning News's and writes weekly on a range of issues facing the nation. Washington Post, Huffington Post and other news papers and sites regularly publish his work.

Mike is available to speak on Pluralism, Islam, Civil Societies, and Peace & Justice at your place of worship, school, work place, seminars, workshops or conferences. His work is reflected at three websites & twenty two Blogs listed at http://www.MikeGhouse.net/

Pakistani Muslim actress defies the right wingers.

2011-03-20T00:40:00.000-07:00

Ms. Veena Malik.

May Allah bless you and give you more strength.

Thanks for speaking up for so many women! Women have put up with this non-sense far too long. Whether they are Muslim, Christian, Hindu or others they continue to be oppressed. May Allah give you strength to speak up for all those women who are pushed around.

Keep going, you have the guts and we admire you. Although the Maulana on debate with you was respectful and not condemning, he was merely looking out from his point of view and his culture (not all Pakistani, but his ilk) he is not on the extreme like the Talibans or the Saudis. I’m glad he listened to you.

A few right wing Muslims may disagree with you, so what? They don't support your family and you, you do. They are responsible for their actions and you are for yours. Thank you again for speaking boldly and standing up for many, many and many women who are routinely derided and made to shut up, of course that is not a Muslim thing at all, nor is that a Pakistani thing, a few men in all societies behave the same whether they wear pants shirt or kurta pajama, clean shaven or bearded, Americans or Arabs, Pakistanis or Indians, Lamas or cowboys, some men behave the same.

Although all religions in general and Islam in Particular makes men and women to be fully participating and contributing members to the well being their family. No one was to take advantage of the other, that is the religious thing to do, doing otherwise is the men thing they do.

Pakistani Actress Defies Mullah Accusing Her of Immoral Behavior on an Indian Reality TV Show - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMnAmRa4NYw&feature=player_embedded

Mike Ghouse

http://www.mikeghouse.net/

Muslim women in America speak out

2011-03-17T23:03:00.000-07:00

http://www.csmonitor.com/Books/chapter-and-verse/2011/0310/Muslim-women-in-America-speak-out

'I Speak for Myself' is an essay anthology that gives Muslim women a voice and American audiences a much-needed glimpse of an oft-misunderstood group.

The writers featured in the essay anthology 'I Speak for Myself' share what it’s like to be Muslim in America.

“Taliban prohibits Afghan girls from attending school.”

“Indonesian Sharia police ban tight pants for women.”

The media have plenty to say about Muslim women. But what makes the headlines isn’t the experience of the vast majority of Muslim women. And what rarely emerge are the voices of Muslim women themselves.

Two women have sought to change that by urging American Muslim women across the US to speak for themselves.

“I Speak for Myself” is a collection of essays that give Muslim women a voice and American audiences a much-needed glimpse of an oft-misunderstood group. Editors Maria Ebrahimji and Zahra Suratwala collected reflections from 40 American Muslim women to showcase the range of hopes, fears, doubts, sorrows, and joys Muslim women across the US experience. The result is almost startlingly honest, refreshing, inspiring, and anything but expected.

The best nonfiction titles of 2010

“Seeing my image in a full scarf, body suit and surfboard on the front page of Yahoo! reinforced in my mind the modesty I have come to cherish,” writes Sama Wareh, a field naturalist and traveling scientist in southern California.

“It’s never easy being the odd one out – always sitting in the pew when the rest of my classmates went to take the Eucharist or not being allowed to perform in the Christmas plays. These were the rituals that made Christianity appealing. At the time, I felt that the fun that Christianity had to offer was absent in Islam,” writes Souheila Al-Jadda, a television producer and journalist.

“It is frustrating and disappointing to catch hell in mainstream society for being Muslim and also within the Muslim community for being African-American. When I am not perceived as an oppressed Muslim woman in need of liberation, I am seen as an ignorant and potentially unruly black woman,” writes Jameelah Xochitl Medina, a PhD candidate and author.

The writers – journalists, doctors, artists, lawyers, academics, scientists, and students – represent the spectrum of professions Muslim women pursue. Writing with the candor of a personal journal entry, the contributors share what it’s like to be Muslim in America. They explore issues like wearing (or not wearing) the hijab, balancing Western and Islamic values, expressing personal identity, and navigating cross-generational conflict.

Amid the reductionist media portrayals of oppressed Muslim women, and in a world increasingly suspicious of Muslims, “I Speak for Myself” shatters misconceptions and presents the kaleidoscope of diverse stories that make up Muslim women’s experience in the US. It’s a valuable glimpse that’s rarely in the headlines.

-- Husna Haq is a Monitor correspondent.

Youth to petition Saudi King for women’s right to drive

2011-03-17T22:59:00.000-07:00

http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentID=2011030695238

FOUZIA KHAN
JEDDAH: Some Saudi youths have started a group on Facebook to petition King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, to allow women to drive.

“We aim to accomplish this goal by sending a petition to the Saudi government to give them the right to drive. We will hopefully see women drive within the next three years,” said Hilal M. Al-Harithy, the founder of the group.

“I don’t think we can call it a campaign yet, for now it’s just an online petition. We started it because we feel that women in the Kingdom should have the right to drive, just like every other woman on the planet. Women in Saudi Arabia are not inferior to other women from across the world, so why are they being treated this way,” he said.

“We also started this group because the majority of women in Saudi Arabia face transportation issues; the solution is females driving. Islam does not deny them this right. So we started a campaign that encourages people to talk about their problems and try to find solutions for them,” said Maha Tahir, a supporter of the group.

The group already has 1,694 members and it is becoming more popular every day. They intend to gather at least 15,000 signatures before submitting the petition.

They said that they are targeting everyone living in the Kingdom and every Saudi citizen living abroad.
“We know that most people in the Kingdom feel that women should be able to drive when the conditions are right. With this petition we hope to make these conditions a reality as soon as possible,” said Al-Harithy.
The petition’s purpose is to show there are large numbers of people who feel it is a woman’s right to drive in Saudi Arabia and that they should not be denied. The petition will contain the name, ID number, nationality, city of residence and email of each person who signs, said Tahir.

“Its purpose is to show that the majority of men and women are in favor of the cause unlike media reports published a few years ago saying the majority of people are conservative and against it,” said Tahir.
“Depending on a driver on a daily basis is frustrating and exhausting. I feel helpless, trapped and paralyzed when there isn’t a man to take me to work, the hospital or anywhere I need to be on an urgent basis. What about the majority of ladies who can’t rely on the men around them when needed? We do not have decent public transportation in Saudi Arabia, nor safe sidewalks on all streets and depriving women of the right to drive is not helping the situation either,” she explained. “I am sure if most people took a little time to persuade family, friends and co-workers to sign the petition, we would have more than enough to make a difference Inshallah,” said Tahir.

The group said they want to submit the petition to representatives of the government with a comprehensive two-year plan to get women driving in a safe way.

“This way they can hopefully adopt the plan, and begin implementing it right away. While we are in the process of developing this plan, we would love for people to submit their ideas on how to develop it,” said Al-Harithy.
– Saudi Gazette __

Equal rights essential: ADAB

2011-03-17T22:53:00.000-07:00

http://bdnews24.com/details.php?id=189133&cid=2
Dhaka, Mar 7 (bdnews24.com)—A platform of non-government organisations have put forward a 12-point charter that includes ensuring equal rights, empowerment of women and full implementation of CEDAW.

"Women will have to be brought into the mainstream for the country's development," said Mohammad Aminul Islam, director of the Association of Development Agencies in Bangladesh (ADAB) at a press meet at Dhaka Reporters' Unity on Monday.

He added that despite clear mention of equal rights for men and women in the Constitution, women are deprived of their rights even after 40 years of the country's independence.

"They are even deprived in the name of religion," Islam said.

The demands include ensuring equal rights by establishing a secular state in line with the 1972 Constitution, removing restrictions on clauses of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and its full implementation.

Islam said that new regulations must be introduced that allow direct competition in polls for reserved women seats and bind all parties to allocate one-third of their national poll nominations for women.

Additionally, the organisation also demanded an end to harassment of women at educational institutions and workplaces.

"The National Women Development Policy formulated in 1997 will have to be implemented and the jurisdiction and responsibility of elected female members of Union Councils and Upazila vice-chairpersons will have to be specified," Islam said.

Coalition For Sexual And Bodily Rights In Muslim Societies

2011-03-17T22:50:00.001-07:00

Call For Applications: Coalition For Sexual And Bodily Rights In Muslim Societies (CSBR): 4th CSBR Sexuality Institute 2011
Source: Women for Women's Human Rights (WWHR) - New Ways 14/03/2011

http://www.awid.org/Get-Involved/Calls-for-Participation2/Call-for-Applications-Coalition-for-Sexual-and-Bodily-Rights-in-Muslim-Societies-CSBR-4th-CSBR-Sexuality-Institute-2011

The Coalition for Sexual and Bodily Rights in Muslim Societies (CSBR) is pleased to announce the 4th CSBR Sexuality Institute 2011 to be held between July 16th and 23rd 2011 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Designed as a comprehensive curriculum on sexuality, sexual and reproductive health and rights with an in depth discussion on the linkages between research and practice, the CSBR Sexuality Institute offers a holistic interdisciplinary program combining history, theory, research and politics of sexuality with applications of advocacy and fieldwork. Deadline for applications: April 15, 2011.

The CSBR Sexuality Institute brings together leading sexual and reproductive rights activists, academics and researchers. Held previously in Malaysia (2008), Turkey (2009) and Indonesia (2010) with participants from 23 countries throughout Asia, Africa and the Middle East, the institutes include lectures, group work, roundtables, panels, site visits and film screenings, as well as a methodology to engage participants’ own experiences around sexuality.

The realization of sexual and reproductive health and rights is an integral part of gender equality, development and social justice. However, sexuality continues to be a contested site of political struggles both in Muslim societies and across the globe. Increasing global militarism, conservatism, and nationalism over the last decades provoked a serious backlash on sexual and reproductive health and rights, both at national and global levels. Given the current polarizations, it is more pertinent than ever to strengthen critical insight, further research, enhance knowledge and capacity on sexual and reproductive health and rights, and build an inclusive and affirmative discourse on sexuality.

Aim

In the above mentioned context, the aims of the CSBR Sexuality Institute are:

•To further knowledge on the multi-dimensional and intersecting aspects of sexuality, health and rights;
•To develop a deeper theoretical understanding of sexuality through a historical overview and analysis of current debates and research at the global level;
•To provide a comprehensive and holistic understanding of sexuality in Muslim societies through a discussion of the history, legal frameworks, research, and current discourses;
•To enhance participants’ sexual and reproductive health and rights advocacy skills on national and international levels;
•To increase participants’ capacity as leading advocates, practitioners and researchers on sexuality issues at national, regional and international levels.
To apply please complete the application form attached below and return it with a C.V. to csbrinstitute@wwhr.org by April 15th, 2011.

For further information and to apply, please download the following word document

CSBR 4th Sexuality Institute_Call_For_Applications.doc 75.50 kB
About the Coalition for Sexual and Bodily Rights in Muslim Societies (CSBR)

Founded in 2001, the Coalition for Sexual and Bodily Rights in Muslim Societies (CSBR) is an international solidarity network of organizations, and academic institutions working to promote sexual and reproductive health and rights as human rights in Muslim Societies. CSBR includes institutional members from Algeria, Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Morocco, Pakistan, Palestine, the Philippines, the Sudan, Tunisia, Turkey, and Yemen. Women for Women’s Human Rights (WWHR) – New Ways (http://www.wwhr.org/), co-founder of the Coalition, acts as the international coordination office of CSBR. As the only international network working on sexual and bodily rights in Muslim societies, CSBR has played a pivotal role in terms of advocacy, activism and research on sexual and bodily health and rights in the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia. CSBR has succeeded in creating an alternative discourse and progressive spaces around sexuality and sexual rights in Muslim societies.
More information on CSBR is available at http://www.wwhr.org/csbr.php.

Article License: Creative Commons - Article License Holder: Women for Women's Human Rights (WWHR) - New Ways

The Middle East’s Feminist Revolution

2011-03-17T22:42:00.000-07:00

The Middle East’s Feminist Revolution

Naomi Wolfe
OXFORD – Among the most prevalent Western stereotypes about Muslim countries are those concerning Muslim women: doe-eyed, veiled, and submissive, exotically silent, gauzy inhabitants of imagined harems, closeted behind rigid gender roles. So where were these women in Tunisia and Egypt?

In both countries, women protesters were nothing like the Western stereotype: they were front and center, in news clips and on Facebook forums, and even in the leadership. In Egypt’s Tahrir Square, women volunteers, some accompanied by children, worked steadily to support the protests – helping with security, communications, and shelter. Many commentators credited the great numbers of women and children with the remarkable overall peacefulness of the protesters in the face of grave provocations.

Other citizen reporters in Tahrir Square – and virtually anyone with a cell phone could become one – noted that the masses of women involved in the protests were demographically inclusive. Many wore headscarves and other signs of religious conservatism, while others reveled in the freedom to kiss a friend or smoke a cigarette in public.

But women were not serving only as support workers, the habitual role to which they are relegated in protest movements, from those of the 1960’s to the recent student riots in the United Kingdom. Egyptian women also organized, strategized, and reported the events. Bloggers such as Leil Zahra Mortada took grave risks to keep the world informed daily of the scene in Tahrir Square and elsewhere.

The role of women in the great upheaval in the Middle East has been woefully under-analyzed. Women in Egypt did not just “join” the protests – they were a leading force behind the cultural evolution that made the protests inevitable. And what is true for Egypt is true, to a greater and lesser extent, throughout the Arab world. When women change, everything changes, and women in the Muslim world are changing radically.
The greatest shift is educational. Two generations ago, only a small minority of the daughters of the elite received a university education. Today, women account for more than half of the students at Egyptian universities. They are being trained to use power in ways that their grandmothers could scarcely have imagined: publishing newspapers (as Sanaa el Seif did, in defiance of a government order to cease operating); campaigning for student leadership posts; fundraising for student organizations; and running meetings.

Indeed, a substantial minority of young women in Egypt and other Arab countries have now spent their formative years thinking critically in mixed-gender environments, and even publicly challenging male professors in the classroom. It is far easier to tyrannize a population when half are poorly educated and trained to be submissive. But, as Westerners should know from their own historical experience, once you educate women, democratic agitation is likely to accompany the massive cultural shift that follows.
The nature of social media, too, has helped turn women into protest leaders. Having taught leadership skills to women for more than a decade, I know how difficult it is to get them to stand up and speak out in a hierarchical organizational structure. Likewise, women tend to avoid the figurehead status that traditional protest has in the past imposed on certain activists – almost invariably a hotheaded young man with a megaphone.

In such contexts – with a stage, a spotlight, and a spokesperson – women often shy away from leadership roles. But social media, through the very nature of the technology, have changed what leadership looks and feels like today. Facebook mimics the way many women choose to experience social reality, with connections between people just as important as individual dominance or control, if not more so.
You can be a powerful leader on Facebook just by creating a really big “us.” Or you can stay the same size, conceptually, as everyone else on your page – you don’t have to assert your dominance or authority. The structure of Facebook’s interface creates what brick-and-mortar institutions, despite 30 years of feminist pressure, have failed to provide: a context in which women’s ability to forge a powerful “us” and engage in a leadership of service can advance the cause of freedom and justice worldwide.

Of course, Facebook cannot reduce the risks of protest. But, however violent the immediate future in the Middle East may be, the historical record of what happens when educated women participate in freedom movements suggests that those in the region who would like to maintain iron-fisted rule are finished.
Just when France began its rebellion in 1789, Mary Wollstonecraft, who had been caught up in witnessing it, wrote her manifesto for women’s liberation. After educated women in America helped fight for the abolition of slavery, they put female suffrage on the agenda. After they were told in the 1960’s that “the position of women in the movement is prone,” they generated “second wave” feminism – a movement born of women’s new skills and old frustrations.

Time and again, once women have fought the other battles for freedom of their day, they have moved on to advocate for their own rights. And, since feminism is simply a logical extension of democracy, the Middle East’s despots are facing a situation in which it will be almost impossible to force these awakened women to stop their fight for freedom – their own and that of their communities.

Naomi Wolf is a political activist and social critic whose most recent book is Give Me Liberty: A Handbook for American Revolutionaries.

Copyright: Project Syndicate, 2011.
http://www.project-syndicate.org/
http://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/wolf33/English

Society unprepared for woman president

2011-03-17T22:38:00.000-07:00

Egypt female judge denies running for presidency
Judge Noha al-Zeini said Egyptian society not prepared for a
CAIRO (Amira Fouda)

Egyptian judge and deputy chairwoman at the Administrative Prosecution Authority Noha al-Zeini said she will not run for presidency in the upcoming elections and cited prevalent traditions that render society unprepared for accepting a female president.

Despite promoting women’s participation in political life and believing that women’s running for presidency is not in violation of Islamic teachings, judge Noha al-Zeini, known for exposing fraud in the 2005 parliamentary elections, said she is not planning to run in Egypt’s first presidential elections after the Jan. 25 revolution that ousted the regime of former President Hosni Mubarak.

Several public figures, among them editor of the Global Human Development Report Nader Fergani, have been calling upon Zeini to run in the next presidential elections and several groups were formed on the social networking website Facebook for the same purpose.

“I was astonished to see many people and Facebook groups asking me to run,” she told AlArabiya.net. “I really appreciate this, yet I still think it is not possible to do so at the time being.”

Social acceptance

Up till now, Egyptians ate arguing whether women can be judges or nor. How then can they accept having a woman for president? Egyptian judge Noha al-Zeini Zeini argued that the Egyptian society is still struggling with the idea of women in power and that is why it will be difficult for her to take this step before more awareness is raised about the role of women in the political scene.

“Up till now, Egyptians ate arguing whether women can be judges or nor. How then can they accept having a woman for president? Social acceptance is important before thinking of running.”

Zeini criticized Arab countries which she said are very far behind compared to other Islamic countries as far as women’s political roles are concerned.

“Unfortunately, other Islamic countries are more open-minded and have a better understanding of Islam. See the political role of women in Indonesia and compare it to Arab countries that have gone nowhere in this regard.”

When asked if she decided against running for president because she fears failure, Zeini said there is nothing wrong with failure in elections while stressing that if she runs, sweeping victory will not be her priority.

“I am not after being elected by the majority. I just want a healthy political environment that shows more understanding towards women’s assumption of the highest national positions.”

The Jan. 25 revolution, Zeini added, has already managed to break several barriers and to effect a radical change in society, yet more awareness is till needed.

“Some social constructs are still deeply-rooted in the Egyptian society and only changing them would give women more space in political life.”

Muslim Brotherhood

Zeini denied that she belongs to the Muslim Brotherhood and that deciding not to run for president is related to their stance against women rulers on the grounds that it is un-Islamic.

“I respect the Muslim Brotherhood, but I do not belong to the group at all.”

Zeini refused to consider the Muslim Brotherhood the only active political faction in Egypt and stressed that youths will play a very important role in the coming stage.

“Youths are now very active politically.”

Constitutional amendments

With all due respect to the head of the constitutional amendments committee judge Tarek al-Bishri, I do not approve the amendments Egyptian judge Noha al-Zeini Zeini declared that she is against the latest constitutional amendments that will be put to referendum on Mar. 19.

“With all due respect to the head of the constitutional amendments committee judge Tarek al-Bishri, I do not approve the amendments.”

Zeini’s decision not to run for presidency is, in fact, seen by many as a reaction to the constitutional amendments that indirectly exclude women from the position of president.

According to legal experts, the fact that article 75 stipulates that the presidential nominee should not be married to a foreign woman automatically presumes that this nominee is male.

Bishri denied that the article opposes the nomination of women and said that using the male form is rather a matter of routine and not related to the gender of the nominee. Therefore, he added, the conditions stated in the article apply to both men and women.
(Translated from Arabic by Sonia Farid)

Role of women in Islam

2011-03-17T22:22:00.000-07:00

Introduction

Understanding of the role of woman is a matter pertaining to the discovery of the creation plan of God. Study of the Qur’an and Hadith tells us that one of the laws of nature is that all the things in the world have been created in pairs. The Qur’an states:

And all things We have made in pairs, so that you may give thought. (51:49)

The scientific study of the universe also corroborates this law of nature. As discovered by science, the primary unit of the universe the atom, is composed of negative and positive particles. In the absence of any one of the two, the atom cannot come into existence. Just as human beings are born in the form of males and females, animals are likewise male and female. The whole world is said to exist in pairs. In this way, nature’s entire factory has functioned all along on this dual basis.

Position of woman

The position of man and woman is like cogwheels in machinery, each facilitating the movement of the other. There is no divide either in terms of status or superiority; both are equal partners in the divine scheme of things. Both must contribute to take the journey of life forward.

Unfortunately, Europe discovered the idea of equality between man and woman in an unnatural sense.

By equating them in every sphere, it developed the notion, ‘woman is, a man is

What a man is, a woman is and what a.’ Deliberating seriously suffices to make its erroneous foundation clear. If both man and woman are equal in this sense, the sphere of work would become extremely limited. The right concept is, ‘What a man is not, woman is and what a woman is not, man is’. It is this combination, which makes a whole as both then compliment each other’s shortcomings. For instance, by their nature, women are kind whereas men are stubborn. Ironically, I once met a lady who told me that she wanted to separate ways from her husband on account of his stubborn nature. I told her that her complaint was not justified because it was her husband’s stubbornness which in reality complemented her kindness. This I said was similar to negative and positive particles, which together made a whole. It is the lack of understanding of this fact which leads to mistakes. In fact, both West and East failed to realize the true role of a woman; while East degraded women, West on the contrary equated them to man.

The role of women

West prescribes the formula of “went to a wedding where free copies of the Quran were distributed amongst the people; with women taking the lead in distribution. In giving the Quran to men, women became givers while men became takers. A woman therefore, has to be given her role.

Recently, I received a phone call from Aurangabad (Maharashtra). The caller complained against his wife and said that he was not in favour of her talking to everyone. I wanted to hear the other side of the story so I spoke to the lady as well. She said that her husband does not let her do anything. Listening to both, I reached the conclusion that the man was at fault. I reprimanded him saying that it was his responsibility to ensure that his wife did not stay locked indoors. I explained to him that he must trust her, and not be suspicious because in keeping his wife confined to a closed room, he was going against the law of nature.

In other words the present world proffers more opportunities for women because the spirit of the time is “Just as a flower co-exists with its thorns so stubbornness must co-exist with compassion. This is the creation plan of God.

The example of Hajra

It is said that Hajra, the wife of Prophet Abraham. She offered a great sacrifice, one that only a woman could make. Since Adam, numerous Prophets were sent to call man towards the path of One God. But as civilizational settlements grew and their inhabitants became conditioned in effect of this call diminished greatly. In order to discontinue this historical tradition and the prevalent culture of devoid of conditioning, this team could not come into existence. there is a woman at the beginning of all great things. I think the biggest example of this isshirk or idol worship, theshirk, a team of individuals was required to support the Prophet. But because no one was

For this purpose a group of companions was required consisting of people endowed with the highest human qualities, fit to assist the Prophet in implementing the divine scheme. Abraham, in bringing his wife Hajra and son Ismail to the uncultivated desert town of ancient Mecca and settling there, was laying the foundations for such a community. There, far from civilization, in simple, natural surroundings, a people would emerge from Abraham’s progeny who were imbued with the highest human qualities; who would view things with clear and objective vision; whose actions would conform to their words; who would be ready to lay down their lives and properties for something they knew to be true. A people as firm as the mountains which surrounded them, as boundless as the vast desert in which they roamed. When this “finest community” had been raised from the barrenness of the desert, God sent the messenger among them for whom Abraham had prayed at the time of the construction of the Ka’bah. It was the generation raised in these conditions that became “

While God inspired Prophet Abraham to inhabit both Hajra, and their infant son, Ismael, in the deserts of Arabia, the sacrifice sought was only of Ismael and not Hajra. As I thought about it, I realized that this was yet another manifestation of the different roles both had to play. While Hajra and Ismael had their contributions in the raising of a conditioning- free generation, their roles were different. It is for this reason that Ismael’s physical sacrifice was sought. Hajra took the first, difficult step, which marked a new beginning in the history of Islam. Today, Arabia has all conceivable material comforts but at the time of Hajra, it was only a vast and empty desert. The role performed by her led to the formation of a team that revolutionized the thinking of its times and led the world out of the dark ages ruled by polytheism and superstitions. During the time of all other Prophets,

The example of Asea

Asea was a descendent of the tribe of Banu Israel. That’s why she could easily understand the preaching and teachings of Moses and silently accepted the faith he preached. But when Pharaoh got to know about this, he forced her to relinquish the religion of Moses or face death. In other words, she had to choose between God’s reward in the form of paradise or the Pharaoh’s palace.

Asea has a great contribution to Moses’ mission. She risked her life and proved that Pharaoh’s palace was nothing in comparison to the paradise of God. This was the final way of propagating faith to Pharaoh. Upon being tortured at the hands of the Pharaoh, she had prayed

My Lord, build me a house in nearness to You in Paradise (66:11)

The example of Khadijah

In Islamic history, there are many examples of women giving invaluable help to their husbands in critical situations. One of the most notable was Khadijah, the wife of the Prophet of Islam who successfully brought the Prophet back from a state of fear and trembling to a state of normalcy after his receiving the first divine revelation in the solitude of the Cave of Hira from the Archangel Gabriel in the year 610 A.D. Prior to receiving Prophethood, the quest of Prophet Muhammad has been described in the Quran as

Did He not find you wandering, and give you guidance (93:7)

As Gabriel appeared on the horizon, it was a trembling experience for Muhammad. Gabriel said,

Your Lord is the Most Bountiful One, Who taught by the pen, taught man what he did not know (96:1)

Read in the name of your Lord Who created, created man from clots of congealed blood. Read!

Muhammad replied, “ again to which Gabriel repeated the above verse once again. He then embraced Prophet Muhammad so tightly that Muhammad felt he would die. The Prophet then read

Read! In the name of your Lord, who created man from clots of congealed blood… (96:1)

I cannot read.” But Gabriel repeated the verse. Muhammad reiterated himself yet

The Prophet’s biographers write that after this extraordinary experience with the Angel Gabriel and the First Revelation of the initial verses, he rushed back home from Hira. Trembling with fear, he said to his wife Khadijah ‘ little from his state of anxiety, he related what he had experienced to his wife and said: ‘ danger to my life herself was emotionally detached from the incident.

Then it occurred to Khadijah that she had best make enquiries of some learned Christians, who, well versed as they were in the scriptures, were bound to have knowledge of revelation and Prophethood. Khadijah hastened to Waraqah ibn Nawfal, a Christian convert who had translated part of the Bible into Arabic. When she had finished telling him of what Muhammad had seen and heard, Waraqah exclaimed, “Holy, holy! By the Master of my soul, if your report be true, O Khadijah, this must be the great spirit who spoke to Moses. This means that Muhammad must be the Prophet of this nation.” On a subsequent visit, Khadijah brought Muhammad to meet Waraqah ibn Nawfal. Muhammad related the events exactly as they had taken place and, when he had finished, Waraqah said, “By the Master of my

soul, I swear that you are the same Prophet whose coming was foretold by Jesus, son of Mary.” But then Waraqah sounded a note of warning: “You will be denied and you will be hurt. You will be abused and you will be pursued.” He nevertheless immediately pledged himself to the Prophet: “If I should ever live to see that day, I should surely help you.” ( first person to bring faith and the first companion of the Prophet Muhammad was Waraqah ibn Nawfal.

Khadijah therefore played a crucial role at the time when the Prophet most needed support. The role of woman is that she is the “affairs that engulf man, she can think independently and in a detached manner.

The example of Ayesha
Abu Hurayra and Ayesha.

Abu Hurayra He lived in Masjid-e-Nabvi and spent his time listening to the Prophet and memorizing the Hadith.

had a very sharp memory, which made him the source of maximum narrations of Hadith.

Hurayra Hurayra).

Ayesha on the other hand, stayed throughout the day with the Prophet. Such companionship was only possible for a wife. Also, since she was younger to the Prophet, she lived almost fifty years after his demise and continued to be the source of Prophetic narrations. Had she been of an equal age, her life expectancy may not have been as much. Despite the hard times that the family of the Prophet underwent, Ayesha remained patient. She used to live in a hut-like settlement with no amenities where even food supplies were in meager quantities. She cast herself in such a life so that she could transmit the teachings of the Prophet to the next generations. She says,

The family of Muhammad never ate to their fill even for two consecutive days and in such state

the Prophet passed away (Muslim)

’s narrations are mostly verbatim and are called Marwiyat-e-Abu Hurayra (Narrations of Abu )

A unique quality of Ayesha was her strong grasping power, which made her draw accurate inferences from observations. Ayesha’ narrations are called instance, according to one of her traditions

Istimbaataat-e-Ayesha (Inferences of Ayesha). For Whenever the Prophet had to choose between the two, he always opted for easier option(Al Bukhari)

That is, every problem has two options – easier (peaceful activism) and harder (violent) option. The Prophet always opted for the easier, peaceful course of action. This is not verbatim in Hadith but an inference of Ayesha, which she must have derived after thorough observation and deep introspection of the actions of the Prophet. In this inference, lies the key to all success, whether in personal or international lives. Unfortunately, the present-day Muslims do not know about this teaching of the Prophet. They continue armed struggle even though there exist clear options of carrying out peaceful activism.

Conclusion

Towards the end, I would like to reiterate that matter comes into existence only when both negative and positive particles come together. This is the law of nature. Unfortunately, for a long time in history, women remained neglected as man measured her on his yardstick. Being stubborn in nature, he could not understand the importance of compassion and consequently disrespected woman. The same was the case with women who considered stubbornness as an evil trait.

Hence, both kept complaining about one another – man complained that a woman is too soft and the woman found it difficult to keep with the stubborn nature of man. The wisdom lay in understanding and realizing the respective positions of man and woman in the divine scheme of things. In other words, both men and women must recognise one another’s uniqueness and discover their position in the Creation Plan of God. The reason why most men are unable to understand and appreciate the difference is because they want the women of the household to remain confined to the family. This is considered to be the sole role of a woman but this is not the right practice. Such indulgences disallow a woman from doing the role destined for her. The culture of the modern-day civilization is such that home, children and family have assumed the position of ‘god’ in the lives of men.

Man must not make his family his sole concern; in fact the whole humanity should be his concern. In view of the qualities possessed by him, a man must accomplish his role and let a woman strive to accomplish hers. A lady is a treasure for a man and is his ideal, intellectual life partner. Man must therefore discover the role of a woman and let her flourish.

Ayesha was the daughter of Abu Bakr who got married to the Prophet Muhammad at an early age. Ayesha dedicated her life to the cause of God and became instrumental in transmission of the Prophetic wisdom till many years after the Prophet’s demise. In those days, there existed no means of preservation or recording of events, which was worrisome from the point of view of transmission of the teachings of the Prophet to the future generations. To accomplish this task, God chose two people –

Cover me with a cloak, cover me with a cloak.’ After a while, when he had recovered aI feel there is.’ She was able to reassure him that his life was not, as he feared, in danger, as she She observed: “ you take care of whoever crosses your threshold; you solace the weary; you speak the truth reassurance that Khadijah gave to the Prophet of Islam on this occasion was one of the most significant contributions to the furtherance of Islam.God will surely never forsake you. You are kind to your kin; you always help the weak;.” TheSeerah ibn Hisham) In fact, many ulema agree that theother part of a man’s life”. On account of being separated from the helm of

a nation of heroes”.tauheed was confined to the level of dawah work but after Hajra’s sacrifice, tauheed assumed the proportion of a revolution.

Ladies first.” In our mission, ladies are doing a heroic role. Recently, weLadies first”. It is therefore unwise to ignore the role of women because both roles are equally required.

Maulana Wahiduddin Khan

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Muslim women and men

2011-03-17T22:12:00.000-07:00

Muslim Women and Men
Compatability and complementary

MuslimWomen

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Muslim women and men

http://www.dallasnews.com/news/columnists/steve-blow/20100919-In-defense-of-Islam-pursuing-9397.ece
Over and over you hear it said: If Muslims oppose terrorism, why don't they stand up and say it?

Egypt female judge denies running for presidency
Judge Noha al-Zeini said Egyptian society not prepared for a
CAIRO (Amira Fouda)