"Does a Muslim man have the right to speak about the rights and responsibilities of Muslim women?"
"As Muslim women we need to represent and support one another, but also help the brothers in their role as Muslim men, by telling and teaching them what they need to do for us, and what they need to let us do for ourselves." http://www.muslimahsource.org/activism-media/sibling-rivalry/ Sibling Rivalry: Muslim sisters and Muslim brothers February 6, 2009 by Roberta D Filed under Activism & Media, Featured (120 views) Leave a comment Can a white person teach African American studies? Can a man teach Women's studies? Does a Muslim man have the right to speak about the rights and responsibilities of Muslim women? I weigh in with a "Yes" to all three! You've seen it happen before. After prayers on Friday, after the MSA gender relations halaqa, at the conference you carpooled to attend because Shaykh So-and-So was speaking. A simple sentence or two from the speaker can be all it takes to set the sisters' side of the room ablaze with discontent: "Unless the shaykh is going to wear a scarf, he shouldn't concern himself with how I wear mine." "I hate it when Muslim men talk about the way sisters dress — he has no right!" "Why doesn't he get on the brothers' case for not wearing beards and kufis instead of picking on Muslim women?" I'm going to say it plain: This has got to stop. It's easy, perhaps, to see where some of this rage originates. Maybe it's frustration with the group of misogynist males that has led to the nearly instinctual reaction of some Muslimahs to shut out any male speeches giving advice to sisters, esp. on the topic of clothing. This is probably paired with uncertainty/guilt/confusion on the parts of sisters themselves on whatever the issues are, a culture of judging/tension between sisters over the same topics, and the general pressures of trying to maintain an Islamic identity in a minority context. The problem with this is that such reactions just don't jive with the Islamic ideal. When you look at the big picture, it hurts Muslim women instead of helping. Naseeha sometimes comes along with an inevitable bite of criticism. It might hurt sometimes, but we need to at least retain the ability to take the good and leave the bad. Remember Malcolm X before he became El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz? He saw no place for white people in the struggle for the liberation of Black Americans, slamming the door on potential activists and supporters. He realized the error of his ways through making the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca and embracing orthodox Islam. Islam made the difference by broadening his vision, and we need to keep Islam in mind when building our communities and defining our place in them as women. Pre-Hajj Malcolm X was angry, frustrated with the oppression of his brethren by some white people, and determined to achieve his civil rights goals "by any means necessary." At Hajj though, he was inspired by the scene of Muslims of all different colors and backgrounds working together harmoniously toward a goal. He saw the power and the beauty in that. Then, he adjusted his message accordingly, eventually sacrificing his life. He still fought for civil rights and still held his line against white oppressors, but he no longer shut out those sympathetic to his cause who happened to be of other than African descent. Islam taught Malcolm better than that, and Islam teaches us Muslim women better than that, too. We need to evolve from Malcolm X to El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz. What's our broader vision here? The Islam-inspired, refined vision of Br. Malcolm was to attain rights for Black Americans while strengthening the Black community and fighting racism. It's not reasonable or right to hold a prejudice against every Muslim male who dares to touch on the topic of Muslim women beyond saying, "You go, girl!" and commending the sisters for wearing hijab and representing Islam. Our vision should include Muslim men not as cheerleaders, but as teammates. We need to be clear with ourselves and in our communities about the goal we're working toward, because unless we do, we can fall too easily into the trap that the Nation of Islam was (and remains) in. The history of Islam does not feature only women speaking on women's issues any more than it only includes men speaking on men's issues. Many academics have settled for the position of "an empathetic white person can teach and understand to a large extent the African American experience, but they cannot know it." I think the same goes for us. As Muslim women we need to represent and support one another, but also help the brothers in their role as Muslim men, by telling and teaching them what they need to do for us, and what they need to let us do for ourselves. A Muslim man will never know fully what it means to be a Muslim woman, but there are Muslim men out there who are pious, well-intentioned, and defend Muslim women's rights and participation 100 percent. We should welcome the support and efforts of these brothers alongside our own on the path toward the full realization of the Islamically-vested rights, roles and responsibilities of Muslim women. But we must lead the way. "And seek assistance through patience and prayer, and most surely it is a hard thing save for the humble ones" (Qur'an 2:45) ------------------------------------ ======================= Milis Wanita Muslimah Membangun citra wanita muslimah dalam diri, keluarga, maupun masyarakat. 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