Muslim Women Talk About Faith, Equality (Islam Awareness Week)

Madison.com ^ | April 18, 2006 | Aaron Nathans

[Diana in Wisconsin]

(Lecture begins week of UW Madison Islam events...)

Muslim women and men share equality in the eyes of God, two speakers said at the opening event for Islam Awareness Week at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

However, women and men have specific roles they are expected to play in the home and workplace, they said.

Yasmin Mogahed, a local freelance journalist, and Rohany Nayan, the principal of the Madinah Academy of Madison, which serves children from kindergarten through second grade, spoke at Sellery Hall on Monday night. About 60 people attended the event, which was entitled "Islam & Women: Lecture and Discussion."

Every person has a central purpose that guides his or her life, said Mogahed, who has written for the Middle East Times and Islam Online. For some, it is wealth; for others, it is serving another person, like in the story of Romeo and Juliet, she said.

Islam teaches that "there is nothing worthy of having that central position in our lives except for God," Mogahed said.

For women, that means dressing the part, they said. Both were wearing a hijab, or headscarf, as well as traditional clothing that covered all other parts of their bodies except for their hands.

Women are not objects to be seen as physically pleasing to other people, Mogahed said.

"We dress this way as an act of devotion to God," Mogahed said. "When a woman covers her body, she is covering what is irrelevant for people to see.

"When people judge me, they should judge me based on my heart, my character."

Islam allows women to be individuals, and bestows important rights on women, including the right to inherit, choose a husband and keep the name of her family of origin, Nayan said.

Men and women are equal in the eyes of God, Mogahed said. But they have different roles that complement each other, she said.

Women are typically the guardians of the home, while men are expected to support the family, Mogahed said. However, women may work if their husbands allow it, Mogahed said.

Men and women were meant to "complete each other," Mogahed said.

"The relationship between men and women shouldn't be one of competition. It's a relationship of love and mercy," Mogahed said. "We weren't supposed to be exactly like men. We're supposed to be exactly like women."

Any practice that degrades women happens despite Islamic teaching, Mogahed said. Nayan said there are some nations where men repress women because the male leaders are insecure and crave power. Nayan said that in her native country of Malaysia, nobody gave her any trouble for being a woman.

"During the time of the prophet, women had a golden age," Nayan said, referring to the life of the Prophet Mohammed, who lived from the years 570-632 in the common calendar. "The prophet was never threatened by a woman."

Islam Awareness Week continues with events all week, culminating with the performance of comic Azhar Usman at 8 p.m. on Friday in Grainger Hall. For information on specific events, see www.uw-msa.org.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

"Yasmin Mogahed, a local freelance journalist, and Rohany Nayan, the principal of the Madinah Academy of Madison..."

They live and work here. Talking the talk, not walking the walk. ;)

[taxesareforever]

However, women and men have specific roles they are expected to play in the home and workplace, they said.

And we all know that those roles aren't equal, are they mohammed?