Workshop 3

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Women in Islam  

by Judith Zijlstra and Elisa Piras

One of the hottest subjects being discussed within the framework of EuroIslam is the role of women in Islam. To find out why the role of women in Islam is of interest to so many people, participants listed spontaneously what they connected with Muslima on the one and with Western women on the other hand.

The life of Muslim women was mainly connected with features such as limited freedom, sexual taboos, arranged marriages, and less legal protection. Muslim women were seen as traditional, which is on the one hand seen negatively but on the other hand leads to positive consequences such as a higher importance of family life and traditions.

In contrast to Muslima, Western women were characterized as free, modern, progressive, equal and career-oriented. Their sexual freedom and the free choice of marriage were regarded as most important difference to Muslima.

Freedom was also seen as the strong point of Western society, even if it is often connected with the responsibility of choice. Western society offers people to spend more time on their careers which was also regarded as a positive feature.

The Movie Submission by Theo Van Gogh was shown as a means to provoke a controversial dispute on women in Islam. Van Gogh wanted to start a discussion and therefore made a provoking film. Participants judged that he reached this aim but also criticized that Submission is neither balanced nor productive. The film does not raise any liberal Islam voices and thereby represents the whole discussion about Women in Islam as it is presented in the Media.

One important point raised in the media is the discussion on the scarf. When being asked whether they are in favour or against the scarf, participants agreed that as long as women want to wear it or the surroundings accept wearing the scarf, it is acceptable. Yet, when women are forced to wear the headscarf, it is a kind of suppression.

Especially the critical view on the representation of Islam in Western European Media led to the conclusion that there are some differences in the role of women in, Islamic and Western societies. Yet, the perceived differences between both cultures are much more important for the daily co-existence of Islam and the West. That’s why a dialogue between both groups is needed. For this, a lot can be done by the EU and World politics. They can build a framework for dialogue which has to be realized by every person in society nevertheless.

Written by Sarah Khalil

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