WUNRN
Sharia/Shariah (Arabic:
'شريعة Šarīʿah)
is the body of Islamic
religious
law.
__________________________________________________________________
Saudi
Arabia - No Bar on Women's Sports Activity in Shariah
Khaleej
Times - 17 July, 2009
Dr
Ali Abbas Al Hakami, a member of the Board of Senior Ulema, said recently that
exercise for women is not only permissible but a necessity according to
Shariah.
Al Hakami’s comments came in the light of controversy surrounding the issue of
all-female sports clubs, which the Shoura Council recommended be set up some
time ago.
“There is nothing stopping setting up women’s sports clubs provided nothing
forbidden by Shariah occurs, such as mixing with men, exposing what should not
be exposed, and other issues forbidden by Shariah,” Al Hakami was reported as
saying.
In a previous statement, Sheikh Abdullah Bin Suleiman Al Manee, also a member
of the Board of Senior Ulema, had also said it was permissible for women to
exercise provided they abided by the rules of Shariah.
“These are very welcome developments. Women’s sport is a necessity, not an
option any more. For a long time the world has looked on Saudi women as just
women who don’t have identity. It is a segment in the community and it does
represent the society,” Lina Almaeena, who formed the Jaguars, the first
women’s basketball team in Saudi Arabia, which has now leaped into the
full-fledged Jeddah United Sports team, told Khaleej Times.
“Sport is a unifying factor in the world. Civilisation is measured by sport
performances. This is the era of gold medals and what it represents to a
nation,” she said.
“I realised the health issues that we have in the Saudi society,” Almaeena said
explaining the objective of Jeddah United Sports (JUS).
“We have very high rate of obesity, diabetes, (one out of four kids suffer from
diabetes), and all the related health issues such as heart problems,
cholesterol, osteoporosis (80 per cent to 90 per cent women suffer from this
disease), which is unfortunate. This happens despite Saudi Arabia being a
country with a lot of sun, just because of the lack of exercise. They also suffer
from depression,” she added.
Almaeena, who has a master’s degree in psychology from the American University
in London, said her 2005 MA thesis was specific to women — body dismorphic
disorders (BDD), body image disorders — how women have distorted interpretation
of their bodies because of the pressures — media pressure, social pressure such
as that if they are not married by a certain age, they are considered old.
It was the first such study in Saudi Arabia. The cross-country study monitored
the level of this disorder.
She explained in her thesis that sports and regular exercise is an
anti-depressant to a lot of the psychological and mental stresses that women go
through. She stressed that regular exercise is a number one anti-depressant for
women, specifically, and for men, and teens as well.
People with BDD not just feel insecure, but also have a sense of disability.
Women or men, who have it, cannot function. It is a silent disease. Nobody
knows if a person around him has BDD. It is a self-destructing disease.
According to her, Michael Jackson had it.
Almaeena said that almost 10 per cent of Saudi women suffer from BDD because of
the social stress.
In Italy it is four per cent, in Turkey five per cent, in the United States two
per cent.
She said that unfortunately some people have a distorted interpretation of
religion in regard to women’s sports, and added that women in Islam have
practiced such sports as horse riding — sports that were available at that
time.
Asked about the dress complying with the Shariah she said it is ok, “except
feeling a bit more heat.”
JUS has won many trophies in Jeddah. “The year 2007 was a great year for us —
we were winners of three championships — first place winners in the Women’s
Free Basketball, first placed winners of the women’s health awareness of Gold’s
Gym, and first placed in the Princess Sawzyia Tournament,” Almaeena said
This year, the team has been first placed winners in the Cedar International
School Tournament.
The team had two international experiences playing against the American
University of Sharjah (AUS) in May 2007, and Aramex, the fifth largest courier
company in the world, which is a Jordanian company, based in Amman. In April
this year. The team played against Al Riyadiah Aramex, and Shabab Al Urdoon, an
independent team that includes national players.
Almaeena said JUS has just had collaboration with the WNBA (Women’s National
Basketball Association) and the NBA (National Basketball Association) of
America, and the Jordanian basketball community to get experience and build
bridges of understanding.
Two coaches came from WNBA in July 2008 in collaboration with the US Consulate
and the Friends of Jeddah Parks. They will hopefully come again in September
and it is planned to get Karim Abdul Jabbar, and Hakeem
Olajuwon.
The coach who came — Lynette Woodard — was the only female who made it to the
Harlem Globetrotters. Also, Ruthy Bolton, who was a national player. She played
in the world
championships.
Princess Adela, daughter of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin
Abdulaziz, last month called for the introduction of physical education and
athletic programs for girls at the Kingdom’s public schools as quickly as
possible. “It’s high time to look into the matter of introducing sports at
girls schools seriously, following the teachings of Islam,” the Princess Adela
said while opening a health programme in the Faisaleyyah district of Riyadh.
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