The latest article on Asra Nomani and her struggle for the recognition that women are God’s creation, not man’s slave. Both Muslim Wakeup! and altmuslim are cited in the article and they have had great coverage on the issue. I’ve posted some of my thoughts on MWU in the comments section.
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There is an op-ed written in a NY Urdu language paper (English translation) that deals with the issue of hijab. I’m looking for the Urdu version, but the English translation reminds me very much of what some of the early debate was like in NY in English. You would throw out a whole bunch of arguments and see what would stick. The arguments have become much more sophisticated and targeted, helped both by time and the easy accessibility of more academic material. I think this article is important, not because of what it says, but because of the language and…
Muslim Chic
Here is a nice piece from HuffPo that tries to understand why Muslim women wear the hijab. I think it is still a bit essentializing, but overall is very good.
Who Speaks for Islam?
Against our tag line of “Islam doesn’t speak, Muslims do” John Esposito and Dalia Mogahed have published a book called “Who Speaks for Islam?” What I have read so far is really promising. Gulf News is running a series of articles about the book. Worth looking at: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Also, related: Muslim Women want Equal Rights Who are Muslims? and The Queen of YouTube
One thought on “Women in Mosques”
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I am convinced that much of the trouble in the Muslim world is related to the treatment of women in Muslim societies. From an educational and economic point of view, the stagnation is obvious. I am, however, speaking about a loss at the spiritual level. We are created in God’s image. For me, this is not a literal reference to our physical bodies, but rather, a very important aspect of the masculine and feminine nature of creation and the Creator. When we subjegate one half of that spirit, our world will indeed be out of balance.
Bloody hell: school children held hostage in Russia; suicide bombings in Israel and Moscow; mosque burning in Nepal, give the women their rights, education, and their dignity. Then and only then can the Muslim world address its other problems. How can we even begin to speak about cultural and religious pluralism when we are not even allowed to speak openly with one half the segment of society.