SIX RIGHTS THAT EVERY HUMAN BEING DESERVES AND SHOULD FIGHT FOR
written by Sabina England

Childhood is an incredibly precious time of life. This is a time to grow mentally, morally, and physically, to be shielded from adult cares in order to better prepare for them. This precious time of life is indeed meant to be fleeting, but it rankles me when I see children being pressed into adult roles – or clothes.

Time to 'fess up. I was a tomboy as a child, and I still require my clothes to be, above all, comfortable. What's the point of putting something on that makes you feel uneasy? If you're looking for discomfort, life will provide many opportunities for such. I also enjoy children's company, and I find those wearing clothing that they can run, jump, wiggle, climb, in short, be kids in to be happier children overall. There are places where highly restrictive clothing is appropriate, but those come with padded cells and nurses. If you are allowed to have shoelaces, you should be in clothing that allows you to bend over to tie them.

by Michael Muhammad Knight

Introduction:

This story will most likely be my contribution to Mohja Kahf’s forthcoming anthology of American Muslim literature. The first draft was finished in late 2004, around the time that I sat in on a dinner meeting between Ahmed Nassef and Irshad Manji regarding her possible involvement in PMU. Of course, PMU now exists only as a Yahoo discussion group, Asra Nomani has made a joke of herself and the marvellous hype of a New Islam is gone. That whole scene is dead, but it’s alright; the decomposed remnants of PMU’s corpse could serve as compost for another try. Though I’d never use the label for myself, I still see Progressive Muslims as the good guys; if you’re against gender equity in a mosque, what are you for?

The UK public was made very uncomfortable this week by the Times' widely-reported poll of British Muslims' views on terrorism. Certainly I was concerned about the revelations that 16% of respondents thought of the 7/7 bombers as martyrs, that 7% believed suicide bombing against UK civilians to be acceptable, and that a further 2% would be proud if a member of their family joined Al-Qaida. However, it's important to keep the above results in perspective. It's easy for an angry young man to talk big in a poll; but certainly only a small proportion of the most dangerous 2% mentioned above are actually psychopathic and suicidal enough to act on their views. Polls are inherently biased towards the views of the angry and alienated, who wish to make their dissatisfaction heard. Giving a radical answer in a poll is the safest kind of protest vote, since it doesn't change anything other than the contents of a database somewhere. This is why this sort of poll should be reported with restraint and a grain of salt, which unfortunately is not how this one has been treated by some of the tabloids.

Hurricane Katrina should jostle the consciousness of Americans in general and Muslim Americans in particular. In the face of the racism, poverty and inequality that Katrina brought to the fore, they can draw upon both American democratic ideals and internal Islamic impetuses for justice, with an eye to addressing the plight of those less fortunate.

I promised this response to Haddad’s piece two months ago. Good thing I make all my plans God willing.

Traditional authorities such as Haddad are most comfortable with women who are relatively passive transmitters of knowledge. Historically, women have had some access to education in the religious sciences but ideally they should not be educated as public interpreters or community leaders on par with men. They cannot be jurists, judges, or theologians. Because interpretations are only legitimate when they are produced from within the traditional usul structure, women have few legitimate means to actively engage the tradition. I suppose I should offer a solid argument that women have a right to interpret our sources alongside men. There is no need. Female authority in Islam is growing even in conservative circles. More women are being educated in the traditional sciences and a number of these women are being placed in authoritative public positions.

Written by Laury Silvers
Sunday, 19 March 2006

In honor of Amina Wadud's woman-led congregational mixed-gender prayer last year in New York City we are going to do an odd thing. We are posting a link to an essay that is an attack against Wadud, woman-led prayer, the Progressive movement, and Islamic feminism.

Imam Zaid Shakir says in the following piece, "Whatever we do, as Muslims in the West, we may be approaching the day when we will have to "go it alone." If our coreligionists in the East cannot respect the fact that we are trying to accomplish things here in the West, and that their oftentimes ill-considered actions undermine that work in many instances, then it will be hard for us to consider them allies. How can one be an ally when he fails to consult you concerning actions whose negative consequences you will suffer? No one from the Muslim east consults us before launching these campaigns. No one seeks to find out as to how their actions are going to affect our lives and families. The confused incompetence of the Muslim countries around the issue of moon-sighting, a situation that has painful consequences for Muslims here in America is bad enough, the added pressure generated by these reoccurring crises is becoming unbearable for many."

Written by Pamela K. Taylor

Wednesday, 01 February 2006

In this essay first published in The Scruffy Dog Review, Pamela Taylor makes the case against quietism in working for women-led mixed gender prayer. Ilan and I agree. There are things worth lying down in the road for. There are things worth "civil disobedience." Overcoming unquestioned male authority in Islam is one of them. Apologists for male authority in Islam typically say, and I kid you not, that the woman's place in Islam is "separate but equal." Many of us Muslims would like to make it clear that we're done with the Jim Crow apologetics. Be led by a woman in prayer. —Laury Silvers