The Pluralism Project at Harvard University

Women in Islam

American Muslim women today are struggling to address the stereotypes and misconceptions associated with the role of women in Islam. Muslim women occupy a wide variety of positions in American life: medical doctors, engineers, lawyers, chemists, housewives, broadcast journalists, professors, clerical workers, businesswomen, schoolteachers. Some are immigrants, from countries in sub-Saharan Africa to Indonesia, while many others are American-born; some American Muslim women were raised in Muslim homes, while others embraced Islam as adults. Some Muslim women cover their head only during prayer in the mosque; other Muslim women wear the hijab; others may cover their head with a turban or a loosely draped scarf.

The "role of women" in Islam is not easily defined. The Qur'an and the practice of the Prophet Muhammad seem to recognize the different functions and mutually supportive roles of men and women, encouraging just and balanced social and family life. In seventh-century Arabia, the Qur'an extended to women the right of property ownership and financial independence, prohibited the practice of female infanticide and other abuses, and significantly modified marriage and divorce practices. While many Americans consider Islam an "oppressive religion" with regard to women, Muslim women often comment on how liberated and dignified their religion makes them feel. Many Muslim women explain that "true" Islam is frequently compromised by oppressive practices that have their roots in culture, rather than religion. This disparity between true Islam and Muslim practice is often ascribed to a general ignorance and lack of criticism of the inherited tradition.

Numerous Islamic organizations in America are working to educate both the Muslim community and the larger society on this issue, writing articles, op-ed pieces, and publishing pamphlets such as ICNA's "Status of Woman in Islam" and the Institute of Islamic Information and Education's "The Question of Hijab: Suppression or Liberation." The Islamic Center of Southern California distributes the pamphlet "To Separate Fact from Fiction . . . Women in Islam." Citing the Qur'an, this publication aims to nuance views held by those outside of the Muslim community, while also pointing to the "regrettable practices in some Islamic societies where anti-Islamic cultur(al) traditions have won over Islamic teachings."

Muslim women in the United States are actively engaged in this issue on every level, from academia to small grass-roots groups. Dr. Azizah al-Hibri, a professor of Law at the University of Richmond, notes that Islamic laws about humanity come from a compassionate God. Accordingly, she researches issues in which Islamic law is being applied to women in what she views as an oppressive way, in order to find "the legal basis in Islamic jurisprudence for dealing with these kinds of situations."

Muslim Women's groups have been organized across the United States to discuss issues of the interpretation of scripture and tradition; many of these groups also work together to confront issues of prejudice toward women wearing the hijab in the workplace and public areas. In suburban Chicago, when a local mosque's group for girls folded, the high school-aged girls established their own meetings. Now, every other week, Sumaiya Balbale and ten friends gather in her house to read the Qur'an and to debate and discuss issues of concern. Women in Northern California recently formed Rahima, a women's group that engages in Qur'anic study, prayer, and social and educational activism; the group hopes to expand its work to communities throughout the United States in coming years.

Glossary: Muslim; prayer; mosque; hijab; Qur'an; Prophet Muhammad; ICNA's; God; Islamic jurisprudence

Reprinted by permission from On Common Ground: World Religions in America, published by Columbia University Press (1-800-944-8648).