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A Guiding Light for All Women
On January 24-25, 2002 the International Assembly of Women Followers of Ahlul-Bait (AS) was held in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Meanwhile Mahjubah had a friendly discussion with a few members of the Ahlul-Bait (AS) Islamic Sister’s Network.
By Turan Jamshidian
M: Please introduce yourself to our readers and also tell us why you have come to Tehran (Iran).
ZF: My name is Zinat Fazel. I am from Dar-es-Salaam (Tanzania). I am a counselor and trainer from Tanzania, working with the poorest community of Dar-es-Salaam. I have come to Tehran to meet other Muslim sisters from all over the world and to discuss with them the problems of women around the world.
M: How do you think about this Assembly? Do you think that such conferences are fruitful and what do you propose can be done to improve these conferences?
ZF: Yes! I think these conferences are fruitful and one thing I would suggest is to have a proper self-introduction in the very beginning so that we can make the most of the conference. I think some of us have become acquainted with one another but others have been left un-introduced. So an introduction of the invited guests would make the conference more of a success. Such that people who are active in similar fields can share and learn from each other as well as make a net-working in the future where we can discuss problems and make a bigger helpful Shi’a community or Ahlul-Bait community or society at large.
M: What do you think about the ‘Dialogue Among Civilizations’? Do you think that it is being implemented here and do you have dialogue among yourselves?
ZF: I think up to a certain extent, yes. I think all of us have had dialogue, but we have meetings on many things. I don’t think everyone is able to participate but the time is very short and they are trying their best.
M: Do you read Mahjubah magazine regularly? Do you have any comment for our esteem readers?
ZF: Yes, it is one of my favorite Islamic magazines, and I enjoy reading it. It is a privilege for me to give this interview and I would recommend every woman to read it and at the same time I would like to say one thing to the women, that life is too short and we need to make the best of it and also share the love of Ahlul-Bait (AS) with a lot of people around us with the believers and also unbelievers, whether they are Muslims or non-Muslims, whether they are depressed or they are happy and amongst the lucky.
Sister Zaveeny was the next one to be interviewed by Mahjubah.
M: Can you please tell us a little about yourself?
Z: I am Zaveeny Jalil from Sri Lanka, I am from the Az-Zahra Association. We do a lot of work for the poor and the refugees in Sri Lanka due to this terrorist problem and I was invited to this conference which is a pleasure to attend.
I have had an opportunity to meet many Shi’a sisters here, and in other gatherings Sunni sisters as well. Like the other sisters said earlier, if we had an introduction, it would be helpful to know who is who and what each one is doing. We should work on that, it would help all of us. I am sure this would be a fruitful conference, because lots of people gave their ideas about it and Insha Allah I hope they continue to have these conferences and we will be able to meet more sisters.
M: Will you please define a model or a pattern lady for all the women believers?
Z: Definitely Fatima az-Zahra (SA), she is the model for everyone, she is a guiding light for all women.
M: Have you read Mahjubah Magazine before?
Z: Reading Mahjubah is a pleasure. It is a very informative magazine, and most of the information given in it, concern many other associations, happenings all over the world, I mean they do a lot of researches on them.
Mrs. Zahra is from London, she works in the Islamic Center of England where many Islamic conferences are held. I asked her to compare and contrast this conference with those that she has attended in London? I also asked her opinion on Mahjubah.
Z: I would say that all conferences are beneficial. I will not be biased on this issue, something always comes out of a conference, but I think that those sisters who attend the conference have to view it in a positive light. That is not just to say that we attended such and such a conference, practicality has to come out of the conference. We are attending it, hoping or certainly intending that practical issues will be solved and that is something that a lot of sisters have to realize. We have been attending conferences, we have been discussing and we have been talking, I think there have been good results. What we really need to do is to try to solve issues that are pending for all countries and this is something that we have to work on.
I love Mahjubah, we get it regularly in the Center, always when the Mahjubah parcels come and I go to work, I see it there when it has just arrived and I am the first one to get it, and read it, it is a very interesting magazine. It is light, it is fresh, it has political articles, it has articles regarding stories for our children. As for women, it is a magazine that motivates people, it is certainly an asset to have this magazine distributed everywhere.
M: What do the Muslims do in order to have better results from Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca)?
Z: I think that Hajj is a platform that has got to be made use of for discussing politics. It is a platform for all Muslims who are very spiritually motivated. In fact they are at the highest level of spirituality, where their concern for all Muslims and Islam is at its peak, and that is the time that they will be very sincere in their feelings towards issues of Palestine, Kashmir, and other issues relating to the Muslim world. I think it is important that politics be discussed, during seminars and gatherings held over the Hajj period.
Another sister was from Cape Town (South Africa). I asked her to tell us about the situation of Muslim women in her country.
AG: I’m Adela Gertse (Heugh) from Cape Town. I am a medical technologist by profession but right now I have changed my position to being a business woman. In South Africa women are in a very unique position, we come from different groups, different backgrounds and societies.
Before in South Africa we lived under the system which is called Apartheid. That has changed now such that women become more free, not just women, but all humanity. But I feel that women in South Africa still need to be educated a lot, because at this period in South Africa there are lots of opportunities for women, especially black women in South Africa because we have a policy called affirmative action and that gives women the opportunity to uplift themselves and to put themselves in higher positions and into posts which were previously unavailable to them.
M: What is your comment to our readers for the improvement of Muslim women’s situation all around the world?
AG: I feel readers of Mahjubah by sending their articles, their experiences, can share with women all over the world. As far as I know most women that I know, read Mahjubah and I feel that because it is sent worldwide, by sharing your knowledge and your information, and your problems, it may help some sisters in another countries who may be experiencing the same problem.
We interviewed a sister from Kenya. Her name is Nazmeen Karim she is a dispensing optician by profession and mother of three children.
M: Tell us about the events in Afghanistan. What did you think about the women there before September 11th and now?
NK: Before September 11, I didn’t even know of Afghanistan. At that time it was just another country to me, but now I know more about it than before. What I heard before that, women were restricted under the name of Islam. Women weren’t allowed to work, they were not allowed to attend schools, they were not allowed to watch television. (Men and women, all Muslims).
Suddenly the Western has infiltrated it and now the people of that country (both men and women) can watch television or video, listen to music and attend schools. Now the Muslims tell themselves that they are liberated from the Taliban regime and the women can now go out without veil and they can work (which they couldn’t do before). I think this is mere propaganda from the west.
M: What do you think about the Assembly of Hajj ?
NK: First of all, I will tell you from my own experience about going to Hajj, because I had never seen Saudi Arabia or Mecca and Medina before. People told me that when you set foot in Mecca it is something that you just cannot believe, but I didn’t feel anything, I was shocked, how it was so materialized. I mean there were chandeliers, light, fans, the floors were marble. It wasn’t the Mecca which I had imagined. I had the old original one in mind. That was the only time that I felt close to the creator. When I returned back home, I felt, yes I went for Hajj, but not before that.
Another sister interviewed by us was Mrs. Nasim Valjee from Kenya. She is presently studying journalism and I asked her to tell us about the duties and responsibilities of Muslim women journalists in improving the other generation and women’s situation?
NV: I want to share with you a verse from the Qur’an Allah says: “....surely Allah does not change the condition of a people until they change their own condition:..” (13:11)
I think if we understand and evaluate this verse from the Holy Qur’an, we will realize the need of learning Islam, understanding and appreciating Allah, firstly as individuals and then sharing this knowledge with the society at large. We are a group of sisters who are trying to work for school of Ahlul-Bait (AS) through literature, books, programs, workshops, youth seminars and we are trying very hard in a western society, so-called predominantly western society of Kenya, where we see day by day that our children are getting lost. They have a lot of phobia about Islam, they suffer from a lot of peer pressure and I feel as women and as mothers we have to tackle these issues and challenges, not as big issues but as positive challenges, trying to guide our children, spiritually motivate them towards the mosques, because I believe as a woman our duty begins in the home and if the home environment is healthy spiritually, our children will be able to appreciate the marvels of Islam, and if we have the confidence, we’ll be able to give our children the best, most beautiful din (Islam): The Qur’an says: ”Surely the (true) religion with Allah is Islam...”(3:19)
I think the best role model we can follow is our Prophet (SAW). If we look at the life history of our Prophet (SAW) we realize how he loved children, how compassionate and merciful he was. It is very unfortunate to see Muslim societies condemning children, being very negative about youngsters and their children, trying to subjugate, malign them when they do something wrong. I feel, we need to motivate and inspire them, we need to have positive attitudes, and I think this is the way we can raise our children. Our children need Islamic materials, in terms of literature, CD’s, games, films, and in this regard the Islamic Republic of Iran can help us, deliver to us these materials in English, try to translate as much as possible, because the outside world is bombarded with a lot of illicit, sexual materials which provoke them in doing wrong things, and I feel that we are all duty-bound in this issue.
Mahjubah: Thank you and have a safe journey.
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