On Islamic Feminism

Those who were lucky to attend the 2-day Colloquium held yesterday and today at UNESCO Paris Headquarters have now a better understanding of what Islamic Feminism means.

Islamic feminism refers to a discourse of educated urban women (and a few men) who re-read the Qur’an and early Islamic history to recuperate their religion from patriarchal and violent interpretations, to make the case for women’s participation and rights in a religious idiom, and to give theological legitimacy to the movement for women’s rights in the Muslim world. Islamic feminists claim the right to ijtihad along with the right to take part in prayers and even to lead prayers.

Along with Islamic feminists, many Muslim scholars are engaged in a kind of religious reformation, some of which is Quran-centered and some of which addresses issues such as Islam and democracy, Islam and human rights, and Islam, science, and philosophy. Thus Islamic feminism has arisen on the cusp of this new alternative formulation and religious reformation.

The emergence of such movement among other women’s movements raised the issue of the right to ijtehad (independent reasoning, religious interpretation), and the right of women to reinterpret Islamic law. Many Muslims are now searching for alternative ways to live their lives and organize their societies without compromising either their religious identity or their human rights.

Islamic feminism has become the guiding philosophy of women’s movements such as the Malaysian women’s group Sisters in Islam and the Nigerian women’s group Baobob, both of which are affiliated with the transnational feminist network Women Living Under Muslim Laws and work for gender equality and development.

The First International Congress on Islamic Feminism was organized in Barcelona, 27-29 October 2005, by the Junta Islamica Catalan with the support of the UNESCO Catalan Center in Barcelona. It brought together many women and men, scholars and activists from the Muslim countries and communities. Following-up on the past event’s success, UNESCO and the Commission Islam et Laïcité, have co-organized the 2006 seminar.

For a list of suggested readings on Islamic Feminism, please visit the event schedule

On Islamic Feminism

Those who were lucky to attend the 2-day Colloquium held yesterday and today at UNESCO Paris Headquarters have now a better understanding of what Islamic Feminism means.

Islamic feminism refers to a discourse of educated urban women (and a few men) who re-read the Qur’an and early Islamic history to recuperate their religion from patriarchal and violent interpretations, to make the case for women’s participation and rights in a religious idiom, and to give theological legitimacy to the movement for women’s rights in the Muslim world. Islamic feminists claim the right to ijtihad along with the right to take part in prayers and even to lead prayers.

Along with Islamic feminists, many Muslim scholars are engaged in a kind of religious reformation, some of which is Quran-centered and some of which addresses issues such as Islam and democracy, Islam and human rights, and Islam, science, and philosophy. Thus Islamic feminism has arisen on the cusp of this new alternative formulation and religious reformation.

The emergence of such movement among other women’s movements raised the issue of the right to ijtehad (independent reasoning, religious interpretation), and the right of women to reinterpret Islamic law. Many Muslims are now searching for alternative ways to live their lives and organize their societies without compromising either their religious identity or their human rights.

Islamic feminism has become the guiding philosophy of women’s movements such as the Malaysian women’s group Sisters in Islam and the Nigerian women’s group Baobob, both of which are affiliated with the transnational feminist network Women Living Under Muslim Laws and work for gender equality and development.

The First International Congress on Islamic Feminism was organized in Barcelona, 27-29 October 2005, by the Junta Islamica Catalan with the support of the UNESCO Catalan Center in Barcelona. It brought together many women and men, scholars and activists from the Muslim countries and communities. Following-up on the past event’s success, UNESCO and the Commission Islam et Laïcité, have co-organized the 2006 seminar.

For a list of suggested readings on Islamic Feminism, please visit the event schedule

UNESCO and Preservation of World Heritage Sites in Lebanon

We previously reported on this blog about UNESCO's priority effort to help the Lebanese children traumatized by the recent fighting, and to revive and restore Lebanon's educational system. However, UNESCO's international responsibility extends to protecting the World's Heritage from the past, as well as protecting children. UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura during the fighting launched an alert to protect heritage in the Middle East. He said, in part:

"My compassion goes first to the men, women and, especially, the children, who are experiencing the ordeal of fire, shelling and despair. Nevertheless, we must also think about our immense responsibility towards sites such as Tyre, Baalbek, Byblos, Anjar, the Holy Valley and the Forest of the Cedars of God, in Lebanon, and the Old City of Acre in Israel. All these names - names that stir the imagination - are symbols of the encounter of religions and cultures that are universally recognized as our common heritage.

"This is why - in keeping with The Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict (1954), and by virtue of the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (1972), conventions of which both Israel and Lebanon are signatories - I solemnly request that all necessary measures be taken to safeguard and protect these cultural properties of inestimable value.

Of course, Lebanon and Israel hold a vastly disproportionate share of the World's Heritage. Fortunately, it appears that little lasting damage was done to the most important World Heritage sites. Still, given the demands on the resources of these nations to repair the damage done during the fighting, it will be important that the long term effort to protect the heritage from millennia past not be forgotten. USA Today this week reported that "Three UNESCO World Heritage sites in Lebanon need urgent repairs"

Oil Slick in the Old Port of Byblos ©UNESCO/Studionada

UNESCO recently sent a team of experts to Lebanon to assess the state of the places in that country that have been enrolled as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. At press conference on their return, they called for urgent measures to clean up the oil spill from the World Heritage edifices along the Byblos shore line. Despite the limited extent of war damage to cultural heritage, the mission found several areas that require attention to safeguard and revitalize that heritage. The mission noted that the souk and some old houses in the Old City of Baalbek, not part of the property inscribed on the World Heritage List, were damaged by bombs.

The Roman City of Baalbek ©UNESCO

Mr Bouchenaki,Director-General of the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM), outlined more longer-term measures to preserve Lebanon’s cultural heritage: Setting up photogrammetric equipment to monitor fissures in several sites; helping Lebanon’s Department of Antiquities develop its human resources to improve the safeguarding and management of cultural heritage sites; drawing up of a risk map identifying cultural properties with serious structural weaknesses; and undertaking measures to consolidate the most seriously threatened structures.

UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Culture stressed the importance of culture as a cement of social cohesion in Lebanon and spoke of the importance of cultural heritage as a symbol of the country’s diversity and tolerance.

UNESCO is preparing to send another, multidisciplinary mission to Lebanon to assess ways in which the Organization may contribute to reconstruction in culture, education, science and communication, in the framework of the United Nations’ plan for Lebanon.

Video of the Press Conference

Editors Note: The ruins of many successive civilizations are found at Byblos, one of the oldest Phoenician cities. Inhabited since Neolithic times, it has been closely linked to the legends and history of the Mediterranean region for thousands of years. Byblos is also directly associated with the history and diffusion of the Phoenician alphabet. Visit UNESCO's Bylbos World Heritage Site website.

Baalbek was a city in the time of the Phoenicians. It was known as Heliopolis during the Hellenistic period. During Roman times the city's sanctuary of the Heliopolitan Jupiter attracted thousands of pilgrims. Baalbek, with its colossal structures, is one of the finest examples of Imperial Roman architecture at its apogee. Visit UNESCO's Baalbek World Heritage Site website.

UNESCO and Preservation of World Heritage Sites in Lebanon

We previously reported on this blog about UNESCO's priority effort to help the Lebanese children traumatized by the recent fighting, and to revive and restore Lebanon's educational system. However, UNESCO's international responsibility extends to protecting the World's Heritage from the past, as well as protecting children. UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura during the fighting launched an alert to protect heritage in the Middle East. He said, in part:

"My compassion goes first to the men, women and, especially, the children, who are experiencing the ordeal of fire, shelling and despair. Nevertheless, we must also think about our immense responsibility towards sites such as Tyre, Baalbek, Byblos, Anjar, the Holy Valley and the Forest of the Cedars of God, in Lebanon, and the Old City of Acre in Israel. All these names - names that stir the imagination - are symbols of the encounter of religions and cultures that are universally recognized as our common heritage.

"This is why - in keeping with The Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict (1954), and by virtue of the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (1972), conventions of which both Israel and Lebanon are signatories - I solemnly request that all necessary measures be taken to safeguard and protect these cultural properties of inestimable value.

Of course, Lebanon and Israel hold a vastly disproportionate share of the World's Heritage. Fortunately, it appears that little lasting damage was done to the most important World Heritage sites. Still, given the demands on the resources of these nations to repair the damage done during the fighting, it will be important that the long term effort to protect the heritage from millennia past not be forgotten. USA Today this week reported that "Three UNESCO World Heritage sites in Lebanon need urgent repairs"

Oil Slick in the Old Port of Byblos ©UNESCO/Studionada

UNESCO recently sent a team of experts to Lebanon to assess the state of the places in that country that have been enrolled as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. At press conference on their return, they called for urgent measures to clean up the oil spill from the World Heritage edifices along the Byblos shore line. Despite the limited extent of war damage to cultural heritage, the mission found several areas that require attention to safeguard and revitalize that heritage. The mission noted that the souk and some old houses in the Old City of Baalbek, not part of the property inscribed on the World Heritage List, were damaged by bombs.

The Roman City of Baalbek ©UNESCO

Mr Bouchenaki,Director-General of the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM), outlined more longer-term measures to preserve Lebanon’s cultural heritage: Setting up photogrammetric equipment to monitor fissures in several sites; helping Lebanon’s Department of Antiquities develop its human resources to improve the safeguarding and management of cultural heritage sites; drawing up of a risk map identifying cultural properties with serious structural weaknesses; and undertaking measures to consolidate the most seriously threatened structures.

UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Culture stressed the importance of culture as a cement of social cohesion in Lebanon and spoke of the importance of cultural heritage as a symbol of the country’s diversity and tolerance.

UNESCO is preparing to send another, multidisciplinary mission to Lebanon to assess ways in which the Organization may contribute to reconstruction in culture, education, science and communication, in the framework of the United Nations’ plan for Lebanon.

Video of the Press Conference

Editors Note: The ruins of many successive civilizations are found at Byblos, one of the oldest Phoenician cities. Inhabited since Neolithic times, it has been closely linked to the legends and history of the Mediterranean region for thousands of years. Byblos is also directly associated with the history and diffusion of the Phoenician alphabet. Visit UNESCO's Bylbos World Heritage Site website.

Baalbek was a city in the time of the Phoenicians. It was known as Heliopolis during the Hellenistic period. During Roman times the city's sanctuary of the Heliopolitan Jupiter attracted thousands of pilgrims. Baalbek, with its colossal structures, is one of the finest examples of Imperial Roman architecture at its apogee. Visit UNESCO's Baalbek World Heritage Site website.

UNESCO hails White House Conference on Global Literacy a great success

Mrs. Laura Bush and Mr. Koїchiro Matsuura ©Susan Sterner

Yesterday's Conference, which was being held on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly sessions this week, was attended by Pesident Bush, U.S Secretary of States Condoleeza Rice, Secretary of Education, Margaret Spellings, First Ladies, First Spouses and decision-makers from around the world.

Laura Bush, Honorary Ambassador for the United Nations Literacy Decade, contended that “ending illiteracy is a challenge for every country. And every government must do its part by investing in the education of its people”. “The investment”, the First Lady added "is always worthwhile, because investing in literacy and education helps governments meet their fundamental obligations, by improving opportunities for children and families, by strengthening their economies, and by keeping their citizens in good health.” The First Lady further stated that “countries prosper with an educated workforce”, and called governments and private sector organizations to allocate resources to literacy initiatives.

She announced a US$1 million contribution form the United States to support UNESCO's Literacy Assessment and Monitoring Program (LAMP)*. Spelling out the three most important benefits of reading: “Literacy instruction for women improves educational opportunities for their children -- women who can read are advocates for their children's education; literacy helps adults make informed decisions to protect their health and the health of their children; and literacy helps adults -- women and men -- learn the basic financial skills that generate income, that foster independence, and that boost local economies.", Mrs. Bush invited all governments to join.

President Bush backed his wife's speech and pointed out the impact that reading has on the positive transformation of nations. He defined literacy’s capacity to “yield the peace we all want”. To this end, not only did President Bush encourage governments to get involved in this cause, he also called upon businesses to engage in the global effort towards literacy whilst reminding that such initiatives “will help spread prosperity and peace”.

“It is very hard to have free societies if the citizens cannot read. It's much harder for a society to realize the universal blessings of liberty if your citizens can't read the newspaper in order to be able to make informed choices and decisions about what may be taking place in a country. You can't realize the blessings of liberty if you can't read a ballot, or if you can't read what others are saying about the future of your country.”

Welcoming the remarks made by Laura and George W. Bush, as well as the generous pledge to UNESCO LAMP, Mr. Matssura, director General of UNESCO, confirmed UNESCO’s commitment to providing “literacy to all as a basic human rights” and announced a series of Regional Literacy Conferences. These high-level conferences will aim at building cooperation and mobilizing resources for concrete interventions. The first of its kind will take place in Qatar March 12^th-14^th, 2007. Regional Conferences for Europe and Central Asia, Africa and Latin America will follow. As for the Asia-Pacific Region, a decision will soon be announced.

* Through LAMP, many countries are working to determine which people in their country cannot read, where people live who cannot read, and why people can't read.

UNESCO hails White House Conference on Global Literacy a great success

Mrs. Laura Bush and Mr. Koїchiro Matsuura ©Susan Sterner

Yesterday's Conference, which was being held on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly sessions this week, was attended by Pesident Bush, U.S Secretary of States Condoleeza Rice, Secretary of Education, Margaret Spellings, First Ladies, First Spouses and decision-makers from around the world.

Laura Bush, Honorary Ambassador for the United Nations Literacy Decade, contended that “ending illiteracy is a challenge for every country. And every government must do its part by investing in the education of its people”. “The investment”, the First Lady added "is always worthwhile, because investing in literacy and education helps governments meet their fundamental obligations, by improving opportunities for children and families, by strengthening their economies, and by keeping their citizens in good health.” The First Lady further stated that “countries prosper with an educated workforce”, and called governments and private sector organizations to allocate resources to literacy initiatives.

She announced a US$1 million contribution form the United States to support UNESCO's Literacy Assessment and Monitoring Program (LAMP)*. Spelling out the three most important benefits of reading: “Literacy instruction for women improves educational opportunities for their children -- women who can read are advocates for their children's education; literacy helps adults make informed decisions to protect their health and the health of their children; and literacy helps adults -- women and men -- learn the basic financial skills that generate income, that foster independence, and that boost local economies.", Mrs. Bush invited all governments to join.

President Bush backed his wife's speech and pointed out the impact that reading has on the positive transformation of nations. He defined literacy’s capacity to “yield the peace we all want”. To this end, not only did President Bush encourage governments to get involved in this cause, he also called upon businesses to engage in the global effort towards literacy whilst reminding that such initiatives “will help spread prosperity and peace”.

“It is very hard to have free societies if the citizens cannot read. It's much harder for a society to realize the universal blessings of liberty if your citizens can't read the newspaper in order to be able to make informed choices and decisions about what may be taking place in a country. You can't realize the blessings of liberty if you can't read a ballot, or if you can't read what others are saying about the future of your country.”

Welcoming the remarks made by Laura and George W. Bush, as well as the generous pledge to UNESCO LAMP, Mr. Matssura, director General of UNESCO, confirmed UNESCO’s commitment to providing “literacy to all as a basic human rights” and announced a series of Regional Literacy Conferences. These high-level conferences will aim at building cooperation and mobilizing resources for concrete interventions. The first of its kind will take place in Qatar March 12^th-14^th, 2007. Regional Conferences for Europe and Central Asia, Africa and Latin America will follow. As for the Asia-Pacific Region, a decision will soon be announced.

* Through LAMP, many countries are working to determine which people in their country cannot read, where people live who cannot read, and why people can't read.