Sailan Muslimah

Photograph by: Bruno Schlumberger, The Ottawa Citizen Sheema Khan was just three years old when she emigrated with her family from India to Montreal. They wanted a country with a good education system, and work opportunities. But mostly, they wanted to leave behind the sectarian violence between Hindus and Muslims in their Calcutta home. Canada was that land of promise …

Dr Hassan al-Turabi from Sudan is one of the world’s leading living scholars of Islam. In addition to a traditional Islamic education, he holds a Bachelors degree in Law from the University of Khartoum, a Masters from the University of London and a PhD from the Sorbonne, Paris.  He has served Sudan as Speaker of parliament, Attorney General, Minister of …

WHEN Imam Zuhri, a famous scholar of Sunna (Prophet Muhammad’s traditions), indicated to Qasim ibn Muhammd (a scholar of the Qur’an), a desire to seek knowledge, Qasim advised him to join the assembly of a well-known woman jurist of the day, Amara bin Al-Rahman. Imam Zuhri attended her assembly and later described her as “a boundless ocean of knowledge.” In …

It is generally thought that movement for women’s rights began with western educated people and in 19th century. But very few people know about Maulavi Mumtaz Ali Khan, a traditional ‘alim, product of Darul ‘Uloom Deoband who was very enthusiastic supporters of gender equality. There are two things to be noted here: one, he was a traditional ‘alim and was …

I’ve often said Islamophobia is the last refuge of the racist and it can manifest itself in many forms. Sometimes it is right in your face, erupting into physical violence or verbal abuse while at other times the attack can be almost subliminal, thinly veiled, cloaked in ambiguity. The net result is the same, in as much as the victim …