Fatima.Mernessi_The-Forgotten-Queens-of-Islam-EN

8
The Little Queens of
Sheba
An Arab people ruled by a queen, happy to be so, and adoring
their queen: is this not a surrealistic idea in a modern Arab world in
which our men, somewhat overwrought by the electronic revolution,
nervously advise us to put on the veil, as if such a move was going
miraculously to stabilize our debt-ravaged economies? Covering up
women and their power did not seem a major concern of the
Yemenis of the eleventh century. The chroniclers describe them to
us as men perfectly happy with having their women quite visible,
active, and dynamic - women who thought, spoke out, and made
decisions. And everyone seemed to profit by it, individuals as well
as the whole nation. And in these ancient records we are happy to
find assurance that a strong couple united by democratic interchange,
which once upon a time was declared evil for all of us, is
not a betrayal of our ancestors nor a mechanical imitation of the
West.
Asma Bint Shihab al-Sulayhiyya wore power and pearls with the
same distinction. Alongside her husband and with him she directed
all the important affairs of the realm until his death in 458/1066. In
the beginning, as a young wife fascinated by the magnetic brilliance
of her companion, she happily accepted the obscure, humble life
that the Shi'ite commitment imposed on her husband, who had
chosen to take the difficult path of preparing for the imamate. Asma
shared the constraints of the clandestine life that Shi'ite secrecy
demanded of them. She had the patience to support her husband
during the 15-year waiting period, to believe in him, in his genius,
and in his undertaking. Yes, patient she was, but never self-effacing.