Muslim Women and Public Life

Halima Krausen, Hamburg

Among the most central topics within the Muslim community today are questions of gender roles and equality as
well as access to the private and the public spheres, triggered both by challenges from outside and by
sociopolitical changes within the Muslim community like migration and international communication.

Frequently these are approached from a perspective of sociology: by critically describing existing structures and
channels of interaction between men and women in family and society, or by analyzing problems of protection
and sexual control that have become obstacles both to women's activities and to a fruitful exchange between
women and men with regard to knowledge and decisionmaking.

They are increasingly discussed from a perspective of law. In this case, this may be in an attempt to navigate an
assumed codified law system or one that is actually in force in some Muslim country, and it often happens in
order to find solutions to urgent problems of marriage, divorce, inheritance, domestic violence etc. especially
when there seems to be a conflict between "Western" norms and expectations on one hand and what is perceived
as Islamic on the other, or when the diversity within the Muslim world becomes obvious in actual encounter of
different cultural groups. It may also come in the context of suggestions to revive or to reform an existing set of
norms.

Then there are various philosophical attempts to explain phenomena or legal norms in Muslim societies as based
on specific theological and anthropological premises with an emphasis on the differences or similarities of men
and women and, accordingly, to justify concepts of their equal or unequal tasks in society - often with a
perspective of preserving and strengthening existing social structures or of advocating changes respectively.
There are also various visions of men and women cooperating constructively and peacefully in an ideal society
in the future, a utopia called Islam that leaves plenty of space for dreams and aspirations.

For educational purposes, we are presented numerous accounts of achievements of individual Muslim women.
Volumes have been written about women scholars, scientists, mystics, poets, writers, traders, or politicians in
history. However, they hardly ever address the question of how these women reached their position, or details of
their interaction with colleagues, students, clients and family members in everyday life.

So while there is a lot of information available today about "Roles of Women in Islam" focussing on the
theoretical possibilities open to women in the Muslim community, the fact remains that, in everyday life, women
keep encountering various obstacles as soon as their way of life leads them into the public sphere. Sometimes
this comes, for example by a direct refusal to give women access to space or events (e.g. a dignified place in the
mosque, study circles with some scholars etc.; yes, this does happen, unfortunately too often), or by protest
against women's activities by specific groups, and then they often make headlines and/or can easily be discussed.

But usually they are not direct and do not necessarily represent boundaries clearly defined "in the books" as fiqh
or social behaviour rules but rather indirect barriers expressed
in terms of "girls/women don't do that in our society" or "what would people say",
or in feelings transported by the fact that e.g. the women's spaces in mosques are often less welcoming (to say
the least),
or in fears that an active committed girl (or consequently her siblings) might not find a suitable spouse,
or in the omnipresent haunting concept of gender segregation in public meetings as a safeguard against "moral
corruption",
or in endless heated debates on headscarves and face veils,
or in vague suspicions against women who are known for their public activities,
or, on the other hand, in fiery attempts of women to defend their right to their private sphere against the
perceived pressure in modern society to treat what doesn't appear in public as non-existent.
The root of such inhibitions lies in an internalized notion that associates women with the private sphere of the
home and their "biological role" and men with public functions, with the "hostile life outside", as the German
poet Friedrich Schiller put it - a notion that has produced double standards and, taken to extremes, often
prevented half of society from making full use of their potential. Therefore, while in theory there are so many
possibilities open to women, real life is an obstacle course.

What is then necessary to implement women's God-given rights to social, intellectual and spiritual space and
facilitate their active and constructive participation in society?

One way could be just to disregard "public opinion" and all those barriers that cannot be dealt with on a rational
level, to simply do what has been recognized as right even if it is unconventional, somewhat like Pippi
Longstocking. It takes what I would describe as "tawhidi courage": no authority except one's conscience; no
judgment except the Ultimate! At best, this is a lonely path that might trigger healthy discussions and perhaps
lead to gradual changes, at least temporarily. As we observe with women's attempts in Saudi-Arabia to deal with
the prohibition against driving, there is always a risk for individuals and supporting groups to be considered too
provocative and to be confronted with hostile reactions like being hassled or ostracized or taken to account for
braking a written or unwritten law - reactions that may also eventually start up a process of discussion and
change but only after a more painful confrontation.

Beyond the level of discussions in reaction to burning questions and the level of courageous action by
individuals and groups, a process of more holistic rethinking is necessary that explores the background and
context of our tradition and enables us to reconstruct it in a way that is both more in accordance with its aims
and objectives and fit to make a constructive contribution to human society in the future.

I would like to illustrate this point by sharing and discussing some aspects of my work that I find important for
research, for education, for the development of ethics and law, and for training future religious leaders and
educators.

First: Rediscover Difficult Text Passages and their Intentions

True to its name, the Qur'an is most likely the book that is read most often. This notion fills many Muslims with
pride and may upset those who feel that their scriptures have at least an equally great importance and influence.
At the same time, however, it has a considerable disadvantage: we tend to think we know it all. In fact, seen
through our familiar lens of our particular well-established traditional methodology, we may know quite a lot.
But especially then, in order to avoid becoming a prisoner of our own otherwise useful thought patterns, I find it
essential occasionally to be open to unusual perspectives and interpretations that may trigger one or the other
new insight or at least question, as it happens frequently in inter-disciplinary or even interreligious work or in a
dialogue with readers on a journey of discovery - not necessarily in search for answers and solutions but in order
to explore dimensions of the text itself .

In this context, let us have a look at the example of Surat an-Nur (Surah 24, The Light).

After an initial surge of pleasure at the beautiful name of the surah that is linked with the famous and often
recited Verse of Light (Verse 35), the reader's attention is immediately drawn to a problematic and
uncomfortable theme: fornication and punishment, complete with a penalty of a hundred stripes for both
perpetrators (I think it is needles to point out in this conference that, irrespective of incidents in certain Muslim
countries where human rights are violated, neither here nor anywhere else in the Qur'an stoning for adultery is
suggested - it is rather constructed from external sources as well as adventurous excursions into uncritically
absorbed hadith literature).

Modern exegets, as far as they do not dismiss the idea of corporal punishment as archaic and outdated, are
usually quick to point out that the burden of proof, four witnesses for the actual fact, is too heavy to ever get a
real case and should therefore make it impossible to convict anyone. If they then continue commenting on the
paragraph, they will probably point out that the punishment for slander that applies if proof cannot be established
is about as humiliating: eighty stripes plus the loss of the witnesses' credibility. In any case, this is often accepted
as "the law", sometimes followed by extensive comments on the breach of loyalty in a close relationship that is
very painful and demands some serious reaction, or on "protecting family values" - both points are certainly true
and valid in themselves.

Next, in a similar line, we read about the procedure of li'ân if a husband accuses his wife of adultery without any
witnesses: it specifies that he is to swear four times that he is telling the truth, followed by a fifth oath that
includes invoking God's curse on himself if he lies. After that, the wife is to swear four times that he is lying,
followed by a fifth oath that includes invoking God's anger on herself if he is telling the truth. Thus, the case is
undecided and the two are separated without any punishment for either of them for adultery or slander
respectively. Although the procedure is mentioned in theory in works of jurisprudence, I get the impression that
this is hardly ever practiced in the Muslim world, and we rather find headlines of men taking the law into their
own hands, or of dubious cases where the verification is criminally neglected or twisted to the disadvantage of
the woman. The text is, of course, accepted as part of the Qur'an, but I hardly ever come across any further
questions although there are at least two things, actually "side issues" that, nevertheless, strike my attention:

One: Both the accusing husband and his wife swear that the facts they state are true. That is, they are each heard
as witnesses in their own case. That is, both the male and the female witness are considered of equal weight - a
fact that should give food for thought to those who claim that a woman witness should generally be
supplemented by "another woman who reminds her if she forgets."

Two: There is, in fact, a tradition that describes the separation of a couple through li'ân; it proceeds to then tell us
that a child was born afterwards that resembled the man with whom the woman was accused of having had a
relationship rather than her husband, but we hear neither of any punitive follow-up nor of any further comment
by the Prophet, and we are left to wonder what to make of that.

I would now like to leave all such possible legal questions to another occasion (or to the next break) and proceed
in a slightly different direction. In fact, while still involved in legal discussions in their minds, readers might stop
reading here or overlook the following paragraphs that take us further by linking up with the "occasion of the
revelation", shedding some light on its aim. It is known as "the incident of the great lie" that I would like to
outline briefly for those who are not familiar with it. The Prophet's wife Aisha who accompanied him on a
journey once forgot her necklace at a well in an oasis where the caravan rested when refreshing herself, While
she went to pick it up, the caravan departed with nobody noticing that she was missing. Consequently, she sat
down in the shadow close to the water until the rearguard found her and escorted her home.

An everyday incident, one should say. But evil minds started to get busy with their imagination running wild.
The Prophet's young pretty wife, and a handsome young man, and the great wide lonely desert - the news soon
got around, increasingly embellished in such a way that it affected not only Aisha's and the Prophet's personal
reputation but the peace in the community, until even the Prophet felt unsettled at well-meaning suggestions to
divorce his wife in order to avoid further damage.

This is the situation addressed in this Surah, and what follows in an lengthy detailed paragraph is not, mind you,
a wise lecture to women like Aisha to stay in the protection of her home rather than exposing themselves to the
hardship of travelling. Nor does it suggest to men like Muhammad that it might not be a not a good idea to take
their wives on a journey. Nor does it advise men like the young fellow of the rearguard to call the husband (or
some relative) of a woman who got stranded in the wilderness to come and pick her up.

Rather, there follows a harsh rebuke directed to the community:

(11) Why did not the faithful men and the faithful women, when you heard of the matter, assume the best of it
for themselves and say, "This is an obvious lie?" (12) Why did they not produce four witnesses for it? Since they
did not bring the witnesses, they are the liars before of God! (13) ... when you took it over on your tongues and
said from your mouths that of which you had no knowledge; and you assumed it was something light but it was
serious before God. (15) And why did you not say, when you heard of it it, "It is not appropriate for us to speak
of this. Glorified is God! This is a serious slander!"? (16) God admonishes you never to to do the like of it again
if you are faithful, (17) ... For those who would love shamelessness to be spread among the faithful there is
terrible punishment in this world and in the life to come. God knows and you do not know. (19)

The seriousness echoes a more general prohibition against slander, backbiting and other ways of interfering with
peoples private affairs and dignity in Surat al-Hujurat, 49:12:

You who have faith, avoid much suspicion for some suspicion is a sin, and do not spy on each other, and do not
speak ill of each other. Would any of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? Rather, you would certainly
find that disgusting. And be conscious of God: God is Returning, Merciful.

That is, backbiting and slander is compared to cannibalism - and even in English we would speak of character
assassination in order to emphasize the seriousness of such harmful behaviour that, nevertheless, seems to be the
community's "favourite sin" (and certainly a source of income for certain mass media in modern times). Surat
an-Nur addresses the same problem with the emphasis on women:

Those who slander indiscreet believing chaste women are cursed in this life and in the life to come: for them
there is severe suffering. (23)

The message is clearly not confirming common stereotypes associating women with the private and men with
the public spheres, nor does it advocate a general principle of segregated spaces. As we learn in later paragraphs
of this surah, both men and women have a right to privacy that is to be respected e.g. by not entering a private
home without an explicit permission and by respecting times of rest and retreat. Instead, the paragraph condemns
spreading suspicion and scandal and suspecting women who are moving in the public sphere of ulterior motives.
Not women are identified as a cause of corruption but behaviour that sows distrust in society.

This throws a completely different light on later passages in the same surah that deal with respectful behaviour
between men and women and on an aspect that, in modern Muslim discourse, has almost taken on a weight like
an article of faith: the advice to women not to display their charms. Seen from this perspective, it points to a
healthy balance between hiding from view and and over-emphasizing physical attractions - a balance that
enables men and women to interact and cooperate in a reasonable and constructive way in society.

Second: Reconsider Guiding Principles and the Purpose of Law

Getting back to ethics and law with regard to gender but also beyond, more needs to be done than just patchwork
measures to mend individual rules and regulations that have derailed, or lost their meaning, or have become an
end in themselves, or are challenged by modern social development. We need ways to express our ethical and
legal norms in keeping with our time. For that purpose, we must seriously look both at our sources and methods
and at our social reality with relevant questions.

Well, society at the Prophet's time was not yet as complex as ours, and certainly many means of information and
communication that we can take for granted today but that seem to present the world as even more complex were
not available. But even in those days, society had its own complexities, consisting of various tribes with different
structures, and there were individual companions of the Prophet like Salman the Persian and Bilal the African
who even came from other continents. Among students, we proudly pointed to this diversity to demonstrate the
"anti-racist attitude of Islam". Society according to the "Constitution of Madinah" has also often been referred to
as an early example for the integration of various social groups, some of them initially hostile to each other, into
a balanced city-state. Now overemphasizing such individual political measures may be criticized as selective,
but nevertheless these are some valid points that we can allow ourselves to be inspired by: the Prophet did not
come with a pre-conceived social ideology that he imposed on his contemporaries but with a vision of islah - of
a just balanced order that may be a foundation for peace.

Later on, a terminology and systems were developed to describe not only ways of finding new rules for new
situations by simple analogy but also to provide perspectives. The legal, theological and philosophical concepts
that we use today as self-evident were coined in the early centuries in order to communicate insights that cannot
be put into simple terms of "how to". So far, nobody, not even a prophet, came up with a patent recipe of how to
live once and for all - simply because human beings are not machines. Therefore neither the Qur'an nor any other
revelation could actually be used as a manual that you look up for quick troubleshooting but they came as a
source for constant thought and rethinking. They do give a glimpse of an overall vision of an organic unity of
human society described as peace. They define a set of ethical threshold values like murdering, stealing, cheating
and the like that are definitely obstacles on the way of moving towards that peace. And they present numerous
guiding principles, sometimes in terms of human characteristics illustrated in stories, sometimes in terms of rules
applicable to problems described not necessarily in the revelation itself but in the accounts of its history (as in
the example of the slander of Aisha).

In Classical Muslim thought, a notion of general direction has been described as maqâsid ash-sharî'ah, the
purposes of law. It was understood that it is not God but human society and individuals that needs rules and
principles in order to function in a way that leads to "happiness in both spheres", the material and spiritual
wellbeing - according to the frequent Qur'anic allusion to "the good in this world and the good in the life to
come". General guiding principles were identified and systematically processed into a methodology of
jurisprudence, among them e.g. key values of "life, property, and honour" as sacred values for the indvidual,
based on the Prophet's farewell sermon, additional values that promote the quality of life and the community.
Attention was given to character-building along values like truthfulness, devotion, honesty, generosity, chastity,
patience, or humility - by the way, they are mentioned in the Qur'an (Surat al-Ahzab, 33:35) as equally valid for
men and women, and while we should beware of jumping to conclusions of a superficial "equality of men and
women" disregarding any differences, they should provide an efficient antidote for double standards. Which
takes us to the problem of justice in general that accompanies human thought through the ages: how can both the
equality and the diversity of human beings be taken into account in a way that results in a balanced situation for
individuals and society that promotes constructive coexistence, keeps conflicts at a minimum, and allows for a
meaningful renegotiation of roles when the social and economical situation demands it?

Today I get the impression that, too often, such notions are sidelined a mere "philosophical superstructure", as
something for people who can afford the luxury of philosophy if and when urgent challenges and direct action
leave the leisure for it. Instead of throwing obstacles into our own path with such an attitude, it would be more
useful to take our principles and visions seriously as criteria for a critical evaluation of our tradition - including
situation-related rules like polygamy or inheritance or the like that may easily lose their meaning if they are
taken out of context and considered an end in themselves - and as guideposts along the way to develop Muslim
ethical and legal thought in the complexity of modern life. Why should we deny our heritage - the whole wealth
of concepts, experiences, and methodological tools - and then complain of intellectual, cultural and spiritual
poverty? Rather, Muslim men and women should make a joint effort to replant its beauty in today's world in
order to cultivate fruits for the future. With all this, it is essential to keep in mind that the Prophet was sent as a
"mercy for the worlds" - and mercy is a key principle to human civilization.

Third: Contemplate the Theological Background

In this context, Muslims usually refer to God as the Lawgiver. This is a fine idealistic concept until there is a
discussion about details and implications. The Qur'an itself contains relatively few explicit laws. In later
centuries, laws in government-related spheres were usually imposed by rulers, sometimes but not always with
the advice of scholars employed by the court. Rules with regard to certain other spheres like rituals and family
were derived by scholars by interpreting the sources - and not always with full attention to their original context,
like the story of the slander of Aisha as discussed before. In both cases, the concept of God as the Lawgiver was
often used as a handy authority backup: "In the Name of God" was used in order to emphasize the authority of
those who had the power to impose or derive rules and regulations rather than as a reminder of the self-restraint
and responsibility connected with doing so. The results often were rather and sometimes even destructive and
oppressive rules - and whole systems that made it difficult to feel encouraged to study, not to mention noticing
emerging injustice and standing up against it. The key is the theological perspective: whether in our
understanding of God the emphasis is more on an All-Powerful Ruler or that of a Merciful Sustainer.

In this context, there is another aspect that often seems to be neglected. The Qur'an repeatedly speaks of God's
signs in scriptural revelation, in our experience, and in nature. In our time that is influenced by secularism and
atheism, those statements are often considered as indicating various proofs for God's existence - and that's it.
However, when I look at them more carefully, it strikes me that it is diversity that is most often emphasized: the
different plants and fruits that grow from the same ground; different colours in minerals, plants, animals and
human beings; different languages and nations; even different religious rituals. They are pointed out as signs of
God "for people who reflect"; "for people who know"; "for people who understand". The same applies to the
polarity e.g. of day and night that is repeatedly mentioned - not as mutually exclusive entities, not like an on/off
switch, but merging into each other and in a dynamic relationship. It leave me wondering why we would then,
on a practical level, treat the male and female aspects of life as separate "boxes". In Islamic philosophical and
mystical thought, signs in creation are understood to reflect the Creator's attributes as symbolically summarized
in the "Ninety-nine Most Beautiful Names", that is, we may experience e.g God's mercy through the mercy of a
mother, God's knowledge and wisdom through the knowledge and wisdom of a teacher etc. Here, the emphasis
of God's oneness is less on uniqueness but on integrating comprehensiveness - including divine attributes like
"the Hidden" and "the Manifest", "the First" and "the Last", and others that are ordinarily perceived as logically
contradictory but can perhaps best be illustrated in the symbol of yin and yang. It leaves space for a variety of
valid different ways of relating both to each other as women and men, as diverse human beings, and to the
Creator in a live relationship - the latter, in Classical thought, systematically presented in terms of fear, hope,
and love.

In this dynamics we can find a perspective of establishing a balance - not in yet another ideology but in a
constant dialogue between scholars and non-scholars, between old and young, between men and women,
between preservers of well-established traditions and documents and people with fresh challenging new ideas -
and in prayer and meditation as a constant dialogue between the human and the Divine.
Surah 24, The Light, Verses 1-21

A surah which We have sent down and which We have ordained. In it, We have sent down clear signs that you
may be reminded. (1)
The adulteress and the adulterer, beat each of them with a hundred stripes. No compassion with the two of you
should seize you in God's judgment if you have faith in God and the Last Day. And a group of the faithful should
witness their punishment. (2)
An adulterer only associates with an adulteress or an idolatress, and an adulteress only associates with an
adulterer or an idolater. Such a thing is forbidden for the faithful. (3)
As for those who accuse chaste women but do not produce four witnesses (for their claim), beat them with
eighty stripes and never accept their testimony again. Those are transgressors - (4) unless they repent later on
and work towards order and peace, for God is Forgiving, Merciful. (5)
As for those who accuse their spouses but have no witnesses except themselves, such a person's testimony (is to
be accepted) if he testifies four times (with an oath) by God that he is telling the truth, (6) and the fifth (oath) is
that he invokes God's curse on himself if he is lying. (7) But it averts the punishment from her if she testifies
four times (with an oath) by God, that he is lying, (8) and the fifth (oath) is that she invokes God's anger on
herself if he is telling the truth. (9) And if it were not for God's grace and mercy on you, and that God is
Returning, Wise ... (10)
Those who brought forth the lie are a group from among yourselves. Do not think that this is bad for you; rather.
it is good for you. Each one of them will be taken to account for the sin that he earned, and for the one of them
who took the initiative there is terrible suffering. (11) Why did not the faithful men and the faithful women,
when you heard of the matter, assume the best of it for themselves and say, "This is an obvious lie?" (12) Why
did they not produce four witnesses for it? Since they did not bring the witnesses, they are the liars before of
God! (13) And if it were not for God's grace and mercy on you in this world and in the life to come, terrible
suffering would have hit you for that to which you rushed (14) when you took it over on your tongues and said
from your mouths that of which you had no knowledge; and you assumed it was something light but it was
serious before God. (15) And why did you not say, when you heard of it it, "It is not appropriate for us to speak
of this. Glorified is God! This is a serious slander!"? (16) God admonishes you never to to do the like of it again
if you are faithful, (17) and God explains the signs to you, and God is Knowing, Wise. (18) For those who would
love shamelessness to be spread among the faithful there is terrible punishment in this world and in the life to
come. God knows and you do not know. (19) And if it were not for God's grace and mercy on you, and that God
is Kind, Merciful ... (20)
You who have faith, do not follow the footsteps of evil. Whoever follows the footsteps of evil - he only
commands shamelessness and wrong. And if it were not for God's grace and mercy on you, none of you would
ever be purified, but God purifies whom He pleases, and God is Hearing, Knowing. (21)