[ALOCHONA] Fwd :My trip to Malaysia to Attend the WISE Conference

Please see this report.It gives us good understanding  of various trends among activist Muslim wome and what we should do.

Shah Abdul Hannan
sahannan@sonarbangladesh.com


My trip to Malaysia to Attend the WISE Conference

Dr. Syeda Sultana Razia,

Associate Professor, BUET

(Published in the Journal of BIIT, Dhaka )


I have traveled to Malaysia to attend the WISE (Women's Islamic Initiative in Spirituality and Equality) conference organized by New York based organizations ASMA (American Society of Muslim Advancement) and Cordova Initiatives. About 200 participants (mostly women)   from   about   60   different   countries   attended   the   conference.   The   organizers sponsored the airfare, and food/lodging for all the participants from 16    to 20    July 2009 in Impiana Hotel at Kuala Lumpur.

Despite few organizing pitfalls the conference was an enormous success in exposing the participants to the diversified activities of Muslim women from all over the world. It also provided  the  big  picture  and  directions  of  the  ongoing  development  work  of  women activists in Muslim world. The participants who were invited are mostly involved in real life work and could be classified as moderate to liberal Muslims. Among them were NGO workers, journalists/columnist/editors, writers, media personalities, lawyers, students and experts  of  Islamic  Shariah/Islamic  studies/sufism,  (I  met  one  lady  who  is  well  versed  in Ibnul  Arabi).  Women  like  Dr.  Nafis  Sadik,  (Under  Secretary  General.  UN),  Dr.  Amina Wadud, Samina Ahmad (Rock band Junoon's business manager), Santanina Rasul, (first Muslim  Senator  of  Phillippines,  elected  twice  in  1987  and  1992)  are  some  of  the renowned  names  participated  in  the  conference.  Marina  Mahathir  and  Mrs  Abdullah

Badawi of Malaysia were also involved with the organizers. For unknown policy reasons, the   members   of   the   mainstream   Islamic   movements   were,   however,   absent   in   the conference.

A number of presentations dealing with women empowerment were made by participants from  different  part  of  Muslim  world.  Several workshops  on  specific  topics  were  offered by the experts of related fields. An all female Shura council, Muftiyyah training program and Muslim women's fund were launched in the conference. A book of biographies of all participants were published and made available to the participants free of cost. My personal observations on the conference and participants are

1.   The   injustice   towards   Muslims   worldwide   gave   birth   to   a   people   who   are passionate  to  identify  themselves  as  Muslims  whether  they  are  adherent  to  the Islamic ideology or not. 9/11 gave birth to a similar brand of Muslims in American society.

2.   Marriage  and  divorce  law  as  practiced  in  different  Muslim  societies  are  the  two most   discriminating   laws   facing   by   Muslim   women   irrespective   of   their geographical   location.   Bringing   justice   to   female   rape   victims   is   another problematic area common to all Muslim societies.

3.   More and more Muslim women are studying Shariah, Islamic studies etc as topics of  interest  and  matriarchal  reading  of  Quranic  text  is  becoming  popular  among these women.

4.   Interest  in  Shariah  and  academic  degree  in  related  fields  (either  from  secular  or religious  school)  were  considered  as  the  main  criteria  of  selecting  female  only members of the Shura council. This council would be responsible for carrying out Ijtihad and issuing fatwa on different women issues on behalf of WISE.

5.   Hijab was treated as a cultural and optional practice of Muslim women.

6.   Practice   of   Sufism   and   spirituality   were   very   much   visible   in   many   of   the participants  who  were  well  versed  in  congregational  meditation  similar  to  those prescribed by silva or quantum method.

7.   It   was   reported   in   one   of   the   workshops   that   although   socially   and   legally prohibited,  sexual  promiscuity,  premarital  and  extra  marital  sex  are  becoming more common in many Muslim countries   (including Pakistan, Indonesia, Middle east, Jordan etc). It was also specifically mentioned that the virginity of unmarried boys and girls in Muslim society is becoming a myth rather than a reality. It was suggested that the stigma related to sex without marriage should be removed from

Muslim  society.  The  workshop  was  led  by  Ms  Seyran  Ates,  a  German  lawyer, writer and publicist of Turkish origin. She believes that marriage is not a necessary condition  for  forming  a  family.  In  personal  life  she  is  a  mother  of  one  girl  and never married.

8.   It was also interesting to observe that organization (NGO) like Sisters in Islam of Malaysia, although controversial, is effective in many ways and has strong Islamic philosophical base supported by personality like Dr. Amina Wadud.

Future considerations towards gender justice  

1.   Marriage and divorce law should be made more legible, convenient to both parties and   related   resources   should   be   readily   available.   Pre-marriage   training   and counseling regarding the requisites, rights and responsibilities of marriage should be arranged and the content of nikahnama should be made familiar to the potential brides and grooms.

2.   Punishment   and   conditions   for   punishment   of   adultery   (Zinah)   and   their applicability   in   contemporary   world   should   be   reviewed   and   revised   by   the mainstream scholars. Special attention must be paid so that rape case is not mixed up with adultery.

3.   In past, the strict interpretation of women dress code, i.e. hijab led to seclusion of women  from  social  life  and  caused  major  damage  to  Muslim  society  although situation is improving since last century. However, too many arbitrary and 'liberal' interpretations  of  Quranic  terms  Khimar,  Jilbab  and  Juyub  have  caused  the  dress code  to  lose  its  essence  of  modesty.  This  is  evident  in  many  westernize  Muslim societies where Muslim women cannot be distinguished from non-Muslims by the way they dress-up. In present world the dress code of Islam can be used as a guard against widespread vulgarity and nudity. Hijab with its essence of modesty should, therefore, be encouraged and popularized in Muslim societies not only to fulfill the religious obligation but also to combat the malaise of indecency.

4.   The breaking down of family as institution is complete in the West. The vibes of it is being felt in Muslim societies as a group of so-called progressives are trying to create social acceptance of sex without marriage as a natural phenomenon. It is an irony  that  when  the  activists  of  the  west  are  raising  voice  against  the  enduring sexual exploitation of women in the name of sexual liberation, our progressives are encouraging the very vise of sexual promiscuity in Muslim society in the name of social  need.  We  have  faced  similar  line  of  arguments  in  favor  of  legalizing prostitution  in  Muslim  societies.  Nevertheless,  it  is  imperative  that  Muslims  all over the world take necessary actions to prevent social permissiveness and family break down at once.

5.   The  patriarchal  reading  of  Quranic  text  as  well  as  interpretations  of  incompetent people  in  many  occasions  led  to  injustice  towards  a  particular  section  of  the society  i.e.  the  women  folk.  The  matriarchal  reading  of  the  text  is  potentially  as harmful  and  as  susceptible  to  unqualified  interpretations  as  patriarchal  reading. Thus  the  main  objectives  of  the  present  day  scholars  and  activists  should  be  to focus  on  the  methodology  towards  balanced interpretations and to put emphasize on  the  competency  of  the  interpreters  in  terms  of  both  intellectual  ability  and devotion.

6.   Last but not least, fatwa and interpretations should preferably be issued by a body of competent scholars (representing both genders and different school of thoughts) rather than individuals.

Finally,  my  write-up  would  be  incomplete  if  I  do  not  acknowledge  Ms  Daisy  Khan (Executive  Director  of  ASMA)  whose  brainchild  is  WISE.  She  is  an  example  of  those extraordinary  people  who  has  the  courage  to  give  up  profession  for  passion.  Ms  Khan spent twenty-five years as an interior architect before committing to full-time community service. I salute Ms Khan and her relentless team for organizing a successful conference.

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[Disclaimer: ALOCHONA Management is not liable for information contained in this message. The author takes full responsibility.]
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