http://www.thewhig.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1101497
Islamic issues on a world stage
Organizations around the globe are working to improve lives of Muslim women
Posted By BY ALIA HOGBEN
Posted 7 days ago
Islam and Muslims play a prominent role in academia and community
activism. The Canadian Council of Muslim Women is often invited to
national and international conferences.
This month, I attended two interesting gatherings, one in Cologne,
Germany, and the other in Ottawa.
It is fascinating to meet in other Western countries and learn about
their issues and how they are addressing them.
The Germany conference of academics and activists from several
European countries was on "Women Power in Islam." Its purpose was to
discuss questions of patriarchal interpretations and to encourage
activists to continue their efforts to advocate for women's rights.
In Germany, the majority of Muslims are of Turkish origin and are
still identified as "Turks."
Sadly, Germany has restrictive immigration policies and those born in
Germany are still deemed "foreigners." Understandably, there are
issues of identity and belonging.
The issue of the head covering, the hijab, seems to be of greater
significance in Germany than in Canada. The issue was raised that
hijabi women cannot work for the government or in the educational
system. Among the 150 participants, there were a number of converts
who were articulate about their rights as Germans and as Muslims, and
a Muslim female parliamentarian in Germany spoke about what the
government is trying to do for Muslims in Germany.
Not only are there a number of European Muslim women's organizations
that are researching Islamic writings on women, but there are many
women's organizations in Africa and Asia working hard to improve the
lives of Muslim women. It is very exciting to learn of their efforts
and to share at the international level.
In Ottawa, the conference titled "The Cosmopolitan Identity in the
Islamic World: Global Citizenship and Social Change," was organized by
the Centre for International Governance Innovation at the University
of Waterloo. This think-tank is the brain child of Jim Balsillie, one
of the creators of the BlackBerry.
A number of renowned diplomats and academics addressed topics of
Islamic intellectual heritage, as well as the relationship between
Canada and the Islamic world.
There has been a longstanding debate regarding the lack of development
of Islamic philosophy from the 13th century on. Previous to that, it
was Muslims who not only safeguarded Greek philosophy but enhanced it
before transmitting this knowledge to Europe.
