Editor’s Note: A few Fridays ago, we published a link about the uproar over an Islamic studies course, entitled Women in Arabic and Islamic Literature, taught by Dr. Samar Habib at the University of Western Sydney in Australia.
We at MMW believe that knowledge is power (yes, clichés and all), and institutions of higher learning have a duty to provide students with as much information as possible, as well as with tools to build critical thinking and decision-making skills. It’s up to the students to decide what they believe past this point.
Not only does this sound like an awesome class, but one that is necessary. Muslim women’s voices are notably absent from large parts of Islamic history and literature; it’s important to encourage and highlight these women because they speak of half a population’s experience. Our history holds a lot of great female thinkers, writers, and political figures, and their contributions shouldn’t be ignored or belittled, but taught alongside the contributions that Muslim men have made to our history.
Muslim groups, including the Australian National Imams Council and Muslims for Peace, have attacked both the university and Dr. Habib herself, accusing the class of “promoting lesbianism” and “[giving] a negative view of women in Islam”. Several stories such as the one above have been published in the Australian press. We have been unable to find a press release from the university or from Dr. Habib. However, there has been plenty of negative press from the class’s opponents, notably by a group called Muslims for Peace (not to be confused with the U.S.-based group of the same name). Ironic, huh?
Anyway, because the entirety of the press surrounding this issue has been negative, we felt it important to air this email we received in support of Dr. Habib and her class. This email is from a former student who has given her permission for us to publish her voice.
“Assalamu Alaikum,
I would like to point you to this article: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23637358-5013404,00.html
There are many articles just like this one circulating the Australian Media, and it enrages me.
I took this class: Women in Arabic and Islamic Literature with [Dr.] Samar Habib, and it is one of the best classes I have ever taken.
I am Muslim and I must say that there is no foundation to these accusations.
We studied many different types of Literature, 3 of those were I Am You by Elham Mansour, Nafzawi’s Perfumed Garden (I loved it actually), and various Bukhari Ahadith pertaining mostly to Aisha.
I absolutely loved the course. [Dr.] Samar Habib did not ever push anti-Islamic sentiment down anyone’s throat. She was educated and well-knowledgeable and held a feminist’s view that I admire. The fact that she said that women are oppressed in Islam is not incorrect. It is true, but not because of Islam, rather it is because of a patriarchal society that likes the idea that men have the power when it comes to translation and transliteration of Islamic text.
We also studied the Qur’an as it relates to hijab. We (the class) all agreed that the Qur’an does not specifically say that believing women must cover their heads. But it is implied and it comes down to personal choice whether to hijab or not to hijab. The one point always made though was that there is more to Islam than hijab. We all have other obligations. It seems that the 5 pillars of Islam are forgotten over issues like to shake hands or not to shake hands and hijab.
Anyway, I would just like to know your views. I have written to countless newspapers about my experience in the class, but of course I have been ignored.
I also want to add that there were many non-Muslim students who walked away from the class with a better understanding of Islam. Many of them realised that Islam is not a religion where women are seen as inferior. History, and the action of certain Muslims, have obscured the ‘real’ Islam. They were able to hear many different points of view; especially from those who actually took the class.
The course was also not entirely about Islam. As the name of the course suggests, it was also about women in Arabic literature. That was the reason for reading novels like I Am You; which has absolutely nothing to do with Islam, but rather homosexuality in Beirut: a secular Arabic culture.
Houda H.”
If any of you can find other links or discussions, please feel free to post them in the comments.
Are you saying that she does not promote homosexuality, have you even read any of her works. try a google search and read some of her poems, you can see he clearly hates men and thinks lesbianism is some kind of “liberation” for women. I suppose you will cheer her on because she’s a “feminist” meaning she supports your definition of feminism, such as the hijab being a useless garb, and that women who wears it are usually ignorant and brainwashed.
Anonymous, what are trying to say? “I suppose you will cheer her on because she’s a “feminist” meaning she supports your definition of feminism, such as the hijab being a useless garb, and that women who wears it are usually ignorant and brainwashed.”Honestly, what are you trying to say lol? It’s arrogant to make assumptions about other people’s believe’s without keeping in the facts. What the article is promoting is “diversity”–it’s healthy to have diversity of opinion. If you don’t know this by now let me tell you; Islam is not a monolithic religion, like every other religion. Islam does not have a rigidly fixed uniformity. Anonymous if you don’t like the content of the class, then you’re lucky you don’t have to take it. No it’s not going to be shoved down your face. But there’s a little thing in Islam called freedom of thought and expression. For some people this is extremely difficult to comprehend.I looked at the negative press of the “Muslims for Peace” and was shocked at their opening sentence that read “Today, the board of management of the so-called ‘Centre of Excellence for Islamic Studies’ (Centre of Kufr) meets in Melbourne.”"Centre of Kufr”, (Centre of Infidal)!!!!!!!!!!!! So let me guess, because their is a difference of opinions and views, it’s best to call the “OTHER” a kufr. And they call themselves Muslims for PEace— Am I missing something??? Is this the way people discuss issues by dismissing the “other” as a threat that needs to wipped off the Earth. I sense a little insecurity. What’s all this fear and anxiety about? It sure sounds like a lack of confidence.Has anyone of the negative press such as “Muslims for Peace” taken this class? NO, of course not, there’s no need for careful research, or examination to discovery and or inquir the interpretation of facts. There’s no need to talk to previous students either, because it’s easier to dismiss it at face value, what we say goes. Oh no, there’s one problem with that. Who has the authority for Islam; and can they enforce this authority. I don’t want to go on but a similar incident happened in North America, and it dealt with banning a different translation of the Quran by a WOMEN SCHOLAR. This is the response it received;”The Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) has asked ISNA Canada Secretary General to retract his statement that he would consider “banning” Laleh Bakhtiar’s translation of the meaning of the Qur’an and his questioning of Bakhtiar’s authority to undertake such a translation. ISNA is an umbrella organization that strives to represent the diversity of North American Islam. ISNA has long recognized the validity of different schools of Islamic thought, theology and doctrine. We have affirmed this recognition as an original signatory of the “Amman Message” (http://ammanmessage.com/) and by offering the platform of our conferences and conventions open to representatives of our diverse community. We do not recognize any particular scholar, school of thought or institution as necessarily authoritative for all Muslims. Further, we support the right of scholarly inquiry and intellectual discussion on issues related to Islam. ISNA supports and encourages honest debate and scholarship on issues affecting the Muslim community. In particular, we have long been concerned with the misuse of Islam to justify injustice towards women.”http://theamericanmuslim.org/tam.php/features/articles/laheh_bakhtiars_quran_translation_controversy_over_verse_434/ Oh MY God, Islam does not have POPE or clergy to tell us what goes or not!!! The right of scholarly inquiry! Really…SLAM DUNK!!!Sorry Anonymous, but many people support the right of scholarly inuiry. I’m one of them because I’m not ignorant or brainwashed. And the ladies on this BLOG don’t think I am
‘I need my sisters…’, you make very good arguments in response to anonymous’ comments. However you implied that having a clergy or a pope leads to a lack of spiritual inquiry(I am terribly sorry if I am wrong, this was just what I understood).Just as you mentioned, Islam is not monolithic and incredibly diverse. Many smaller sects (some ‘officially recognized’ as Muslim, others not) do have a pope-like figure and an established clergy. In no way are these groups prohibited from engaging in scholarly inquiry. The link between the pope-style leadership and the lack of scholarly inquiry is questionable, and probably best applied in a medieval European context. Also, ISNA now sells Laleh Bakhtiar’s translation in their bookstores, they reviewed it and thought it was a positive contribution. Here’s the article:http://www.sublimequran.org/index.php/2007/10/26/isna-presidents-message-of-support/
Anonymous, I can’t speak for Houda, but I can speak for MMW. Our idea of feminism does not posit the hejab as a “useless garb” for women who are “usually ignorant and brainwashed.”Sisters–thanks for the backup. Saviya–thanks for the info.
I can speak for Houda
Dr. Samar Habib’s class was not one run for the benefit of ‘promoting homosexuality’. The class showed us how strong the leading women of Islam were; ie Aisha and Khadija and how perfect our Prophet was. It showed that history has obscured many issues in Islam; namely that women are inferior to men (obviously in Islam they are not because of the Prophet’s wives). We discussed Al-Bukhari and the various Ahadith made by Abu-Bakra and Abu-Hurayra. We were able to see that culture, not Islam, obscured the view of the woman,through novels like the Egyptian “I Am Free”, and Naguib Mahfouz’s “God Dies by the Nile” and “Girls of Riyadh”. We were able to see how vastly the culture differed from country to country; even village/city to village/city. Comparing the rights of women in culture with the rights of women in Islam, we were able to see where people are getting it wrong. For example:Leila Ahmad, in Women and Gender in Islam (another text we read in Dr. Habib’s class), argues that the oppressive practices inflicted upon women living in Islamic lands are due to the prevalence of “patriarchal interpretations” of Islam rather than Islam itself.Ahmad states that the ahadith related about the Prophet and his wives show the treatment of women in the early Muslim community was very different from the social customs that developed in the later period. She argues that in the time of the Prophet women attended the Mosque, participated in religious services and listened to the Prophet’s religious discussions. When the women complained that the men were becoming more advanced in their religious teachings (maybe because they spent more time in the home), the Prophet set aside time especially to teach the women. The Prophet went against the social norms of the time and married almost all non-virgins (widows or divorced women). Also, the Prophet’s wives were portrayed as strong characters. Aisha in particular had 2210 ahadith attributed to her. She even led men in battle in the Battle of the Camel. The Muslim community at the time of the Prophet was not only tolerant toward women in Ahmad’s view, but were far more liberal in their attitude toward women than other cultures at the time. Ahmad makes it clear that this attitude toward women did not remain. The patriarchical society that dominated in nearly all cultures after the 6th Century moved further and further away from the teachings of the Prophet as it became more beneficial for men in power to interpret Islam in a way that would support their power. The Qur’an al Kareem has made men and women entirely equal. In many references, in fact, the Quran resonates this equality by eloquently repeating “men and women” with ethical and practical qualities throughout the verses, and even emphasizes this ten times in the following verse:”Verily for all men and women who have surrendered themselves unto God, and all believing men and believing women, and all truly devout men and truly devout women, and all men and women who are true to their word, and all men and women who are patient in adversity, and all men and women who humble themselves before God, and all men and women who give in charity, and all self-denying men and self-denying women, and all men and women who are mindful of their chastity, and all men and women who remember God unceasingly: for all of them has God readied forgiveness of sins and a mighty reward.” (33:35)The novel which looked into homosexuality was “I Am You” and it had absolutely nothing to do with Islam or any religion. It was about the culture of Beirut in the 50′s. I feel that I need to defend Women in Arabic and Islamic Literature and Dr. Samar Habib because I am a woman, I am Muslim, and I actually took the class. I know what went on in the class and what we were taught. The allegations made by those like “Muslims for Peace’ (very ironic indeed) are incorrect and unfounded. Houda
Saviya———“However you implied that having a clergy or a pope leads to a lack of spiritual inquiry (I am terribly sorry if I am wrong, this was just what I understood).Saviya, I realized I wasn’t very clear. I meant to write that a Pope or clergy expressed an official administrative body. No the Pope and clergy do not lack spiritual inquiry methods, I wanted to say, that it’s like they have power of the “last word” on matters Basically, I agree with you 110%. The difference is I wasn’t as eloquent as you. Thank you for correcting me and for the website.Zeynab- your site is one of the best I have come across, and it’s soooo Socially Inclusive (in every sense)a Wealth of Muslim Women. I don’t think I said it before but THANK YOU.Myhijab—- Your so lucky to have taken the class–I’m truly Jealous!!!
I for one would love to take this course
sounds interesting.
Which poem was that homophobe referring to?????? I just went to read them all and couldn’t find any man-bashing separatist lesbians. some of you are such homophobes and that’s what it all really comes down to in the end…. what poor readers of the holy book ye make, for you are indeed a transgressing qawm.