The Islamic veil and politics, the difficult path of the affirmation of women in Islam
Extremists and radical imams attack a leading Egyptian intellectual who argues t that the veil is not mandatory. According to his critics this is contrary to the Koran and encourages "indecency and sedition". A TV debate over the veil leads to a brawl. Intellectuals and academics call for a greater role in politics and in institutions for women in the Arab countries.
Cairo (AsiaNews) - Extremists and radical imams are protesting against the claims of a Muslim intellectual, Egyptian professor at Al Azhar University who says the hijab (Islamic veil) "is not mandatory" for women. During a televised debate broadcast on the private TV, Saad Al Deen Al Hilali, a professor of Islamic law, pointed out that there is no "clear" and "final" position in the verses of the Koran on the question of the female headdress.
"The Koran - said Al Hilali – does not state a certain thing on this issue". These words sparked the ire of the most radical factions of Islam, who accuse the Egyptian intellectual - an expert on issues related to sharia and international law - of fomenting "indecency and sedition".
Chief among his opponents is a fellow university professor of Islamic theology Fouad Abdul Moneim who states that "the Koran is not open to personal interpretations" and can not be manipulated by anyone to answer their "own will." Even the "biased orientalists", he adds, "did not say what Al Hilali did". The veil, he commented, is obligatory and women "are not allowed to interpret" the verses of the Koran "as they want."
Imams and radical leaders are appealing to leaders of Al Azhar to intervene with an exemplary punishment against the mufti. Al Sayed Al Beshbeesh, an ultra-conservative Salafist condemns the words of Al Hilali calling them "poisoned". His position, he adds, is a "distortion" of the texts of the Koran and the Sunnah and the University must intervene to prevent riots among Muslims.
In Egypt, the majority of Muslim women wear the veil in public. However, the issue of hijab had already raised controversy and fierce clashes. In a TV debate, the Egyptian lawyer Nabih al-Wahs took off his shoe and beat the Australian-born imam Mostafa Rashid– in a gesture of contempt in Islam - because the latter described the Islamic veil "as a cultural tradition "and not a" religious obligation”.
The initial exchange of views degenerated into an open confrontation, then aggression. Only the intervention of studio assistants quelled the fight and separated the two contenders. In the days following the Muslim lawyer then accused the "imam of converting to Christianity".
Meanwhile, if a part of Islam fights for the compulsory veil, the voices of intellectuals and writers who want an ever-increasing role of women in society are emerging.
Citing European and Western leaders woman (Angela Merkel, Hillary Clinton, Theresa May), but also eastern leaders such as Aung San Suu Kyi in Myanmar and Sheikh Hasina in Bangladesh they hope that even among the Gulf countries conditions for female leadership can be created.
Muhammad Al-Rumaihi, journalist and professor of Kuwait, in an article points out that this is the age in which women "command", while in Arab countries are still "opposed" to women's participation in politics. And in some, such as Saudi Arabia, women are not even allowed to drive or learn a musical instrument without the presence of a guardian.
The Egyptian journalist Amr 'Abd Al-Sami stressed that women are "qualified" to perform "higher functions" in policies and institutional and wonders in amazement because this "has not yet happened" in Arab nations. We had ministers, counselors, vice-premiers, but there has not yet been a female president or head of government.
Jihad Al-Khazen, a Lebanese journalist of Palestinian origin also recalls that "there is only a small number of Arabs" on the list published by Forbes on the 100 most influential women in the world. Radhia Jerbi, head of the Union of Tunisian Women, calls on the newly appointed premier Chahed Youssef to include "more and more women in the government team."
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