6/22/15

Viewpoint: Islam v feminism? - BBC News

News

Sport

Weather

Shop

Earth

More

Magazine

Viewpoint: Islam v feminism?

20 May 2015

Magazine

Why on earth would any girl abandon the liberties of a modern democracy to join the
dark ages of IS? Huda Jawad attempts to offer an answer.
I was born in Baghdad and grew up in the United Arab Emirates and Syria before coming to
settle as a teenager in London in the late 1980s. My parents were political activists during the
time of Saddam Hussein and fled Iraq after the death sentence was imposed on them in
absentia.
My mother has been a shining example of strength and endurance since her childhood. Her
great-grandfather was an ayatollah, a famous religious jurist - Ayatollah Naini - and as a result
she was raised in a deeply religious atmosphere.
However, Ayatollah Naini was a vehement advocate of constitutionalism and the superiority of
reasoning, who described freedom of expression as God-given. Perhaps that explains in part
www.bbc.com/news/magazine-32737703

1/17

6/22/15

Viewpoint: Islam v feminism? - BBC News

why she was the first girl in her family to go to university and go on to have a career as a head
teacher.
Before her, women in her family and social circle were not allowed an education, save for homebased Koranic and Islamic learning.
Likewise, my father grew up in southern Iraq into a family with a heritage for political and religious
activism since the 1900s. Both my mother and father fought against the now defunct Baathist
regime of Saddam Hussain.
As a result of this, my parents had to continually flee from where they had settled and make a
new start in foreign lands, at least four times in their lives. Imagine doing that with young children
who also happen to be girls.
While most of the time it was a life rich with adventure for us girls, largely due to our parents'
ability to shield us from the emotional turmoil, there were some very dark moments in an
otherwise happy childhood.

You may have by now picked up on a theme in my life story so far - that of identity politics. It
certainly seems to be one way of explaining the journeys that I encounter in life.
A more recent experience of this was two and a half years ago when my uncle, an Iraqi Shia who
lived in Syria for more than 30 years and married a Sunni Syrian woman, was kidnapped by rebel
www.bbc.com/news/magazine-32737703

2/17

6/22/15

Viewpoint: Islam v feminism? - BBC News

fighters outside his house in a southern suburb of Damascus.

He was taken as he was getting out of his car after driving home from work and was held captive
for weeks under the most appalling conditions. He experienced awful treatment that to this date
he cannot talk about but re-lives continuously in his nightmares.
When asked why he was abducted, his kidnappers simply said because he was Shia, even
though he might have not described himself as such. Luckily for him my father and I have
worked with a number of Islamists and religious activists from the Middle East, so knew who to
turn to for help. To this day, we are indebted to the very few people who worked so tirelessly to
secure his release.

Huda with her father and mother in Sharja, UAE in the 1980s

So I watch with a mix of utter fascination and revulsion at the apparently continuous trickle of
young women from Britain making the journey to Isis-controlled territory in Iraq and Syria.
Why would intelligent, seemingly well integrated daughters with bright futures ahead of them,
enjoying the liberties granted by modern democracy, want to travel back in time to the darkest of
dark ages? Where running water and electricity are a luxury. Where basic human rights such as
freedom of movement or association are strictly regulated and in some cases cost you your life.
As the recent tragedies of capsized boats from Libya to Europe illustrate, hundreds of people
literally risk their lives and that of their children to escape what these girls see as the ultimate
Islamic utopia.
As someone who was born in the Middle East and escaped war and persecution as a child,
knowing what it is like to be without water or electricity, or fearing that knock on the door at any
moment, I cannot comprehend the choices these young women make.
As a committed Muslim and human rights activist, it makes me furious that these naive women
www.bbc.com/news/magazine-32737703

3/17

6/22/15

Viewpoint: Islam v feminism? - BBC News

accept and advocate the brutality and savagery committed by these terrorists and, furthermore,
endorse them as Islamic or Sharia-compliant.
This desire to return to an imagined traditional and pure state of halal living as practised by the
early generations of Muslims, free from the contamination of modernity and vice makes
exceptions for smartphones, Twitter and Tumblr accounts. Surely I'm not the only one who can
see these glaring contradictions?

Huda with her father and sisters in the UAE before the family were expelled

Having said that though, I do connect with these young women at some level. I share their
sincere desire for wanting to do the "right thing" and live a life where you are part of a greater
whole working for the greater good. I share their yearning to learn more about who they are and
where they fit in the world.
I share their rejection of the media's portrayal of Islam and Muslims as inherently violent. I share
their frustration at experiencing prejudice and disrespect for being a Muslim. And for being a
woman and a Muslim woman, whether by mainstream society or their own religious
communities. I share their hunger for wanting to learn and their confusion about Islam.
Like the young women who are targeted to make the journey to Isis-controlled territory, I
sincerely believed in my faith, in the innate way it seems to call for justice and equality and for
collective social responsibility. For looking after the poor or the sick, for seeking the fairest and
most just solution to problems - for the value it places on life, whether human or animal. On
reason, on learning and on equality.
However, I know that according to clerics and men of learning, Islam sanctions some seemingly
unjust rulings and opinions. How can it be that women have to seek permission to work or to
marry?
www.bbc.com/news/magazine-32737703

4/17

6/22/15

Viewpoint: Islam v feminism? - BBC News

How is it that forced marriage and violence in the family can be excused by the "natural right" of
men over women? Why is it that women's movements and choices are so restricted? Why
should women inherit half a share of that given to a man? These were all questions that I asked
every day and was told that this was decreed by Allah in His Book.

British teenagers Amira Abase, Kadiza Sultana and Shamima Begum fled to Syria in February

Fearing disloyalty to my community, betrayal of my religion at a time when it was under a global
siege and not wanting to commit psychological suicide, I never approached the Koran, never
dared to open its pages for fear of reading something that I didn't like.
However, unlike these young women, a chance encounter with a work colleague, Yusuf, who is
now a friend for life, gave me an opportunity that transformed my sense of God completely.
Yusuf thought I might be receptive to studying the Koran in a radically different way - a way
where you critically engage with it, just as you are, without the need to spend years studying in a
seminary or deferring to a scholar.
Our facilitator - that is what he calls himself rather than a teacher or an imam - gave us the
framework for questioning and understanding meaning by using the Koran itself rather than any
outside source like history, prophetic tradition, or commentary.
It was a thrilling experience. It enabled me to have a direct and unmediated conversation with
God.
Yusuf and I set about inviting others who might be interested in this form of study. We were a
diverse group of fellow Muslim believers - bankers, fashionistas, lawyers, medics, teachers and
students.

www.bbc.com/news/magazine-32737703

5/17

6/22/15

Viewpoint: Islam v feminism? - BBC News

We came to the collective realisation that our religious obligation is to ask questions and use our
divine gift of reasoning to understand the words of God, and see how they relate to me and
humanity now, then and in the future.
I have questioned and continue to question Allah and His words. My new-found relationship with
God and His words has nourished and set me free. It highlighted the importance of taking
responsibility for our religious learning. It also shows the power invested in those who read and
interpret scriptures for and on our behalf.
A few years after my start on this journey of reclaiming God I began working in a secular
domestic violence charity in London. My work brought me in contact with hundreds of women
and children who were survivors of the most horrific and abhorrent form of abuse and betrayal of
trust.
These women came from all ethnic, racial, educational, economic and religious backgrounds.
Domestic violence did not discriminate, whether you were young or old, secular or religious what mattered was that you were a woman.
Many of the women that I worked with identified with a faith or a religion. Some were told that
their faith sanctioned this abuse, some were told that they were being tested by the Divine.
Almost all saw their faith as a source of support and empowerment.
What struck me was the extent to which religious tradition can be used to excuse violence or
challenge it. I was enraged to hear that Islam was used in the most perverse ways to maintain
women's vulnerability and persecution and enable the perpetrators, who are usually men, to
coerce and control them.
It was at this moment that all the various strands of my life's work came together to ignite my
passion for Islamic feminism. The answers to the questions I detailed earlier became clear women's voices from the interpretation and understanding of Islam were absent.
Since then I have come to learn of Muslim feminists who have in the past 10 years produced
rigorous and religious paradigms that question long-held beliefs and presumptions about central
tenets of religious laws and the handful of Koranic verses that have been used to discriminate
against women and girls.

www.bbc.com/news/magazine-32737703

6/17

6/22/15

Viewpoint: Islam v feminism? - BBC News

Like the victims of domestic abuse, jihadi brides are similarly indoctrinated and vulnerable.
They yearn for an empowering space where their religious identity is welcomed, nurtured and
seen as integral in their ability to establish the so-called khilafah based on an intolerant, literalist,
patriarchal and medieval interpretation of fiqh or jurisprudence. It is a fiqh which is an
interpretation or understanding of sharia that is not only an excuse for violence but that restricts
and defines women's relationship to men and society according to standards far from what we
know as equality and justice today.
Looking at their blogs and tweets it's clear that they seek evidenced religious opinion on what
they can "do", where they belong and how they can actively contribute to creating a just society.
This poses a timely and urgent opportunity to engage them in looking at how Islamic feminism
can provide them with the intellectual and religious tools they seek.
It will enable them to seek answers that honour their faith while also honouring their gender,
maintaining their dignity whilst excelling in helping society and those around them. They can
remain faithful while challenging the narrative that argues that salvation and the role of a Muslim
woman can only be fulfilled by raising children and building a "home" to men who think that
sexual exploitation, slavery, abuse, murder and torture are the religiously authentic way of
building a society.
How different would things be if women owned and were part of the production of religious
www.bbc.com/news/magazine-32737703

7/17

6/22/15

Viewpoint: Islam v feminism? - BBC News

knowledge. Surely it's no coincidence that one of the first acts of social policy and justice in the
Prophet's message was the banning of female infanticide so ubiquitously practised at birth by
Arabs at the time.
Therein lies a lesson for us all.
Huda Jawad's viewpoint will be broadcast on BBC Radio 4's Four Thought programme on
Wednesday at 20:45 BST. You can catch up via the iPlayer.
Subscribe to the BBC News Magazine's email newsletter to get articles sent to your inbox.

Share this story About sharing

Magazine

Chilled
21 June 2015

Magazine

www.bbc.com/news/magazine-32737703

8/17

6/22/15

Viewpoint: Islam v feminism? - BBC News

Catching shadows
21 June 2015

Magazine

'Kingdom of death'
20 June 2015

Magazine

More Videos from the BBC

www.bbc.com/news/magazine-32737703

9/17

6/22/15

Viewpoint: Islam v feminism? - BBC News

Holidaymakers move after

Cyprus 'abduction attempt'

Ronan Hughes: Funeral held

for Coalisland schoolboy who
'took own life after online trick'

Malaysia 'nude photo' woman

Eleanor Hawkins arrives in UK

Rachel Dolezal's fractured

family

Elton John rants at concert

steward

Swedish royal wedding: Prince

Carl Philip marries Sofia
Hellqvist

Recommended by Outbrain

Elsewhere on BBC
'Plane stowaway' body found on
Richmond roof
BBC News

China arrests after hundreds attack

police in Hunan province
BBC News

How did the Turin Shroud get its

image?
BBC News

One job offer too many?

BBC Capital

The Beach Boys Brian Wilson:

Americas Mozart?
BBC Culture

The true cost of adult film

BBC Culture

Top Stories

Greece debt efforts intensified

EU leaders intensify efforts to reach a deal over the Greek debt crisis ahead of Monday's
emergency summit in Brussels, as thousands rally in Athens.
Recommended by Outbrain

2 hours ago

IS fighters 'laying mines in Palmyra'

8 hours ago

Charleston pays tribute to victims

3 hours ago
ADVERTISEMENT
www.bbc.com/news/magazine-32737703

10/17

6/22/15

Viewpoint: Islam v feminism? - BBC News

Features & Analysis

Chilled
The ice cream parlour that survived war and missiles

www.bbc.com/news/magazine-32737703

11/17

6/22/15

Viewpoint: Islam v feminism? - BBC News

Print design
How the libraries of the rich and famous are collected

Catching shadows
The shady figures slipping across Europe's borders

www.bbc.com/news/magazine-32737703

12/17

6/22/15

Viewpoint: Islam v feminism? - BBC News

The waffle truth

How I learned a lesson about my own dispensability

Hair as art
Pictures of the high coiffure on the Ivorian catwalks

www.bbc.com/news/magazine-32737703

13/17

6/22/15

Viewpoint: Islam v feminism? - BBC News

Horse deaths
Can Spain stop mistreatment on Andalusian pilgrimage?

VR 'disappoints'
Did virtual reality technology make an impact at the E3 show?

www.bbc.com/news/magazine-32737703

14/17

6/22/15

Viewpoint: Islam v feminism? - BBC News

Ricky and Nutella

Plus other trends you may have missed this week

Your pictures
Readers' photographs on the theme of alone
Most Popular
Read
Watched
1 Greece debt efforts intensified
2 Computer hack grounds Polish planes
3 Missing US prisoners 'spotted'
www.bbc.com/news/magazine-32737703

15/17

6/22/15

Viewpoint: Islam v feminism? - BBC News

4 Swift pulls album from Apple Music

5 Belgium unblocks Russian accounts
6 Galapagos tortoise put down in US
7 IS fighters 'laying mines in Palmyra'
8 Al-Shabab launches Mogadishu attack
9 UK aid 'can help deter migrants'
10 Top Gear should keep 'sense of danger'
1 Drugs boss flips car in escape bid
2 One-minute World News
3 India yoga event attracts thousands
4 'Nude photo' woman arrives in UK
5 China's brand new islands
6 Racial attacks 'modern day lynchings'
7 Moment water tower demolished in Texas
8 The man who grows trees into chairs
9 Tackling underage sex in Kenya
10 What is America's "ugliest accent"? - 15 secs

From Around the Web

Awesome Free Biz Tools You Probably Didnt Know About
(hackerspace)

3 Best Sites to Build your own Website

(Website Builders)

The Only 2 Sites You Need Know About When Building a Website
(Website Builder Experts)

Googles New Universe

(TalkMarkets)

7 Best Free Productivity Tools According To Forbes

(Forbes)

Apple Watch To Become Apple Inc.s Most Successful Product

(TalkMarkets)
Promoted content by Outbrain

Ads by Google


www.soudfa.com

www.bbc.com/news/magazine-32737703

16/17

6/22/15

Viewpoint: Islam v feminism? - BBC News

Workplace Diversity
Instructor led training material for workplace diversity workshops.
corporatetrainingmaterials.com

Laogai Musuem
Showcases human rights in China Free Admission
laogaimuseum.org

BBC News Services

On your mobile
On your connected TV
Get news alerts
Contact BBC News

Explore the BBC

News
Weather
Earth
Capital
Autos
TV
CBBC
WW1
iWonder
Music
Local

Sport
Shop
Travel
Culture
Future
Radio
CBeebies
Food
Bitesize
Nature

Terms of Use

About the BBC

Privacy Policy

Cookies

Accessibility Help

Parental Guidance

Contact the BBC

Copyright 2015 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our
approach to external linking.

www.bbc.com/news/magazine-32737703

17/17