POLITICS ISNA MOMENTS AND SOCIETY
SPEAKING UP
Are there barriers to public expression for Muslim women?
Sheikh Muhammad Al-Hanooti
BY LEEN JABER
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SNA’s 50th Convention, held Aug. 30-Sept. 2, was the venue for the groundbreaking Quran recitation by ustadha Tahera Ahmad, associate university chaplain at Northwestern University.
Ahmad became the first woman to recite the Quran at such a public and diverse Muslim event in America. Although initially well-received by most Muslims, many also criticized the move. Some Muslims even called it haram (prohibited) by Islam and a poor choice for ISNA to open the convention with a female recitation of the Holy Book. Twitter and Facebook were ablaze with both praise and criticism. Some critics were unabashedly harsh. “Most Muslims simply want to know whether female recitation amid non-mahram men is permitted and the legal reasoning from our tradition, which either supports or negates the practice,” Ahmad explained. “The concern of textual authenticity for one’s spiritual path is indeed praiseworthy and perhaps even necessary for the faithful practice of the tradition. However some Muslims actually view the public recitation of the Quran as something that God has only ‘deemed fit for men.’” Shaykh Hamzah Wald Maqbul, assistant director of Darul Qasim, the Glen Ellyn, Ill.based Institute of Higher Islamic Learning and Research, in his blog said according to his research, the Maliki school of thought prohibits men from listening to an unrelated woman’s voice, if it will cause a fitna (mis-
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guidance). Similarly, a woman is prohibited from unnecessarily speaking in front of a man, if she feels that it will cause fitna. “The opening recitation of the Quran for an ISNA session is not such a need,” he said. “And given that the young lady in question (whom I have met in the past) is almost surely to have caused some impropriety by having recited in front of a mixed gathering, I am not terribly excited about what happened.” While restraining from harsh criticism of Ahmad, he added, “All of the ulema [scholars] I’ve ever studied with would be mortified by the prospect of a young woman reciting in a mixed gathering. And that fear is not based on bigoted patriarchy, but on the firm principles established by the Sunnah.” Yet, not all scholars agree with this perspective. “Many young Muslims in America are trying to accommodate their Islamic identity with their American identity,” said Khaled Abou El Fadl, professor of Islamic Law at the University of California Los Angeles School of Law. Many people refer to the Quranic verse (33:32), in which God Almighty instructs the wives of the Prophet Muhammad (salla Allahu ’alayhi wa sallam) to soften their speech when speaking to men, lest the
Kifah Mustapha
weak hearted become full of desire. This is often cited to support their opposition to the recitation of Quran by a woman (and even speaking) in public. However, Abou El Fadl explained that this verse does not prohibit women from speech, but asks them to be mindful of the content of speech. “There is no pre-modern jurist that forbade women from reciting Quran, saying adhan or leading dhikr,” he added. Some countries, such as Turkey, Indonesia, Malaysia and Egypt are known for female Quran reciters and women who sing nashid or Islamic songs. “If we shut women out, Islam wouldn’t be what it is today. Women played a huge role (in the history) of Islam,” Abou El Fadl said. Sheikh Muhammad Al-Hanooti, the mufti of Washington, D.C., and Virginia and a classically trained scholar of Islamic law, said that the Hanbali school of thought — one of the strictest schools of thought — allows women to lead men in non-mandatory prayers such as taraweeh prayer. “If a woman can lead taraweeh, how can they say it is not allowed for her to read Quran,” Al-Hanooti asserted. The controversy, perhaps, did not arise because of the conflicting opinions in Islamic law, but rather because of a greater cultural and political concern.
ISLAMIC HORIZONS JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2014