WUNRN
The Qur’an[1]
(Arabic:
القرآن al-qur’ān, sometimes
transliterated as Quran, Qur’ān,
Koran, Alcoran or Al-Qur’ān) is the central religious
text of Islam.
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Bahrain: Seeking Gender Equality in
the Quran
By Suad Hamada
MANAMA, Aug 25 (IPS) - For the first time, feminists in
Bahrain are seeking new Islamic perspectives on gender and women's empowerment,
and asking for modern interpretations of the Quran.
Through a series of four workshops, launched in May, the
Bahrain Women Association for Development intends to engage the public in
serious debate over the "true meaning" of Quranic verses that are
used to assert male supremacy.
"We aren’t against Islam and don’t want to promote our
perspective," explains Asma Rajab, an activist and member of its board of
directors. "We want to make our society consider women as complete
humans."
With the advances made by Muslim women in many countries
including Bahrain, it is time to reinterpret the Quranic verses, she adds.
"Islam is a renewable religion that fits all situations and periods, so
its regulations should be re-interpreted to meet the advancements of Muslim
women," she says.
Social practices that violate women's rights include the law
of male guardianship, unequal inheritance, domestic violence and testimony in
Shariah courts. Also, the widespread belief that Islam forbids women from
becoming presidents, judges and parliamentarians.
These are against Islamic principals, the Association
asserts, publicly throwing a challenge to religious scholars and others who
insist that women are inferior to men.
The workshops on "Woman, a Renewable Perspective"
have been organised to correct centuries of misunderstanding that gender
discrimination has religious sanction. The second workshop in the series was
held on Aug. 15. The third has been scheduled for December.
"To change the men-oriented societies, the Muslim world
should accept the flexibility of the Quran and Islamic thoughts," advises
Rajab.
Women are discriminated against in a number of ways. Lawyer
Hassan Ismaeel told IPS that Shariah courts that considered two women's
testimony equal to one man's were "not realistic and (were) demeaning to
women and their achievements."
He also questioned the prevailing unequal male and female
inheritance rights, which will be the focus of the last workshop in the series,
sometime early next year. "Previously most women were housewives and
dependent on men for financial support," he says. "Now things have
changed, and both men and women share financial responsibility. So why should
men get double the inheritance women get?" he asks.
Religious scholar Shaikh Ibrahim Al Jufairi, who backs
Ismaeel's plea, says the Quran has been misquoted on the issue of testimony.
"The verses that say two women need to be counted as
one is not for all testimonies but only (in cases) when a man borrows money
from another," he says. "One woman is a witness, and the second woman
helps the first to remember in case she forgets something."
"The verses have nothing to do with legal cases,"
he told IPS in an interview.
Al Jufairi is a member of the nearly 10-year-old Al Tajdeed
Cultural Society whose members, all highly educated and in big government and
private jobs, believe that Islamic thoughts need to be updated.
"Unfortunately most male scholars don’t even accept the
testimony of females for the sighting of the moon at the beginning of Ramadan
and on the Eids," he says. "It is unacceptable," he asserts.
"Women are humans with eyes that can see the moon like men can."
What about male guardianship? Hiba Eizat, professor at the
University of Cairo, said emphatically that as a believer she cannot accept
that Islam would demean women and treat them as objects owned by men.
"Many Quran verses are misinterpreted and that is clear
when militants use the holy book to justify their inhuman acts," Eizat
told IPS. "Why should we (females) allow men to control us," she
asks, "because some males are refusing to give the rights to women to be
independent and have full control of their lives."
"Islam promotes development and that is why it permits
new fatwas (edicts), but unfortunately those who issue fatwas are against
development and positive change," she says.
And, if women cannot be decision makers like presidents and
judges, "how come their fatwas and religious teaching were accepted in the
early years of Islam, before the death of prophet Mohammed," Eizat says.
Bahraini researcher, Jalal Al Ghasab, thinks hadiths (the
prophet's sayings) have been deliberately misinterpreted to control women and
many scholars are aware of it. He cites the example of the different ways that
Muslims pray. "Islamic parties have not been able to agree on one way to
pray," he says, while appealing to "people with common sense to
accept women as equals."
Instead of controlling women, "to protect the
reputation of Islam, Muslims should challenge old fatwas by re-reviewing
Islamic regulations and ensure full empowerment of women," he said.
But that is not the view of religious lecturer, Fatima
Bosandal. She told IPS that the Quran and hadiths cannot be separated.
"Islam is clear about inheritance, guardianship, and testimony because of
the soft nature of women. Men are responsible for supporting them financially
and emotionally," she says.
According to Bosandal, the new effort to seek modern
interpretations of the Quran was part of western pressure on the Muslim world
to stop following true Islamic principles.
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