Our Religion Teaches Equality and Peace: Position Papers of the Muslim Women's League USA.

The word "Islam" derives from Arabic characters meaning "to be in peace." Worldwide there are roughly a billion Muslims, or practioners of Islam. Muslims trace their faith back to the spiritual experiences of Prophet Muhammad (570-622 C.E.), an inhabitant of Mecca in what is now Saudi Arabia. While meditating, Muhammad was visited by the angel Jibrail (Gabriel, in the Jewish and Christian Bibles). Jibrail entrusted Muhammad with a series of direct revelations from Allah, the Supreme Being. These were written down in Arabic and called the Qur'an (sometimes spelled Koran). Muslims consider the Qur'an and the Hadith--the sayings, actions, and commentary of Prophet Muhammad told in narrative form--to be their essential guides for living.

Muhammad is the last in a series of prophets that begins with Adam end includes Abraham, Noah, Moses, and Jesus: all of them human messengers of the Unique, Infinite, Transcendent Creator and Sustainer of all that exists. Because of this theological and historical common ground, there is a tradition within Islam of respecting Jews and Christians as brother and sister "People of the Book." Zoroastrians, Hindus, and Buddhists have also been identified as such.

In the area of feminist spirituality, the common ground between Islam and other faiths is readily apparent. Just like contemporary women in the other world religions, a growing number of Muslim women are calling for a deeper faithfulness to their spiritual tradition than has been realized under centuries of male domination. At the heart of Islam, they assert, is the message that human beings are equal to one another and called by Allah to live together peaceably. Men and women must seek a loving mutuality. Because the lives of unborn children too are sacred, solutions other than abortion must be found for difficult pregnancies.

The Muslim Women's League USA eloquently voices the transformative message of Islamic feminism in the following essays.-- Editor

Issues of Concern for Muslim Women (September 1995)

Renewed interest in and enthusiasm for Islam as a means of change is emerging in many parts of the world. By implementing Islamic principles, Muslims are hoping to improve their condition on many fronts, be they social, political, economic or other. The Muslim world is comprised of people of a variety of nationalities and ethnicities which, combined with geographical realities, determine priorities of action for improving the lives of women.

Most Muslims are taught that Islam liberated women by giving them rights not previously enjoyed. Some examples include rights of ownership, decision-making in marriage, divorce and so on. Indeed, when reviewing primary Muslim sources of Qur'an and authentic Hadith (words and deeds of Prophet Muhammed), one is impressed by an overall image of men and women as equal partners as those who are expected by God to "enjoin the doing of what is right and forbid the doing of what is wrong" in all spheres of life, and to act as His vicegerents in ensuring justice, freedom, and equality for all. (1)