Reinterpreting the role of women

By Abdul Munir Mulkhan

JAKARTA (JP): The position of Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri is interesting for Islamic discourse, as the woman now stands an excellent chance of being elevated to the presidency.

Of particular interest is the differences of opinion among Muslims in Indonesia. According to the stereotypical view, those considered strict adherents of the religion are the santri, and those considered to have a looser adherence to Islam are the abangan.

Generally, the more faithful santri do not fully trust the commitment of the other groups towards Islam. This phenomenon has colored the nation's political process since independence in 1945, dividing Muslim politics into three major categories: Islamic, nationalist and secular.

Modernization has changed the cultural polarization of santri and abangan and the polarization of Muslim politics into Islam, nationalist and secular. These changes are evident from the widening of the discourse on inclusive Islam and pluralism, particularly over the past decade.

Since the 1998 reform drive, new political parties have been set up by santri activists, who position inclusive religious practices in their parties' platforms.

The agenda of a number of political parties has begun to introduce nationalism, humanity, justice and democracy, their reference being inclusive Islamic ethics.

These changes seem to be the background to the increasingly broader support for the offering of the presidency by some santri quarters to Megawati, who also chairs the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI Perjuangan).

It is now important to review the cultural and historical messages from verses of the Holy Koran, often used as references for the role of women in social and political affairs.

The verses must be studied in terms of what they represent.

Until today the message of change reflected in the verses has not gained much attention in encouraging the use of the Koran as a reference for explaining issues of the day. Many are content to understand what is explicitly mentioned in the verses.

The result can be failure to capture the significance of continuous reform, which is the main message of the Koran. This failure makes the Koran archaic, while it should serve as an eternal reference for life's dynamic changes.

Ironically, the santri have not infrequently used the holy verses as their reference to stop the wheel of history. An interpretation of the verses is considered correct only as long as it can be linked with historical facts which occurred when the verses were conveyed to the Prophet Muhammad.

It seems as if the santri feel they must defend a single interpretation of the Koranic verses. The image conjured up by a single interpretation is that Islam does not care about diverse social structures.

At this juncture, a more generic and authentic interpretation of gender references in the Arabic words rajul and nisa, commonly understood as man and woman, must be found. In a particular context, rajul cannot be understood as indicating a man.

In one teaching of the Prophet (hadits), the word rajul (idz jaa-a rajul) is used to refer to the angel Gabriel, to whom a gender category cannot be applied, let alone a masculine label.

There are many other words which have been given the stereotyped masculine meaning. The sentence in the Koran "al rija-lu qawwa-mu-na 'ala- al nisa-i", translated as "men are the leaders of women", must be read in this sense only when the requirement of leaders "being superior in excellence and being capable of sharing part of one's assets" is fulfilled.

This can mean that when a women has this required superiority and capability, she must be allowed an equal right to serve as leader (qawwa-m).

Sociological studies also reveal the revolutionary role of women referred to in the Koran or the Prophet's teachings (Sunnah) -- such as case Maryam (Virgin Mary) and Siti Hajar (Hagar).

Maryam, for one, gave birth to a Prophet and apostle. Her role was revolutionary -- without a man as a husband, as the Koran says, Maryam was in the position to change the history of civilization with the birth of Isa (Jesus).

It is the significance of the portrayal of such women in the Koran which must be captured.

The same is also true of Siti Hajar, who took her son Ismail along the right path to become a Prophet, a phenomenon still observed as part of the haj pilgrimage.

The story of Siti Hajar, Ibrahim (Abraham) and their son Ismail, was not merely about their running from Sofa to Marwa -- the ritual observed in the haj -- it was about the struggle of a woman to make her son survive and become a prophet who would later change history.

Therefore, the reason for the divine revelation of a verse in the Koran goes beyond its historical context. One must ask: What is the message of change carried by the verse in question?

This is where the significance of a sociohistorical study of the lives of the prophets and apostles lies, in particular regarding traditions in the lifetime of the women referred to in the Koran and the Sunnah.

People would then gain an awareness of the social and political roles of women. And if Megawati really assumed the presidency, she would therefore no longer be evaluated along the lines of the gender issues but rather on her ability to solve all manner of national problems.

The santri elite, until now still dominated by men, must accept women not only in theological rhetorics. They must fully accept women because they actually can play nondomestic roles.

The writer is an expert in the sociology of religions.