C L O S E R

Gary R. Bunt, Lecturer in Islamic Studies at the University of Wales Lampeter on Islam-Online Web Site

Posted on August 24th, 2005 by .
Categories: Misc. News.

Islam-Online Web Site – Your Source To The World Of Islam! Communication Center

Yesterday I mentioned Gary R. Bunt’s session at Islamonline.net. Now you can read the text.

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Girl Rejects Marriage Proposal Over Porn

Posted on August 23rd, 2005 by .
Categories: Gender, Kinship & Marriage Issues, Misc. News.

This is actually quite funny: Girl Rejects Marriage Proposal Over Porn
Girl Rejects Marriage Proposal Over Porn
Arab News

AHSA, 23 August 2005 — A young girl found a unique way to turn down a marriage proposal, Okaz daily reported. The young woman put the groom to the test in front of his father and her father. The girl said that she would accept the marriage on the condition that his mobile phone was free of indecent photos. The groom was hesitant but in the end handed over his phone. She found enough indecent photos and video clips to easily reject the potential groom. The man tried to justify his position by saying they were not his photos, but she refused to listen to his excuses and turned his offer down.

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Islam-Online Web Site & Gary Bunt

Posted on August 23rd, 2005 by .
Categories: Misc. News.

Islam-Online Web Site – Your Source To The World Of Islam! Communication Center
Gary R. Bunt is a Lecturer in Islamic Studies at the University of Wales Lampeter, and Director of Lampeter’s new MA Islamic Studies Dr Bunt has published extensively on the relationship between Islam, Muslims and the Internet – and is presently working on a new book in this subject area.

On Islam-Online Wednesday Aug 24 between 1500-1700 GMT, he will be answering readers’ questions

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Islam-Online Web Site & Gary Bunt

Posted on August 23rd, 2005 by martijn.
Categories: Misc. News.

Islam-Online Web Site – Your Source To The World Of Islam! Communication Center
Gary R. Bunt is a Lecturer in Islamic Studies at the University of Wales Lampeter, and Director of Lampeter’s new MA Islamic Studies Dr Bunt has published extensively on the relationship between Islam, Muslims and the Internet – and is presently working on a new book in this subject area.

On Islam-Online Wednesday Aug 24 between 1500-1700 GMT, he will be answering readers’ questions

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International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission –

Posted on August 1st, 2005 by .
Categories: Misc. News.

International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission –
Update on Executions in Iran

Since last week, IGLHRC has learned more facts about the public executions which took place in Mashad, Iran on July 19, 2005. The most accurate information we now have has come from our colleagues at Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.

The two young men publicly hanged in Iran were convicted of sexually assaulting a thirteen-year-old boy. They were in held detention for 14 months prior to the execution, where they were also subjected to 228 lashes each. For more information and current updates on the facts of the case, please see Amnesty International�s Public Statement below and the Human Rights Watch website at: Human Rights Watch News

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Halleh Ghorashi wordt bijzonder hoogleraar Management van diversiteit en integratie

Posted on July 6th, 2005 by .
Categories: Misc. News.

Mijn VU-collega Halleh Ghorashi wordt Halleh Ghorashi wordt bijzonder hoogleraar Management van diversiteit en integratie in het bijzonder de participatie van vrouwen uit etnische minderheidsgroepen.

De nieuwe leerstoel is op initiatief van de commissie PaVEM mogelijk gemaakt door het Ministerie voor Vreemdelingenzaken en Integratiebeleid, het Oranje Fonds en de Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

Ghorashi gaat de leerstoel Management van diversiteit en integratie per 1 september bekleden bij de afdeling Cultuur, Organisatie en Management van de Faculteit der Sociale Wetenschappen.

Haar onderzoek, onderwijs en publicaties zullen zich concentreren op de participatie van allochtone vrouwen in de Nederlandse samenleving.

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C L O S E R – Hooligans!

Posted on June 30th, 2005 by .
Categories: Misc. News, Multiculti Issues.

Nou he he wat een gedoe over de Marokkaanse supporters a.k.a. hooligans bij de laatste wedstrijden van het Marokkaanse team. Marokko werd toch eigenlijk wel compleet zoekgespeeld door die Nigeriaanse kleerkasten, waar niet iedereen goed tegen kan. Het intellect van sommige spelers zit duidelijk in hun voetbalschoenen gezien de smerige overtredingen.

En dan die ‘supporters‘ kunnen er ook aardig wat van. Het stadion was nogal een puinhoop net zoals eerder in Utrecht na de wedstrijd… (ehh tegen wie ook alweer?).

Gelukkig zijn er mensen ook blij…het is namelijk koren op de molen van diegenen die toch al niks van moslims/marokkanen/buitenlanders moeten hebben. Daar doet dit gedoe weinig aan af. Een voorbeeld zijn uitspraken als deze:

Ook bij de wedstrijd turkije-china zijn op grote schaal vernielingen aangericht (en niet door de supporters van china�)

Die kankerislamieten kunnen zich gewoon nooit en nergens gedragen, niet op het veld en niet op de tribune.

Alle islamieten de wereld uit, te beginnen uit Nederland!

Want wat heeft dit eigenlijk te maken met het feit dat het om Marokkanen/moslims gaat? Is ten eerste vast gesteld of men moslim is? M.a.w. of men praktiserend is? Daarbij gaat het grotendeels om jongeren die hier geboren en opgegroeid zijn en dus (op z’n minst ook) blootgesteld zijn aan de NL-se cultuur. Dus opmerkingen als deze:

Toch denk ik dat we ons grote zorgen moeten maken omtrend een Troyaans paard. Nu weer dat achterlijke radicaal conservatief dier wat aan de macht is gekomen in Iran, die een islamitische wereldrevolutie predikt.
mijn reactie hierop: voorkomen is beter dan genezen, dus uitzetten die lui, voordat ze ons van binnenuit besmetten. Dan gelijk art 6 van de grondwet wijzigen (vrijheid van godsdienst) en daar iig de islam in verbieden.

slaan werkelijk als een tang op varken. Opvallend bij deze uitspraak is de link die wordt gelegd met uitspraken van Ahmadinejad over de islamitische wereldrevolutie. Dat gebeurt regelmatig in andere berichten ook. Ten eerste gaat het in Iran om sjiietische conservatieven en daarover de soennitische Marokkanen weinig van te verwachten hier. Ten tweede waar praten we nu over?

Gelukkig heeft Geert Wilders ook kamervragen gesteld aan Donner en Remkes net als bij eerdere voetbalrellen (toch? help me ff aan een link…) dan komt het wel weer goed… (Diezelfde Wilders die in zijn kamervragen over Amsterdamse scholen sprak over ‘de terreur van Marokkaanse jongeren en andere allochtone jongen’, maar zweeg over het feit dat uit het bewuste rapport blijkt dat Marokkaanse en andere allochtone jongeren net zo goed slachtoffer zijn en het niet nodig vind om ook het kleine groepje antillianen en surinamers te benoemen dat op een praktijkschool de knoet eronder houdt; ergo hij geeft daar blijkbaar niks om…maar dit is een ander onderwerp).

Maar kan het ff een tandje minder? Ja, allemaal! Het is flauwekul om die wedstrijd niet door te laten gaan vanwege een stel gladiolen die niet van andermans spullen kan afblijven. Het is vooral flauwekul omdat het totnutoe een WK is zonder wanklank, leuke wedstrijden, veel belangstelling en mooi weer. Alsof het gedrag van die supporters dat in ��n kan verpesten. We neigen weer naar een collectieve hysterie net als na die tasjesdief. Kan het ff een tandje minder? En kunnen we het even in perspectief blijven zien? HEt gaat hierom zogenaamde voetbalsupporters die het nodig vinden om er een zooitje van te maken. Het is dus voetbalgeweld…geen terreur, geen islamitisch geweld en geen Marokkaans geweld. Dat voetbalgeweld aangepakt moet worden is duidelijk laten we dat dan ook maar doen.

Ow ja en voor die Marokkaanse supporters die zo vervelend werden en van plan zijn te worden, laat je mede supporters genieten van de wedstrijden en de anderen ook. Ik heb een tip voor jullie, als jullie je agressie niet kwijt kunnen: lelahelmetal.com gekregen via Peter:

Dat is een website die dient ter promotie van Arabische metal bands. Wat te denken van deze jongens van Killer Zone uit Casablanca met hun onvervalste DeathGrind (voor de niet-kenners; veel heavier kan het niet meer) Een geschikt nummer om mee te beginnen is Birth of Ignorance. Leef je daar maar op uit en laat de goedbedoelende Marokkaanse en autochtone Nederlanders even met rust ok?

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Telegraph | News | 'My dream was to be a suicide bomber. I wanted to kill 20, 50 Jews. Yes, even babies'

Posted on June 29th, 2005 by martijn.
Categories: Misc. News.

In the Telegraph: ‘My dream was to be a suicide bomber. I wanted to kill 20, 50 Jews. Yes, even babies’

A touching story by Manuela Dviri a journalist, playwright and writer whose son, Jonathan, was killed by a Hizbollah rocket seven years ago. She received the 2005 Peres Reward for Peace and Reconciliation for her involvement with Saving Children, an Israeli-Palestinian project which refers Palestinian children to Israeli hospitals for free treatment.

They are here, and still alive, because they changed their minds at the last moment, because they were arrested, or because, like Wafa, they did not succeed. They are kept in a kind of labyrinth, behind seven, or perhaps eight, iron doors and gates, at the end of long corridors to which few people are allowed access, and which are reached after climbing and descending one flight of stairs after another.

Their unarmed guard, a young, calm-looking blonde woman, calls them her “girls”. “There are 30 of them, between 17 and 30 years old, some of them are married and others aren’t, some of them have children,” she told me. “Their stories come out of the Thousand and One Nights. Some of them did it to make amends for a relative who was a collaborator, others to escape becoming victims of honour killings, and for the psychologically frail or depressed it was a good way to commit suicide and at the same time become ‘heroines’. Personally, I don’t judge them or hate them, because if I did I wouldn’t be able to look after them any more.”

One question has bothered me since my visit to that prison. The parents and the relatives of these failed martyrs, what happens to them afterwards? What do they feel after the tragedy, with that knowledge? I decided that I would ask Wafa’s father, Samir al-Biss. Samir is the owner of a tiny, shabby grocery shop. For many years, before the intifada, he worked as a day labourer in Israel. After the initial shock of his daughter’s martyrdom mission, he disconnected the telephone and now will not speak directly to anyone.

He has, however, allowed Wael, Wafa’s cousin, to answer on his behalf. “Wafa’s father is still in a state of shock,” Wael said. “He wishes to say that he can’t bring himself to believe that his daughter was going to blow herself up. He believes that she was put up to it and exploited by someone and that it’s not fair that the whole Palestinian population should be punished for what she has tried to do. The Palestinians don’t have to pay for her act,” he added sadly.

I tend to agree with him. Neither the Palestinian people nor the Israelis should have to pay for the fanatical acts of their extremists.

0 comments.

Telegraph | News | ‘My dream was to be a suicide bomber. I wanted to kill 20, 50 Jews. Yes, even babies’

Posted on June 29th, 2005 by .
Categories: Misc. News.

In the Telegraph: ‘My dream was to be a suicide bomber. I wanted to kill 20, 50 Jews. Yes, even babies’

A touching story by Manuela Dviri a journalist, playwright and writer whose son, Jonathan, was killed by a Hizbollah rocket seven years ago. She received the 2005 Peres Reward for Peace and Reconciliation for her involvement with Saving Children, an Israeli-Palestinian project which refers Palestinian children to Israeli hospitals for free treatment.

They are here, and still alive, because they changed their minds at the last moment, because they were arrested, or because, like Wafa, they did not succeed. They are kept in a kind of labyrinth, behind seven, or perhaps eight, iron doors and gates, at the end of long corridors to which few people are allowed access, and which are reached after climbing and descending one flight of stairs after another.

Their unarmed guard, a young, calm-looking blonde woman, calls them her “girls”. “There are 30 of them, between 17 and 30 years old, some of them are married and others aren’t, some of them have children,” she told me. “Their stories come out of the Thousand and One Nights. Some of them did it to make amends for a relative who was a collaborator, others to escape becoming victims of honour killings, and for the psychologically frail or depressed it was a good way to commit suicide and at the same time become ‘heroines’. Personally, I don’t judge them or hate them, because if I did I wouldn’t be able to look after them any more.”

One question has bothered me since my visit to that prison. The parents and the relatives of these failed martyrs, what happens to them afterwards? What do they feel after the tragedy, with that knowledge? I decided that I would ask Wafa’s father, Samir al-Biss. Samir is the owner of a tiny, shabby grocery shop. For many years, before the intifada, he worked as a day labourer in Israel. After the initial shock of his daughter’s martyrdom mission, he disconnected the telephone and now will not speak directly to anyone.

He has, however, allowed Wael, Wafa’s cousin, to answer on his behalf. “Wafa’s father is still in a state of shock,” Wael said. “He wishes to say that he can’t bring himself to believe that his daughter was going to blow herself up. He believes that she was put up to it and exploited by someone and that it’s not fair that the whole Palestinian population should be punished for what she has tried to do. The Palestinians don’t have to pay for her act,” he added sadly.

I tend to agree with him. Neither the Palestinian people nor the Israelis should have to pay for the fanatical acts of their extremists.

0 comments.

IRAQ: INSURGENTS' HOLY WAR MAP ON INTERNET

Posted on June 18th, 2005 by martijn.
Categories: Misc. News.

IRAQ: INSURGENTS’ HOLY WAR MAP ON INTERNET

Baghdad, 16 June (AKI) – Muslim militants seeking to join the fighting in Iraq against the US-led coalition forces and their Iraqi government allies can now choose the best route to smuggle themselves into the country, simply by following detailed instructions available on the Internet. “The central border area between Syria’s Dir al-Zur province and Iraq’s al-Anbar province is the entry point most used by the mujahadeen,” says part of a lengthy message, posted on the Islamic “Firdaws” forum on the Internet. The message, entitled “The way towards the country of the two rivers,” a reference to Iraq and the two main rivers flowing through the country – the Tigris and the Euphrates – is signed by someone called al-Muhjhir al-Islami. It bears some resemblance to another message Adnkronos International (AKI) found on the site on 7 June, and may have been compiled by the same author.

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IRAQ: INSURGENTS’ HOLY WAR MAP ON INTERNET

Posted on June 18th, 2005 by .
Categories: Misc. News.

IRAQ: INSURGENTS’ HOLY WAR MAP ON INTERNET

Baghdad, 16 June (AKI) – Muslim militants seeking to join the fighting in Iraq against the US-led coalition forces and their Iraqi government allies can now choose the best route to smuggle themselves into the country, simply by following detailed instructions available on the Internet. “The central border area between Syria’s Dir al-Zur province and Iraq’s al-Anbar province is the entry point most used by the mujahadeen,” says part of a lengthy message, posted on the Islamic “Firdaws” forum on the Internet. The message, entitled “The way towards the country of the two rivers,” a reference to Iraq and the two main rivers flowing through the country – the Tigris and the Euphrates – is signed by someone called al-Muhjhir al-Islami. It bears some resemblance to another message Adnkronos International (AKI) found on the site on 7 June, and may have been compiled by the same author.

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Reuters AlertNet – CHRONOLOGY-Al Qaeda messages since Sept. 11, 2001

Posted on June 18th, 2005 by .
Categories: Misc. News.

On Reuters Alertnet a CHRONOLOGY of Al Qaeda messages since Sept. 11, 2001

WASHINGTON, June 17 (Reuters) – Ayman al-Zawahri, the No. 2 leader of the militant al Qaeda network, said in a videotape broadcast on Friday that reform and expelling “invaders” from Muslims countries could not happen peacefully.

Following is a chronology of major statements attributed to bin Laden or his deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri.

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May the Force be with you…

Posted on June 18th, 2005 by .
Categories: Misc. News.

Well sometimes articles seem funny and interesting at the same time. This is one of them: alt.muslim – Star Wars: An Islamic Perspective by Irfan Rydhan

As most “Star Wars” fans know, director George Lucas took spiritual elements, which are common in most major world religions to create his epic saga of good vs. evil. As a Muslim, I always thought of the “Jedi” as what a true follower of Islam should be like. Never mind the fact Jedi masters with their North African style cloaks and scruffy beards look like Sufi Sheikhs, but they way they are taught to respect a greater power, fight for the defense of the innocent and honor a code of morals and ethics in order to bring about peace and justice to their society, is basically what Islam teaches all Muslims to strive for. So what really is the connection between these similar Islamic principles and the fictional “Jedi Order” of the Star Wars saga?

His conclusion (but read the whole article you lazy…):

From my brief amount of research and study into the “Star Wars” saga, I found many examples connecting the ideals and principles of Islam to that of the fictional Jedi Order. Some of the similarities were clearly visible (as with the relations between the Jedi master, apprentice and the Force to that of the Sufi Sheikhs, students and worshipping of Allah), while others were a bit more hidden and surprising finds (such as the term “Jeddi” and “Palawan” for Muslim knights and the story of “al-Khidr” � the green spiritual guru which has an uncanny resemblance to the Jedi Spiritual master “Yoda”)!

Even though Lucas himself is not a follower of any specific religion, he has used elements of Islam (as well as other world religions) to convey the universal understandings of good and evil. Combining that common thread of humanity with a futuristic space-age setting and exciting martial arts swordsmanship, came a creation that has inspired many, no matter their race, religion or culture. There is something about the “Star Wars” saga that everyone can relate to and enjoy. And I hope that those people who are searching for a “truth” within the mythology of “Star Wars”, will look a little deeper behind the fiction and find Al-Islam: A true way of life which emphasizes peace, justice and brotherhood for all humanity.

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Protected: Trouw, religie & filosofie – 'God bestaat niet' / 'Wij willen zo hard kwetsen als nog kan'

Posted on June 13th, 2005 by martijn.
Categories: Misc. News.

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Protected: Trouw, religie & filosofie – ‘God bestaat niet’ / ‘Wij willen zo hard kwetsen als nog kan’

Posted on June 13th, 2005 by martijn.
Categories: Misc. News.

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Protected: nu.nl/algemeen | Hoge schadevergoeding voor 'Vierdaagse-terrorist'

Posted on June 7th, 2005 by martijn.
Categories: Misc. News, Religious and Political Radicalization.

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Protected: nu.nl/algemeen | Hoge schadevergoeding voor ‘Vierdaagse-terrorist’

Posted on June 7th, 2005 by martijn.
Categories: Misc. News, Religious and Political Radicalization.

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Analysis: 'No' vote impacts Islam relations – (United Press International)

Posted on June 5th, 2005 by martijn.
Categories: Misc. News.

In the Washington Times an analysis on the ‘NO’ against the Euro-constitution: ‘No’ vote impacts Islam relations – (United Press International)

The collateral damage from the rejection of the European Union constitution first by France and then the Netherlands extends to Europe’s role in the Middle East. It did not escape Arab commentators that a significant factor in the “no” vote was public opposition to immigration. In France and the Netherlands that translates into implied anti-Arab sentiment: Immigrants in both come mainly from across the Mediterranean in North Africa.

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Analysis: ‘No’ vote impacts Islam relations – (United Press International)

Posted on June 5th, 2005 by .
Categories: Misc. News.

In the Washington Times an analysis on the ‘NO’ against the Euro-constitution: ‘No’ vote impacts Islam relations – (United Press International)

The collateral damage from the rejection of the European Union constitution first by France and then the Netherlands extends to Europe’s role in the Middle East. It did not escape Arab commentators that a significant factor in the “no” vote was public opposition to immigration. In France and the Netherlands that translates into implied anti-Arab sentiment: Immigrants in both come mainly from across the Mediterranean in North Africa.

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nu.nl/algemeen | KNMI waarschuwt voor windstoten en wateroverlast

Posted on June 3rd, 2005 by martijn.
Categories: Misc. News.

nu.nl/algemeen | KNMI waarschuwt voor windstoten en wateroverlast

Windstoten en wateroverlast ook al een ‘islamitisch’ onderwerp? Nee hoor, maar ik kon het niet laten, de foto’s op nu.nl zijn werkelijk schitterend. Twee ervan hieronder, maar nog meer via bovenstaande link.

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nu.nl/algemeen | KNMI waarschuwt voor windstoten en wateroverlast

Posted on June 3rd, 2005 by .
Categories: Misc. News.

nu.nl/algemeen | KNMI waarschuwt voor windstoten en wateroverlast

Windstoten en wateroverlast ook al een ‘islamitisch’ onderwerp? Nee hoor, maar ik kon het niet laten, de foto’s op nu.nl zijn werkelijk schitterend. Twee ervan hieronder, maar nog meer via bovenstaande link.

0 comments.

BBC NEWS | Europe | Dutch say 'No' to EU constitution

Posted on June 1st, 2005 by martijn.
Categories: Misc. News.

BBC NEWS | Europe | Dutch say ‘No’ to EU constitution

Voters in the Netherlands have overwhelmingly rejected the proposed European Union constitution. With most ballots counted in the referendum, projections indicate that at least 62% of voters said “No” to the charter and about 38% approved it.

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BBC NEWS | Europe | Dutch say ‘No’ to EU constitution

Posted on June 1st, 2005 by .
Categories: Misc. News.

BBC NEWS | Europe | Dutch say ‘No’ to EU constitution

Voters in the Netherlands have overwhelmingly rejected the proposed European Union constitution. With most ballots counted in the referendum, projections indicate that at least 62% of voters said “No” to the charter and about 38% approved it.

0 comments.

NRC Handelsblad – Buitenland: 'Ik ben deel van nieuwe islam'

Posted on May 20th, 2005 by martijn.
Categories: Gender, Kinship & Marriage Issues, Misc. News.

In de NRC een interview met Amina Wudud: ‘Ik ben deel van nieuwe islam’

De Amerikaanse moslimtheologe Amina Wadud veroorzaakte grote opschudding in de islamitische wereld toen zij 18 maart in New York als eerste vrouw voorging in een publieke islamitische gebedsdienst waaraan ook mannen deelnamen. Vrouwen mogen wel vrouwen leiden, en dan liefst achter gesloten deuren, maar ,,vrouwen leiden mannen niet in religieuze verplichtingen”, verwoordde de invloedrijke Egyptische geestelijke sjeik Yusuf Qaradawi de storm van protesten. Zelf relativeert Wadud haar initiatief. ,,Ik vecht op vele fronten tegen de hegemonie van mannen”, zegt ze in een vraaggesprek, haar eerste sinds die gebedsdienst.

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NRC Handelsblad – Buitenland: ‘Ik ben deel van nieuwe islam’

Posted on May 20th, 2005 by .
Categories: Gender, Kinship & Marriage Issues, Misc. News.

In de NRC een interview met Amina Wudud: ‘Ik ben deel van nieuwe islam’

De Amerikaanse moslimtheologe Amina Wadud veroorzaakte grote opschudding in de islamitische wereld toen zij 18 maart in New York als eerste vrouw voorging in een publieke islamitische gebedsdienst waaraan ook mannen deelnamen. Vrouwen mogen wel vrouwen leiden, en dan liefst achter gesloten deuren, maar ,,vrouwen leiden mannen niet in religieuze verplichtingen”, verwoordde de invloedrijke Egyptische geestelijke sjeik Yusuf Qaradawi de storm van protesten. Zelf relativeert Wadud haar initiatief. ,,Ik vecht op vele fronten tegen de hegemonie van mannen”, zegt ze in een vraaggesprek, haar eerste sinds die gebedsdienst.

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