{"id":4281,"date":"2009-07-30T00:00:56","date_gmt":"2009-07-30T08:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/muslimahmediawatch.org\/?p=4281"},"modified":"2009-07-30T00:00:56","modified_gmt":"2009-07-30T08:00:56","slug":"tariq-ramadan-speaks-to-south-african-women","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/mmw\/2009\/07\/tariq-ramadan-speaks-to-south-african-women\/","title":{"rendered":"Tariq Ramadan Speaks to South African Women"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Last weekend, my husband and I made the six hour drive to the coastal city of Durban, to attend a series of lectures and seminars by Professor Tariq Ramadan. In an earlier post<\/a>, I reviewed Ramadan\u2019s latest book, Radical Reform<\/em>. I certainly appreciate Ramadan\u2019s work, and feels he is one of the very few contemporary egalitarian Islamic scholars.<\/p>\n

\"tariq-women\"<\/a>
The poster for Tariq Ramadan's women's issues meeting.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One evening of the conference was dedicated especially to women\u2019s issues, as the rather simplistic poster advertisement points out. \u201cTo work or not to work?\u201d, and \u201cwhat are my rights and what my responsibilities<\/em>?\u201d were supposed to be the themes of the evening, but according to Professor Ramadan himself, this binary vision, which reduces womanhood to roles and functions, undermines the very essence of femininity. Instead, Ramadan focused on motivating and encouraging women\u2013throughout the entire the weekend\u2013to become more involved in shaping discourse about ourselves, and most importantly, to stop upholding a \u201cvictim mentality\u201d.<\/p>\n

He stressed the importance for South African Muslim women to carve out an Islam which is uniquely South African for ourselves, and not to try to \u201cArabize\u201d ourselves, whether in dress, or otherwise. That said, Ramadan is a strong advocate of the hijab, or as he calls it, the khimar<\/em>, which can be loosely translated as headscarf. \u00a0He maintains that no women should be forced to wear it, or remove it, but that it is a decision based on individual faith, and should be adapted to fit the cultural norms of specific communities.<\/p>\n

A particularly touchy issue within the South African Muslim community is that of women and the mosque. By and large, women are not catered for and not permitted to enter the majority of South Africa\u2019s many \u00a0mosques, and to a large extent, the women themselves believe they have no right to such access, due to an Islamic educational system that has perpetuated this for decades. Professor Ramadan was extremely vocal and critical of this, even in his Friday sermon, which he delivered at one of South Africa\u2019s oldest mosques, the Grey Street mosque. Incidentally, he spoke at this mosque because it does<\/em> grant access to women.<\/p>\n

Another topic affecting South African Muslim women is the ongoing battle for recognition of Muslim marriages. In the two-part series<\/a> I wrote\u00a0in May on the issue, I mentioned how the process has been derailed because of some segments of the community that believe a Muslim Marriage Act is against Shariah. Professor Ramadan tackled this issue, lending his full encouragement to the enactment of such a bill. He addressed criticisms such as \u201cthe act takes away my right to polygamy\u201d and \u201ca Muslim girl can marry at any age after puberty, setting the\u00a0age limit to 18 is un-Islamic\u201d. He raised the points that\u00a0 just because the bill regulates polygamy (which, according to him, is an exception in Islam, not a rule) does not mean it is anti-Shariah. He also expressed his support for raising the minimum marriage age to 18, as he recently did regarding the same law in Morocco, stating that the community needs to look at the best interests of the girls and women, not the literal meaning of the scriptural sources.<\/p>\n

I managed to sneak in a question regarding the role of Muslim women in the media. Professor Ramadan expressed concern about the current trend to objectify Muslim women, and stressed the importance of us becoming more visible in the media.<\/p>\n

On the international front, given that his visit coincided with the Sarkozy-burqa fiasco, Ramadan was very critical of the whole issue, at the same time maintaining that the niqab\/burqa is not an Islamic principle or duty. During the course of the weekend, he also touched on the tragic murder of Marwa el Sherbini, admonishing the German state for allowing it to happen. Professor Ramadan does not hold back his punches, and strongly criticized the situation of women in Muslim majority countries, especially in where he calls the \u201cpetrol monarchies\u201d, citing examples like women not being able to drive, expressing his outrage with his French-accented English quip, \u201cwhat is this?\u201d.<\/p>\n

Professor Ramadan echoed much of what he wrote about in his book Radical Reform<\/em>, but it was interesting to hear him apply it to the South African context.<\/p>\n

The organizer of the events, The Institute for Learning and Motivation South Africa<\/a> (ILM-SA), was founded and is run by the highly efficient and inspirational, Fatima Asmal. Her quest to provide stimulating and educational programs for the community, has brought upon her, at times, attacks by people who feel that it is not her place as a woman to be so involved. She however, maintains her dignity and poise, continuing her meaningful work, despite all this. Asmal mentioned that whenever ILM-SA hosts a conference or seminar, she makes sure that there are special programs for women and the youth, two sectors of Muslim society which she feels have been severely neglected. I asked Fatima about her thoughts on Professor Ramadan\u2019s overall message to Muslim women:<\/p>\n

Like his (Ramadan\u2019s) message to everyone else, his message to women was profound. \u00a0He gave them courage and confidence. \u00a0He taught them to look within themselves first before they looked outward, and essentially this is what we should all be doing, but which we \u2013 as women living in a Muslim community, many sectors of which undeniably try to deny us of many of our rights \u2013 tend to lose sight of. \u00a0But he simultaneously encouraged them to move away from that doormat mentality which has become the trademark of so many Muslim women living in communities marred by negative \u00a0cultural practices. \u00a0I can\u2019t speak for everyone who attended the programme for women, but I feel that many women left the event, their heads held up high, imbued with a new and rejuvenated sense of confidence about who they are and what they can offer the world as Muslim women.\u2019<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

After the intensive four day conference, I am certainly an even more ardent fan and follower of Tariq Ramadan\u2019s work than I was before. I know that many people disagree with his ideology, and controversy seems to follow him wherever he goes, but I think that his practice of \u00a0dialogue and engagement with all viewpoints is one we can definitely implement here, in any discussion that follows.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last weekend, my husband and I made the six hour drive to the coastal city of Durban, to attend a series of lectures and seminars by Professor Tariq Ramadan. In an earlier post, I reviewed Ramadan\u2019s latest book, Radical Reform. 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