By TwoCircles.net Staff Reporter,
Chennai: Speakers at a seminar on “Islam and Gender Justice” have called for the reformulation of the Muslim Personal Law to bring it in conformity with the Quran. The program held in Chennai on Thursday was organized by the Forum for the Promotion of Moderate Thought in Islam to create awareness on gender justice in Islam.
Eminent Islamic scholar and Chairman of Centre for Study of Society and Secularism, Dr. Asghar Ali Engineer said that there was nothing divine about the present day shariah as it was not based on the Quran. He pointed out that “The entire discourse about women in Quran is rights-based and for men it is duty-based. However, this was reversed by jurists and as a result today we find that in the shariah law the entire focus is on duties of women and rights of men”
On polygamy he was of the opinion that it was an exception rather than a rule and that it was permitted only in case of widows and orphans to take care of them and their properties. “Justice is central issue here, not the number of women one can marry. But again men saw to it that number became more important than justice. Verse 4:129 of the Quran says that even if you want to you cannot do justice and hence, do not leave first wife suspended. This clearly shows that polygamy is not a privilege for men, but a rigorous duty to take care of helpless women.”
Pointing out that the Quran did not discriminate against women he said; “Those who discriminate between men and women are not following the Quran in real spirit. Rather they follow one or the other school of jurisprudence. According to the Quran both man and woman have been created from one soul (nafs). Hawwa, as believed by many Muslims on the basis of one hadith, was not created from the rib of Adam. This hadith is in clear contradiction of the Quran. Also, the story of expulsion of Adam and Hawwa from paradise is very different from Bible. According to the Quran it is Adam who defied his Lord (Rabb) and Hawwa has not been blamed for inciting Adam to go near the tree and eat fruit of that tree as in Bible. Thus Hawwa is free of that blemish in Quran.” He implored Muslims to shun the path of medievalism and said that there is an urgent need for the reconstruction of religious thought in Islam on the lines of what Allama Iqbal demanded during is famous Madras Lectures.
Chief guest and one of the advisors of the Forum Mr. Habibullah Badsha said that “gender justice is inherent in the Quran and the teachings of the Prophet. It is up to the Muslims to understand it in proper context and practice it in society.”
In his speech the President of the Forum, Mr. Zackriah Badsha, said that justice is denied to Muslim women in the form of denial of education, absence of an enforceable marriage contract, the permissibility of unrestricted polygyny and instant triple talaq. He said that the silence of the Muslim moderates on these issues will have serious consequences for the society. “The emphasis must be on justice tempered with mercy as signified in the divine attributes of ‘Rahman’ and ‘Rahim’,” he added.
Secretary-General of the Forum and student of comparative study of religions, Mr. A. Faizur Rahman pointed out that all exegetes of the Quran have been men to the total exclusion of women. Citing instances of violation of women’s rights in Muslim countries such as Saudi Arabia, Aghanistan, Sudan and Iran he said that “there is an urgent need to exorcise the demonic Djinn of patriarchism that seems to have possessed the Islamic thought today. The Quran needs to be re-interpreted in the light of modern knowledge, and the Islamic Law needs to be codified based on the Quran giving ample space to the feminine point of view.” Expressing his shock at misogynist nature of the present shariah he said; “When the pre-Islamic savagery was wiped out the transformed Arab society was proudly described as an Islamic society. But astonishingly, when Muslim Law today mirrors the feudalism of the pre-Islamic days, it goes under the name of Islamic shariah.”
The meeting was well attended with women outnumbering men, and in the interactive session that followed it was seen that almost the entire audience was in agreement with the thoughts expressed by the speakers.
Political activist Fathima Muzaffer, who was among the audience, said in a lighter vein; “It is unbelievable that today men are talking about the male ego.” Welcoming the initiative taken by the Forum on gender justice she requested the organizers to conduct a workshop in Chennai on women’s rights in Islam. Her sentiments echoed by all the women present in the hall.
Responding to her Mr. Faizur Rahman said that the Forum was planning an all India conference on Muslim Personal Law after Ramazan in which top Islamic Scholars are expected to participate.