Orphan Rights

PersonalityWhy women?Women think that Islam isrepression, subjugation,and marginalization andthe West is always trying topresent Muslims in a distortedpicture, especially, when itcomes to history. They alwaysjump up and down andignore the Muslim scholarsand scientists.What do you think afterchoosing you for theDubai Award?I was so happy and I wasgrateful because I was thefirst European Muslim to bechosen for that honor. Islamis not just a religion for Arabs;rather it is the religion of Allahfor all humanity.What the role of theQuraan in your life?It is a continuous relationship.I read it always and everytime I do, I find somethingnew and amazingdiscoveries that prove itis the true religion. I haveperformed Hajj twice andUmrah five times.What did you present toIslam?I have published more than250 articles, in book reviews,in the Islamic World and inthe American Magazinefor Islamic Social Studies(Washington DC) and also inOxford Magazine for IslamicStudies (Islamabad).I gave lectures in all of theGulf Countries, from Kuwaitto Oman. As well as, lectureswith huge turn, in the US,Canada, Europe, NorthAfrica, India, and Pakistan.Who is your closestfriend?My closest friend wasthe advocate of Islam,Mohammad Asad, the Jew,who became Muslim, thetheorist who renounced hisreligion and culture andembraced Islam and theIslamic culture. If we lookcloser at the developmentof Islamic Intellect, in thefirst half of the twentiethcentury, we will not find someone at the same caliber ofMohammad Asad. He wasfaithful in understanding andcomprehending Islam, inhis attempt to wake Muslimsup, and in building bridgesof understanding betweenthe Islamic East and theChristian West. He died in1994 and 15 years after hedied, the Government ofBerlin named a square, in theAustrian Capital, after him. Amovie was made in his nameand translated in manylanguages, and I presentedhim in that movie. It is a gift,from the West to Islam.How does the West viewthe status of woman, inIslam?Regrettably, it is a negativepicture that many have it.They think that Muslim menare like beasts in treatingwomen and they [in theWest] do not know theIslamic aspects towardswomen. Many have affirmedthe “repression of women”,such as the inequalitybetween the two genders,females are killed in what iscalled “honor crimes”, andmany wrong impressions thatalmost take Muslim womento the level of slavery and thesuppression.Enough to mention thatfollowing those events,Laura Bush said, on a radiointerview, word for word;“Our war with terrorism is awar for the sake of the rightsand dignities of women”.This came as a result ofhaving the idea that womenare victims of a tyrannicalsocial system that mademost women, in the Islamicsocieties, unaware of theirrights.In this escalatinganimosity towards Islam,how can we contain thishatred to Muslims?It was easy to blame Muslimsfor every bad event thathas to do with terrorism andextremism. Among thosefew bad examples, theWest is trying to highlight,is that Islam is an evil andvery hurtful religion. Theydescribed the Messenger,peace be upon him, withthe worst description.Needless to say, therewere opposing stands fromsome of moderate religiousleaders as they condemnedextremism towards Islam andthe continuous attempts todistort Islam, with no rightto do so. Such fair opinionscan constrict this trend thatcrumbles the world peace.If those were the causes,what is the cure?It should start with honestand serious attempts toforget about the past andcorrect the mistakes thatlead to the distortion of theMuslims’ image. It is not justthe responsibility of the Westbut Muslims have their ownresponsibility, also, to bestpresent their religion by away of being true Muslimsand to adhere to what theirreligion commands them.Sumaya SaadJournalist in Al Khaleej news paperRevised by: Mohammed Tawfiq - DubaiSun TeamTranslated by: Mohamed hamamAn Islamic Periodical Magazine - Issue No 18 June 2010 39