The oft-asked question about the role or status of women in Islam, is seen by many Muslims as an attack on us, as individuals or as an attack on our religion of Islam, which truth be told, it often is an attack. But other times, the questioner is sincere and simply seeks to obtain a better understanding, and sometimes, the questioner is a Muslim or potential convert to Islam frustrated with the anti-women, anti-family practices, which pass unobtrusively in Muslim communities as the norm or “better” and are cloaked with a veneer of Islam.
I once knew a Canadian guy interested in converting to Islam just around the time I converted, we both researched Islam and shared what we had learned, I converted and he did not. One of his major stumbling blocks to accepting Islam was how poorly women were treated in Muslim communities, subhanAllah. Even though, he as a white male convert would have been celebrated by Muslims, he couldn’t get past the fact that his future wife or daughter or even I, simply as his sister in Islam would encounter ill-treatment from our brothers in Islam. I lost contact with him years ago, don’t know if he ever embraced Islam, but pray that Allah will guide him to the faith. Ameen.
As I look back on my experience in the Muslim community, I am struck by how poorly women and by extension our children are treated in many masajid, Islamic organizations, and at events in the community. Although, it is not altogether unsurprising that many of those in leadership positions and on committees responsible for organizing various functions in our community are men, or are products of families or cultures that treat women poorly, as insignificant, exclusively dependent on their male relatives, or simply do not consider women at all.
Umm Yasmin captures the essence of the argument beautifully in her post “Tired of being a second-class citizen“. What we are advocating for in our masajd:
When I asked women what they would like from an Australian mosque, a picture emerged of a distinctively Australian and egalitarian structure that provides a beautiful space for men, women and their children to worship God; employs Imams who have sensitive knowledge and empathy towards the communities they lead; gives a voice to women who participate in mosque management; welcomes non-Muslims to experience a taste of Islam; provides a relaxing space to gather socially; and provides resources for education and service programmes for Muslims and the wider community. This is the mosque I would like for me and my daughter, and God-willing, despite the current crop of grumblers, one day we will have it. read more…
When issues of personal religious morality and public policy collide, such as in a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, which way do you vote?
Dr. Sherman Jackson in On Morality & Politics and Itrath Syed in Equality: What it Means, How it Works argue that instead of getting bogged down in arguments of whether one’s own religion condones this or that activity, the larger issue of concern is an appeal to Constitutional rights in a pluralistic society.
That if we as Muslims appeal to the Constitution in order to practice our religion freely then it is hypocritical and inconsistent to use our religious arguments to deny others in a civil context the rights guaranteed to them under that very same Constitution, i.e. the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses contained within the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments in the case of same-sex marriage.
For example, when my former supervisor told me that I could not wear hijab at work, I confidently told her that I wore it for religious reasons and had a First Amendment right to do so. When the case was forwarded to the chief legal officer of our agency, he ruled in my favor not because of evidence from the Quran and Sunnah, which my employer does not accept as an authority or source of legislation but because I was entitled to the First Amendment protection to exercise my religion freely. read more…
I can’t say I approve of the Iraqi journalist’s methods. President Bush is a sitting head of state, alhamdulillah on his way out, but I believe, no matter our differences, he should at least be afforded a modicum of respect.
If you would like to try to emulate the journalist, you can try your shoe throwing skills in the Can You Throw A Shoe at Bush game.
In October, I attended a panel discussion at George Washington University entitled Islam & Homosexuality: Muslim Perspectives. The room was packed, standing room only. There were four Muslim speakers and each approached the topic from a unique perspective, I found the discussion illuminating.
Audio: Imam Johari’s portion of the talk is available here
The Panel
Dr. Amal Amireh of George Mason University: Began the discussion by introducing the idea that “talking about homosexuality is risky, but not talking about these issues is even riskier.” She stated that we cannot talk about Islam and homosexuality without being islamophobic, because framing the discussion in this manner treats Islam with undue exceptionalism for the discussion would be similar even if the talk had been titled more generally as Religion and Homosexuality or Christianity and Homosexuality.
Trying to create categories of Islamic homophobia or Islamofascism is troubling, no other religion is treated in this exceptional manner. We do not see anyone using the terms Christian fascism or Judeofascism, etc.
A side note: Dr Amireh mentioned that Jerusalem, which is a divided city, amongst the three major monotheistic faiths was united by hatred against the annual gay pride parade.
Imam Daayiee Abdullah of Al-Fatiha Foundation: The most bizarre and unorthodox set of comments came from Daaiyee Abdullah.
Daayiee Abdullah interprets the story of Lot as a story about heterosexual men using rape as a tool of power. He explained that he views hadeeth as stories to guide us, not to be taken literally, certainly not to harm people, especially since there are fabricated or inaccurate hadeeth.
He mentioned that “LGBTQ Muslims need to work towards justice for all, not just us.” He mentioned three prominent Muslim thinkers that he believes are performing cutting-edge work today by reinterpreting Islamic texts: Amina Wadud, Khaled Abou Fadl, and Scott Kugle.
During the question and answer session, Daaiyee Abdullah, had an emotional outburst which received the largest applause of the night by the mostly non-Muslim crowd. Daaiyee Abdullah took exception to the framing of the discussion in terms of the prevailing heterosexual prism and how anything outside of that prism is presented as wrong. And that homosexuality is always presented as a test to be overcome, and so he asked, “if it is a test, what does a passing score look like?” read more…
Muslim faithful throughout the world are currently observing the holy month of Ramadan. Observant Muslims participate in fasting (sawm), one of the five pillars of their faith, this entire Lunar month (this year it extends from September 1st to the 30th). Eating, drinking, smoking and sexual activity is prohibited from dawn until sunset, when the fast is broken with the evening meal called Iftar. Local customs define varying traditions, including differing types of food used to break the daily fast. The fasting is meant to teach a person patience, humility and sacrifice, to set aside time to ask forgiveness, practice self-restraint, and pray for guidance in the future. (35 photos total)
Dr. Sherman Jackson on the passing of W.D. Muhammad and the split within the Blackamerican Muslim Community
The passing of Imam W.D. Mohammed, may God have mercy upon him and grant him Paradise, has brought the Blackamerican Muslim community face to face with a reality that it has been more comfortable with ignoring than coming to terms with. Imâm Mohammed’s death has signaled the end of the era of charismatic leadership in which the rank and file can look to a single leader to settle all major questions and chart the Community’s course for the future…
…Here we come to an embarrassingly sad fact about the state of Blackamerican Islam. For decades, Blackamerican Muslims have been venturing abroad to learn Arabic and the Islamic religious sciences. Yet, this has translated into little benefit and even less interfacing with the Community of Imam W.D. Mohammed — despite that community’s historically unique role in indigenizing Islam among Blackamericans. When we think across the spectrum of the most noted Blackamerican Muslim scholars – from myself to Zaid Shakir, from Aminah Wadud to Aminah McCloud – what we see is a veritable brain-drain out of the Blackamerican community into discourses and activities whose primary beneficiaries are not Blackamerican Muslims and or whose primary focus is not Blackamerican Muslim problems or concerns. Of course, there are exceptions, both in terms of individuals who contradict this description and in terms of some of the activities of the scholars named. But the fact that these are exceptions points to the reality that I am trying to describe: Blackamerican Muslim scholars have a closer relationship with the immigrant community than they have with the community of Imam W.D. Mohammed…
To read the complete article, click on the link below:
Joseph Conrad in Heart of Darkness of the station manager: “He was obeyed, yet he inspired neither love nor fear, nor even respect. He inspired uneasiness…”
Even though I agree with many of the sentiments expressed in the post “Obama and The Lesson of The Two Hijabis” by Umar Lee, I disagree with his view that it was “smart politics” or some how justified to exclude these women. That the Obama campaign should be lauded or excused for its lack of principle and its flip-flopping and distancing itself from issues that are no longer viewed as politically expedient.
Immorality, lack of principle, and cowardice often masquerade as “smart politics”.
Lawyers from the Bush administration have been testifying before Congress in the last few weeks to say that it was “smart politics” or due to the circumstances, the fever of the moment, etc. that caused them to ignore the Geneva Conventions, the treaty against torture, U.S. and international law, legal precedent, and morality to justify torturing prisoners at Guantanamo. They have used arguments that would not have stood up at Nuremburg. read more…
I received one of the more interesting responses to the British documentary “Women Only Jihad” and a related post entitled “Women’s Jihad – Praying in the Masjid” from a sister in New Zealand. After encountering resistance from brothers at certain masajid and due to the lack of prayer space accommodations for women, some sisters have taken to praying outside at fajr on a mountaintop.
From Sister Fiona in her own words:
My story is from New Zealand.
A couple of us decided we’d pray on one of the beautiful mountains in our city (how appropriate to be on the sides of a volcano as the dawn light breaks into the sky). Most of our mountains scattered through the city are reserves and parks and public spaces.
We were seeking some way to show solidarity with, and respect for the indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand as their forefathers lost substantial amounts of land in the early years of European settlement. Auckland itself is built on 25,000 misappropriated acres.
Most of our Muslim population has arrived in the last decade and so this history is not known to them. It’s like the butler (the European style government) has opened the door and presented himself as the owner, so we want to get past that to meet with the host. As Allah (subhana wa ta ala) has said, we are made of many tribes and nations so we can come to know one another. read more…
Who says Muslims cannot integrate into American society, can’t get along with their neighbors, can’t get along with Jews and and Christians, or the FBI?
Some people might not like the ADAMS‘ approach but it has certainly been effective in building bridges on all levels in the local community.
Video: A Mosque Grows in Virginia
This is an editorial by my father Dr. F. Nwabueze Okoye that was published in the Democrat and Chronicle in response to an editorial by Cal Thomas entitled “Typical” or “Race Divide Can Be Bridged“.
The most charitable thing that can be said about “Race divide can be bridged” (Cal Thomas column, March 26) is that it does not inform. Readers would not know that so-called white men have had affirmative action for the longest period in this land.
Or that the primary beneficiaries of affirmative action that was begun during Richard Nixon’s administration are Euro-American females rather than African Americans. Or that slavery legally ended in the United States on Dec. 18, 1865.
Thomas accepts as gospel truth professor Henry Louis Gates’ claim that slavery USA “was more about economics than race.” The writings of colonial Americans who waged a pamphleteering war with Englishmen in England, between 1760 and 1776, because they dreaded being on a footing od equality with the Africans in their midst, reveal that the Harvard University don is mistaken.
The George Washingtons and the John Adamses made their pitch for equality with Englishmen in England by insisting that only Africans deserve being in chains! Racial physical characteristics were, for these men, the things that mattered in determining who is and who is not a slave. read more…
