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A lot of attention has been focused on the issue of Muslim women and
human rights since September 11, almost all of it by non Muslims.
Once again, images of women swathed in black veils or blue burqas are
de rigeur, as the media soberly reminds us that Muslim women are not
considered equals to men in Islam, and that they are oppressed even by
the moderate regimes in the Muslim world.
From the Muslims, we have one of two reactions. The first is the
reaction of the "liberal, reformist, secular" Muslims. They believe that
Shari'a oppresses women, and that we need to completely overhaul it,
or toss out sections of the Qur'an that are "uncomfortable," or institute
secular forms of government that separate the sacred from the legal all
together. These are the same Muslims who equate hijab with
oppression, and who support the denial of free speech rights to
"Islamists" (all the while, crying for their rights to free speech in
countries where it is denied). They take their political thought not from
Islamic sources, but from feminism, socialism, and capitalism.
Naturally, it is to these Muslims that the Western media turns when it
wants a "Muslim" perspective on "Muslim issues."
Who speaks for them? Most often, it is the United Nations, human
rights groups, and feminist organizations, led by people who have no
foundations of knowledge in Islam, and who often have a real antipathy
for Islam. While the Feminist Majority Fund was selling swatches of
"burqa" and petitioning the government for action on behalf of Afghan
women, the leaders of our Islamic societies stayed silent. Publicly,
many Islamic leaders and organizations disassociated themselves from
the Taliban, but other than denying them entry into the Organization of
Islamic Conferences (OIC), they took no action to petition the Taliban
for change from an Islamic view, or form any sort of Islamic opposition.
Yet there is a resounding silence when the issue being raised is Female
Genital Mutilation (FGM), honor killings, forced marriages, the unequal
application of hadd punishments on women, or the denial of education
to girls and women. All of these wrongs are perpetrated on women in
the name of Islam. While it is true that many of these violations occur
across cultural and religious boundaries, the only action often taken by
conservative Muslims is a condemnation of the action because it is
"cultural" and not Islamic. Meanwhile, women continue to be murdered
and little girls continue to be mutilated.
This is not to say that conservative Muslims are always silent or keep
their opposition at the vocal level. In Jordan, conservative Muslims
joined with liberals to rally for stricter punishments for men who kill in
the name of honor. In Africa, conservative sheikhs teamed up with
women's rights advocates to educate people about the harms of Female
Genital Mutilation. These people get very little mention in the Western
media, which, of course, paints the "Islamists" as the opponents of an
enlightened, secular minority of liberal Muslims.
It does not make you a "radical feminist" to decry honor killings and
volunteer for peaceful campaigns to educate and change laws. Raising
your voice against Female Genital Mutilation does not mean you want to
"undermine Islam." To the contrary, working against these injustices in
the way of Allah is a manifestation of the desire to uplift Islam and the
Muslim people.
When the Taliban decided to deny education to any girl over a certain
age, it is the conservative Muslims, the ones who profess adherence to
"Qur'an and Sunnah" that should have spoken the loudest against this.
The longer we stay silent, the more people, both Muslim and non
Muslim, will begin to equate "Shar'ia" with the oppression of women.
We need to stop people who abuse the religion of God and His
messenger, Mohammed, sallalahu aleyhi wa salaam. We need to oppose
those who would brutalize women in the name of Qur'an and Sunnah.
We need have jealousy for our religion, so that those who would abuse
and misuse it realize that they will have no success and no headway
under our vigilance.