Fundamentalisms

Saudi Arabia: The 'No Women. No Play' campaign on status of women in Kingdom

The Hadi al-Mutif Program for Human Rights at the Institute for Gulf Affairs is launching a multi-year international campaign this week to raise awareness on the status of women in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is one of the world’s worst violators of women’s rights, as the state declares women legally inferior to men.

International: Not the Church, Not the State? Gender equality in the crossfire

The challenge to platforms for gender equality comes not just from actors with fundamentalist agendas, but from a conjuncture where women’s rights have been opportunistically instrumentalized to serve geopolitical goals, and neo-liberal policies have severed social justice from gender equality concerns

Thailand: Roles and Challenges for Muslim Women in Southern Border Provinces

The report “Rules and Challenges for Malay Muslim Women in the Restive Southern Border Provinces of Thailand” was first presented at the Conference on Religious Activism & Women’s Development in Southeast Asia: Highlighting Impediments, Exploring Opportunities, organized by Centre for Research on Islamic and Malay Affairs (RIMA), Singapore National University, on 20 November 2009. This report focuses on the roles of Malay Muslim women in the Southern Border Provinces of Thailand who have to face life amidst problems, obstacles and difficulties in bringing up their families in a time when violence forces them to stand forward as leaders.

Indonesia: Women point to biases in Koranic exegesis

Nahdlatul Ulama (NU) and the National Commission on Violence Against Women and Children are hopeful their newly launched book will change the views of the Indonesian Muslim community surrounding women and their rights. Breaking the Silence: Religion listens to the voice of women victims of violence for the sake of justice, launced on June 30, is intended to serve as a reference for clerics, Islamic women's organizations and the government, in promoting progressi

United States: Octavia Nasr fired from CNN for expressing respect for Ayotallah Fadlallah

CNN—a pioneer in global broadcasting and at one time a major force in world journalism —fired twenty year veteran editor Octavia Nasr for a 140 character twitter tweet that expressed “respect” for a highly respected Shi’ite Muslim cleric, Ayotallah Fadlallah.

Iraq: The Campaign ‘Reform of the hijab’

In a new campaign of its kind, created by a group calling itself the ‘Centre of al-Kadamiyya for Civil Society’, in June 2010 the group started a campaign called ‘Reform of the Hijab’. Some activists in Iraq believe that the government has a role in distributing tens of adverts in the streets of the neighbourhood of al-Kadamiyya (North Baghdad), placing them near the military checkpoints that are spread all over the city. Some of these adverts and pictures show uncovered or partly-covered women in such a way as to suggest they are somehow disgusting or ugly.

UPDATE: Iran: Sentence of stoning denied, but Mohammadi Ashtiani may still face execution

Indonesia: Islamists target Christians in city of Bekasi

A banner with a picture of a young, bespectacled Christian man is draped in front of the mosque, a fiery noose around his neck and the words: "This man deserves the death penalty!" Churches are shut down. And an Islamic youth militia prepares for its first day of training. Though the events all occur less than 5 miles (10 kilometers) from Indonesia's bustling capital, making headlines in local papers and dominating chats on social networking sites such as Facebook, they've spaked little public debate in the halls of power.

Iran: Majority of Iranians now opposed to compulsory veiling

As the Islamic Republic of Iran's domestic and international problems multiply -- courtesy of the democratic movement and its own myopic policies -- its myriad factions are shifting blame for the system's cascading ills. One of the pressing concerns, maintenance of the mandatory veil, is not finding many willing enforcers. The problem is compounded by the fact that, in sharp contrast to the early years after the Revolution, the majority of Iranians are now opposed to compulsory veiling of any kind.

Pakistan: Suicide bombers kill dozens at Sufi shrine

Suicide bombers devastated one of Pakistan's most famous Sufi shrines last night, marking another vicious strike by violent extremists against the moderate form of Islam practised by most Pakistanis. At least 42 people were killed and 175 injured when two bombers ripped through the Data Ganj Baksh shrine in central Lahore where thousands of people had gathered to pray, dance and listen to devotional music. The toll is expected to rise.