Islam is a feminist religion, says a leading Indonesian women's rights activist and Muslim scholar. Lily Zakiyah Munir is the director of the Jakarta-based Centre for Pesantren and Democracy Studies, which works closely with the ulama and students of Indonesian Islamic boarding schools, or pesantrens.

In an interview with Adnkronos International in Rome, where she is attending an inter-religious congress of women theologians this weekend, she stressed that "Islam's call is to liberate the oppressed, including women."

"To understand how Islam has uplifted the status of women and appreciate its revolutionary breakthrough for women's liberation and empowerment, it is key to know about the social and cultural conditions of pre-Muslim Arabia," Munir says.
"This period is also known as jahiliya, where ignorance and lack of moral values prevailed. Women enjoyed no rights whatsoever and were treated more as a commodity than as human beings; they were not properly slaves but were considered a possession."

"Islam ends these atrocities against women placing them on the same level as men," Munir says.

The Muslim scholar who has written many essays on women's rights in Islam, is a contributor for the Jakarta Post and frequently travels the world as a lecturer. She was recently in the United States for two months to teach a course on women's rights under Islam at the University of South Carolina.

According to Munir, the number of female Muslim scholars is steadily growing in Indonesia.

"Though I can't give an exact number, I would say that approximately 30-40 percent of teachers in each Indonesian pesantren are women, which is very positive because many young Indonesians are being taught by women and get their perspective on Islam teachings, from women" she said.

There are an estimated 14,000 pesantrens in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country.

Indeed, Munir places great emphasis on the education of Muslims on women's rights at a grassroots level.

"Education is really the essential thing in the promotion of women's rights," she stresses.

Munir says she greatly admires the work of Malaysia's Sisters in Islam, a very active Muslim women's rights group, which works on publications on a range of subjects from family law to domestic violence against women, gives lectures and promotes awareness campaigns with the media and public.
However, she says they are "too high profile and should work more with the regular people."

Though she often uses the word feminism, when questioned about it she actually rejects the term saying it is "too Western" and that it "suggests the idea of confrontation between men and women."

"In Indonesia, those who work for women's rights don't want to be called feminists because the term is too Western and because they like to think that men and women support each other."

"I prefer the term Fiqh Nisa, which describes the promotion of women's rights within Islamic law," Munir says.

The activist cites the work of other female scholars she particularly admires, including Amina Wadud, a professor of Islamic studies at Virginia Commonwealth University, who became one of the first Muslim women to lead a Friday prayer in New York City last year.

Nevertheless, Munir stresses that though "theologically nothing prevents women from being imams, women face so many problems now that I don't think such an issue, which is very controversial and mainly symbolic, can help their cause."

"More important are equal rights in reproductive health, education and protection against domestic violence," she notes.

Overall, Munir says she is worried about the "increasing level of fundamentalism, which is also affecting Indonesia."

The Indonesian government recently approved a controversial decree which states that administrative and technical requirements must be met before a building permit for a house of worship is issued.
The measure was strongly opposed by Christian communities who have highlighted the difficulty of establishing places of worship.

Munir says that "though there must be rules regulating worship practices, co-existance is a fundamental principle of Islam." The scholar says she is proud of the cohabitation of the Muslim majority with different religious communities in Indonesia, stressing that "Islam is a religion that guarantees freedom of expression and religion."

"We Muslims have to go back to the spirit of Islam rather than attempt to control things through politics," she said.

Munir criticised the Indonesian government's recently introduced bill which bans pornography and calls for prison terms and fines for kissing in public or bearing a woman's "sensual" body parts and the display of erotic art work.

"You can't prohibit stuff because this is negative for diversity," she noted. "Morality is promoted through ethical awareness and cannot be imposed with bans."

"Women should simply not be exploited as objects and this is a capitalism problem, not a religious problem," Munir concluded.

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