Be a cornerstone in your societies!
Whenever we address women about the necessity of their participation in society through all its doors – political, economic, educational, and others – we are confronted by some clergymen on one hand, and a backward male mentality on the other!
Thus, we find ourselves as if we are on a path divergent from religion! In fact, according to their claims and understanding, we might even need to repent!
This accusation forces us to exhaust our efforts in defending our faith and our vision of religion, and our understanding of matters in opposition to their religious perceptions!
Here we ask: Why can’t we have a third way?
A path that recognizes that our social era is breaking the male mentality, moving us towards more liberal and open concepts, and believes in Syria’s history and civilization, while simultaneously adhering to religious objectives.
Why don’t we try to find a reconciliatory relationship between the two groups based on the principle (The separation of article, between wisdom and Sharia in connection).
Thus, the meaning of the Almighty’s saying {And remain in your homes and do not display yourselves as [was] the display of the former times of ignorance} as interpreted by the writer Muhammad Tawfiq Sidqi in Al-Manar magazine, Volume 13, Page 771: “Some scholars say: The command to stay in homes is specifically for the Prophet’s wives; due to their lack of need to go out in those times; and their presence in sparsely populated homes at that time”.
Thus, we understand that the address is not for all women, and even if it were, it would not apply to all women in all eras!
For instance, the verse might be understood about women in a remote village surrounded by many fears, where their refusal to go out serves as protection for them, not coercion, like in some Syrian villages lacking security and surrounded by militia checkpoints from either the Syrian regime or the opposition.
In this case, why shouldn’t the focus be on imposing protection for women and ensuring their safety from harm, rather than preventing them from going out into society to contribute to its recovery!
The enlightened religious men have a great duty in attempting a modern interpretation of the jurisprudential heritage, and in promoting their visions and understandings, a contemporary reading that supports the efforts of all our Syrian women, and reassures the Muslim women among them about the safety of their religion and faith, especially as they have filled the horizons and all lands, so they do not remain in a state of dissonance between religion and reality, or a state of rejecting reality and confining themselves to homes!
The Syrian currents and elites have a duty to support and respect the rights of Syrian women, and to look for ways to lift the injustice upon them, not to cater to the male mentality or the backward religious fatwas acceptable or imposed in their time and place.
In the Syrian Future Movement, we believe that women should take their true and central role for a dignified, ethical, and equal participation as free and noble humans, and to interact within the limits of morals, law, rights, and duties, and to demand their rights that most women around the world have already attained, ensuring their honor, dignity, and place in society, and to participate in life and interact with challenges. In other words: O Syrian women, your societies need you, so be a cornerstone in your societies and reform them to be built under your watchful eyes (with your minds and efforts).
Wahiba Al-Masri
Family Affairs Office
Research and Studies Department
Articles
Syrian Future Movement (SFM)
