SPEAK UP! :: theSun Says
Inter-religious goodwill council is good
THE setting up of the inter-religious goodwill council by the Penang government is a good thing. The state must be commended for being the first to set up such a council which the government could consult and where the various religious leaders and elders could consult and inform each other so as to avoid stepping on each other’s toes.
Perhaps it comes almost naturally to Penang, especially to its capital of George Town, which has been a place where many religions coexisted and their adherents interacted peacefully for well over two centuries. There are big mosques, tall churches, towering temples and gurdwaras and also small ones, some of which had existed side by side or face to face for hundreds of years.
In the small enclave known as Little India alone, there are numerous mosques, churches, Chinese and Hindu temples. The enclave is often described as a study in religious and racial tolerance. Such is the goodwill generated that a Muslim restaurant in the enclave does not sell beef dishes simply because it is situated near a Hindu temple. Unknown to many outsiders, the tolerance and understanding came about with a some effort, informally of course, of the elders of the community living in it and outside.
Consultation has been a way of life with people in the community and every religious festival is carefully planned and adherents of the other faiths are informed much earlier to avoid problems. This informal inter-religious consultation is also a characteristic of most of the other towns in the state. Thus the inter-religious goodwill council is merely a formalisation of the consultation that had already existed informally for hundreds of years. A formal council is necessary now as many of the respected elders, who by the sheer respect they commanded could prevail upon their followers to accept their decisions without question, are now gone. It is also necessary as much has changed in the way things are done now compared to those halcyon days of rickshaws and horse carriages. Also people are more defensive about their faiths now. And because of all these things the council would be a good place where the leaders could learn from one another.
As in the informal consultation of the past, the council’s work does not touch on or involve the question of faith. Members of the council sit as equals and the subject they may be consulted on could be just on whether it is objectionable to a Chinese temple if a Hindu religious school is built next to it or whether an old mosque with a very small congregation could be pulled down to make way for a road project. The question of Islam, or any other religion for that matter, being ridiculed or its status as "the only true religion" questioned does not arise at all.
Updated: 11:09PM Tue, 24 Feb 2009
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Tuesday, February 24, 2009
faith council’
WEB EDITION :: Local News
PM asks for document on Penang ‘faith council’
Maria J Dass
KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 24, 2009) : Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi wants a detailed document on the alleged formation of the Inter-Faith Consultative Council in Penang to obtain a clearer picture on the matter reported by Utusan Malaysia today.
The Prime Minister said he would only comment on the matter after obtaining the detailed document.
“I’ve already read but have yet to receive a clearer picture on the council. I’ve already told the officers concerned to obtain the document pertaining to the implementation by the Penang state government. I can only comment after getting it.
“So far I only read what had been reported. If the report is inaccurate, I will then create a new problem which should not arise,” he told reporters after chairing a meeting of the Economic Council in Parliament House.
He said whatever action taken or proposal made on Islam, the position of Islam as the official federal religion must be recognised and its status preserved. “This is confirmed,” he said.
Updated: 07:08PM Tue, 24 Feb 2009
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PM asks for document on Penang ‘faith council’
Maria J Dass
KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 24, 2009) : Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi wants a detailed document on the alleged formation of the Inter-Faith Consultative Council in Penang to obtain a clearer picture on the matter reported by Utusan Malaysia today.
The Prime Minister said he would only comment on the matter after obtaining the detailed document.
“I’ve already read but have yet to receive a clearer picture on the council. I’ve already told the officers concerned to obtain the document pertaining to the implementation by the Penang state government. I can only comment after getting it.
“So far I only read what had been reported. If the report is inaccurate, I will then create a new problem which should not arise,” he told reporters after chairing a meeting of the Economic Council in Parliament House.
He said whatever action taken or proposal made on Islam, the position of Islam as the official federal religion must be recognised and its status preserved. “This is confirmed,” he said.
Updated: 07:08PM Tue, 24 Feb 2009
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Saying no to the mutilators
NST Online » Focus
2009/02/22
Spotlight: Saying no to the mutilators
CHAI MEI LING
Last week’s Global Meeting for Equality and Justice in the Muslim Family saw some of the world’s most spirited individuals engage in law reform discussions and activism. CHAI MEI LING sits in for a tale of how three such personalities defied convention to champion for social change in their home countries
TWENTY years ago, moments after the birth of her daughter, Assita Monique Tamboula stood her ground -- there would be no genital mutilation on her newborn.
In a country where more than half its population still subscribes to this age-old practice today, it took more than conviction on Tamboula's part to put her foot down.
Any girl in Burkina Faso who has not been cut up runs the risk of growing up single and unwanted by the males in the West African country.
So, families engage the service of the mutilators, rural women who mainly hail from the "blacksmith" caste, to sever the genital tissue of their girls - either at birth or just before they start school.
"During the process, a girl's clitoris is cut off to stop her from masturbating. If a woman wants pleasure, she has to go to the man," says Tamboula, 51.
"They do the cutting with a small instrument that looks like a scythe. It's flat and the edge is very, very sharp. No anaesthesia, nothing. Casualty due to blood loss is not uncommon."
In two provinces, girls undergo the procedure just before they wed.
The act itself is part of the marriage ceremony, celebrated like a festival, taken on as a feat of courage and adds "value" to the bride.
"Women have no right to speak up, because the society is layered, with men on top and women bottom. Full stop.
"Even if a man is aware of the problem of genital mutilation and wants to stop it, and he decides not to have the girls in his family mutilated, the girls would still be rejected by the rest of the society.
"People laugh at them. So what to do?"
So set in stone is this custom, whose origin predates Islam and Christianity, that it continues to thrive in the country despite its stringent law, affecting some 70 per cent of the rural female population and 30 per cent in town.
The government condemned the act, passed a law which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years of jail term, and beefed up enforcement.
But perpetrators found haven in neighbouring countries.
Mutilators reside to the north in Mali, where they can't be touched by law and are sometimes protected even by the society, crossing over to Burkina as and when their clandestine service is needed.
These women would pass on their skills to their daughters, making sure that tradition lives on with the lineage.
The fight against the controversial practice, which dates back to the 20th century, is uphill because social will is lacking, but local group Maia Association, of which Tamboula is a member, strives towards its end.
With support from family planning and health groups from France and Switzerland, the association goes to the ground to raise awareness and impart knowledge with the aim to sensitise men and women and influence mindset, not only on female genital mutilation, but also on a host of issues from gender power imbalance.
Maia talks families out of the norm of casting their unwed, pregnant daughters out to the streets, where many, unable to fend for themselves, would die from hunger.
It works closely with secondary schools to provide easy support and assistance to pregnant students.
Aminata Diallo, the association president and also an educator, had three pregnant girls in her class last year, not counting those who have had abortion.
Diallo caps the rate of teenage pregnancy at 10 per cent, but says the problem is worsening with more girls getting pregnant at a younger age.
The legal age for marriage is 17, but girls as young as 15 are already pregnant, she says.
Maia also addresses rape, forced marriages, poverty, violence against women, and HIV/AIDS.
It teaches girls and women to how convince men to wear condoms during sex, and in cases where negotiation fails, encourages them to put on the femidoms.
It also discourages levirate, a custom where widows are made to marry a male member of the deceased husband's family. Those who refused to toe the mark have been known to be poisoned.
"When you see something so horrible happening before your eyes, you have to react," says Diallo, 53, explaining how she got into the movement.
"A girl sleeps with a boy, gets pregnant and is expelled by the family to sleep on the streets while the boy merrily carries on with his education. Where is the justice?"
Since being set up 15 years ago, Maia has achieved notable success in alleviating the lives and status of women in the country.
Through advocacy, women are now allowed to work on the land and keep their earnings from crop yields. It was just as recent as four years ago that women were not supposed to touch the soil.
In the area of female genital mutilation, Maia's programmes with the youngsters bore fruits.
"When mutilation is being carried out, it's always a youngster - girl or boy - who calls the police in," says Diallo.
Another young boy reported on his twin sisters' case and got them rescued in the nick of time.
For Tamboula, her personal accomplishment didn't stop at relieving her daughter of the physical and psychological scarring that she herself experienced as a child.
No girls in her family born after her daughter has to ever undergo that.
The interview was done with the assistance of French interpreter Francoise Liaunet-Hughes.
2009/02/22
Spotlight: Saying no to the mutilators
CHAI MEI LING
Last week’s Global Meeting for Equality and Justice in the Muslim Family saw some of the world’s most spirited individuals engage in law reform discussions and activism. CHAI MEI LING sits in for a tale of how three such personalities defied convention to champion for social change in their home countries
TWENTY years ago, moments after the birth of her daughter, Assita Monique Tamboula stood her ground -- there would be no genital mutilation on her newborn.
In a country where more than half its population still subscribes to this age-old practice today, it took more than conviction on Tamboula's part to put her foot down.
Any girl in Burkina Faso who has not been cut up runs the risk of growing up single and unwanted by the males in the West African country.
So, families engage the service of the mutilators, rural women who mainly hail from the "blacksmith" caste, to sever the genital tissue of their girls - either at birth or just before they start school.
"During the process, a girl's clitoris is cut off to stop her from masturbating. If a woman wants pleasure, she has to go to the man," says Tamboula, 51.
"They do the cutting with a small instrument that looks like a scythe. It's flat and the edge is very, very sharp. No anaesthesia, nothing. Casualty due to blood loss is not uncommon."
In two provinces, girls undergo the procedure just before they wed.
The act itself is part of the marriage ceremony, celebrated like a festival, taken on as a feat of courage and adds "value" to the bride.
"Women have no right to speak up, because the society is layered, with men on top and women bottom. Full stop.
"Even if a man is aware of the problem of genital mutilation and wants to stop it, and he decides not to have the girls in his family mutilated, the girls would still be rejected by the rest of the society.
"People laugh at them. So what to do?"
So set in stone is this custom, whose origin predates Islam and Christianity, that it continues to thrive in the country despite its stringent law, affecting some 70 per cent of the rural female population and 30 per cent in town.
The government condemned the act, passed a law which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years of jail term, and beefed up enforcement.
But perpetrators found haven in neighbouring countries.
Mutilators reside to the north in Mali, where they can't be touched by law and are sometimes protected even by the society, crossing over to Burkina as and when their clandestine service is needed.
These women would pass on their skills to their daughters, making sure that tradition lives on with the lineage.
The fight against the controversial practice, which dates back to the 20th century, is uphill because social will is lacking, but local group Maia Association, of which Tamboula is a member, strives towards its end.
With support from family planning and health groups from France and Switzerland, the association goes to the ground to raise awareness and impart knowledge with the aim to sensitise men and women and influence mindset, not only on female genital mutilation, but also on a host of issues from gender power imbalance.
Maia talks families out of the norm of casting their unwed, pregnant daughters out to the streets, where many, unable to fend for themselves, would die from hunger.
It works closely with secondary schools to provide easy support and assistance to pregnant students.
Aminata Diallo, the association president and also an educator, had three pregnant girls in her class last year, not counting those who have had abortion.
Diallo caps the rate of teenage pregnancy at 10 per cent, but says the problem is worsening with more girls getting pregnant at a younger age.
The legal age for marriage is 17, but girls as young as 15 are already pregnant, she says.
Maia also addresses rape, forced marriages, poverty, violence against women, and HIV/AIDS.
It teaches girls and women to how convince men to wear condoms during sex, and in cases where negotiation fails, encourages them to put on the femidoms.
It also discourages levirate, a custom where widows are made to marry a male member of the deceased husband's family. Those who refused to toe the mark have been known to be poisoned.
"When you see something so horrible happening before your eyes, you have to react," says Diallo, 53, explaining how she got into the movement.
"A girl sleeps with a boy, gets pregnant and is expelled by the family to sleep on the streets while the boy merrily carries on with his education. Where is the justice?"
Since being set up 15 years ago, Maia has achieved notable success in alleviating the lives and status of women in the country.
Through advocacy, women are now allowed to work on the land and keep their earnings from crop yields. It was just as recent as four years ago that women were not supposed to touch the soil.
In the area of female genital mutilation, Maia's programmes with the youngsters bore fruits.
"When mutilation is being carried out, it's always a youngster - girl or boy - who calls the police in," says Diallo.
Another young boy reported on his twin sisters' case and got them rescued in the nick of time.
For Tamboula, her personal accomplishment didn't stop at relieving her daughter of the physical and psychological scarring that she herself experienced as a child.
No girls in her family born after her daughter has to ever undergo that.
The interview was done with the assistance of French interpreter Francoise Liaunet-Hughes.
Muslim women still facing long hard climb
NST Online » Focus
2009/02/22
Muslim women still facing long hard climb
ANIZA DAMIS
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Though the Musawah — Global Movement for Equality and Justice in the Muslim Family — conference has ended, in reality, things have only just begun. ANIZA DAMIS looks at what’s been achieved so far, and what needs to be done
THE way that Muslim women have to battle their societies to demand for equality and justice these days, one could be forgiven for thinking that equality and justice for all is an alien concept to Islam.
And even though that is how Islam is viewed by some non-Muslims, and even though some Muslims view concepts of equality and justice as "foreign" or "Western", the reality is that it was Islam that set women free, more than 1,400 years ago.
When Islam arrived in Arabia in the 7th Century A.D., it prohibited the killing of girl babies (female infanticide), which had been a widespread practice until then.
In fact, through the Quran, Islam introduced what is considered the most feminist laws of that age. Women were able to say:
I am equal before the eyes of God
I have the right to own property
I have the right to inherit property
I can sign my own contracts
I can choose my own husband
I can't be forced to marry against my will
I can write a marriage contract and impose conditions on my husband-to-be
I have the right to divorce my husband
I am entitled to dignity and respect
I am entitled to an education
I have the right to think for myself
I have the right to lead my people to the right path
However, what is given by God can easily be taken away by man's traditional and cultural practices.
Which is why, 1,400 years later, Muslim women are struggling to restore each and every one of the rights mentioned above. And what they are battling is largely a battle against perception and ignorance of the religion.
Women are not seen as being equal, or having the right to be treated as equals and given equal opportunities.
Not all Muslim women are allowed to own property, or inherit property. In the farming communities of Tunisia, for instance, although it is the woman who works the land, she has no claims on that land.
In some parts of Indonesia, although land is bought from money by the woman, culturally it is unseemly for the woman to be the one whose name is on the title deed. So, instead it is her husband who owns the land, even though he didn't pay for it.
And though men and women are supposed to be equal, inheritance laws in many Muslim countries deny a woman from inheriting at an equal par to a man.
In some countries, women are not allowed to sign their own contracts, and this then excludes them from so many aspects of public and economic life.
Thanks to the wali system, a woman has to seek permission from a close male relative to marry, instead of making that decision for herself. Often, whether she marries or not, and to whom she is married, is completely out of her hands.
The practice of the marriage contract and the right to impose conditions on the would-be husband is not often practiced, and many women do not even know that, not only is this a right, but it is a desirable thing for a woman to have.
In many countries, a woman's right to divorce her husband is conditional upon her being able to prove that the husband is worthy of being divorced, and the woman has to then pay him to obtain her freedom.
Not all Muslim countries allow their little girls to go to school; and even if they do, this is only until the girl reaches a suitable age of marriage, upon which she is expected to forgo her education for her marriage.
And, even though both men and women are enjoined to read the Quran, when women try to interpret the Quran, they are challenged on their interpretation and their religious credentials (or lack thereof) are questioned. The same standard of credibility is not asked of men.
Of course, Malaysian women are considerably luckier than their counterparts in some other Muslim countries as well as in minority Muslim communities in non-Muslim countries.
Here, women can vote, can study up to post-graduate level (and in fact, at the undergraduate level, female students make up more than 60 per cent of the undergraduate student intake), and can buy cars and houses and properties from the money that they earn from having jobs, and hold outright ownership of them.
Women can drive, go to work, and hold any job or position to which she is qualified.
However, by dint of the fact that a woman has to go through an intermediary at marriage - that is, the wali (a male family member who represents her) - means that she still cannot choose her own husband or decide whether or not she wants to get married.
[In Islam, there are only three conditions that have to be met for a marriage to be legal: Both the bride and groom have to consent to the marriage; the groom has to pay the mahr to the bride (dowry - more commonly known in Malaysia as mas kahwin); and the nikah (solemnisation of marriage) has to be witnessed by two Muslims of upstanding character].
So, although it is true that Malaysian Muslim women are far more advanced in many aspects of public life, the reality is that a woman who, in her professional life, is capable of bearing the greatest responsibilities, is not considered wise enough to choose her own husband and decide on the direction of her own future.
Take Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, for instance. She is a member of Cabinet, represents the country in all things related to tourism - including negotiating and signing contracts and memoranda of understanding - and is politically on the Umno supreme council and contributes to determining the direction of the party and the country. She is 46-years-old.
And yet, if this formidable minister were to decide to end her days as a single woman, that decision would have to be made through an intermediary - a brother or uncle. Suddenly, this intelligent woman, who has two law degrees and was a partner in the largest law firm in the country, is considered too stupid to be responsible for her own life.
If that is true, was it wise for us to make her a national leader?
Obviously, Malaysia still has some distance to go as far as fulfilling Allah's promise to the Muslim Ummah (community) is concerned.
The ground regained so far in Muslim countries around the world:
• Equality between spouses enshrined in Turkey's Constitution and Civil Code - 2001
• Morocco's Family Law recognises equality of men and women - 2004
• Polygamy prohibited by law: Tunisian Personal Status Code - 1956
• Wali not a marriage requirement: Gambia, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyz Republic, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Tunisia, Morocco
• Minimum age of marriage at 18 or above for both men and women: Bangladesh, Morocco, Algeria, Kyrgyz Republic, Turkey
• Saudi Arabia: Forced marriages are against Islam - 2005
• Domestic duties give women the right to claim matrimonial assets: Malaysia - 1984
• Iran: Women divorced without fault are entitled to wages for housework - 1992
• No divorce outside the courts: Tunisia, Iran, Algeria, Indonesia, Morocco
• Women's right to divorce expanded in Pakistan - 1967
• Egypt: Women may divorce on grounds of incompatibility - 2000
• Custody and Guardianship: Parents have equal rights - Tunisia, Turkey, Gambia, Senegal
• Morocco withdraws reservations to CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women) - 2008.
2009/02/22
Muslim women still facing long hard climb
ANIZA DAMIS
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Though the Musawah — Global Movement for Equality and Justice in the Muslim Family — conference has ended, in reality, things have only just begun. ANIZA DAMIS looks at what’s been achieved so far, and what needs to be done
THE way that Muslim women have to battle their societies to demand for equality and justice these days, one could be forgiven for thinking that equality and justice for all is an alien concept to Islam.
And even though that is how Islam is viewed by some non-Muslims, and even though some Muslims view concepts of equality and justice as "foreign" or "Western", the reality is that it was Islam that set women free, more than 1,400 years ago.
When Islam arrived in Arabia in the 7th Century A.D., it prohibited the killing of girl babies (female infanticide), which had been a widespread practice until then.
In fact, through the Quran, Islam introduced what is considered the most feminist laws of that age. Women were able to say:
I am equal before the eyes of God
I have the right to own property
I have the right to inherit property
I can sign my own contracts
I can choose my own husband
I can't be forced to marry against my will
I can write a marriage contract and impose conditions on my husband-to-be
I have the right to divorce my husband
I am entitled to dignity and respect
I am entitled to an education
I have the right to think for myself
I have the right to lead my people to the right path
However, what is given by God can easily be taken away by man's traditional and cultural practices.
Which is why, 1,400 years later, Muslim women are struggling to restore each and every one of the rights mentioned above. And what they are battling is largely a battle against perception and ignorance of the religion.
Women are not seen as being equal, or having the right to be treated as equals and given equal opportunities.
Not all Muslim women are allowed to own property, or inherit property. In the farming communities of Tunisia, for instance, although it is the woman who works the land, she has no claims on that land.
In some parts of Indonesia, although land is bought from money by the woman, culturally it is unseemly for the woman to be the one whose name is on the title deed. So, instead it is her husband who owns the land, even though he didn't pay for it.
And though men and women are supposed to be equal, inheritance laws in many Muslim countries deny a woman from inheriting at an equal par to a man.
In some countries, women are not allowed to sign their own contracts, and this then excludes them from so many aspects of public and economic life.
Thanks to the wali system, a woman has to seek permission from a close male relative to marry, instead of making that decision for herself. Often, whether she marries or not, and to whom she is married, is completely out of her hands.
The practice of the marriage contract and the right to impose conditions on the would-be husband is not often practiced, and many women do not even know that, not only is this a right, but it is a desirable thing for a woman to have.
In many countries, a woman's right to divorce her husband is conditional upon her being able to prove that the husband is worthy of being divorced, and the woman has to then pay him to obtain her freedom.
Not all Muslim countries allow their little girls to go to school; and even if they do, this is only until the girl reaches a suitable age of marriage, upon which she is expected to forgo her education for her marriage.
And, even though both men and women are enjoined to read the Quran, when women try to interpret the Quran, they are challenged on their interpretation and their religious credentials (or lack thereof) are questioned. The same standard of credibility is not asked of men.
Of course, Malaysian women are considerably luckier than their counterparts in some other Muslim countries as well as in minority Muslim communities in non-Muslim countries.
Here, women can vote, can study up to post-graduate level (and in fact, at the undergraduate level, female students make up more than 60 per cent of the undergraduate student intake), and can buy cars and houses and properties from the money that they earn from having jobs, and hold outright ownership of them.
Women can drive, go to work, and hold any job or position to which she is qualified.
However, by dint of the fact that a woman has to go through an intermediary at marriage - that is, the wali (a male family member who represents her) - means that she still cannot choose her own husband or decide whether or not she wants to get married.
[In Islam, there are only three conditions that have to be met for a marriage to be legal: Both the bride and groom have to consent to the marriage; the groom has to pay the mahr to the bride (dowry - more commonly known in Malaysia as mas kahwin); and the nikah (solemnisation of marriage) has to be witnessed by two Muslims of upstanding character].
So, although it is true that Malaysian Muslim women are far more advanced in many aspects of public life, the reality is that a woman who, in her professional life, is capable of bearing the greatest responsibilities, is not considered wise enough to choose her own husband and decide on the direction of her own future.
Take Tourism Minister Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, for instance. She is a member of Cabinet, represents the country in all things related to tourism - including negotiating and signing contracts and memoranda of understanding - and is politically on the Umno supreme council and contributes to determining the direction of the party and the country. She is 46-years-old.
And yet, if this formidable minister were to decide to end her days as a single woman, that decision would have to be made through an intermediary - a brother or uncle. Suddenly, this intelligent woman, who has two law degrees and was a partner in the largest law firm in the country, is considered too stupid to be responsible for her own life.
If that is true, was it wise for us to make her a national leader?
Obviously, Malaysia still has some distance to go as far as fulfilling Allah's promise to the Muslim Ummah (community) is concerned.
The ground regained so far in Muslim countries around the world:
• Equality between spouses enshrined in Turkey's Constitution and Civil Code - 2001
• Morocco's Family Law recognises equality of men and women - 2004
• Polygamy prohibited by law: Tunisian Personal Status Code - 1956
• Wali not a marriage requirement: Gambia, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyz Republic, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Tunisia, Morocco
• Minimum age of marriage at 18 or above for both men and women: Bangladesh, Morocco, Algeria, Kyrgyz Republic, Turkey
• Saudi Arabia: Forced marriages are against Islam - 2005
• Domestic duties give women the right to claim matrimonial assets: Malaysia - 1984
• Iran: Women divorced without fault are entitled to wages for housework - 1992
• No divorce outside the courts: Tunisia, Iran, Algeria, Indonesia, Morocco
• Women's right to divorce expanded in Pakistan - 1967
• Egypt: Women may divorce on grounds of incompatibility - 2000
• Custody and Guardianship: Parents have equal rights - Tunisia, Turkey, Gambia, Senegal
• Morocco withdraws reservations to CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women) - 2008.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Islam does not discriminate
NST Online » Local News
2009/02/15
MUSAWAH: Islam does not discriminate
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For five days, beginning Friday, more than 250 Muslim scholars and thinkers from 48 countries were in Malaysia, demanding for equality and justice in the Muslim family, through laws and public policy. The first Musawah — Arabic for ‘equality’ — is a knowledge-based movement that will brings together interest groups to discuss why change is possible within Islam, and why equality and justice are possible from the Islamic perspective. ANIZA DAMIS speaks to Musawah project director Zainah Anwar
Q: What are the main issues that concern Musawah?
A: Age of marriage, consent of marriage, wali for marriage, witnesses for marriage, polygamy, nusyuz, divorce, mut'ah and custody and guardianship.
Musawah came about due to frustrations women's groups felt when pushing for reform to the family law that discriminates against women.
In the context of Malaysia, if you look at how civil law is moving forward and recognising equality between men and women, syariah is not only not moving forward, but is regressing.
So, the Muslim world must also move towards justice and equality. Syariah must reflect justice and equality.
What is important about Musawah is that we believe in the possibility for justice and that equality exists in Islam. This is a movement that wants to reclaim the religion and to push forward a vision of Islam that recognises justice and equality.
Muslims must engage with the world and the international human rights framework. They must recognise that religion can no longer be used to hold women back.
The right to equality and non-discrimination is part of human rights; women's rights are also part of human rights.
Q: Women's rights are part of human rights. But what gives you faith that women's rights are part of Islamic rights?
A: Because we are part of the ummah (the community). God did not reveal the Quran just for men. God revealed the Quran for everyone.
The main challenge we face is that for a long time now, women have been excluded from the decision-making process -- not only in Islam, but everywhere.
You cannot educate women, talk about democracy and human rights and modernity and tell women they are important citizens of the country and claim they have equal rights to do this and that, yet when it comes to Islam, everything stops at the door.
It's not that women want to be on top and be in charge of their husbands; what we are pushing for is a marriage of equals. We want marriage to be a partnership of equals and not a partnership of dominion, where the man is on top of the woman. We feel that this is an untenable marriage.
Marriage should be a partnership -- if the husband is good at cooking and the wife is bad at cooking, why should the wife do the cooking? We feel that no one should be discriminated against on the basis of their gender.
Musawah promotes equality and non-discrimination in family law. What gives us hope to move forward is the success of the women's movement in Morocco in getting their personal status code reformed. The marriages are now considered as partnerships of equals.
They have justified it within Islam and they've got the support of their king and members of parliament.
Q: How is syariah failing the Muslim family and concepts of equality and justice?
A: By discrimination in the substance of the law and in its implementation.
It also failed in imparting values. We need to have gender-sensitisation training. We need boys and girls to realise that the world has changed and that you cannot treat women in the manner that your mother was treated in the past.
Q: How are you going to deal with people who say that men and women are not equal and that all the things you talk about -- equality and justice -- are Western concepts, not Islamic concepts?
A: (Laughs) It's so sad. SIS (Sisters in Islam, a Malaysian-based non-governmental organisation) has existed for 20 years. If these people are still bringing this issue up, it's as if they've not moved on. The world has changed; the realities have changed, the statistics, the data have changed and they still say men and women are not equal and these concepts are un-Islamic? What is equality then?
Q: These people would say the world is changing but Islam is not supposed to change.
A: What needs to change is not Islam but their understanding of Islam. Islam, as the word of God, and the Quran, as the word of God, does not change. But this belief that men and women are not equal is not in the Quran.
In Sura Al-Ahzab (The Clans), every believing man and every believing woman is equally rewarded. This means that you are equal before the eyes of God. So, why can't you be equal before the eyes of man?
If men and women are not equal, is it because of God or because of man? What needs to change is not the revealed word; what needs to change is how we understand the revealed word.
When we say, "Islam says men and women are not equal", it is not Islam that is saying that; it is the "me, I" -- the person who said that.
Q: Is it possible that what is justice to God may not necessarily be what is justice to humans?
A: Of course it's possible. But when you want to use Islam as a source of law and public policy, like in Malaysia, then it must be open to public debate, public questioning and public reason. Just because it's in the name of Islam doesn't mean it has to be "removed" from public discussion. If so, then, you live in a theocratic dictatorship. And Malaysia is not a theocratic dictatorship.
Detractors will say: "Oh, you don't have qualifications to speak on Islam."
But this concerns me and my life. Why is it that nobody asks for an economics degree before you comment on economic policies and the price of oil and the rising price of goods? Everybody talks about the politics of the country; but does anybody ask, "Do you have a degree in political science? If you don't have a degree in political science, you don't talk about politics in the country."
So, why is it when it comes to Islam, we all must have a degree in Islam?
If we say Islam is a way of life and that it has all the answers, and if you silence us, it's like saying: "Only a certain group has all the answers."
If it's like that, then Islam cannot be a way of life. For if it's a way of life, then I must have some power to determine what kind of life I want to lead, and I must be involved in that decision-making process.
Q: How do you respond to people who say, "Islam is unmalleable. Either accept it or leave?"
A: Leave the religion? That's not an option at all. I love my religion and I'm engaged in this work because I love my God.
Q: Why do you believe that Islam will give you justice and equality?
A: I went to five years' of agama (religious) school, so I've always believed in a God that is just. Because, for me, God cannot be God if God is not just.
For people to pronounce all these discriminatory positions in Islam and spread unjust understandings of the religion, and for people to use Islam to justify discrimination, oppression, ill-treatment, and inequality, I find that unacceptable.
This is a violation of what God is. That is so utmost and foremost in my understanding of God. God is just -- there can be no other God but a just God.
When you justify injustice in the name of Islam, I just find it offensive. It violates my very core understanding of what God is. I cannot accept it.
Yes, I can choose to ignore the religion and walk away; ignore Malaysia and walk away. But I refuse to do that because I love my country and I want to die in my country. I love my religion and I'm not going to allow other people to tell me what I'm supposed to believe in.
Q: Do you think our country is ready for changes that will ensure equality and justice in Islam?
A: In the 21st century, if you go and say, "Men and women are not equal in Islam", you're really seen as an anachronism.
It's disgraceful and it's shameful for you to stand on a platform and tell the whole world that in Islam, men and women are not equal, a man has a right to beat his wife... These are practices that are no longer acceptable. And it's disgraceful.
In the United States, if a politician beats his wife, he's finished. You just don't do it! It's not acceptable. I think we're heading in that direction.
The women we've been training are single mothers, women who live in low-cost flats, grassroots political organisers. And they are very tired women.
When we talk about justice and equality, they understand it immediately. They understand it easier than the middle-class women because they suffer from inequality.
They talk about: "What provider, what protector?" They say: "Why should they have privileges over women, and why should women be discriminated against, just because they're born men and I'm born a woman?"
It's just untenable.
Q: Women may be ready for equality but are they ready to treat men as equals?
A: Well, I think they'd better be ready.
A research was conducted among boys in Kedah. These students were told they were superior and were the providers and protectors. But the reality is that they are failures.
They are dropping out of schools, they're missing classes, failing exams and have no ambition.
The girls all want to go to universities. Look at how many boys there are at Universiti Utara -- only 30 per cent. It's that bad!
So, how do you continue with this patriarchal construct where the man is superior and always better when the realities are different?
This kind of expectations that cannot be fulfilled instead damage their masculinity and at how they look at themselves.
Q: There are some men who would say the reason men are feeling insecure is not because they are failing but because women are going above themselves.
A: What is that supposed to mean? Does that mean that I should fail in my exam because the boys are lazy? I should be lazier than the boys?
Girls know that the only way they can be independent is to be an achiever. Study hard, get a good job, be financially independent and then they can decide for themselves.
Q: Some men say more couples are getting divorced because women are so highly educated and independent, and so, they seek divorce on the slightest grounds.
A: It's not about how one partner must be superior. Why can't it be a partnership?
You're better at one thing, I'm better at another thing; that does not make me superior to you. Just because I have a doctorate does not make me superior. Maybe you're better at fixing the car and cooking. Whoever is best at something should do it; don't stop just because she's a woman or he's a man. Whoever is able to do it and is best at it should be allowed to do it.
So, if the man is a better cook, let him cook. If the wife is a better breadwinner, let her be the breadwinner.
Q: Are Muslims trying to change Islam in order to maintain its congregation?
A: It's not about changing Islam; it's about changing our understanding. It's not the Quran that's being changed. Nothing changes; not a word in the Quran is changed.
We confuse between what is our understanding of Islam and Islam itself.
The problem today is that many people who claim to speak for Islam confer upon themselves this authoritative voice that says: "This is what God says."
This is not the Islamic tradition. In the Islamic tradition, all the scholars would say, in the end "Wallahu'alam" -- God knows best.
This is why Musawah is so important, because we develop the framework of action that shows the difference between what is syariah (law), what is revelation, and what is Fiqh (jurisprudence).
So much of what constitutes our law is Fiqh, which is the human understanding of the word of God.
So, who passed the family law? Who wrote it? It's not from God -- it's from human beings. We interpreted.
The problem is that we decided that our understanding of God is equivalent to God's revelation.
This is wrong, actually. That means you are God as well. You've conferred on yourself the authority of God when you are not God. You're a mere human being who is trying to understand God's meaning and God's message and God's words.
It is nothing but a humble effort at understanding the greatness of God.
For you to claim, "this is what God says" is wrong.
Q: Some men say that women would be much happier if they just submit to what religious culture dictates.
A: Actually, the happiest marriages I have seen are those where truly it is a partnership of equals. We see these results in our gender-training programmes.
One of our participants, an Islamist, said he thought he knew all the answers. He thought his wife was really inferior to him and that his job was to guide his wife.
He thought his wife must listen to him because he knew everything and if she listened to him, she would be happy.
Of course, after he went through our gender training, everything turned topsy-turvy. All his gender understanding, his "Islamic" understanding was turned upside down.
But it was interesting because after the training, he said: "The first thing I'm going to do when I go home is to apologise to my wife because I have made a mistake."
A few months later, he told me: "You were right. My relationship with my wife has improved. I treat her so much better and because of that, she treats me so much better. We are both so much happier."
It's really lovely!
I don't understand all these men who want to be in control and who want to be superior, when actually they're scared of that loss of control.
A more egalitarian relationship will bring them more happiness. It will bring them a happier and more stable family, where everyone sits together -- not in fear, but in love and partnership -- to do things together and resolve things in partnership.
Why would men want to have all the answers? I don't want to have all the answers! Isn't that terrible? What's the matter with these men?
Why can't we stick together and find solutions and find answers together?
Why do you want to dominate and think that you only are right, and you are the sole source of solutions and answers?
It's so strange to me.
Women want to be treated as human beings of equal worth and dignity, and not as some inferior person.
Q: What would you estimate the acceptability of the Musawah?
A: It's a movement of the future that legitimises religion.
We're saying to the world that you can fight for justice and equality within Islam. We're not saying forget about religion or that religion has no role to play in the public space.
We're saying that religion has a role to play. But how do we engage religion in the public space in a way that it will be a source of solutions and not a source of problems?
Everyone is grappling with this: Islam is so much in your face now, in the public space, and it is seen as a problem. It is seen as a violent and oppressive religion.
So, we're actually coming up with an understanding of Islam that undermines the stereotypical image of Muslim women as the oppressed Muslim women; that breaks the stereotypical image of Islam being an unjust religion and being a discriminatory religion; and the stereotypical image of a Muslim country being backward and repressive.
With Musawah, in a progressive Muslim country like Malaysia, Muslim women from all over the world are coming together.
This shows that Muslim women have a voice, that they are empowered and that it's the Muslims who are saying that we can find liberation within Islam. I think this is powerful.
I don't see why the Islamists would be against this, unless they really are telling the world that Islam is an unjust religion, that it discriminates against women, that there is no hope.
The secularists say forget about religion.
Those who have not worked with the religion, the many feminists and human rights activists in the human rights world, feel that religion has no place to play in public policy.
2009/02/15
MUSAWAH: Islam does not discriminate
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For five days, beginning Friday, more than 250 Muslim scholars and thinkers from 48 countries were in Malaysia, demanding for equality and justice in the Muslim family, through laws and public policy. The first Musawah — Arabic for ‘equality’ — is a knowledge-based movement that will brings together interest groups to discuss why change is possible within Islam, and why equality and justice are possible from the Islamic perspective. ANIZA DAMIS speaks to Musawah project director Zainah Anwar
Q: What are the main issues that concern Musawah?
A: Age of marriage, consent of marriage, wali for marriage, witnesses for marriage, polygamy, nusyuz, divorce, mut'ah and custody and guardianship.
Musawah came about due to frustrations women's groups felt when pushing for reform to the family law that discriminates against women.
In the context of Malaysia, if you look at how civil law is moving forward and recognising equality between men and women, syariah is not only not moving forward, but is regressing.
So, the Muslim world must also move towards justice and equality. Syariah must reflect justice and equality.
What is important about Musawah is that we believe in the possibility for justice and that equality exists in Islam. This is a movement that wants to reclaim the religion and to push forward a vision of Islam that recognises justice and equality.
Muslims must engage with the world and the international human rights framework. They must recognise that religion can no longer be used to hold women back.
The right to equality and non-discrimination is part of human rights; women's rights are also part of human rights.
Q: Women's rights are part of human rights. But what gives you faith that women's rights are part of Islamic rights?
A: Because we are part of the ummah (the community). God did not reveal the Quran just for men. God revealed the Quran for everyone.
The main challenge we face is that for a long time now, women have been excluded from the decision-making process -- not only in Islam, but everywhere.
You cannot educate women, talk about democracy and human rights and modernity and tell women they are important citizens of the country and claim they have equal rights to do this and that, yet when it comes to Islam, everything stops at the door.
It's not that women want to be on top and be in charge of their husbands; what we are pushing for is a marriage of equals. We want marriage to be a partnership of equals and not a partnership of dominion, where the man is on top of the woman. We feel that this is an untenable marriage.
Marriage should be a partnership -- if the husband is good at cooking and the wife is bad at cooking, why should the wife do the cooking? We feel that no one should be discriminated against on the basis of their gender.
Musawah promotes equality and non-discrimination in family law. What gives us hope to move forward is the success of the women's movement in Morocco in getting their personal status code reformed. The marriages are now considered as partnerships of equals.
They have justified it within Islam and they've got the support of their king and members of parliament.
Q: How is syariah failing the Muslim family and concepts of equality and justice?
A: By discrimination in the substance of the law and in its implementation.
It also failed in imparting values. We need to have gender-sensitisation training. We need boys and girls to realise that the world has changed and that you cannot treat women in the manner that your mother was treated in the past.
Q: How are you going to deal with people who say that men and women are not equal and that all the things you talk about -- equality and justice -- are Western concepts, not Islamic concepts?
A: (Laughs) It's so sad. SIS (Sisters in Islam, a Malaysian-based non-governmental organisation) has existed for 20 years. If these people are still bringing this issue up, it's as if they've not moved on. The world has changed; the realities have changed, the statistics, the data have changed and they still say men and women are not equal and these concepts are un-Islamic? What is equality then?
Q: These people would say the world is changing but Islam is not supposed to change.
A: What needs to change is not Islam but their understanding of Islam. Islam, as the word of God, and the Quran, as the word of God, does not change. But this belief that men and women are not equal is not in the Quran.
In Sura Al-Ahzab (The Clans), every believing man and every believing woman is equally rewarded. This means that you are equal before the eyes of God. So, why can't you be equal before the eyes of man?
If men and women are not equal, is it because of God or because of man? What needs to change is not the revealed word; what needs to change is how we understand the revealed word.
When we say, "Islam says men and women are not equal", it is not Islam that is saying that; it is the "me, I" -- the person who said that.
Q: Is it possible that what is justice to God may not necessarily be what is justice to humans?
A: Of course it's possible. But when you want to use Islam as a source of law and public policy, like in Malaysia, then it must be open to public debate, public questioning and public reason. Just because it's in the name of Islam doesn't mean it has to be "removed" from public discussion. If so, then, you live in a theocratic dictatorship. And Malaysia is not a theocratic dictatorship.
Detractors will say: "Oh, you don't have qualifications to speak on Islam."
But this concerns me and my life. Why is it that nobody asks for an economics degree before you comment on economic policies and the price of oil and the rising price of goods? Everybody talks about the politics of the country; but does anybody ask, "Do you have a degree in political science? If you don't have a degree in political science, you don't talk about politics in the country."
So, why is it when it comes to Islam, we all must have a degree in Islam?
If we say Islam is a way of life and that it has all the answers, and if you silence us, it's like saying: "Only a certain group has all the answers."
If it's like that, then Islam cannot be a way of life. For if it's a way of life, then I must have some power to determine what kind of life I want to lead, and I must be involved in that decision-making process.
Q: How do you respond to people who say, "Islam is unmalleable. Either accept it or leave?"
A: Leave the religion? That's not an option at all. I love my religion and I'm engaged in this work because I love my God.
Q: Why do you believe that Islam will give you justice and equality?
A: I went to five years' of agama (religious) school, so I've always believed in a God that is just. Because, for me, God cannot be God if God is not just.
For people to pronounce all these discriminatory positions in Islam and spread unjust understandings of the religion, and for people to use Islam to justify discrimination, oppression, ill-treatment, and inequality, I find that unacceptable.
This is a violation of what God is. That is so utmost and foremost in my understanding of God. God is just -- there can be no other God but a just God.
When you justify injustice in the name of Islam, I just find it offensive. It violates my very core understanding of what God is. I cannot accept it.
Yes, I can choose to ignore the religion and walk away; ignore Malaysia and walk away. But I refuse to do that because I love my country and I want to die in my country. I love my religion and I'm not going to allow other people to tell me what I'm supposed to believe in.
Q: Do you think our country is ready for changes that will ensure equality and justice in Islam?
A: In the 21st century, if you go and say, "Men and women are not equal in Islam", you're really seen as an anachronism.
It's disgraceful and it's shameful for you to stand on a platform and tell the whole world that in Islam, men and women are not equal, a man has a right to beat his wife... These are practices that are no longer acceptable. And it's disgraceful.
In the United States, if a politician beats his wife, he's finished. You just don't do it! It's not acceptable. I think we're heading in that direction.
The women we've been training are single mothers, women who live in low-cost flats, grassroots political organisers. And they are very tired women.
When we talk about justice and equality, they understand it immediately. They understand it easier than the middle-class women because they suffer from inequality.
They talk about: "What provider, what protector?" They say: "Why should they have privileges over women, and why should women be discriminated against, just because they're born men and I'm born a woman?"
It's just untenable.
Q: Women may be ready for equality but are they ready to treat men as equals?
A: Well, I think they'd better be ready.
A research was conducted among boys in Kedah. These students were told they were superior and were the providers and protectors. But the reality is that they are failures.
They are dropping out of schools, they're missing classes, failing exams and have no ambition.
The girls all want to go to universities. Look at how many boys there are at Universiti Utara -- only 30 per cent. It's that bad!
So, how do you continue with this patriarchal construct where the man is superior and always better when the realities are different?
This kind of expectations that cannot be fulfilled instead damage their masculinity and at how they look at themselves.
Q: There are some men who would say the reason men are feeling insecure is not because they are failing but because women are going above themselves.
A: What is that supposed to mean? Does that mean that I should fail in my exam because the boys are lazy? I should be lazier than the boys?
Girls know that the only way they can be independent is to be an achiever. Study hard, get a good job, be financially independent and then they can decide for themselves.
Q: Some men say more couples are getting divorced because women are so highly educated and independent, and so, they seek divorce on the slightest grounds.
A: It's not about how one partner must be superior. Why can't it be a partnership?
You're better at one thing, I'm better at another thing; that does not make me superior to you. Just because I have a doctorate does not make me superior. Maybe you're better at fixing the car and cooking. Whoever is best at something should do it; don't stop just because she's a woman or he's a man. Whoever is able to do it and is best at it should be allowed to do it.
So, if the man is a better cook, let him cook. If the wife is a better breadwinner, let her be the breadwinner.
Q: Are Muslims trying to change Islam in order to maintain its congregation?
A: It's not about changing Islam; it's about changing our understanding. It's not the Quran that's being changed. Nothing changes; not a word in the Quran is changed.
We confuse between what is our understanding of Islam and Islam itself.
The problem today is that many people who claim to speak for Islam confer upon themselves this authoritative voice that says: "This is what God says."
This is not the Islamic tradition. In the Islamic tradition, all the scholars would say, in the end "Wallahu'alam" -- God knows best.
This is why Musawah is so important, because we develop the framework of action that shows the difference between what is syariah (law), what is revelation, and what is Fiqh (jurisprudence).
So much of what constitutes our law is Fiqh, which is the human understanding of the word of God.
So, who passed the family law? Who wrote it? It's not from God -- it's from human beings. We interpreted.
The problem is that we decided that our understanding of God is equivalent to God's revelation.
This is wrong, actually. That means you are God as well. You've conferred on yourself the authority of God when you are not God. You're a mere human being who is trying to understand God's meaning and God's message and God's words.
It is nothing but a humble effort at understanding the greatness of God.
For you to claim, "this is what God says" is wrong.
Q: Some men say that women would be much happier if they just submit to what religious culture dictates.
A: Actually, the happiest marriages I have seen are those where truly it is a partnership of equals. We see these results in our gender-training programmes.
One of our participants, an Islamist, said he thought he knew all the answers. He thought his wife was really inferior to him and that his job was to guide his wife.
He thought his wife must listen to him because he knew everything and if she listened to him, she would be happy.
Of course, after he went through our gender training, everything turned topsy-turvy. All his gender understanding, his "Islamic" understanding was turned upside down.
But it was interesting because after the training, he said: "The first thing I'm going to do when I go home is to apologise to my wife because I have made a mistake."
A few months later, he told me: "You were right. My relationship with my wife has improved. I treat her so much better and because of that, she treats me so much better. We are both so much happier."
It's really lovely!
I don't understand all these men who want to be in control and who want to be superior, when actually they're scared of that loss of control.
A more egalitarian relationship will bring them more happiness. It will bring them a happier and more stable family, where everyone sits together -- not in fear, but in love and partnership -- to do things together and resolve things in partnership.
Why would men want to have all the answers? I don't want to have all the answers! Isn't that terrible? What's the matter with these men?
Why can't we stick together and find solutions and find answers together?
Why do you want to dominate and think that you only are right, and you are the sole source of solutions and answers?
It's so strange to me.
Women want to be treated as human beings of equal worth and dignity, and not as some inferior person.
Q: What would you estimate the acceptability of the Musawah?
A: It's a movement of the future that legitimises religion.
We're saying to the world that you can fight for justice and equality within Islam. We're not saying forget about religion or that religion has no role to play in the public space.
We're saying that religion has a role to play. But how do we engage religion in the public space in a way that it will be a source of solutions and not a source of problems?
Everyone is grappling with this: Islam is so much in your face now, in the public space, and it is seen as a problem. It is seen as a violent and oppressive religion.
So, we're actually coming up with an understanding of Islam that undermines the stereotypical image of Muslim women as the oppressed Muslim women; that breaks the stereotypical image of Islam being an unjust religion and being a discriminatory religion; and the stereotypical image of a Muslim country being backward and repressive.
With Musawah, in a progressive Muslim country like Malaysia, Muslim women from all over the world are coming together.
This shows that Muslim women have a voice, that they are empowered and that it's the Muslims who are saying that we can find liberation within Islam. I think this is powerful.
I don't see why the Islamists would be against this, unless they really are telling the world that Islam is an unjust religion, that it discriminates against women, that there is no hope.
The secularists say forget about religion.
Those who have not worked with the religion, the many feminists and human rights activists in the human rights world, feel that religion has no place to play in public policy.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Having one religion only will unite us and stop the WAR
Only by having one religion in this world will unite all of us and that will also stop the WAR. One religion only will bring one race together,weather you are white,black,yellow,brown skin will not be an issue anymore.
So, citizen of the world , lets work on this together.
So, citizen of the world , lets work on this together.
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