The Islamic Scholar as Feminist

Re: # 14
I have read todays NYTimes and find Dr. Sultana`s courage admirable.
One should not put all Muslims in one big basket and say they are all alike. If one were to read the history of Islamic civillization, it is indeed one of the high civillizations of humankind. It is a great pity everything has gone down hil in the past 5 centuries. Now it has become like a totally arthritic if not worse patient and is in the dumps. I think this has been created by compacency, rigidity, bigotry of clerics and an arrogant belief that there is no need to look outside the box of Islamiat.
kamath

````Knowledge has released me from this backward thinking. Somebody has to help free the Muslim people from these wrong beliefs.``(Dr. Wafa Sultan, a Syrian-American psychiatrist)

Here is another Muslim Feminist talking about the bitter truth -- Muslims caught between the clash of their medievalism vs the norms of 21st century

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/11/international/middleeast/11sultan.html

Re: # 10

I have read few of Farzana’s articles and I think she should be viewed as a good natured, well-intentioned activist fired by a desire to explain message of Islam to willing listeners. She could be viewed as a sort of traditional faminist and a populist speaker perhaps.

I But I would not elevate her to a rank of theologian. She has no background of systematic study of of religion. Now is she a theologian? Theologian is a person who pursues a course of systematic study of religion and related philosophies over a period of few years in a theological seminary, university or even a Madrassa.

Products of such training in Islamiat could be well-respected persons say like Imam Sistani of Iraq, or hundreds of ass-holes that graduate from Pakistani Madrassas.- Mullah Omar included.

In the West, we have a super Bazaar of firebrands, Deepak Chopras, Swamis, Gurus, Monks, tele-evangelists and instant spiritual teachers- and of course well read and ill read Islamic Mullahs in Mosques. Farzanas are in vogue nowadays- a welcome addition.

Now her little explanation about Darwinism, Intelligent Design, Theory of evolution shows she has absolutely no understanding of science: its history, nature, philosophy of scientific reasoning, experimental methodology, scientific literature and peer reviews etc.

I don’t expect her to be knowledgeable in molecular biology, genetics, differential equations, wave equation , doppler effect and expanding universe and structure of DNA etc.etc. But reading few good books in popular science borrowed from local libraries ( plenty around Toronto ) might change her views in few years down the road, about such things as Darwinism, radio-active dating, Quran and theory of evolution. I hope she finds time to raise 3 children and also go on public speaking circuits.

May be you -Mohammad- should lend her a hand and a reading list which you might have compiled from Detroit Public Library !

BTW: Her husband is smart to pursue real estate business than practicing law in Canada. Law Degrees from South Asia are not reognized and useless in Canada and USA -I am told!

Although I generally liked your article, you unnecessarily spent two whole paragraphs describing Farzana`s family lineage - why is that important? And with all due respect, what is the point of this article? You start out tracing her forefathers - as if it would make a difference in what she does, then go on praising her (I am sure she is a very nice lady) as if there is no tomorrow, then link it to some childhood poem you heard and to the fact that you like her translation of it. And why is it important to name the mianjee and the kiddos? It would have probably been more worthwhile to discuss some of her useful work in greater depth and discuss her role.

[Farzana’s faith in Islam is foundational and not “fundamentalist.” She believes in the essence of the fundamental values of Islam and interprets and practices them according to the needs and demands of the modern times.]
Let`s hope no fatwa this way comes!

It’s quite amazing that people will use scripture to make a point. Talmud has a full paragraph devoted to piercing a donkey’s nostril according to Judaic laws.

More power to the lady, and only a moron thinks that being a heretic is somehow bad. It’s nice to throw the book (literally) into their face, but there shouldn’t be a need for that, because what’s the point? Renounce the garbage that doesn’t appeal and move on.

Dear Interactors:

Let me begin with a verse from Ghalib:

Eemaa`n mujhey rokay haiy tau khainchay haiy mujhey kufr
Kaabah meray peechay haiy, Kaleesa meray aagay

As far as Farzana is concerned, she is not pegged to any Church. She feels the impulse to liberalise religion. At the same time, she has deep roots in Islam which she doesn`t want to sever. In this regard, she is doing a great job. She is trying to liberalise Islam by staying within its fold.

She is interpretting Islam as best as she can in the matters which are dear to her. Women`s issue seems to be the one to which she is intimately attached. In her letter to Mrs. Boyd concerning Shari`a Tribunals in Canada, she wrote:

``I am not in theory, opposed to the dispensation of Shari`a in Canada, as I am a proud Muslim, who subscribes to the belief and value system of Islam wholeheartedly. At present however, I find myself in a quandary due to the painful realization that the Shair`a models existent in various Islamic countries, have failed miserably to deliver justice to the most vulnerable members of our society, namely women and children.`` For this reason, she opposed incorporation of Shari`a in the Canadian system.

She ended her letter apologetically (needlessly, I think): ``One last request. Please do not accuse those of us who do not sometimes agree with traditional interpretations or models of thinking, as apostates or heretics. This is strictly Allah`s prerogative.`` Mr. Naqshbandi, please take note.

As far as theory of evolution is concerned, she has expressed her thoughts on it but I don`t believe it (evolution) is really a focus of her attention. It is something perpheral.

Mohammad Gill

I went through the articles on her website. She is doing a very good job in promoting liberal/progressive interpretations of the Quran with respect to women`s issues.

On the other hand, her theological articles are rather weak. She dismisses evolution and seems to believe in the `scientific miracles in the Quran` theory.

Much needed liberalist/reformist such as Farzana Hassan and her aunt Riffat Hassan were able to find media attention only after 9/11. Had it not been for Uncle Osama and Uncle Sam, liberal agenda would still be dominated by the lighter version of Dr Israr and his likes.

Her entire family is very active in promoting a progressive liberal interpretation of our faith...

Good to see a piece on her.

``with all due respect to the lady, i`m not familiar with her work, but feminist interpretations of islam often border on heresy. allah knows best. ``

:D ``allah knows best`` - this statement at the end of every explanation of a personal disagreement is becoming a joke now.

Re: # 1 {``... Amal sey zindagi banti hai...``}

In reality this is incorrect. It should say: ``...Hamal sey zindagi banti hai...``

To know more about Farzana, please visit her website.

http://islamtoday.ca
http://farzanahassan.com

pervaiz

dear mohammad gill

I am so glad you wrote a wonderful article about Farzana Hassan. She is an accomplished

artist and is very brave to challenge the fundamentalists and extremists. We all need to

support women artists and scholars like her. Keep up the good work.

sincerely sohail

interesting article; her younger half-brother is one of my closest friends--saleem hassan ali, ph.d.

with all due respect to the lady, i`m not familiar with her work, but feminist interpretations of islam often border on heresy. allah knows best.

[Jo sar besajda huaa kabhi, tau zameen sey aanay lagi sadaa
Tera dil tau haiy sanam aashna tujhay kiya milay ga namaaz mein]

Great man ... Iqbal. Someone knowledgable must write an article about his thought.

Iqbal appears to be heavily influenced by existantialist philosophy, though his version of existantialism is married with religion. I think that took place after his sojourn in Cordoba, otherwise he was all about the `aubermunsch` of Nietzsche. Very interesting.

Amal sey zindagi banti hai jannat bhi jahannum bhi. Yeh khaki apni fitrat mein na noori hai na nari hai.Pure existantialist thought.