I arrived in Malaysia, the air heavy with the weight of the day and my heart heavy with the weight of anticipation. The launch of Musawah: Global Movement for Equality and Justice in the Muslim Family was commencing in Kuala Lumpur, and I was blessed to count myself as one of 250 participants representing 49 different countries. Musawah, which means equality in Arabic, was initiated by Sisters in Islam, a Malaysian non-governmental organization promoting women's empowerment within an Islamic framework, and an international planning committee comprised of twelve scholar-activists from eleven countries. The objectives of the Musawah movement are to:

 

* Strengthen women's voices demanding equality and justice in the family at the national, regional and international levels
* Build analysis and strategies that bring together scholarship and experience regarding Muslim jurisprudence, human rights principles, fundamental rights guarantees, and the lived realities of families today
* Provide those advocating for rights in the family with tools and resources, including a Framework for Action; and
* Raise the visibility of initiatives advocating for equality and justice in the Muslim family.

 

Over the five days of the conference, scholars highlighted the theoretical and theological basis supporting the objectives of Musawah, and activists shared their success and struggles from their home countries.

  

Dr. Amina Wadud expounded on the concept of Tawhid or Divine Unity, emphasizing that patriarchy is incompatible with Islamic teachings as it posits men above women. According to Wadud, "Islam understands Allah [God] as supreme, the greatest; Allahu Akbar. Therefore no[one] else can be superior to any one individual...Patriarchy places men as superior to women, violating the requirement that only Allah is supreme."

Other scholars spoke on unshackling religious knowledge from the stronghold of patriarchal scholars who try to couch their interpretations of religion (fiqh) as representing shari'ah (the totality of God's will as revealed to the Prophet). Amira El-Azhary Sonbol from Egypt de-mystified the notion that Islamic law is immutable by showing how laws based on Islam have shifted over the course of history and in different contexts.

 

The case of the Moroccan Mudawwana (Family Law) reforms is a powerful example of how laws have adapted to the needs of the day and age. At the conference, activists from Morocco shared some of their strategies from their ten-year, ultimately successful, campaign to codify the equality of men and women in the Moroccan constitution. In 2004, their efforts came to fruition. Similarly, Imrana Jalal presented on her experiences developing and pushing forward the Fijian Family Law Act in 2003. Jalal stated that a key strategy for gaining the attention of politicians is to highlight the economic ramifications of the issue. For example, investing dollars in domestic violence prevention carries a much lower cost to governments than the medical expenses, police and court hearings that result from acts of domestic violence.

 

Both activists and scholars alike affirmed that empowering women and changing patriarchal cultural values requires a multitude of approaches. In addition to engaging with religious texts, challenging hegemonic discourses over the interpretation of Islamic texts and working with allies in government to reform and implement legal reforms, cultural norms that value gender equality must also be established. In India, the organization BREAKTHROUGH:  Building Human Rights Culture is attempting to do just that. Sonali Khan shared her multi-media campaign called "Bell Bajao" (Ring the Bell), which calls on young men to break the silence on domestic violence through television, Internet blogs and Facebook. You can watch BREAKTHROUGH's TV commercials and learn about their campaign on www.bellbajao.org. Journalist Mona Eltahawy also emphasized the importance of using media in her workshop, "Using Information Technology as a Tool for Social Change." She explained that more and more people are using the Internet to search for knowledge about Islam, and warned that "You Tube Imams" preaching patriarchy and violence are plentiful. Progressive Muslims, she said, can counter these messages by providing alternatives on the Internet, radio and TV waves. (Read Eltahawy's article on blogs at http://www.monaeltahawy.com.)

 

At the end of this jam-packed conference, the participants gathered to pray that the momentum of this movement will carry us forward and nourish the work we are doing in our respective corners of the globe. As my plane landed back in Pittsburgh and I trudged back home through the snow, I contemplated the word musawah, equality. Reflecting on the five days of the conference, I could not help but feel peaceful, yet it was a peace tinged with a deep ache, a reality check. Yes, I thought, musawah, an ideal we still strive towards, an ideal we must strive towards. The time is now. Let's make it happen.