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In the last episode, I stressed the fact that the continuation of the project of Sunaa’ al-Hayah relies heavily on your voting. Since the voting process is still in effect and since we are still hoping to receive one million votes, I will not be discussing any results at this time; I will present them next week, Allah (SWT) willing. We agreed that the projects we are launching here mark our way of achieving the ‘Muslim Revival,’ but what will the steps be to accomplishing this goal?

Firstly, what are our dreams? These dreams must be feasible to be realised in our countries, in all fields within the next twenty years. We presented 23 fields and listed the different suggestions within each field, made by the people themselves. Afterwards, we asked everyone to participate in the voting. This will sort these suggestions in descending order of importance. Thus, if a suggestion (or a project), through this grading process, gets the top grade, which is 10, this means that it is very important for our countries. Similarly, if you believe that it is feasible to accomplish this project, then give it a high grade, say 8, in the relevant box. The more voters give high grades to a certain project, the more important it becomes on the list. This will continue until we arrive at five or six projects of highest importance in each field. Those will be the projects that we will agree on and plan to implement in each field of all the 23 fields. One example in the field of education is eliminating illiteracy. Most people elected this project as an easy but very substantial one to achieve.

Having registered the names of the young men and women who are interested to work on a certain project along with an administrator for that project on the website, each group could meet online, since the internet is now a significant means of communication, and agree on the methods of implementing it. Who will be those to dedicate the next five years of their lives to that project until illiteracy is completely eliminated from our countries? A project like this could be accomplished without the need to rely on our governments; that is, if we can make the decision, possess the determination and provide the continuous effort required over several years to accomplish it. This determination, however, will not be possible unless we succeed in the voting process first through which the entire nation will perceive these projects as national dreams. Otherwise, those who did not share in the voting might, at some stage, give up their responsibilities while working for a certain dream; they might claim that this was not their dream as they did not originally participate in voting for it.

· Firstly, we will discuss one new field, for example, the environment or tourism, in order to introduce people to that field.

· Secondly, we will discuss the latest results of the voting in the previously discussed fields.

Be prepared for the real, practical work. Today, having already addressed four major fields in our previous episodes, we felt the need to address an issue of great significance, which involves discussing other several related problems as well. Thus, addressing this issue now will please many of those who intend to work in this field, namely women's affairs and how we would like to see the status of women twenty years from now. Many girls or women may not have visualized or thought of what the status of women should be like within the next twenty years but we definitely know that we do not want it to be the same as it is today. Women are seriously oppressed and, in twenty years time, this oppression should be eliminated. Therefore, we will designate this episode to presenting some answers to problems related to the status of women, in an attempt to help eliminate this oppression.

What I would like to tell you, in this episode, is not just my own opinion. We were surprised to see thousands of messages and letters on the website from women, girls and even men presenting their views on what they want the status of women to be twenty years from now. Having analysed all these messages and letters, we found that we all agree on one goal; the need to eliminate oppression against women within the next twenty years. The oppression that women suffer is not practiced only within our countries; the oppression of women in the West is even worse. In short, women, whether Arab, Muslim, French, Russian, American, Indian or any other nationality, all suffer from oppression. This episode, therefore, will first analyse the types of oppression and secondly, it will prove that Islam is innocent of all the oppression that women are subjected to in our countries. We should never lay this false claim on Islam. Allah (SWT), the Glorious Creator, created us all male and female and it is inconceivable that He would discriminate between genders. Thus, this episode will stress the following facts:

· There are various areas in which women are treated unjustly and, therefore, we will discuss what changes we would like to see happen in these areas within the next twenty years in order to eliminate this oppression against women.

I am truly pleased with this episode and I feel that when it is time to stand before Allah (SWT), we will be able to say that we helped eliminate this oppression against women. One important thing to note here is that women are oppressed in many facets of life: illiteracy, lack of education, unemployment, several social and financial rights as well as being targets of abuse, insults, murder and many other issues.

The Prophet (SAWS[1]) taught us to fear of the curse of an oppressed person, as there is no barrier between the answering of his or her prayer and Allah. Allah (SWT) promised to make this oppressed person victorious, no matter how long it might take. Who then do you think the women in our countries are cursing, the society or those who first misinterpreted the ayahs and the Hadith in a way that caused this oppression? Regardless, their prayers are definitely answered by Allah. Imagine what would happen if you were to participate in eliminating this oppression!

Starting with the next episode, we will be presenting the different projects that will be put into action and who might participate in them. You will be free to choose in which field you wish to participate, to serve our nation. Whoever chooses to participate in today’s project will be greatly rewarded. It is a project in which both men and women could take part. Our approach will not be that of ‘Women’s Associations’ which try to help women by stating that women are better than men or by creating more problems between women and men. No, this is not our intention; our goal is to eliminate oppression against women.

We also have to stress the fact that this episode is not going to compress the issue of women into the Hijab (the head cover for Muslim women; the veil). It is true that the Hijab is one part of Islam in which we take pride and are pleased to see Muslim women and girls adhere to it. However, we cannot compress the whole issue of women into the Hijab, otherwise, we would be ignoring many ayahs in the Qur’an and many Ahadith of the Prophet (SAWS) that help women and address many other issues in their lives.

What makes matters worse is that women and girls in Arabic countries believe that Islam is behind this oppression. Let us talk openly here and admit that many women, even religious ones, are deeply convinced that Islam is to blame and, even if they do not say it, they wonder in their hearts about why Islam does this to them. Therefore, I would like to correct this false notion; Islam never encouraged oppression against women. What happened is that some ayahs were misinterpreted or their meaning was intentionally changed to reflect unjust human desires or inclinations. It may also be that the backward thinking in our countries caused this wrong application of certain ayahs and Hadith which, in turn, resulted in this oppression in the Islamic countries, but Islam itself is innocent of this. Women should never think, for a minute, that Islam is the reason behind their oppression. Our goal today is to correct this misunderstanding and present you with the views of different people in this regard, but firstly, let us look at the big picture and compare Islam’s view of women to that of the West.

· Islam considers women equal to men in all aspects related to responsibilities, rights, judgment, punishment, paradise and hellfire. The Qur’an clearly states this equality and, at the same time, takes into consideration the necessity to assign different roles to men and women.

· Women’s psychological and physiological nature is different from that of men, which consequently leads to a difference in the roles assigned to each gender. This, however, does not change the original rule of equality between the two genders.

· The Prophet (SAWS), says, “Women are men’s partners. Whoever treats them kindly is decent and whoever insults them is cruel.” This is the way women should be treated in Shari’a (Islamic Law) and in Islam.

· We find the following ayah in Surat an-Nisa in which Allah says what can be translated as, “… to men is allotted what they earn and to women what they earn …” (TMQ, 4:32)[2].

· The Qur’an states the equality between men and women in acquiring the fruits of their labour as mentioned in Surat an-Nisa. Allah says what can be translated as, “And their Lord hath accepted of them, and answered them: "Never will I suffer to be lost the work of any of you, be they male or female, Ye are members, one of another.” (TMQ, 3:195).

· The same meaning is repeated in another ayah in Surat an-Nisa where Allah says what can be translated as, “If any do deeds of righteousness, be they male or female, and have faith, they will enter Heaven, and not the least injustice will be done to them.” (TMQ, 4:124).

· Another ayah in Surat an-Nisa also confirms the fact that both men and women are created from a single person and it warns men against oppressing women. Allah says what can be translated as, “O mankind! Reverence your Guardian-Lord, who created you from a single person, created, of like nature, His mate, and from them twain scattered (like seeds) countless men and women; reverence Allah, through whom ye demand your mutual (rights), and (reverence) the wombs (That bore you): for Allah ever watches over you.” (TMQ, 4:1).

· All the ayahs mentioned above manifest the complete equality between men and women.

· The West declares complete equality between the two genders without taking into account any difference in the roles assigned to men and women and without paying any attention to the difference between the physiological and psychological nature of women and men. In short, the West makes no distinction whatsoever between a man and a woman.

· This approach towards women is different to ours and the results of their approach are obvious. Whereas, in their materialistic society, women have to work just like men in order to survive, Islam does not deny a woman the right to work, if she chooses to do so and if this type of work suits her nature.

· The woman in the West works in all of the various fields and thus, she has started to lose the best gifts that Allah (SWT) has bestowed on her; her femininity and sometimes even her natural instinct to become a mother. This is not always possible while working in order to maintain a source of income. Even when she gets married, she has to continue to work, since she lives in a materialistic society that compels her to share the family expenses, just like the man, under the notion of complete equality.

· The woman in the West works as a taxi driver, bus driver and on the railways. Can you imagine a woman working these kinds of jobs?

· Another more drastic issue resulted from this complete equality. It is the elimination of the traditional form of the family and the start of many other forms, such as common-law relationships in which a man and a woman agree to live as partners in one house but not as a married couple. At the same time, the man, in many cases, may decide to end this relationship and they separate, leaving the woman alone with the children, while her natural instinct as a mother stops her from leaving her children.

· Consequently, single-mother families started to emerge since the father, who is sometimes not known, leaves the mother, who continues to raise the children. This notion of complete equality, that produced this common law type of relationship, resulted in reducing the percentage of what we recognize as traditional marriages to 20% of all relationships. As a result, the woman gets into several relationships with other men, as the years go by. She is left, in the end, with children that are half-brothers or half-sisters, until she finds herself over forty years of age and, most likely, without a man. She becomes lonely; she feels that she has lost what used to attract men to her and starts to suffer from depression.

· Let us compare this to the way women are treated in Islam. The older the woman gets, the more cherished and revered she becomes, as mentioned in the Hadith, “Paradise is under mothers’ feet” and “the one that deserves to be accompanied the most is one’s mother, and again one’s mother, and for the third time, one’s mother, then one’s father.” Consequently, women will never suffer from this depression.

This includes the violence that is practised against women in the West and in the Islamic countries. Today, our project addresses the whole world, since we would like to remedy this situation and eliminate this oppression. What are the forms of this violence in the West?

· Sexual abuse: Statistics in the United States show that one out of six women experiences sexual abuse or harassment. Can you believe this figure? Moreover, in 50% of the murder cases against women in the United States, the husband or the boyfriend is the first suspect. Can you imagine how women are suffering over there? We would also like to mention what happened in Bosnia, where thousands of women were raped in 1993; that happened in Europe, in this age.

· Physical abuse and insults: there are many associations specializing in helping women who are physically abused and there are shelters offered to those abused women. Even TV advertisements in the West reflect the horrific percentage of abused women in those countries.

In the Islamic world, there are cases similar to the West. Oppression and injustice are becoming commonplace. Sadly, the blame is put on Islam, and the truth is that Islam has nothing to do with this behaviour. I will illustrate this with a few examples.

When a man is suspicious of his sister's or daughter's conduct, he kills her, without having enough evidence or any witnesses. In the courts, what usually happens is that the sentence for the man is reduced, the excuse being that it is a crime involving his reputation and dignity. This excuse goes back to the incorrect interpretation of a Hadith that has no roots, “A man should not be killed for killing a woman.” This wrongly implies that a man should not be punished as a criminal if he kills a woman. The Qur’an is very clear about this matter of ‘a soul for a soul.’ Let us see Allah’s words which can be translated as, “And those who launch a charge against chaste women, and produce not four witnesses, (to support their allegations), flog them with eighty stripes; and reject their evidence ever after.” (TMQ, 24:4). This ayah refers to those who accuse any woman of losing her honour. The Qur’an explains the punishment for just an accusation, so what about murder? Do we all realize how much equity the Qur’an has brought to women? Allah continues saying what can be translated as, “Unless they repent thereafter and mend (their conduct)….” (TMQ, 24:5). Repenting is then required.

Another injustice is circumcision that is enforced on women in the name of Islam, even though there is no real, strong evidence to support it. What is happening to the women in Africa is shocking. No common sense can tolerate it; it leads in many cases to death or deformity. It destroys her existence, and all this is allegedly done in the name of ‘Islam.’ It is indeed a tremendous form of oppression of women.

Other forms of oppression include physical and emotional abuse of women; throwing them out of their own homes, and taunting them about their parents. Concerning the most trivial of matters, the man would threaten the woman with divorce, or with committing polygamy. He becomes an expert in degrading her, and depriving her from her emotional and marital rights. Even though Islam has strictly forbidden all of this abuse, we still see it being practiced in the name of Islam. When men physically abuse their wives, they back it up with Allah’s words which can be translated as, “…beat them…” (TMQ, 4:34). They never read up to the end of the ayah in which Allah says what can be translated as, “those women on whose part ye fear disloyalty and ill-conduct…” (TMQ, 4:34). We are all aware of the meaning of ‘disloyalty.’ The man, for any trivial reason, would say to his wife, “you are shrewd (unfaithful)!” He would beat her, convinced that he is right because it came from the Qur’an.

In the West, women do not have equal rights. The average income of a working woman is much less than the average income of a working man, for no valid reason except that she is a woman. This is a clear prejudice against women. In the USA, the results of a survey showed that women who occupy the same posts as men earn 10,000 USD less; this is a clear indication of prejudice.

In the Muslim world, there are many violations of the financial rights of women. Some women are disinherited, especially in rural communities for just being a woman. Her brothers would take her share, especially if this inheritance consists of agricultural land. They would fear that this land might become owned by someone outside their family, like her husband, for example.

Another form of oppression is when a living father discriminates against his daughter(s) in favour of his son(s), when it comes to gifts and presents. If a man came to the Prophet (SAWS) with the news that someone discriminated between his children, the Prophet (SAWS) used to reply, “Let someone else bear witness to this, I do not witness to something false.”

Men sometimes refuse paying alimony to their divorcee, for many years. She has to spend the rest of her life in court in order to acquire her rights, because there is no firm and speedy law that grant her what is rightfully hers. As a result, the woman starts begging; she is humiliated and her dignity is broken, all because her husband deprived her of her alimony.

There is something I would like to make clear to you, Allah says in an ayah what can be translated as, “….to the male, a portion equal to that of two females” (TMQ, 4:176). The differentiation here is not because men are better, but it is based on the fact that men and women bear different responsibilities. A man is usually responsible for supporting his sister his mother, his wife, and his children. As for a woman, her inheritance is for her own self, as she is not responsible for supporting anyone. This is why the male’s share of the inheritance is larger than the female's.

What came in the Holy Qur’an is exactly the opposite of what exists in the West. In the West, a woman has to earn her own money to live, but in Islam her money is her own possession, and she can use it as she likes. If we work it out thoroughly, we find that the one who inherits the larger share is the loser because he has to spend it all, but a woman is not obliged to support anyone. Even so, we still find cases in the West where the woman's inheritance is the same as the man's, as well as many other cases where the woman inherits much more than the man.

In the Islamic world, the woman was forbidden to vote for a long time. Allowing women to vote is quite new to our society. Women were also forbidden to occupy high posts in the government. We can see that, in any government in the Arab world, the number of female ministers does not exceed one or two, with the excuse that women are not meant to play a role in politics.

I will tell you about the involvement of women in politics at the times of our Prophet (SAWS), and you will wonder. If we consider Jihad to be partially political, the Prophet (SAWS) never went to a battle without the companionship of a woman, either from his wives or others. What is even stranger is that the Prophet (SAWS) never planned the strategy for a battle without giving the woman a role. We are talking about Jihad, which is the most difficult of duties in this world. Before the Battle of Uhud he said, “I see it best for us to stay in Madinah; if Quraish attacks, us the men should fight them in the alleyways, and the women should fight them from the rooftops.”

I will give you another example: al-Shifa', the daughter of Abdullah, was assigned as a minister 1,400 years ago, by Omar Ibnul-Khattab (RA). Yes, he depended on a woman, and her job was administrative and market supervision; her job was to observe the society in Madinah, and her responsibilities included supervising men. They had no objections to be supervised by a woman; this is how Islam and Omar (RA) viewed women. Have we forgotten that the open copy of the Holy Qur’an, which was collected by Zayd Ibn-Thabet during the days of the caliph Abu-Bakr (RA), was held in safe-keeping by a woman named Hafsa? The constitution of the Ummah (Islamic nation) was kept in the house of a woman. The greatest men in Islamic history (the ten men who were promised heaven), entrusted Hafsa with the task of keeping the constitution of the Ummah safe.

This emphasizes that women are not less in maturity and less religious than men. It is not my concern today to explain this Hadith and the wrong interpretation most men make of it. When did the Prophet (SAWS) say this Hadith, “(women are) less in maturity and less religious?” On the morning of the feast, while leaving the feast prayers, he met a few women leaving after performing their prayers. Do you think our wise and compassionate Prophet (SAWS) could tell them that they are less mature and less religious, on a day like that (the day of the feast), when everyone should be happy? Do you think that this is logical? Could it not have been a form of teasing? In fact, many scholars believe this explanation. This Hadith is being taken loosely, and at every occasion, the husband accuses his wife of being immature and less in religion. This resulted in the widespread misunderstanding of this Hadith.

In the West, cheating on spouses has become very widespread. Sixty percent of men in the USA and 70% of men in Italy admitted that they cheated on their wives. On the other hand, women who cheat on their husbands do not exceed 15 – 20 %, so we see the big difference. A woman is treated as an object of consumer goods; even matchboxes depict pictures of naked women. Women are exposed to a great deal of social pressure to be used as an object; when she reaches the age of 45 or 50, she starts getting depressed because she is no longer wanted as an object. This depression leads, in many cases, to suicide after the woman discovers that she was only admired for her looks and beauty. This is the case in the West.

In the Muslim world, illiteracy is a major problem. The number of illiterate women is three times that of men, especially in rural communities. The reason is because the father is only interested in educating his sons; as for girls, they have to stay at home and no one sees the need for them to be educated. Why don’t we concentrate on the project of eliminating illiteracy? Why can’t we make it our first priority to eliminate illiteracy amongst women? Is not illiteracy a kind of social oppression that women suffer from in our societies? Islam is innocent of this and the Prophet (SAWS) used to say, whoever has three girls whom he educates, brings up well, dignifies them and is compassionate with them, enters paradise. I will present a survey that shows how many female companions of the Prophet (SAWS) educated men:

Women are deprived of the right to chose whom they wish to marry; sadly enough this still exists these days. Let us set aside those who are watching the satellite channels and those who live in the cities. This indeed does happen with the premise that she is ‘less mature and religious.’ Supposedly, she is not aware of what is good for her. She is told to obey Allah (SWT) and his Prophet (SAWS) and her guardian (who is her father); so what often happens is that she is forced to get married.

A man once approached the Prophet (SAWS), asking, “Dear Prophet of Allah, two men proposed to my daughter, one is rich, and the second poor.” The Prophet (SAWS) said, “Which one of those does your daughter wish for?” He said, “The poor, and we wish for the rich.” Then the Prophet (SAWS) said his famous phrase, “I see nothing but marriage for two lovers.”

Another Hadith narrates that when a woman came to the Prophet (SAWS) and said, “My father wants to marry me to a man I do not wish to marry,” the Prophet (SAWS) said that she should only get married to whom she approves of. She then said, “Oh Prophet of Allah, I am content with what my father has chosen for me, but I just wanted the women to hear your Hadith and know that it is not the father's decision.” This happened 1,400 years ago, and people allege that Islam forces women to marry without their approval.

Sometimes women are not granted the right to make decisions. How many men hold this opinion of their wives, whether it be in major or minor matters? Here again we notice the spread of this false Hadith, “Ask for their opinion and disagree with them,” i.e. you ask her for her opinion, and do the opposite of what she says. Is it conceivable that this is a Hadith? On the day of the Treaty of Hudaybiya, the Prophet (SAWS) asked for the opinion of Um Salama and carried out her suggestion. He told her that the people are dying. She told him to go out to the Muslims with a shaved head, and they will instantly do the same. The Prophet (SAWS) agreed and said to her, “You have given the right suggestion.” He then went and shaved his head, and his companions imitated him. His companions said that if it were not for Um Salama the Muslims would have died. Is not this our religion?

Women are sometimes prevented from getting certain jobs; the result is a higher rate of unemployment amongst women. The woman has the right to choose if she wishes to be a housewife or not. There are women that are in need of a job. If there were a job posting to which two applicants applied, one a woman and the other a man, the man will, of course, get the job even though the woman might desperately need it.

A woman loves her home, and if she goes out to work, it is an indication that she needs that job. Even considering the unemployment in our countries amongst men, a woman has to be given priority in getting the job. I know very well, that there will be many who will twist the meaning of many Ahadith and ayahs; for example, the Hadith that says that it is in a woman’s interest that nobody sees her and she does not see anybody. Can you please explain to me then how women went out with the Prophet (SAWS) for Jihad? Um Ra’ala went to the Prophet (SAWS) and told him that she is a hairdresser, and asked him if she was permitted to practice her job. He answered, “Make them (the women) pretty so that their men might be happy.” Indeed, she used to help women in Madinah.

What do you say when you hear that the first hospital that was built in Islam, was built by the Prophet (SAWS), for a woman? It was a big tent for Rafida, and he said to her, “Nurse the men and women Rafida.” Furthermore, the hospital was also transported into the mosque of the Prophet (SAWS).

Women are also forbidden to travel freely; her freedom is restricted, the reason being the misinterpretation of a Hadith. If a woman has the right companionship, then she is free to travel. The Prophet (SAWS) said in his Hadith to Ali Ibn-Hatem, “The woman will go out from Hira not fearing anything but Allah (SWT) and she could go around the K’aba alone.” It was as if the Prophet (SAWS) was proud of that, only under the condition that it would be safe for her. There is a misinterpretation of the Hadith; or we might say that it should be re-interpreted in the coming 20 years.

Women are forbidden to go to the mosque; have we seen how empty the women’s section in the mosque is and how ill-equipped it is? Although the Prophet (SAWS) said, “Do not prevent Muslim women from going to the mosques of Allah.”

The area where I see the most oppression of women lies is in polygamy. There are different points of view that argue that polygamy is not permitted unconditionally, but restricted, and that the first wife’s feelings should be respected; this is a very important aspect. We really need to reconsider this matter. Is it unconditional or is it restricted by certain circumstances? Monogamy is the norm; other than that the matter needs to be thoroughly discussed.

The last point I would like to mention is depriving a woman from love and affection. Some women are treated harshly just because they are women, although Islam is a religion of affection and mercy. Listen to what the Prophet (SAWS) said, “The best act of charity that a man may perform is that in which he puts food into his wife's mouth.” Let us see together how the Prophet (SAWS) behaved when his wife Aisha had her period, keeping in mind that she, like other women was moody. If she drank from a jug, he would drink from the space spot she drank from, to display love and compassion.

The Prophet (SAWS) used to say, “Be careful (provident) with glass, women are like glass.” Omar Ibnul-Khattab (RA) realised this and used to say “Women never meant anything to us, until Islam came and made of them what they are now; they became as you see, honoured and cherished.”

[1] Sala-llahu Alahi Wa Salam = All Prayers and Peace of Allah be upon him.

[2] TMQ=Translation of the Meaning of the Qur'an. This translation is for the realized meaning, so far, of the stated (Surah:Ayah) of the Qur'an. Reading the translated meaning of the Qur'an can never replace reading it in Arabic, the language in which it was revealed.

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