United Arab Emirates to allow female muftis

By Omar Sacirbey

The United Arab Emirates, a small Persian Gulf state known for adherence to tradition, will become the third Islamic country to appoint female muftis, scholars who have the power to issue fatwas and other religious decisions.

Still, the decision hardly bucks tradition, according to some Islamic experts, who say women religious authorities appear throughout Islamic history, Religion News Service reports.

"The significance of this is that it's an active effort by a state to give women a voice in religious authority," said Ebrahim Moosa, an Islamic studies professor at Duke University.

Six females will begin a mufti-training program early in 2010, according to The National newspaper in Dubai. The programme will be headed by the country's official grand mufti, Ahmed al Haddad, who issued a fatwa in February sanctioning female muftis, and called for applicants in May.

The grand mufti said his decision was based on the Quran, and earlier precedents. Asma Afsaruddin, a professor of Islamic studies at Indiana University, and author of "The First Muslims," points to a verse which says, "Believing men and believing women are protecting friends of one another; they enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong."

Afsaruddin said, "Women are not just allowed to have these positions, it's required." She added that women scholars gave advice not just on female issues, but politics, economics, and other important matters of state. "It was very common. It was accepted that female scholars would transmit knowledge and give counsel."

Historically, the wives of Islam's Prophet Muhammad head a long list of female religious authorities. Only in the modern era have women's views become marginalised, scholars say.

In a few places, female religious authorities are reappearing. Morocco's government started certifying female religious "guides" in 2007, while the dean of Qatar's College of Sharia and Islamic Studies, is a woman, Aisha Al-Mannai.

The key to whether the women succeed, Moosa said, is not how well they know Islamic law, but how familiar they are with modern-day issues. "A mufti is an advocate of Islamic knowledge and gives it contextual expression," he said. 

Source: Ecumenical News International