This past weekend, more than 100 scholars and researchers from 12 Muslim countries met at the fifth annual Moderation Forum in Jordan. During the opening ceremony, Jordanian Minister of Culture Sabri Rbeihat urged the participants to support a clearer and truer image of Islam. He pointed out that there is often a major difference between Islamic beliefs and actions that are carried out in the name of Islam. Besides hurting Islam, this unclear interpretation also hurts Muslim women who often suffer a reduction in rights based on stereotypes and religious misconceptions.
However, while the forum was meeting, the Chief Justice of the High Court of Justice in Gaza City released new modesty requirements for women lawyers appearing before the court. Even as the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights declared the new requirements illegal, it was expected that the law will go into effect September 1.
This highlights a continued problem with women’s rights in the Muslim world. Bringing about substantive change requires the cooperation and will of a variety of actors; it can take just a few to undermine the political will and effectiveness of others. Differing interpretation of Islam often come into play is such struggles, which is perhaps why there a growing movement among women to reclaim their rights through original Islam, in mosques and prayer circles around the world.
The sentiments expressed at the Moderation Forum this past weekend should help with that. The point is not to undermine or eliminate religious belief, but rather use it to empower and inform its believers. There is a lot that women could gain from this, and there appears to be growing political will in some parts of the Muslim world to let them. Perhaps that is the momentum that will ultimately cause a revolution. . .
