Religion and Theology

Article 1 - Fleeting Impression a Girls College in Lucknow

This article is about authors observation of Muslim women belonging to a small community in Lucknow. Through this observation and in addition to trends noticed around the world, the writer in this article tries to point out that attitudes of people towards women education have changed and Muslim women have become more confident in their public conduct. These women, though most of them clad in Burqas, evidently understand their roles and position in the society. The writer goes on to describe the importance of imparting modern education to Muslim girls by citing the example of Karamat Husain Girls College.

Observing the case of Karamt Husain Girls College, it was found that its founder faced a lot of criticism and resistance while operating this college. However the founder was a strong believer in the fact that women education is necessary for both the country and communitys advancement. Even the teachers at this college were committed to this cause of educating girls and equipping them with skills necessary to survive in this male dominated world. They even went further, convincing the parents to send their daughters to schools. Old attitudes of people were observed to be changing and parents were more willing to send their girls outside homes. This resulted in large number of schools and educational institutions opening up in the community. The community however faced a lot of opposition from extremists against imparting modern education to women who termed any education outside the Madrasa system as irreligious.

It can be concluded that educating girls became the main agenda for this small community. Unfortunately this agenda failed to receive the required support from Muslim politicians. It is stated by all strong women of the world, whether Muslims or Non Muslims, that only literate women are able to better educate their children and provide them with guidance which ultimately leads to the over all progress of the community. According to a 19th century renown scholar Mumtaz Ali an educated woman can take care of herself better than an inexperienced, uneducated, mentally con- fused bundle of veils which has not been allowed to develop self-confidence and cannot take care of herself. (Dutta, 279)
 
Article 2 - The ConservativeReformist Conflict Over Womens Rights in Iran

The article talks about the conflicts between two groups over women rights in Iran since the Iranian Revolution. The Conservative group believes in the notion of duty and favor legalistic Islam tolerating no change based on modern society. The Reformist, on the other hand believe in the notion of rights and practice a more tolerant Islam promoting democracy and human rights. The debate over whether sharia issues should consider the contemporary societys demands became a source of conflicts between the two groups.  After the Revolution, talks about women rights issues began to emerge in government offices and publications.

The Reformist talked about civil society, freedom of expression and rule of law as a new language of rights and their argument that women demands must be acknowledged was largely appreciated by youth. (Hosseini, 39) However the Conservatives in return passed bills that demanded segregation of men and women in medical services and banning of women rights propagation. They accepted that equality is an Islamic principle but differed with Reformist on ways to establish equality.  The most controversial issue of hijab was not talked about for a long time but a law passed in 1936 that termed wearing hijab as an offence ignited the Conservatives. This resulted in a new law that made hijab compulsory. The Reformist proposed that hijab is about ones self belief and women should have a choice to adopt it or not. They also argued that imposing ones ideology of lifestyles on others provides no room for tolerance and people should be free to adopt any lifestyle by staying in the limits imposed by Islam.  The Conservatives, however, strongly oppose to this saying that lifestyle and religion cannot be separated.

It can be concluded that despite all this, the Reformist efforts continue to gain popularity as they base their argument on the fact that Quran treats hijab as a right and not duty thus it is purely a personal matter. An author known as Ahmed Abedini, stated in one of his articles that Hejab and dress are a personal matter, and it is up to the individual to decide on its form and requirements, and these verses do not indicate any duty for the authorities in this respect. (Hosseini, 51) Secondly the power struggle between the Reformists and Conservatives is razing out the foundation of Islamic Ideology on which the State was built.

Article 3 - Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving Anthropological Reflections on

Cultural Relativism and its Others, American Anthropologist
Abu-Laghod in this article talks about ethics of war on terrorism and debates whether anthropology  the study of cultures  justifies the American involvement in Afghanistan in order to liberate Afghani women from rule of Taliban. The Western World especially US have always used the women sufferings in the Muslim countries as an excuse to gain their political motives. Therefore understanding the culture of region and its religious beliefs is more important than knowing the political history in order to justify the war on terrorism. However the Wests concern about the plight of Afghani Women is strongly focused on veil as a sign on oppression instead of highlighting other causes such as poverty, ill health and illiteracy.

Through the study of the Afghani culture, it has been found out that the burqa is one of the many forms of covering used by women of some ethnic groups of Afghanistan. Burqa for these women is a sign of respect that provides them protection and segregation from men and guided by the Islamic principles. An anthropologist Hanna Papanek described burqa as portable seclusion which allowed women to move freely while observing the basic Islamic requirement of segregation. (Lughod, 785) Moreover every community has its appropriate dress based on their social standards and religious beliefs. Similarly Muslim women in different communities use different forms of covering. What created problem in Afghanistan was that Taliban forced a similar kind of covering for women of all communities. So even if these women are liberated, they would continue to adopt some of the form of coverings.

The writer urges that symbolizing veil as a sign of non freedom need to be stopped. This is what women in Afghanistan chose for them selves. Instead the fight for their freedom must concentrate on freedom from poverty, illiteracy, poor health and unemployment. The author further stresses this by stating that  . African or Afghan women could have some chance of having what I do believe should be a universal human rightthe right to freedom from the structural violence of global inequality and from the ravages of war, . (Lughod, 787) These women want justice in a different way as many of them support feminist movements that fight for injustices together with Islamic orientation.  Thus to bring a social change requires clear understanding of the differences and respecting them.

Article 4 - Muslim and Non- Muslim Differences in Female autonomy and Fertility

Evidence from four Asian Countries
This article examines the claim that lower level of power and autonomy of Muslim women explains the higher fertility of Muslims. The article first mentions the different hypothesis to this claim with their reasoning. Further the article describes about the study conducted to test the validity of the claim. A random sample of Muslim and Non-Muslim communities from South Asian counties were selected for this purpose. The three dimensions of womens autonomy on which the claim was tested were freedom of movement, economic autonomy, and exposure to intimidation.

Based on this, several theories have been suggested. First explanation suggests that the Islamic social system increases demand for children as womens access outside home is limited which make them more family focused. The author states where group norms and practices limit womens mobility and their contact with nonfamily members, womens exposure to novel ideas or technological innovations, including contraceptives, may be constrained ( Mason, 517) The second hypothesis argues that differences in fertility are related to socioeconomic differences. The third hypothesis focuses on religious teachings saying that Quran favours childbearing. The last hypothesis argues that the level of constraints a group faces explains differences in fertility levels.

To explain these hypotheses the study reveals certain findings. The findings illustrate that Muslim women are more likely to have children, desire more children and less likely to use contraceptives compared to non Muslim women. However the higher levels of fertility in Muslim women is neither linked to the lower level of power and autonomy they possess nor to socioeconomic background like education, household consumption etc.

The higher level of fertility among Muslim groups can be explained by both religious and political reasons. Demographically Muslims are in a minority which imposes several political constraints on them. Secondly in Islam a woman holds a central position in childbearing. Moreover contraception is not supported in Islam. These two factors force the Muslims to be in favour of having a greater number of children and oppose contraception.

Article 5 - Interpreting Gender in Islam A Case Study of Immigrant Muslim
Women in Oslo, Norway

This article talks about the practice of gender relations of first generation Muslim women in Oslo, Norway. It also throws light on women participation in the labor market. Islam is used by various women in order to support their gender outlook and thoughts within the household and labor market. Women have been seen to have gained power and legal rights in various areas. The article goes on to describe the context, methodology and the four analytical definitions of gender relation views pertaining to Islam. Furthermore, it examines variations found in gender practices among the Muslim women immigrants of Oslo and relates them to the analytical types.

In actuality, change relating to gender practices is slow. In order to seek more information on gender relations, interviews with 37 Muslim women and 6 imams in Oslo took place. The women fit in one of the four analytical definitions of gender relations sameness-oriented modernists, who believe men provide for the family and women handle household chores although they have the right to make their own decisions society-oriented Islamists, who believe gender roles are interchangeable though the womans primary duty is to look after the house and family family-oriented Islamists, gender segregation where men and women do not enjoy the same rights culture-oriented traditionalists, subordinated roles for women compared to their husbands with limited rights to work.

It can be concluded that the immigrant Muslim women of Oslo use Islam to interpret their roles at work and home. Their practices are most often driven by the view they take of Islam. The author concludes by stating that Womens actual interpretations of Islam are informed by their upbringing and education, their class and cultural identity, their knowledge of normative Islamic discourse, their esteem for religious leaders who interpret Islam and the women and men they interact with in everyday life.  (Predelli, 489) The four analytical definitions help in the clear identification of the variation of practices among the women. The country provides strong support for interchangeability of roles of men and women though women continue to face challenges and pressures at home and work.