Conference

Women in the Islamic WorldMuslim Women in Germany

Berlin 24 May 2004

European-Muslim Cultural Dialogue

documentation

Rolemodels

Positive

Preface

The question of how to deal with Muslim neighbours in European socie-ties continues to be a burning issue as recent events have clearly shown.Throughout Europe people are struggling to define their relationship withMuslim communities here as well as with neighbouring Muslim countries. InGermany, too, everybody is discussing Islam. However, one of the problemsof this debate both in Germany and Europe is that much time is spent dis-cussing Islam but not very much talking to people who are Muslims and whorepresent Islam. In Germany we tend to focus on superficial issues such asthe headscarf and emphasise aspects that are felt to be alien. This results inan unduly one-sided debate and produces a stereotype image of Muslimwomen. But is it not important to hear also the views of those who are thesubject of this debate? Muslim women in Germany and elsewhere – womenwith commitment, women who assume responsibility in many areas of pub-lic life, in politics, business, the media and civil society – are entitled to con-tribute to this debate. The example set by these women can inspire othersto follow in their footsteps.

What is needed here are networks and fora that enable such women tomake their voices heard more clearly. That is why I invited a number of Mus-lim women active in a variety of fields in May 2004 to share with other parti-cipants and myself their hopes and expectations as well as their experiencesand views of the challenges and difficulties they face.

The conference fostered contacts and established networks that enableparticipants to maintain a frank and open dialogue also over the years tocome.

Dialogue with Muslims and on the teachings of Islam must not be used asa pretext to water down human rights obligations. Given the various inter-pretations of Islam in the individual Muslim countries and communities –whether traditional or modern, liberal or conservative – it is misleading toassume a priori that the teachings of Islam and equality for women are in-

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compatible. Many reform initiatives on the Wider Middle East are currentlyon the agenda. For Germany and for Europe, it is important that the Arabworld and other Islamic states take their problems into their own hands andproceed down the road to reform in line with their own ideas and possibili-ties, including women empowerment.

I was impressed to hear the opinions and approaches to life of Muslimwomen who show commitment within their own society, who fight theirown struggle to find their role and place in their countries. They work, theypursue careers, they face similar problems to European women when itcomes to combining career and family. The fact that they are practisingMuslims does not prevent them from being conscious of the need for change in their societies, nor from chosing their personal way of life in animpressively self-confident way.

The exchange and dialogue with Muslim women from different parts ofsociety continues to form a crucial part of the discussion about the ability of»Islam« to adapt to modern life. By the same token, the western countriesneed to learn how to accommodate the lifestyle and how to integrate thecultural contributions of Muslims living within their societies. An importantlesson learnt during the conference is that there will be no socio-economictransformation of traditional Muslim societies without integrating theother half of the population, women, into the reform process.

Kerstin Müller

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Introduction

On 24 May 2004, 20 women from 18 different countries(Afghanistan, Egypt, Algeria, Bahrain, India, Indonesia,Iraq, Iran, Yemen, Jordan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Morocco,Pakistan, the Palestinian Territories, Saudi Arabia, Sudanand Syria) met in the Federal Foreign Office at the invita-tion of the Institute for Foreign Relations and the Ger-man Federal Foreign Office to discuss the latest develop-ments in the role of women in the Islamic world and thatof Muslim women in Germany. The role of women hasalways been a matter of intensive political and social de-bate and it is indeed essential to solve certain problemsthrough a dialogue in which the two sides can exchangetheir ideas and views. This conference gave active andstrong women from all over the Islamic world, as well asGerman participants, an opportunity to establish a plat-form for discussion on new role models and life concepts.The participants represented a broad spectrum of dif-ferent experiences due to their political and religiousapproaches, their own personal experiences and theirprofessional role inside their own societies. Finally, weare pleased to present this documentation which con-tains key excerpts from the participants’ statements. Aswe have only little space for this documentation, wehope that we have quoted every participant as preciselyas possible and that we have included the main pointsand views, as well as the general line of argument, ofeveryone involved.

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Kerstin Müller (Berlin), Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office

Participants and moderators, ladies and gentlemen, I am delighted that so many of you took up my invitation and would in

particular like to thank those who have travelled long distances to attendthis conference. Our round table today brings together women from twentycountries of the Islamic world, as well as Muslim women who live and workhere in Germany. Ladies, you come from a wide range of social spheres.Around the table we have human rights activists, judges, academics, entre-preneurs, politicians, journalists – committed and motivated women fromall walks of life who are often at the front line fighting for women’s rights.

Of course we make no claim that the group gathered here is entirelyrepresentative or complete. Today’s event is rather to serve as a forum foropen exchange and lively discussion.

Given the often depressing human rights situation particularly forwomen in some Islamic countries – I am thinking here of Afghanistan underthe Taliban regime as an extreme example – people here in Germany oftenhave a general image of the oppressed Muslim woman deprived of herrights. This perception focuses first and foremost on Muslim women as pas-sive victims of human rights violations, not as independent women workingto shape their lives and their societies.

This conference is to provide an opportunity to do away with such mis-understandings. It should therefore show the other side of the coin andhighlight positive role models to encourage women in the Muslim world andhere in Germany to exercise their rights, use their opportunities and becomeaware of their strengths.

But it should also give non-Muslims the chance to correct potential mis-perceptions on the role of women in the Islamic world and to gain a moreaccurate picture. I hope that we will be able to promote mutual understand-ing through our talks today and dispel widespread misconceptions.

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A key aspect of this conference is for us to get to know one another, toestablish contacts and get into conversation. We want to open the way fordialogue which will not end with this conference but will be continued andconsolidated very much in the spirit of network-building.

Ladies and gentlemen, The role of women in Islam is a topic that has from time to time been a

focus of considerable attention in the German public and in the media. I amtalking about the so-called headscarf debate. Germans have been very pre-occupied by the question of whether or not a teacher in a school can wear aheadscarf – and what the headscarf symbolizes.

Often this discussion falls prey to generalization. All too often, the wom-an under the headscarf and her personal reasons are largely overlooked. Theheadscarf is branded as the ultimate symbol of the oppression of women –first and foremost, women in Islam.

The real role of women in Islamic countries unfortunately plays a veryminor role here. What is the true role of women in Islamic countries? Whatrights does the Koran envisage for women? Such questions make up oneside of the discussion. But there is also a debate about how much toleranceand freedom this society can bear.

Ladies and gentlemen, The Federal Constitutional Court decided in December last year that a

legal basis was required for a headscarf ban for female teachers. What isparticularly important about the judgement is that the Constitutional Courtmade clear that all religions must be treated equally.

The federal states are now working on implementing this judgement bydrawing up laws, some of which have already been adopted, to govern theuse of religious symbols in public schools. There are two sides which need tobe carefully weighed up here. On the one hand, the freedom of religion ofthe pupils, including the freedom not to believe, and the state’s obligation

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to remain neutral and, on the other hand, the freedom of religion and thepersonal rights of teachers. That is not easy.

Even within my own party and within the Federal Government, opinionsare divided on this issue. So I only want to make one point. I fear that aheadscarf ban for teachers will actually exacerbate the general stigmatiza-tion of the women in Germany who wear headscarves. And regardless ofwhether one advocates the stricter secularization of schools as an institu-tion or one wants to make the religious plurality of our society more visiblein school as well – as called for by Federal President Johannes Rau 1 – theequal treatment of religious communities is anchored in our Constitution.We did not opt for a secular Constitution and that means that Islamic sym-bols must not be treated differently from Christian or Jewish symbols. Or toput it another way: we must make no difference between headscarves, thecross and the kippa.

It would also be a mistake in terms of integration policy. It would fuelrather than quell conflicts and would exclude rather than integrate Mus-lims. I feel that this cannot possibly be what we want.

Ladies and gentlemen, Even apart from the headscarf controversy, the topic of women and Islam

currently plays a major role in Germany. I said at the start that Muslim wom-en are often perceived as being suppressed and deprived of their rights inthe so-called West. But that reflects neither the reality nor the self-percep-tion of the women concerned.

That is why I find it so interesting to change my perspective, broaden myfield of vision and listen today to what Muslim women have to say aboutthese questions, what problems they encounter and perhaps also whatstrength they can draw from their faith or from their Islamic identity, par-ticularly when it comes to empowering women.

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1 On 23 May 2004 the new Federal President Horst Köhler has elected and has meanwhile assumed office.

Dialogue on this subject is crucial because it is the only way to breakdown unfounded fears, prejudices and the walls of defence on both sides.One of the most common misperceptions of what is generally called theWest is to see the Islamic world and Muslims as a monolithic bloc and, whatis more, only its radical and fundamentalist brand. In short: a dangerousalien.

Such a perception fails to do justice to the overwhelming majority ofMuslims, and this is where we still have much work to do to ensure that peo-ple do not make blanket judgements and that they are open to consider thefacts. Or as Johannes Rau said, »Whether we consider the situation in ourown country or in the world at large, it is important that we bear one thingin mind. There is no more one true Judaism than there is one true Islam, onetrue Christianity or indeed one Western world for that matter«.

Given the various interpretations of Islam in the individual Muslim coun-tries and communities – whether traditional or modern, liberal or conserva-tive – it is misleading to assume a priori that the teachings of Islam andequality for women are incompatible. There are interpretations that are intune with women’s rights. Upon receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, ShirinEbadi emphasized, »The discriminatory plight of women in Islamic States(...) has its roots in the patriarchal and male-dominated culture prevailing inthese societies, not in Islam«.

Ladies and gentlemen, Please do not misunderstand me. Dialogue with Muslims and on the

teachings of Islam must not be used as a pretext to water down humanrights obligations. We defend the universality of human rights against anyattempts to deny them. The human rights anchored in international law arenot »values of the West« – rather they are universal rights and we must nottire of working together all around the world to ensure that these rights arerecognized and implemented. There must not be a human rights bonus inthe fight against terrorism – that holds true for Chechnya and for prisons inIraq, ladies and gentlemen.

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Ladies and gentlemen, Many Islamic states have signed the UN Convention on the Elimination of

All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Nevertheless, almostall Arab Islamic states have attached fundamental reservations to their signatures: the provisions of the CEDAW must not run contrary to Sharianorms, that is to Islamic law. Equal rights for women can only be guaranteedin so far as they are compatible with the legal sources derived from God.

Let me make one thing quite clear. A Sharia reservation cannot mean thatgenerally accepted human rights and thus women’s rights are undermined.Religious doctrine cannot mean we abandon universal basic values or rela-tivize women’s rights around the world.

What I find particularly interesting here are the efforts by some Muslimwomen to use the scope for interpretation they see in the Sharia to reducelegal and real discrimination against women. Practising Muslim women arethus embracing the universal issue of women’s rights as their own cause, assomething unique that is inextricably linked to their culture and religion.

Now that this issue has been absorbed as one of their own, women’srights, feminism and equality can no longer be defamed as something im-posed from the outside, by the West; rather, these issues are graduallytaking hold in Islamic identities and in fact are even based on religiousnorms. I think we ought to discuss such creative approaches in more detail.

Ladies and gentlemen, The polarization between »the West« and »Islam« of course falls short of

the mark. After all, Islam has long been a part of the West. Following migra-tion in the last century, Germany is a multi-religious country and an area ofIslamic culture. Some 3.2 million Muslims live in Germany today. In thenewly enlarged European Union, there are more than 12 million.

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Living together is not always tension-free. The building of mosques, theearly morning call of the muezzin and the local non-Muslims’ view of Islamicwomen as oppressed is sometimes a source of bewilderment and alienation,sometimes also of overreaction.

Stereotypical thinking and prejudices are to be found on both sides. Mus-lim societies often accuse the West of being excessively individualistic,materialistic and only interested in profit while lacking real values. In turnthe West accuses the Islamic world of being a backward society based onpatriarchal and traditional structures and thus incapable of progress ordevelopment. Of course there is more to it than that.

Differences in perceptions of values or the way in which these values arerealized are however certainly present and should be addressed. In theIslamic world, for example, the traditional extended family often embracingseveral generations has much greater importance than it does in the West.Needless to say, this has a particular impact on the understanding of therole of women.

In Western societies on the other hand the freedom of the individual todetermine his or her own life is to the fore. The position of religion is alsovery different. In Germany, church and state are basically separate. Societyis largely secularized in the sense that religion is the private affair of the citi-zens and that the government respects and remains largely neutral withregard to the religious sphere.

Many Muslim societies on the other hand are entirely pervaded by reli-gion and for the most part proud that their faith governs everyday publicand private life. Despite or perhaps precisely because of these differences,dialogue and agreement on shared values are of paramount importance. Wehave to stop building walls, we need to get to know one another so that wecan better understand each other and put an end to misperceptions.

But that also means that progress has to be made on integration policy in

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Germany. For years, indeed for decades, we focused too much in Germanyon how we can keep »undesirable« immigrants out of the country instead ofaddressing the question of how we can better integrate the migrants whohave been living in our country for generations and how we – as a de factoimmigration country – can finally define immigration in modern terms.

In the domestic policy debate on immigration in Germany, the FederalGovernment has long advocated modernizing immigration policy, improv-ing protection for refugees and promoting the integration of migrants. Withthe new draft Immigration Law on the agenda today in Berlin, we are final-ly reaching the level of protection laid down long ago in the Geneva Con-vention on Refugees and in European standards.

A particularly important concern continues to be the need to recognizegender-specific persecution as grounds for asylum in Germany. Womenmust not be sent back to countries where their freedom or their lives are atthreat due to their gender. Recognizing gender-specific persecution asgrounds for asylum is for us, for the Federal Government, therefore a veryimportant point in the negotiations. Let me say again, we need a modernImmigration Law at long last – and I hope very much we will manage toadopt one.

Ladies and gentlemen, Yesterday we celebrated the 55th anniversary of the promulgation of the

Basic Law, the German Constitution which stipulates equality for men andwomen. And yet the equality debate will continue for some time as muchremains to be done in practice. Here in Germany we still have a long way togo before reaching the goal of real gender equality. On average, women stillearn about 30 percent less than their male counterparts. At the manageriallevel of business, academia and politics, women still have not taken the 5%hurdle. The boards of many businesses therefore often remain an all-maleaffair. The very idea of justice means we have to change this. Equal rightsand opportunities are strategic questions which determine how fit oursociety is for the future.

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Ladies and gentlemen, According to a UN Report, the lack of involvement of women in political

and economic life constitutes an essential impediment to the developmentof Arab states. The Arab Human Development Report first published in 2002criticizes the fact that women are discriminated against both as far as poli-tical participation is concerned and in the workplace. I think awareness isspreading in the Islamic world, too, that modernization is crucial if we are tomaster the challenges of globalization. Technical developments, improvedcommunications and economic globalization mean that no state can wallitself in any more.

Many reform initiatives on the Wider Middle East are currently on theagenda both in the region itself and further afield. For Germany and forEurope, it is important that the Arab world and other Islamic states in theregion take their problems into their own hands and proceed down the roadto reform in line with their own ideas and possibilities.

We hope that civil society, intellectuals, universities and businesses canfeed their ideas into this reform process. The European Union and Germanyare prepared to work with our neighbours in the Arab and Islamic world fora shared future in a spirit of partnership and equality. Let me emphasizeagain: To be sustainable as well as to be accepted and pursued by the peo-ple as their own cause, modernization has to come from within. Moderni-zation blueprints have to be devised and discussed in the Arab and Islamicworld itself.

I am sure that we will contribute to this discussion on renewal, moderni-zation and democratization of the Islamic world with our talks today. Forone thing is certain: all societies whether in the North or the South whichmanage to tap women’s inherent potential have greater and better devel-opment opportunities.

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Ladies and gentlemen, We don’t want to label each other at this Conference as Muslim,

Christian, as religious or as secular women, rather we want to talk to oneanother. We want to show each other our diversity and understand ourmany possibilities. We are not trying to agree on all the issues we discuss.We cannot and should not paper over our differences. The aim should how-ever be to promote mutual understanding and face our shared challenges.

If we want to be successful in the fight for women’s rights and real equal-ity, we have to ask what we can do. It is important to analyze the situationbut we cannot leave it at that. We have to establish and strengthen net-works. And we need a profile in the public sphere. That is why I decided tohost this conference. But for me it is also important that women all over theworld take the initiative, define their role in society and fight for theirrights.

We need role models for this; we should build on the experiences ofothers. All of you attending this conference have had outstanding experien-ces and can make interesting contributions to our topic. You come from dif-ferent societies and a wide range of professional backgrounds. We shoulduse the opportunity and engage in intensive exchange. I hope that your dif-ferent lifestyles and experiences touch everyone both in this room and out-side it and thus provide incentives, encouragement and inspiration.

I am very curious to hear what you have to say. I am sure that we will havean interesting day and exciting discussions. May we all enjoy a successfulconference!

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Panel 1How can women assert their rights?What limits do they encounter in trying to do so?Which lines have they crossed and how did they succeed?What experience can women from professional fields traditionally occupied by men pass on?

Moderator: Dr Katajun Amirpur (Cologne), Islamic scholar

Marzia Basel (Afghanistan)Formerly a judge, now a member of the Loya Jirga and UNIFEM project managerMarzia Basel said that she saw a discrepancy between the rights Islamic

religion gave to women and the way in which certain countries treatedwomen. By way of illustration, she mentioned the liberal Afghan constitu-tion of 1964 and the way in which the Taliban regime had ignored women’sguaranteed rights. She believed that Afghan women today did not haveequal rights because Afghan society was dominated by men on the one handand by people who did not know much about Islamic law on the other.Therefore, she called for a major campaign to promote understanding ofwomen’s rights in Islamic law and the elimination of differences betweenIslamic law and Sharia law. She stated that many people, especially women,were illiterate and religious leaders should update their knowledge ofIslamic rights. Marzia Basel admitted that every improvement in women’srights in Afghanistan should take men’s interests into account for they weremore powerful than women.

Omaima Abu Bakr (Egypt)Professor of English Literature and founder of the Egyptian organization »Women and Memory Forum«Omaima Abu Bakr mentioned the different dimensions of rights women

could call upon, for example legal rights, political rights, rights of equality

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and cultural rights. She pointed out that what women needed in order togain their rights was knowledge, because »knowledge is power and is em-powering«. Women in the Muslim world should have some knowledge of the things they were complaining about, otherwise they would not be credible. She said that she believed it was important for women to gaininfluence in official religious institutions, in which they were mostly under-represented. Consequently, she believed that women should also be allowedto become legal scholars or muftis or to have posts in religious universityfaculties. Women needed to have a role within these institutions and withinthe religious discourse. But she also said that, in general, obstacles camefrom ignorance, whether it be the ignorance of Muslim men or women, orignorance of the development or of the diversity of Islam. Unfortunatelypeople in Egypt, for example, were still suspicious of calls for interpretationsof Sharia, of women’s activism, of women’s equality or of equality of thesexes.

Fatima Hasan al-Hawaj (Bahrain)Lawyer, member of various organizations and publisher of articles on women’s rights and family lawFatima al-Hawaj stressed that cultures had to be improved and changed,

especially when there were laws in some countries that strengthen the dif-ferences between women and men. She highlighted voting rights as oneexample of this. In her opinion, the fact that women were not allowed tobecome members of parliament in Bahrain was not because they were Mus-lims but because they were women. The Imam himself often had a very radi-cal approach to this issue, although the situation of women had improved incertain spheres in the Gulf region. For instance, women had reached keypositions in medicine, law and other spheres. In contrast, women were hard-ly represented in the government, in private institutions and establishmentsand it was very seldom for women to be at the very top. While it was pos-sible for women to become judges, for example, only a few women did sodue to their religious culture and environment. She stated that peoplesometimes said: »Women should stay at home. They should have children.«In order to change this point of view, Fatima al-Hawaj called on the univer-

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sities to take a more global and cosmopolitan view. She also said that civilsociety organizations did a worthy job in helping to integrate women.

Dr Sayeda Saiyedain Hameed (India)Member of South Asians for Human Rights (SAHR), trustee of Women’s Initiative for Peace in South Asia (WIPSA) and member of the Muslim Women’s ForumDr Hameed stressed that it was difficult to convince a Muslim woman

that her future might be different from the one which women in her family,clan or tribe had traditionally had. She believed that the Muslim Women’sForum represented the overwhelming majority of Muslim women in Indiaand she knew that their work was not easy due to a deeply embedded patri-archy. Therefore, she concluded that the process needed time and quoted acomment on the Koran: »Our shared life of a thousand years has forged a common nationality. Such moulds cannot be artificially constructed. Na-tures and wills shape them over centuries. The mould has now been cast andnature has set her seal upon it.« But she also stated reasons for optimism.For example, she described a case in the state of Tamil Nadu in SouthernIndia where women had announced their intention to build a women’s mosque. They were protesting against the patriarchal decision-making atthe community mosque. Although they did not succeed, their efforts had animpact. She said that Muslim women in her country had shown remarkableresilience. Dr Hameed concluded by saying that she felt it was women whowould catalyze change to bring Islamic practice closer to the Islamic spirit.

Firdous al-Moussawi (Iraq)Expert in Islamic law and economics, trustee of Iraqi Orphan Foundation and chairperson of Al-Zahran Women’s CentreFirdous al-Moussawi first of all tried to define which rights Muslim wom-

en lacked today despite the fact that both political and economic rights hadbeen demandable for more than 1400 years. Human rights were critical andwomen’s dignity, in particular, had to be respected. In contrast, the porno-graphy industry and the advertising industry in the West merely focused on women’s femininity, their sexuality and thus regarded them as objects.

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Therefore, a global discussion on the role of women was needed. But therewere also a few obstacles, especially social ones, preventing the realizationof the rights of women. Many women were themselves responsible for theirfailure to implement their rights, for example prostitutes. But they also hadto be educated and to know their rights. She agreed with her colleague from Bahrain in this respect. Especially in the case of divorce, she concluded,many women did not know their rights. Although there were a lot of legalguarantees for women in wedlock, women still had to live together withtheir husbands even if they did not love them. She concluded by saying thatwomen in Iraq today have no security and asked why the West supportedSaddam Hussein’s regime. Due to his oppression, Iraqi women today still feltreluctant to participate in women’s organizations.

Fatemeh Sadr-Tabatabai (Iran)Expert in education and social psychologyFatemeh Tabatabai spoke about many different aspects of the lives of

Iranian women. First of all, she stressed that women were always underpressure to support both their families and children and to play an activerole in society at the same time. She welcomed the establishment of com-pany kindergartens, but stressed that women still needed the agreement oftheir husbands. A lot of women studied at universities in order to relativizetheir traditional role inside the family, while at the same time seekingreforms within Iran’s Islamic constitution. They found it difficult to coop-erate with other women who were willing to leave this framework. Finally,she called for a better understanding between Muslim women and the Westand an ongoing dialogue inside Iranian society.

Iman ash-Shargabi (Yemen)English scholar, Sanaa UniversityIman ash-Shargabi began by saying that »the only source of law is Islam«.

Thus, she did not believe that there was any struggle between men andwomen in Islamic societies, because everybody had his / her role to play andasked what goal women want to reach with their struggle. Women inYemen were mostly faced with poverty and illiteracy and often, like men,

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did not know their rights. She expected women’s role in society to developvery slowly, although a few women already worked in the government andpublic administration. She explained that there were a lot of problems inYemen, for example infrastructure, and that women’s rights were thereforenot a major issue. She concluded by saying that there would be more successin this field in Yemen in due course.

Norani Othman (Malaysia)Sociologist, Vice-President of the Malaysian Social Science Association and Director of the Muslim women’s organization »Sisters in Islam« (SIS)Norani Othman stressed that it was Islam that had given women their

first civil rights. But she said that this trend had been reversed now and shebelieved there was a need for a Muslim women’s group called »Sisters inIslam«. In Malaysia the politicization of Islam and the industrialization ofthe state had occurred at the same time. But the social transformation hadhad severe consequences for political Islam. Many Islamic laws had beenintroduced which had restricted many rights women had had before. Shetherefore concluded by saying that in a modernizing nation and society likeMalaysia, things were much more complex and that there was a need to pro-vide a more animating, a more egalitarian, liberal and progressive interpre-tation of Islam.

Dr Fawziah Bakr al-Bakr (Saudi Arabia)Assistant Professor, Riad UniversityDr al-Bakr began by noting that the image of Saudi Arabian women in the

West is still based on 1001 Arabian Nights. But to understand the situationtoday, people had to know about the traditional relationship between poli-tics and religion in Saudi Arabia. She complained that today the religiousauthority regulated the education system for example, but on the otherhand an overwhelming majority of Saudi women worked in the medical oreducation sectors. This was largely because these jobs were regarded as suitable for women, whereas other spheres, such as the private or govern-mental sectors, were neglected. But she explained that a dialogue on therole of women had started in Saudi Arabia and that there was a need for a

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new reading and interpretation of Islam and she concluded by saying that»women are not imprisoned by Sharia but by interpretation«.

Wedad Abu Saud (Saudi Arabia)Education administratorWedad Abu Saud recalled the long suppression of women by men in

history and the important role that the media played today by influencingpeople through images. She stated that in Saudi Arabia, at least, the situa-tion for women had actually improved. Due to the absence of poverty,women could now be educated and work, whereas in the past they oftenhad to help inside the family. There should therefore be a dialogue betweenmen and women on two levels: on the one hand, an intellectual dialogueand, on the other, a dialogue on the change of lifestyles. Although SaudiArabia had a major unemployment problem, the working conditions in theeducation sphere were changing and she hoped that professionals would no longer emigrate. She saw new jobs for women especially in tourism, in voluntary organizations, in banking, in businesses or in the media. Thiswould help women to play a greater role in the labour market and indirect-ly gain greater influence on economic and political decisions. She concludedby saying that women still had a lot to do, but that time was on their side.

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DiscussionMarie-Luise Beck (Germany)Marie-Luise Beck thanked the participants for their remarks and admitted

that most Europeans did not know much about Islam. She talked about theheadscarf debate and asked whether Sharia was compatible with demo-cracy.

Fatima Hasan al-Hawaj (Bahrain)She explained that Sharia had been taken out of the text of the Koran and

other sources and was a kind of codex for people. It was created by trainedreligious scholars. For example, the wearing of a veil enhanced the femini-nity of women as well as their dignity and their humanity, but it had noth-ing to do with religion. In general, there were two different lines of thought:the traditional and the tolerant, which meant that every single issue, suchas the veil issue, was open to interpretation – and errors.

Fatemeh Sadr (Iran)Fatemeh Sadr explained that there were different ways of reading the

Sharia. Some people said that this law was created by men and was not com-patible with what was laid down in real Sharia. Some people said that Shariahad already been in place during the time of Mohammed. There was a lot ofdiscussion about the fact that there were principles anchored in the Koranwhich were unchangeable. On the other hand, there had been a lot of histor-ical changes and these changes would continue with time.

Firdous al-Moussawi (Iraq)Firdous al-Moussawi said that she saw democracy as a room where peo-

ple could enjoy personal liberties, although those liberties were limited inthat they must not interfere with the liberty of other individuals. She there-fore stressed that the clothing issue was not really a religious problem.

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Sayeda Saiyedain Hameed (India)Dr Hameed stressed that the most important thing was the need for

change and that woman brought about change from within. The two keytenets of the Koran were that there was no compulsion in religion and thatGod was closer to people than His interpreter, which meant that an individ-ual had the right to interpret according to his or her own understanding.

Omaima Abu Bakr (Egypt)Omaima Abu Bakr stated her belief that Islam was compatible with

democracy because all religions were compatible with positive values. Butreligion could be abused for bad and cruel intentions. For example, Christi-anity was used to justify the divine rights of kings, and was even used at onepoint to justify the Inquisition. Therefore, one could also ask whether Chris-tianity was compatible with democracy. She wondered if there were doublestandards here as no-one seemed to care about undemocratic non-Muslimcountries. That is why the Muslim world did not respond to appeals for hu-manitarian rights.

Fawziah Bakr al-Bakr (Saudi Arabia)Dr al-Bakr pointed out that democracy cannot be separated from wom-

en’s rights or other issues. Reforms all across society are needed.

Najia al-Boudali (Morocco)Najia al-Boudali suggested that the word »veil« be replaced by »head cov-

ering«, which did not necessarily have a religious context and drew atten-tion to the fact that women also covered their heads for social and economicreasons. Nor was it true that women who covered their heads were auto-matically more extremist in their religious views. Najia al-Boudali gavemany examples to confirm this. She stressed that everyone had the freedomto do what he or she wanted. »There are, of course, women who don’t wantto wear anything. That is, of course, their right. There are women who wantto cover themselves entirely. They have the right to do so as well.«

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Fatima Hasan al-Hawaj (Bahrain)Fatima al-Hawaj pointed out that the headscarf was not an Islamic or

Arab discovery or invention. Rather, Egyptian and Iranian aristocrats cameup with the idea. There were three references to this in the Koran. The firstreference was: »If he wants to ask his wife for something then he will do so behind a curtain or a veil. You don’t want to burden others.« Haremsemerged on this basis. The second was: »Prophet, tell your women and yourdaughters that they should pull something over themselves, this means thatthey will be recognized and not harassed.« Only the upper part of a wom-en’s body (breast) seemed to be meant here. The third was: »Tell the be-lieving women that they should avert their eyes and they should protecttheir charm and their jewellery. They should not display them.« What mat-ters in Islamic teaching was not that some people believed that hair had tobe covered or that other people believed that faces had to be covered. TheSharia was based on analogy. One found a case that had really happenedand had been dealt with in a certain way and that set a precedent for thefuture. So, of course, there was also consensus amongst the scholars.

Iman al-Hayyaf (Algeria)Iman al-Hayyaf rejected the question of compatibility between Islam and

democracy and raised the question of freedom of speech in every countryinstead. She also asked why the West always equated the Arab world withIslam and looked at the integration problem from a religious angle.

Dr Coletta Damm (Bonn)Dr Damm argued that the West should overcome its fears and prejudices.

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Katajun Amirpur (Cologne)Katajun Amirpur said that democracies had to prove that they had the

better form of government and dismissed the idea that those living in ademocracy were better than others. She said that everyone should be waryof ideologies and that everyone should have rights, not only those whoadhered to a particular political party, ideology or religion. On the otherhand, she admitted that believing was useless if one was not willing to im-plement it, willing to monitor it, willing to make sure that what one rejecteddid not become reality.

Raeda Taha (Palestinian territories)Raeda Taha pointed out that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

placed all countries under an obligation to guarantee rights and obligationsfor everyone. All states had to comply with this obligation which had noth-ing to do with religion. Therefore every country should incorporate thoseguarantees into national law and every human being should, for example,be allowed to dress however he or she pleased. But she did not understandwhy the US Government, for instance, often gave advice to the Islamicworld.

Omaima Abu Bakr (Egypt)Omaima Abu Bakr began by describing a report from the US that a Mus-

lim father had killed his daughter. She in turn asked CNN: »Would you havesaid that a Christian father had killed his daughter?« And they answered:»No«. Therefore she warned against double standards and stressed thatMuslim women had to implement their own reforms.

Marzia Basel (Afghanistan)Marzia Basel concluded that the headscarf was not only a symbol of Is-

lamic religion but was also very much connected to Afghan culture. Womenin Afghanistan had much more serious problems than the headscarf. »Let usallow people to do what they want. But not force others«.

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Panel 2What do career and success mean to women?What are their goals, who are their role models?What are their professional fields?How does self-fulfilment through social commitment without financial payment work?

Moderator: Sonia Mikich (Cologne), journalist

Khofifah Indar Parawansa (Indonesia)Former Minister of State for Women’s AffairsKhofifah Parawansa began by saying that Indonesia’s society was largely

patriarchal and that poverty restricted women’s access to resources in fa-vour of men. Those conditions were often used to blame Islam. She regardedpolitics as a forum which could enable non-professional women or womenfrom non-governmental institutions to be decision-makers. She remindedthe group that Indonesia had a female president. In the cultural sphere,Islamic teachings were developed and spread mainly by men with their malevalues in order to establish patriarchal values and norms. Women in de-cision-making positions had the power to change this. With regard to thereligious aspect, there were many passages in the Koran about equality bet-ween men and women. Former restrictions, such as keeping daughters in-side the house, were simply impossible today as going to school had becomethe norm.

Hala Bsaisu Lattouf (Jordan)Secretary General of the Ministry for Political Development and Administrative Reform, Member of the Executive Committee of the Arab Women SummitHala Lattouf did not see any contradiction in being a Muslim woman in

the modern world. On the contrary, she believed that deep inside Islamthere was total liberty for every woman. Her own sister preferred to stay at

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home to do handicraft and look after her children. In her opinion, financialindependence was the cornerstone of female emancipation, whereas head-scarf debates were definitely of minor importance. Knowledge was anothervery important tool, as the prophet had said: »Seeking knowledge is a man-date for every Muslim, be it a female or a male.« Finally she expressed thehope that dialogues such as this would help move the Western view of Mus-lim women in the right direction.

Raeda Taha (Palestinian territories)Journalist at the WAFA Press Office in Washington DC and in the press department of President Arafat’s office in Tunis, member of the board of the Sakakini cultural centre in RamallahFirst of all, Raeda Taha pointed out that the Berlin Wall had been very

short in comparison to the wall which the Israelis were building now andreminded everyone that this wall was also greatly restricting women in theirpersonal freedom. Furthermore, she did not understand the sudden interestin Islam after September 11, because Islam had been in existence for muchlonger. Raeda Taha stressed that the occupation rather than Islam had adetrimental effect on Palestinian women’s welfare. Due to the occupation,women were unable to fulfil their own goals and had to look out for theirmale relatives as well. Generally, it was more difficult for women in hersociety to be successful because they had to shoulder greater responsibility.Thus she called for an independent Palestinian state.

Rana Ismail (Lebanon)Trained electrical engineer, headmistress of a private school, member of the al-Mabarrat Association Board of Educational Development and SupervisionConcerning her rather »unusual« profession, she reported that there

were many female technical engineers in Lebanon and that she had beenbrought up in a secular family. Then she explained that the civil war hadcaused a deep and horrific change in her life which had awakened a desireto do voluntary work. Against this background and during her studies, shehad developed a deep religious commitment, despite the distrust of her

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family and friend and she believed that a person who felt the existence ofGod was empowered to work for social change in his or her community. Shehad given up her well-paid job as an engineer to do voluntary work but saidthat this had been her own decision and that she did not regret it. In herview, therefore, even religious Muslims could still do whatever they wantedand she pointed out that in Lebanon people still believed that being re-ligious and active were contradictions in terms. However, her biographyshowed that this was not true.

Khadija Ben Ganna (Algeria / Qatar)Newsreader at Al-Jazeera TelevisionKhadija Ben Ganna talked about the reactions she received after she had

decided to wear a headscarf in front of Al-Jazeera cameras and tried toexplain why she did it. She believed that terrorism definitely had nothing incommon with Islam and, as proof of this, she said that she had fled Algeriaand Islamic terror. Concerning her work at Al-Jazeera, she admitted that itwas very difficult for a woman to work in the media in such a traditionalenvironment, although nearly all parts of the Islamic world were represent-ed at Al-Jazeera. She also explained that there were no laws or unions pro-tecting journalists, and that there was no solidarity among colleagues. Shesaid that she actually received more support from European colleagues thanfrom Arab ones and she advocated more dialogue. With regard to the rightsof women in Islam, she argued that tradition and Islam were often mixed.Obviously »Islam does not forbid women to drive a car or to meet men«, butthere were moral values which were also shared by most non-Muslim wom-en. And as for her own decision to wear a headscarf, she called for toleranceon both sides. She said that she should be able to wear a headscarf if shewanted while non-Muslim women visiting Arab countries should not be forced to wear it. As for quota systems, she believed that they were dis-criminatory in themselves.

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Najia al-Boudali (Morocco)Professor of geology, author and member of various local and international human rights groupsOn the one hand, Najia al-Boudali regarded quotas as an instrument to

bring women into decision-making positions, but on the other hand, theyseemed to her to be quite undemocratic. Thus, a quota could only makesense in order to help women, but as soon as they had reached their goalsthey no longer made sense. Quotas were especially helpful in political parties.

Shahida Jamil (Pakistan)Former Minister of Justice, member of the Sindh High Court Bar Association and the Karachi Bar Association, Professor of Legal StudiesShahida Jamil reported that Pakistan had been experimenting with quota

systems since 1972, not only for women but also for ethnic races. But it hadbecome obvious that this instrument had severely damaged the politicalsystem and that nepotism, rivalry and corruption had resulted. She then talked about the similarities between the three monotheistic religions andpointed out that there were diverse strains in all of them. Thus, diversityshould not worry anybody. She gave an overview of the colonial period inPakistan and concluded that this state came into being mainly through dia-logue and that there was no contradiction with Islam. Moreover, throughoutthe 1950s, women had moved into different spheres of activity, into law,medicine and engineering, all of which had happened during military dic-tatorships. Benazir Bhutto had become Prime Minister and there had been amajor debate in Pakistan as to whether a woman could become head ofstate. But finally she concluded that the Queen of Sheba was mentioned inthe Koran. As for the role of women, she said that fulfilment for a Muslimwoman included both family and her desire to work. At this point she criti-cized family policies aimed at achieving a zero birthrate.

Sayeda Saiyedain Hameed (India)Dr Hameed argued that a quota system was best introduced at a certain

level of political development and reminded the group that many womenwho gained influence through quotas might be illiterate. Nevertheless, the

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success stories prevailed and she hoped that quotas would also be intro-duced at regional and national level. She expressed her regret that the Mus-lim world did not react in an appropriate manner to the stoning sentencehanded down to a Nigerian woman.

Lamia Messari-Becker (Darmstadt)Lamia Messari-Becker talked about the attempts to amend the law in

Morocco in order to give women more rights, which had failed in parliamentmainly due to female opposition. Thus she asked whether Muslim womenwere ready to shoulder more responsibility.

Najia al-Boudali (Morocco)Najia al-Boudali said that there had been considerable protest in Morocco

against the stoning sentence handed down to a Nigerian woman, but alsoadmitted that women in the Arab world lacked networks in order to expresstheir protest. But in her opinion, lifestyle and living conditions had improvedfor many women and in Morocco at least, women could live as they pleaseddue to Morocco’s multicultural heritage. Although Morocco was an Islamicstate with many taboos, it was still quite an open-minded country. She therefore believed that state and religion should be separated.

Dr Sarah al-Fadil Mahmoud Abdel Karim (Sudan)Former head of the foreign relations directorate of the Umma Party, now NGO sectionFirst of all, Dr Abdel Karim stated that »the interpretation of Koran is the

interpretation offered by different scholars« which »made room for manythings but also for oppression«. She talked about her experience under dif-ferent, mostly undemocratic, governments under which she had even beentortured and about the attempts by the Sudanese Government from 1998onwards to improve women’s education. When asked about the UmmaParty’s programme, she explained that her party definitely wanted to im-prove the situation of women and the rest of society as well. For example,the Umma Party had long since introduced quotas and was now open to everyone in the Sudan, even to Christians.

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Martina Hunzelmann (Stuttgart) EntrepreneurWhen asked about the gender conflict inside her family, Martina Hunzel-

mann answered that the fact that she was her father’s third daughter andwas fortunate enough not to have a brother to compete with had been a bigadvantage. Her company employed many women, but work was done inteams and it had women in all decision-making positions. When askedabout the situation in Germany, Martina Hunzelmann admitted that even inGermany women did not have the kind of support they needed.

Sahar Mahaini (Syria)Teacher, member of the charity RajaaSahar Mahaini argued that it was important for women to have a strong

position both in their profession and in society. In her opinion, the best wayfor women to assert their rights was to first of all exchange their experi-ences. While telling the group about her own personal experiences, she ex-plained that, with regard to Islam’s code and culture, Muslim husbands werenot only obliged to support their wives in material terms, but also with love.During her life she had been quite lucky, but she had also had to work hard.She had accepted a part-time job in order to have enough time for herself,her family and the charity she joined in 1990. When asked about computerclasses, she answered that they should play an important role in school, butshe mainly taught her pupils social values.

Abeer Mishkas (Saudi Arabia)JournalistFirst of all, Abeer Mishkas said that she would defend any woman that

arrived in Saudi Arabia and was forced to wear a headscarf and that sheassumed that all women were strong in their own ways. When asked aboutthe term »career woman«, she answered that it was definitely a positiveterm in Saudi Arabia, because sometimes a career offered women newopportunities which they might not have had previously. When asked whether career and family can be combined, she answered that there was agrowing debate in the kingdom due to the rising divorce rate. In her opinion,

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this had nothing to do with »career women« because she knew of manycases which proved the contrary. Especially in Saudi Arabia, it was quite easyfor women to be successful both at work and in the family.

Martina Hunzelmann (Stuttgart)Martina Hunzelmann stated that it was easy for women as long as they

had the support of their families / husbands or at least of society. She alsoasked whether women had to do exactly what men do.

Rana Ismail (Lebanon)Rana Ismail stressed that women needed the support of men and that the

father was usually the head of the family, although women were shoul-dering more and more responsibility. But group work and sharing were alsovery important. As for the materialistic side, financial independence forwomen should never affect the equilibrium within a relationship. She claimed that active members of Islamic countries should put more effort in-to organizing such events and joining forces to advocate Islam’s true image.

Fatima Hasan al-Hawaj (Bahrain)Fatima al-Hawaj gave an example as to why women needed the support

of men and stressed that men, too, must shoulder responsibility within the family. She also explained that tribalism was a big obstacle to bringingwomen into senior positions and that women were exploited in the privatesector.

Najia al-Boudali (Morocco)Najia al-Boudali explained that even schoolbooks worked with gender

stereotypes but she also admitted that there were problems with the labourmarket, especially the issue of night shifts. She welcomed the fact that thediscussion had moved from religion to patriarchal structures in general.

Sahar Mahaini (Syria)Sahar Mahaini stressed that women were constantly faced with a dilem-

ma because they felt guilty if they had jobs outside the house and might feel

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empty if they stayed at home. Both running after money and poverty harmthe oriental family.

Abeer Mishkhas (Saudi Arabia)Abeer Mishkhas gave examples to show how the system in Saudi Arabia

made it easy for women to keep their jobs and their family and stressed theimportance of family support.

Fawziah Abu Bakr (Saudi Arabia)When asked about not having children, Fawziah Abu Bakr answered that

she, too, had decided not to have children despite facing pressure from allsides. One positive bonus of her decision was that she had more time forother things in her life, but she believed that having children was a greatachievement in itself.

Khadija Ben Ganna (Algeria / Qatar)Khadija Ben Ganna refuted the argument that women only worked in

order to prove themselves by stating her own personal experience. She called upon the participants to use »we« more often instead of »they« and»us«.

Shahida Jamil (Pakistan)Shahida Jamil argued that children were very much part of living,

growing and self-fulfilment. She had stopped working because she did notwant to miss out on being pregnant or on the important moments in herchildren’s development. And as soon as they could look after themselves,she had returned to her old job. In a way she regretted the fact that menwere not integrated into family life in the same way as women were. But shealso admitted that women did not just want to be financially independentbut also wanted the »human touch« and that »comes through your child,comes through your families, comes through your relationships«.

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Sonia Mikich (Cologne)Sonia Mikich concluded that the afternoon had shown that gender specif-

ic behaviour of women is not genetic, but a result of poverty, the situationin their countries, social structures, culture, as well as by what they did notdare to do.

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Panel 3How does the West view Muslim women in professional and everyday life?How do female Muslims manage their lives individually in a pluralistic society?What are the experiences of Muslim women in Germany?Which limits do they experience and how do they overcome them?

Moderator: Nicola Graef (Hamburg), journalist

Lamia Messari-Becker (Darmstadt)Construction engineer, Commissioner for Women’s Affairs andChairperson of the Commission for the Promotion of Women, Darmstadt Technical UniversityFirst of all, Lamia Messari-Becker explained why she had come to Ger-

many and why she had studied construction engineering. She reported thateven in a country like Germany she was often addressed as Mr Messari-Becker and that only 4% of managers were women. Even after having livedin Germany for twelve years, she was still surprised at how little some Ger-mans knew about Islam, although there were many parallels between Chris-tianity and Islam. When asked whether Germans were curious, she answer-ed that they mostly only asked questions once the contact had developed.But sometimes this ignorance about Islam was due to lack of interest, pre-judices and bias.

Hamideh Mohaghegi (Hanover)Deputy chairperson of the HUDA Network for Muslim WomenHamideh Mohaghegi also believed there was much ignorance and mis-

understanding vis-à-vis Islam among the German population. In particular,their image of Muslim women was very distorted: »They are suppressed,they are not allowed to leave the house. They are only there for their chil-dren, their husbands and for the household.« She talked about when she

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had come to Germany and she really considered this to be a very positiveperiod in her life. She reported that her daughters had felt integrated atschool, which, in her opinion, depended on how self-confident people wereand how sure they were of their own situation. When asked about her rela-tionship with Islam in Germany, she answered that she had started studyingIslamic theology and had been confronted with questions both from societyand from her children, which had evolved through confrontation with thissociety.

Hatice Ciftci (Berlin)Head of the Dünya Cultural Centre for Girls in BerlinIn Hatice Ciftci’s opinion, family and cultural background were important

to young Muslims, but she pointed out that different groups of people hadmigrated to Germany. Many different expectations were placed in younggirls, for example, and she would like to teach them how to find a compro-mise between their families and their own goals, between these differentexpectations. When asked about their relations with German girls, she an-swered that they sometimes experienced prejudice but that she was work-ing to lessen this.

Kadriye Aydin (Darmstadt)Lawyer, board member of the Intercultural Council in Germany and co-founder of the Christian-Islamic Association in GießenKadriye Aydin told the group that in her experience, many Turkish mi-

grants came to her office because they did not speak German, but that theircases were mostly the same as those of Germans. As for family law, therewere indeed some distinctive features which had to be taken into consider-ation, but in labour law there were no differences. Usually, migrants tried tokeep their right of residence.

Marie-Luise Beck (Berlin)Member of the German Bundestag, Federal Government Commissioner for Migration, Refugees and IntegrationMarie-Luise Beck reported that for the last 40 years Germany had had a

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very high level of immigration. But due to misunderstandings on both sides,German institutions were simply not prepared for such numbers. Now it wasquite obvious that immigrants first of all had to learn the language. How-ever, it was also important to realize that people learn languages best ifthey felt relaxed and comfortable in their new home. Young women in par-ticular were faced with the dilemma of being confronted with both the tra-ditional expectations of their families and with the expectation that theyintegrated into other groups.

Lamia Messari-Becker (Darmstadt)Ms Messari-Becker talked about her experiences with German guest

families, who had rarely understood that she was in Germany all on her ownwithout a husband. She said that she had had no problems with young peo-ple, only with adults, to whom she had always had to explain herself. Finallyshe stated that she was not a feminist.

Hamideh Mohaghegi (Hanover)Hamideh Mohagheghi explained that before she had come to Germany

she had been a member of a pretty religious family. Her mother had merelywanted her to get married as quickly as possible, mostly for economic andpragmatic rather than religious reasons. She also told the group that in Ger-many many people had asked her why she was wearing a headscarf and hadassumed that it was for health reasons.

Marie-Luise Beck (Berlin)She pointed out that girls from migrant families, just like German girls,

had much better results at school than their male counterparts. But at aca-demic level, they were disadvantaged.

Barbara John (Berlin)Berlin Senate, Commissioner for Language SkillsBarbara John answered that this might be because most families feared

that they would lose control over their female relatives if they became tooeducated and integrated. Schools should work together with these Muslim

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families to allay parents’ anxieties and fears. She expressed her regret thatIslamic theology could not be studied at any university which meant thatImams with no idea of the lives of young Muslims in Germany had to bebrought to this country from the Muslim world.

Dr Coletta Damm (Bonn)Dr Damm also regarded Islamic studies in Germany as very important and

agreed that, in her experience, most families did not want their daughtersto become educated. But she believed that in time an increasing number offemale Muslim students would attend university, as their parents heardfrom others that nothing terrible would happen. Still, women »need to betwice as good if they want to have a good job. For girls it will be a majorchallenge when they ask themselves, why should I go to college or to uni-versity and risk not getting a job afterwards anyway«.

Marie-Luise Beck (Berlin)Marie-Luise Beck explained that today the general public regarded the

issue of Islam as mostly having to do with gender equality, virginity, marry-ing somebody of a different faith. But all these questions were rather old asthey had existed in the 1950s and 1960s and had also been important inChristianity.

Kadriye Aydin (Darmstadt)Ms Aydin responded to the matter of Imams from abroad by saying that

it was very risky because nobody knew who these people were. She was infavour of better training for Imams in Germany. She expressed her regretthat there seemed to be a selective process going on in Germany where oneasked »who are the Muslims we are talking to and who are the ones we arenot talking to«, whereas there were a lot of different streams of Muslims.She also agreed that the language barrier should be abolished and called formore sensitivity towards Islam from teachers. She suggested that pupils betaught in all religions rather than only their own.

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Dr Coletta Damm (Bonn)Dr Damm stated that even in Germany a distinction had been made for a

long time between writing women and thinking men. Although this hadchanged now, there were still moulds for women.

Fatima Hasan al-Hawaj (Bahrain)Fatima al-Hawaj reported that the situation in Bahrain was quite similar

because many foreign workers had emigrated there. They merely went therefor economic reasons and the government allowed them to become citizensof Bahrain once they had lived there for 25 years. In her opinion, suspicionhad developed because some citizens believed that migrants wanted tosteal from them and this sentiment was prevalent all over the world. As forthe issue of virginity and sexuality, she argued that women should preservetheir honour until they married.

Marie-Luise Beck (Berlin)Marie-Luise Beck asked what made up a nation’s identity and answered

that in Germany’s case it was said to be democracy, the rule of law, equali-ty, equal rights for men and women, and freedom of religion. But the diffi-culty with this freedom was that Islamic life in Germany was mostly linkedto the conflicts in the countries of origin. For example, as soon as it becameobvious that there were strong ties between some Turks in Germany and a political party in Turkey, which was against the rule of law and againstsecularization, it became quite difficult.

Lamia Messari-Becker (Darmstadt)Ms Messari-Becker said that she did not understand the uproar about

mixed-sex excursions and swimming lessons. Such problems could easily besolved through compromise. She therefore did not agree that one constant-ly had to bear in mind the needs of the Muslim community and stated thatone was harming the image of Islam if one forbade one’s daughter to parti-cipate in excursions.

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Firdous al-Moussawi (Iraq)In her opinion, sexual relationships outside marriage merely resulted in

illegitimate children and the spread of sexual diseases such as Aids. But shealso agreed that people had the right to do whatever they wanted, as longas they did not infringe upon the freedom of others. Tradition could change,but belief never changed.

Dr Coletta Damm (Bonn)In Dr Damm’s opinion, parents only wanted to protect their daughters.

She believed it was crucial that teachers learn how to deal with Muslimpupils and their parents and stated an example from her own experience.She also said that Muslims did not talk among themselves either, somethingwhich should change, too.

Kerstin Müller (Berlin)From her own experience, Kerstin Müller said, she believed that young

Muslim girls were somehow lost between two cultures and were faced witha conflict which no-one really knew how to resolve. She explained that »thefact that Islamist extremist organizations try to counter integration en-couraged us to take a particular stand on migration, immigration and head-scarves.« But nevertheless »we don’t want to generalize by saying, well,young girls or women who decide to wear headscarves take this political orreligious decision which runs counter to our views or convictions.« Finally,because she had to leave a bit earlier, she thanked all of the participants andher staff members most cordially and said that this conference had been amajor success.

Kadriye Aydin (Darmstadt)Kadriye Aydin argued that some Muslim girls did take part in excursions,

but that this issue was not so important, even though social and extracur-ricular activities should not be neglected. With regard to sex education andpatriarchal structures, she said that there were also major difficulties butthat it should be possible to approach Muslim women directly. She stressedthe greater importance of language courses, something which was reallyimportant for immigrants.

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Iman al-Hayyaf (Algeria)Iman al-Hayyaf focused on »ghettoization« and said that a low-income

background plus ghettoization plus a stagnation in economic status madethe integration of migrant women more difficult, whereas migrants who didnot live in such ghettos had no problem with integration.

Omaima Abu Bakr (Egypt)Omaima Abu Bakr said that it seemed to her that what she had heard

from the others amounted to a series of contradictions and polarities. Forexample, Germany was perceived by others as an immigrant society, but didnot regard itself as one. She raised the question as to whether it was inte-gration that everybody wants or sameness and homogeneity and wanted toaddress this question especially to the representative from India.

Nicola Graef (Hamburg)Nicola Graef admitted that this was indeed one of the most important

questions for the next decade. In her opinion, immigrants in Germany werenot treated as immigrants but, rather, were encouraged to become assimi-lated. She said that German society had to come to terms with the fact thatan increasing number of young Muslim women were going to university.Thus Germany’s goal should be diversity rather than homogeneity.

Marie-Luise Beck (Berlin)In order »to save German honour«, Marie-Luise Beck said that one should

not claim that Germans were intolerant, something which made the head-scarf debate for example so difficult. She stated that other societies werealso dealing with such questions. In her opinion, the whole issue had to dowith modernity, because »modern societies become less homogeneous«.That meant that people had to accept the changes that urban life broughtabout in the whole world. Although she knew that such changes combinedwith immigration demanded high standards of democracy and tolerance,she still thought that Germany was not doing too badly in this respect.

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Fawziah Bakr Al-Bakr (Saudi Arabia)Dr Al-Bakr expressed her belief that the role of women within Islamic

societies was changing enormously.

Dr Sayeda Saiyedain Hameed (India)Dr Hameed expressed her feeling that as part of the Muslim community,

Muslim women had made a valuable contribution to society as a whole. Shedisagreed that modern societies were less and less homogeneous and sawthe problem that there were people in Germany who were opposed to therule of law. She talked about her experiences in Canada and the idea of themosaic rather than of the melting pot. She told Ms Beck that she could notshock her with her remarks concerning sexual minorities, school trips orswimming lessons because »the beauty of Islam is its pluralism«. She agreedthat immigrants enriched societies.

Firdous al-Moussawi (Iraq / UK)Firdous al-Moussawi reported that in Iraq the Baath Party had forbidden

women to wear headscarves which had led many of them to seek asylum inEurope.

Fatima al-Hawaj (Bahrain)Fatima al-Hawaj said that she saw no difference between nuns and

Muslim women wearing headscarves. She pointed out that »there is noidentity in the whole world nor in any culture which remains static« andexpressed her belief that the passing of time would solve many questionsquickly.

Rana Ismail (Lebanon)Rana Ismail believed that the questions concerning girls such as virginity

and school excursions were more a matter concerning religious societiesand this was the same within Christian families in her home country. Shesaid that she had gained the impression that the conflict had arisen fromthe perception that Germany was a less religious society while the Islamiccommunity was perhaps more religious. She stressed that only a very small

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minority of Muslims were terrorists and that it was the duty of the media topromote a fair image of Islam in the world. She pointed out the need fordefinitions, for example of Islam, of Sharia or even of democracy. Finally shesaid that Western countries should study the role of Israel carefully and thenthey would discover that Israel was behind a lot of problems.

Shahida Jamil (Pakistan)Shahida Jamil expressed the view that one needed to widen his or her

perspective. With regard to sexual liberty, she saw a connection with otherareas of liberty and believed that opportunities should be left open to wom-en. But on the other hand, she was concerned that the others were talkingabout parental concern as a burden which was dismantling family struc-tures.

Dr Coletta Damm (Bonn)Dr Damm stated that everyone was different and that diversity was a

great enrichment. She said that equating Islam with terrorism simply im-plied the growth of fundamentalism because maybe this was the only way to defend one’s identity against such a background. More importanceshould be attached to caring for young people, otherwise they might be-come extremists. This meant granting them specific opportunities so thatthey could find their own identity. She believed that German converts couldfunction as a bridge for dialogue between the two groups. She was worriedthat Islam was always reduced to marginalizations, while »Islam can be apartner for Europe. Islam offers new solutions for economic crisis, for socialissues. It is not a rival, it is not a danger.«

Ambassador Dr Gunter Mulack (Berlin)Commissioner for Intercultural Dialogue / Dialogue with the Islamic World at the Federal Foreign OfficeDr Mulack expressed his delight with what he had heard because, in his

opinion, listening was part and parcel of any dialogue, but dialogues oftenend up as monologues. Everybody should accept that there were differingviews and different approaches to life. For the Federal Foreign Office this

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dialogue with women in Islamic countries was a key component of its dia-logue with the Islamic world. Although, with more tolerance on both sides,people might prefer to live in a religiously-based society, there were manypeople in Germany who wanted to live in a secular world. NeverthelessIslam should not be blamed for things which had nothing to do with it. Buthe expressed the view that men in the Islamic world really were afraid ofwomen who were often so much more committed and he was convincedthat men would not have shown the same perseverance at this conference.Finally, Dr Mulack thanked all the participants and concluded that he hadlearned much during this conference.

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ParticipantsPanel I

Marzia Basel, Afghanistan, former judge, Member of the Loya Jirga Ms Marzia Basel, born in 1966 in Kabul, read law and politics at the Uni-

versity of Kabul. She has participated in numerous international conferences(Civil Society Conference, Berlin). The committed women’s rights activist hasbeen project leader of UNIFEM in Afghanistan since February 2004.

Omaima Abu Bakr, Egypt, English scholar, Cairo UniversityMs Abu Bakr, born in 1957, studied English, Arabic and Comparative Liter-

ature at the Universities of Cairo, North Carolina and Berkeley, California,where she took her PhD. She works as a Professor of English and Compara-tive Literature at Cairo University. She is a founding member of the EgyptianNGO »Women and Memory Forum«, a research center for gender issuesfounded in 1996.

Fatima Hasan al-Hawaj, Bahrain, lawyerMs al-Hawaj, born in 1966, has had her own lawyer’s office since 1991 and

is active in various civil society spheres. The dedicated jurist is a member ofvarious organizations (including the Comity Board of Bahrain Bar Associa-tion, Bahrain Businesswomen Society and Comity Board of Bahrain HumanRights Research Department). She publishes articles on equal rights andfamily law in a regional newspaper.

Dr Sayeda Saiyedain Hameed, India, women’s rights activistDr Sayeda Saiyedain Hameed is a founder member of South Asians for

Human Rights (SAHR), a regional body focusing on human rights issues inSouth Asia. She is also a trustee of the Women’s Initiative for Peace in SouthAsia (WIPSA) and founder member of the Muslim Women’s Forum. DrHameed has published many books. Her latest publication is Mussaddas-eHali (Ebb and Flow in Islam).

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Firdous al-Moussawi, Iraq (British national), economics / law, Islamic economics Ms Firdous al-Moussawi is an expert in Islamic law and economics. The

trustee of the Iraqi Orphan Foundation engages in education and socialwork to improve the situation of orphans in Baghdad and young people inLondon. Ms al-Moussawi is chairperson of the Al-Zahran Women’s Centre.

Fatemeh Sadr-Tabatabai, Iran, education / social psychology, social workMs Fatemeh Sadr, born in 1946 in Tehran, read education and social

psychology at the Ruhr University in Bochum, Germany. She now works on afreelance basis in an intercultural dialogue centre in Iran and organizesvarious dialogue events between religious communities. Ms Sadr is current-ly planning and running a project promoting dialogue in Iranian society. MsSadr is also a member of an NGO working on the topic of women and health.

Iman ash-Shargabi, Yemen, English scholarMs Iman ash-Shargabi, born in 1978 in Egypt, read English at the Univer-

sity of Science and Technology (UST) in Yemen. She has been working as anEnglish lecturer at the UST since October 2000.

Norani Othman, Malaysia, sociologist, Director of the Sisters in IslamMs Norani Othman has been Professor of Sociology and senior fellow

of the University Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) since 1995. She engaged inresearch at the Berlin Wissenschaftskolleg from 1998 to 1999. Ms Norani’sresearch includes the spheres of sociology, anthropology and contemporaryintellectualism and the history of ideas in Third World societies and wom-en’s rights. Norani Othman is Vice-President of the Malaysian Social ScienceAssociation and Director of the Muslim women’s organization Sisters inIslam (SIS).

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Dr Fawziah Bakr al-Bakr, Saudi Arabia, Assistant Professor at the King Saud UniversityDr Fawziah Bakr al-Bakr read education at the University of London. She

is a member of the American Sociological Association and the LondonMiddle East Institute amongst others. Ms Bakr al-Bakr is one of the fewwomen who played an active role as a speaker in the second meeting fornational dialogue (27 – 31 December 2003), held for the first time in SaudiArabia. The Assistant Professor has published several articles in periodicalson the education of women in Saudi Arabia and a book entitled »SaudiWoman and Education / Historical Perspective«.

Wedad Abu Saud, Saudi Arabia, educational science Ms Abu Saud works at the education administration of Saudi Arabia’s

eastern province. She participated in the national dialogue. She has a verygood knowledge of German since her husband studied medicine in Ger-many.

Dr Annabelle Böttcher, Islamic scholar, Berlin University

Panel II

Khofifah Indar Parawansa, Indonesia, Minister of State for Women’s Affairs Ms Khofifah Indar Parawansa, born in 1965 in Surabaya, Indonesia, read

political science at Airlangga University. Her speech at the general meetingof the People’s Consultative Assembly in 1998 in which she heavily criticizedthe policies of the Soeharto Government caused quite a stir. Ms Parawansa,who grew up in a traditional Islamic environment, focuses on women’sissues and social inequalities in Indonesian society.

Hala Bsaisu Lattouf, Jordan, Secretary General of the Ministry for Political Development and Administrative Reform

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Ms Hala Bsaisu Lattouf was until May State Secretary in the Ministry ofPlanning responsible for international development-policy cooperation.Then she was appointed Secretary General of the Ministry for Political De-velopment and Administrative Reform. Alongside many activities in variousinstitutions, she is also a member of the Executive Committee of the ArabWomen Summit. Ms Lattouf chaired the Jordanian delegation at the MadridConference in October 2003.

Rana Ismail, Lebanon, headmistressMs Rana Ismail, born in 1961, is headmistress of the largest Islamic sec-

ondary school (al-Kawthar School) in Lebanon with 1,500 pupils. The trainedelectrical engineer advocates an Islam which opens all careers to women. MsIsmail has been a member of the Al-Mabarrat Association Board of Educa-tional Development and Supervision since 1998.

Najia Al-Boudali, Morocco, Professor of Geology, University of Casablanca / human rights activist Ms Najia Boudali was born in 1959 in Casablanca and is active in various

local and international human rights groups, including Synergie Civique andamnesty international. In her role as activist, she focuses above all on theproblem of violence against women. Ms Boudali is Professor of Geology atthe Hassan II University in Casablanca and author of the books Témoignagesdes Femmes and Les problèmes des femmes marocaines face aux lois juridi-ques.

Shahida Jamil, Pakistan, former Minister of Justice of Sindh Province, lawyer Ms Shahida Jamil was born in 1944; former Minister of Justice of Sindh

Province as well as the central Government in Islamabad. She was thus thefirst woman in Pakistan to hold such a high political office. Ms Jamil is amember both of the Sindh High Court Bar Association and of the Karachi BarAssociation in Karachi. She works with great dedication to improve the situ-ation of women in Pakistan. Furthermore, she is Professor of Legal Studies atthe Sindh Muslim Government Law College in Karachi.

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Raeda Taha, Palestinian Territories, journalistFollowing her studies at the George Mason University (USA), the commu-

nications scientist worked inter alia as a journalist at the WAFA Press Officein Washington, DC (1987 – 1988) and in the press department of the latePresident Arafat’s office in Tunis (1988 – 1994). Her first book entitled »Ali«,dedicated to her father, Ali Taha, who lost his life in 1972 during a planehijacking, was published in 2002. Ms Taha is currently a member of theboard of the Sakakini cultural centre in Ramallah.

Khadija Ben Ganna, Qatar / Algeria, newsreader / journalistMs Ben Ganna has been a News and Programs Presenter at Qatar-based

Al-Jazeera Television Station since 1997. The experienced journalist workedpreviously for different radio and television stations in her home countryAlgeria, as well as in Switzerland. She caught worldwide attention in No-vember 2003 when she decided to wear the Islamic headscarf while present-ing her programmes at Al-Jazeera.

Abeer Mishkas, Saudi Arabia, journalistMs Abeer Mishkas, born in 1964, studied drama at the King Abdul Aziz

University in Jedda. She has been the editor of the newspaper Arab Newssince 1992. The columnist was awarded the Editor of the Year Prize in 1997.

Dr Sarah al-Fadil Mahmoud Abdel Karim, Sudan, sociologist (Wife of Sadiq al-Mahdi, Umma Party)Dr Sara al-Fadil Mahmoud Abdel Karim, born in 1939 in Wad Nubawe

(Sudan), read sociology at the University of New York. Ms Abdel Karim hadbeen leading the foreign relations directorate of the Umma Party since 1963,until she recently took over the NGO section following recent internal re-structuring of the party. Just a few days ago, the Ahfad Women’s Universityin Khartoum awarded Ms Abdel Karim an honorary doctorate.

Sahar Mahaini, Syria, English teacherBorn in 1951 in Damascus. She studied English Literature at the University

of Damascus and holds a Diploma in Translation. She worked both as an

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English teacher at a secondary school and as a home tutor. Since 1990 shehas been working as a volunteer at the charitable organization Rajaa. Shecurrently teaches Islamic Ethics and Morals in an elementary school inDamascus.

Martina Hunzelmann, entrepreneur, Stuttgart

Panel III

Iman al-Hayyaf, Algeria, Collectif Maghreb 95 Born on 14 September 1958 in Algiers, she has been active in NGOs (UNI-

FEM, ACDI, OXFAM etc.) since the 1980s helping defend women’s needs andhas organized or attended numerous seminars at home and abroad. Theeconomist is a founder member and executive director of the women’s asso-ciation Collectif 95 Maghreb-Egalité set up in 1992 which focuses on endingthe discrimination of women and improving their social and legal situation.She has also written a number of publications.

Hatice Ciftci, sociologist, Dünya Cultural Centre for Girls, BerlinMs Hatice Ciftci, born in 1969 in Urfa (Turkey), is active in social work and

education. After completing her training as a nurse in 1990, she worked forthree years in a Berlin hospital before moving on to study social educationat the Alice Salomon Polytechnic in Berlin. She currently heads the DünyaCultural Centre for Girls in Berlin.

Kadriye Aydin, Intercultural Council, DarmstadtMs Kadriye Aydin, born in 1970 in Lich, read law at the Justus Liebig

University in Gießen. Ms Aydin is, inter alia, a board member of the Inter-cultural Council in Germany and co-founder of the Christian-Islamic Associa-tion in Gießen. The lawyer has been running her own office in Darmstadtsince 2003.

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Dr Coletta Damm, psychologist, chairperson of the Muslim League, BonnDr Coletta Latifah Damm, born in 1952, is inter alia the Commissioner for

Women’s Affairs of the German Muslim League and board member of theChristian Islamic Association. For some 20 years now, the trained psycholo-gist has been training managers and their staff to deal with professionaland private challenges. Ms Damm wrote an article entitled »Women’s ritualin Islam and Sufism – some Impressions« in the European Society of Womenin Theological Research (ESWTR) Yearbook 2001.

Hamideh Mohagheghi, HUDA Network for Muslim Women, HamburgMs Hamideh Mohagheghi, born in 1954 in Tehran, read law at the Shahid

Beheshti University in Tehran. Then she trained in Islamic theology at theInitiative for Islam Studies in Hamburg where she has been living since 1977.She is freelance expert in interreligious and intercultural dialogue and de-puty chairperson of the HUDA Network for Muslim Women. Ms Mohagheghihas published a number of articles on theological and social topics, inter aliain HUDA – the Islamic Women’s Magazine.

Lamia Messari-Becker, engineer, volunteer Commissioner for Women’s Affairs of the Construction Engineering Department, DarmstadtMs Lamia Messari-Becker came to Germany in 1992 and studied construc-

tion engineering at the Darmstadt Technical University. She has been work-ing as a fellow at the university since 2001. Ms Messari-Becker is currentlyserving as Commissioner for Women’s Affairs on a voluntary basis and aschairperson of the Commission for the Promotion of Women in the Depart-ment of Construction Engineering and Geodesy.

Marie-Luise Beck, Member of the German Bundestag, Federal Government Commissioner for Migration, Refugees and Integration, Berlin

Barbara John, Commissioner for Language Skills Development, Berlin Senate

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75

Echo in the media – excerpts:

»I came back imbued with an urgency for a new read-ing and interpretation of Islam, which takes into conside-ration the new demands of life. I shared with the Muslimsisters.« (Dr Syeda Sayidain Hameed, German News –New Delhi, VOL XLV, July 2004)

»At the end of the three-day-trip to Berlin I could nothelp but remember our visit to what remains of theBerlin Wall and the feeling that there are still otherwalls.« (Abeer Mishkas, Arab News, 1 June 2004 – »Daysin Berlin«)

»This not unimportant secular trend was clearly under-represented at the Berlin intercultural dialogue.«(Martina Sabra, Entwicklung und Zusammenarbeit 7 /2004, S. 303)

»The appeal from all participants was that womenknow the diversity of Sharia and should be able to dealwith it.« (Heide Ostreich, die tageszeitung, 25 May 2004– »Prisoners of tradition, not of Islam«)

»An excessive dispute over the question of the veil wasavoided in order to devote our time to the common goalof supporting women and their rights in the Islamiccountries.« (Astrid Wirtz, Kölner Stadtanzeiger, 26 May2004 – »Why not a female Mufti?«)

Imprint

Women in the Islamic WorldMuslim Women in GermanyPositive Role ModelsBerlin, 24 May 2004

Conference hosted by the Federal Foreign Office, Berlinunder the auspices of Minister of State Kerstin Müllerresponsible Dr. Gabriela Guellilin conjunction with the Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations (ifa) Stuttgart responsible Barbara Kuhnert

Documentation

Design Michael Kimmerle, Stuttgart

Photographer Jochen Eckel

Printing Dr. Cantz’sche Druckerei, Ostfildern

Published byInstitut für Auslandsbeziehungen Stuttgart Charlottenplatz 17D-70173 StuttgartPostfach 10 24 63D-70020 Stuttgart

© 2004 ifa Stuttgart

Dear Reader,Unfortunately it has not been possible to reproduce all contributions in their entire length and we have had to make a subjective selection, abridging where necessary. Because the text passages are based on the English-language tapes of the Conference proceedings, it is possible that some inaccuracies may have arisen through the interpretation from German or Arabic. We have edited the texts in what we hope was a competent andresponsible manner and trust that they reflect the ideas of those who contributed them. The editorial team