Religious dialog needs to remain open: Activist<\/p>\n
Ati Nurbaiti, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Public space for debate about religion is important and must be
\nmaintained, says Zainah Anwar of the Malaysian organization
\nSisters in Islam.<\/p>\n
In Malaysia, she said, \"Space for debate has grown, and there
\nis no turning back.\"<\/p>\n
The battle of ideas to define what is Islam and what is not,
\nshe said, \"can only be done ... where there is freedom of speech,
\nfreedom of expression and press freedom.<\/p>\n
\"The fact that Islam is increasingly shaping and redefining
\nour lives means all of us have to engage with the religion if we
\ndo not want it to remain hijacked by those who preach hatred,
\nintolerance, bigotry, misogyny.\"<\/p>\n
Anwar, the current executive director of the above non-
\ngovernmental organization, was one of the speakers on Tuesday,
\nthe second and last day of the 6th Asian-European Editors Forum
\nheld by the Singapore office of the Konrad Adenaur Foundation and
\nThe Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
In Malaysia, the voice of conservative groups seeking to
\ncounter \"liberal voices\" are \"fine\", she said, as it provides
\nanother opportunity and forum for public debate.<\/p>\n
Lay citizens are also speaking up on religious issues, she
\nsaid. Normally, \"ordinary Muslims who do not speak Arabic, who
\ndon't wear the hijab, who don't have a degree in Islam from the
\n'right' universities (in the Arab region), do not have a right to
\nspeak publicly on Islam.\"<\/p>\n
She cited Muslim parents questioning the rights of people
\nraiding discotheques in the name of religion, saying they also
\nallow their children to go to the entertainment places.<\/p>\n
Sisters in Islam was first known in the early 1990s for its
\nfirst booklet titled: Are Muslim men allowed to beat their wives?
\nIt was followed by similar booklets on other controversial
\nreligious issues in the daily life of women.<\/p>\n
\"It was the complaints of women on such issues which gave us
\nthe courage\", she said, to look into the text of the Koran,
\nlinking it to the reality of women's lives, Malaysia's
\nconstitution which does not allow gender discrimination and the
\nuniversal human rights conventions to which Malaysia is a
\nsignatory party.<\/p>\n
The women would not raise their voices as like many others
\nthey thought only the ulema could speak on Islam, she said.<\/p>\n
\"By claiming our right and creating the space to speak out in
\npublic on Islam, we have made enemies,\" she said, citing the
\nattacks and condemnation against the organization.<\/p>\n
When women from Malaysia and also from other countries like
\nBangladesh and Indonesia began to look deeper into the Koran, she
\nsaid they found the \"ethical vision of equality and justice for
\nwomen\" in Islam which had somehow been silenced in the process of
\ninterpretation and codification of laws, \"dominated by male
\njurists and scholars\".<\/p>\n
\"We believe in God and we refuse to believe that He is
\nunjust,\" she said.<\/p>\n
She added that the issues facing many citizens are not really
\nabout religion, but about the tradition of patriarchy and power.
\nMalaysian leaders since Mahathir Mohamad have had a \"progressive\"
\nvision of Islam, she said, but \"the state has been unable to
\ndeliver that message\".<\/p>\n
Responding to questions on where the Malaysian government was
\nheading she said, \"It's neither here nor there, the government is
\nin a conundrum,\" adding that by showing it adheres to notions
\nsuch as gender equality, its power would be threatened.
\nAt least in Malaysia,\"I am optimistic that the voice of reason
\nwill prevail,\" she said, adding that non-Muslims who make up 40
\npercent of the population are also \"speaking up as never before\".<\/p>",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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