1 - 7 March 2001
Issue No.523
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 1 - 7 March 2001 Issue No.523 |
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No masters, no slaves
Common wisdom across the ideological spectrum of those championing women's rights in Egypt today takes Islam as a necessary point of reference to validate various aspects of emancipation. Religious or not, debaters delve into the Qur'an, the Prophet Mohamed's sayings and the corpus of Islamic jurisprudence in search of evidence that Islam does give women rights equal to those of men. Hence, the importance of the "liberal" and emancipatory interpretation of Islam presented by El-Ghazali Harb in his book Women's Independence in Islam.
Described on the back cover as an Azharite sheikh and one of the "prominent men of education in Egypt," Harb has received many awards including the Language Institute's annual prize for 1983, the last he received before the publication of the book (which itself bears no publication date). The black and white picture provided with Harb's short CV is that of a stern old-fashioned urban gentleman, with hair parted just off centre and severely slicked back.
From the back cover one would have expected a much more traditional man than the one who evolves over the pages. From the outset, Harb is clear on both the importance of what he is to impart and his motive in doing so: "I believe that this book is one of the first in Arabic that aims to make clear objectively that women are independent entities in Islam within the framework of fruitful cooperation between the sexes, which allows for happiness and stability for both, as equals and not as master and slave."
Throughout the book, Harb attacks all those who "falsely" interpret the Qur'an's teachings regarding the status of women in society. He begins by refuting the argument that before Islam, women had no rights and suffered all forms of injustice. He points out that in many Arab communities before Islam, women enjoyed many privileges and reached high positions within their societies. The fact that Harb takes the time to refute what is commonly accepted as fact highlights the sincerity of the researcher in reaching his stated aim of "objectivity."
In the chapters that follow, Harb takes pains to show the "true nature" of Islam: a religion that promotes women as equals, calls on them to take part in the development of their society, and does not give men the right to abuse women. With sticky issues, Harb falls back on traditional arguments, highlighting the "limits" placed on polygamy and noting that in many pre-Islamic Arab communities, men took many more than four wives. Further, he vehemently opposes polygamy in today's society, arguing that circumstances of life have changed. But giving one gender the right to take on multiple partners while denying the other the same right is never portrayed as fundamental inequality. After all, concepts of patriarchy are inherent in Islam (as in all monotheistic religions) and once one accepts Islam as one's working paradigm, it is inevitable that one will accept the limitations of patriarchy as well.
Harb does, however, meticulously attempt to clear Islam of what he sees as "deviations" such as the incorporation of some aspects of ancient so-called Israelite teachings (example: Hell was created only for fools and they are women), incorrect interpretations of the Qur'an (example: the interpretation "their wrath is great," which is used to indicate that the wrath of women is worse than that of the devil) and what the author describes as "backward fatwas" such as the Ministry of Interior's 1958 decree denying women the right to obtain passports without the approval of either their guardian or their husband.
Finally, Harb briefly brings up the Personal Status Law. The main aim of the chapter seems to be the defence of amendments made to the law in 1979: namely, a woman incurs harm (legally defined) if her husband takes another wife; women are considered divorced only when they are notified of their divorce; and a wife leaving her husband's home without his consent does not automatically forfeit her right to alimony. All are reasonable amendments, no doubt, and Harb assures us they are in sync with the true spirit of Islam.
After putting the book down, one cannot help but wonder: what if Islam did not emancipate women? Would we then discard the idea of emancipation? What is most comforting yet discomfiting about interpretations such as Harb's is that on the one hand they show how flexible interpretations of religion can be, but on the other hand beg the question: can this flexibility provide solid ground on which to promote principles of comprehensive equality between the sexes?
Reviewed by Fatemah Farag
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