Women S Human Rights And The Muslim Question

Women's Human Rights and the Muslim Question shows how Muslim women have made meaningful contributions to the development of the international framework on gender equality and women's rights. An investigation into the women's movement of Iran offers a practical grounding for this argument, and presents unprecedented findings on how ideological divisions along secular and religious lines have been worked in favour of a rights-based framework for change. The book presents a comprehensive synthesis and analysis of the campaign material of the women's movement 'Change for Equality Campaign'--one of the most progressive and sophisticated movements in the Middle East/Central Asia.

A solemn attempt to rediscover the Qurnic basis of gender equality, determining the status of women in Islam, to recapture the spirit of quranic revelation further to reconstruct Islamic theology from an egalitarian perspectives. A comprehensive and exhaustive study.

Why “the Muslim question” is really about the West and its own anxieties—not Islam In this fearless, original book, Anne Norton demolishes the notion that there is a “clash of civilizations” between the West and Islam. What is really in question, she argues, is the West’s commitment to its own ideals: to democracy and the Enlightenment trinity of liberty, equality, and fraternity. In the most fundamental sense, the Muslim question is about the values not of Islamic, but of Western, civilization.

Women's issues continue to dominate the Islamic world in particular, as there has been a very gradual change in the status of women in the Islamic world as a whole. This book covers various aspects relating to the status of women in the pre-Islamic period -- customs and -traditions, forms of marriage, divorce and forms of divorce, dower, traditions regarding slave-girls, and so on. It then goes on to deal with the status of women in the post-Islamic period -- the Qur'anic concept of women's rights in marriage, divorce, inheritance, custody of children, polygamy, maintenance, property, right to earn, etc. It quotes extensively from the Qur'an and Sunnah. It also deals with the Arab adaat, that is, pre-Islamic customs and traditions regarding women. Altogether, it attempts to arm Muslim women with Islamic arguments for their empowerment. The author, a renowned scholar, has sought to set the record straight by reinterpreting women's rights in the true Qur'anic spirit. He argues quite convincingly that the Holy Book gives equal rights to both the sexes, and it does not discriminate between them as regards personal, democratic and human rights. The question whether in a secular society Muslim personal law needs any change, and, if so, in which direction the reform should be undertaken is dealt with in detail. This third edition contains a chapter: 'On a Muslim Woman Leading the Congregational Prayer'. This chapter deals with the important aspect of Muslim women's problems and also hopes to further enhance their understanding of the Shari'ah issues.

The relationship between secularism, democracy, religion, and gender equality has been a complex one across Western democracies and still remains contested. When we turn to Muslim countries, the situation is even more multifaceted. In the views of many western commentators, the question of Women Rights is the litmus test for Muslim societies in the age of democracy and liberalism. Especially since the Arab Awakening, the issue is usually framed as the opposition between liberal advocates of secular democracy and religious opponents of women's full equality. Islam, Gender, and Democracy in Comparative Perspective critically re-engages this too simple binary opposition by reframing the debate around Islam and women's rights within a broader comparative literature. Bringing together leading scholars from a range of disciplines, it examines the complex and contingent historical relationships between religion, secularism, democracy, law, and gender equality. Part One addresses the nexus of religion, law, gender, and democracy through different disciplinary perspectives (sociology, anthropology, political science, law). Part Two localizes the implementation of this nexus between law, gender, and democracy and provides contextualized responses to questions raised in Part One. The contributors explore the situation of Muslim women's rights in minority conditions to shed light on the gender politics in the modernization of the nation and to ponder on the role of Islam in gender inequality across different Muslim countries.

Islam and women’s human rights entertain an uneasy relationship. Much has been written on the subject. This volume addresses it from a new perspective. It attempts to define some basis for constructive dialogue and interaction in the context of international law and, more precisely, in the context of participation of many Muslim States in the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. Having discovered a constructive potential in both Islam and women’s human rights, the author concentrates on the role which international law should play in promoting dialogue and constructive interaction. This is done mainly through analysis of the regime of reservations and of the practice of reservations developed in the context of Muslim States’ participation in the CEDAW. The basic thesis defended is the following: Islam as articulated in the practice of States and women’s human rights, as reflected in international instruments, are both results of human activity. Their analysis in this study reveals more commonalities than one might expect. International law should be more attentive to their voices and more innovative in using these commonalities in order to promote constructive dialogue between them and thus help to improve the situation of women suffering from discrimination and inequalities.

How realistic is the prospect of peace in the Muslim world? This question is the predominant focus for global analysis today, but its debate frequently ignores the cultural and social complexity of the Muslim world, reducing it into a system of states and select actors. This book addresses such a failing by exploring how the everyday interactions of women, in accordance with Islamic personal ethics, can offer the world a new interpretation of peace. In particular, it focuses on the women in Islamic societies, from Aceh to Bosnia, Morocco to Bangladesh, initiating a dialogue on the role of these women in peacemaking. This concentration upon the complex issues of the everyday both enables a detailed exploration of how people conceptualise peace and opens up new frameworks for conflict resolution. The discussions that emerge lead to a critical questioning of assumptions about peace as a state policy and cessation of violence. Drawing upon original research from different parts of the Middle East, North Africa and Asia, including Iran, India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bosnia, Egypt and Sudan, the contributors offer a refreshing new look at Muslim women as peacemakers, challenging any assumptions of Islam as an inherently violent religion. Such a timely work provides new and important analyses on the role of Muslim women in forging new pathways of peace in the contemporary world.