Women in Islam: Liberated or Oppressed? - Myriam Francois Cerrah

Surrey Islamic Society hosted a talk entitled: Women in Islam: Liberated or Oppressed? on Wednesday 2nd March 2011 as part of their Islamic Awareness Week

Talk by Myriam Francois Cerrah

Myriam Francois Cerrah, Oxford University DPhil student in Middle East Politics, and regular contributor on current affairs, embraced Islam in 2003 aged 21. She is one of a growing number of educated middle class female converts to Islam in Britain.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• myriam
• miriam
• mariam
• maryam
• meryem
• francois
• cerrah
• women
• liberated
• islam
• isoc
• muslim
• deen
• religion
• discussion
• analysis
• educational
• muhammad
• beat
• rape
• hurt
• quran
• koran
• prophet
• convert
• inspirational
• hijab
• jilbab
• hejab
• sister
• catholic
• nun
• oxford
• surrey
• islamic
• university
• french
• revert
• british
• feminism
• feminist
• liberalism
• oppression
• abuse
• lies

[karlsmith00]

i want these proud muslim women to go to saudi arabia, yemen, afghanistan, or somalia and try to have a public debate there.

they never will. they live in england, where they can all exploit the freedoms that women fought hard for, and then spit all over them by crying about how great islam is.

these women are dumb. they take what they have for granted while muslim women in islamic countries suffer. they have no clue.

[surreyislamicsociety]

@karlsmith00 The title of the talk was women in "Islam" not "Saudi Arabia". lol I think you need to distinguish between a Global faith and a geographical location. :) Remember that Islam is a belief not a race, tribe or country! lol It absolutely amazes me that you think Islam = Afghanistan and Christianity = UK/US.

[JustHuman48]

The burqa suppresses sexuality and the bikini makes sexuality public property. Extremes are not the answer. The middle way is the best.

[surreyislamicsociety]

@JustHuman48 But who said that wearing a burqa is what all Muslim women should do? Even Myriam herself doesn't wear one! I think YOU are referring to extremes. Most Muslim women are on the middle way, but you would rather look at the 2% who wear burqas :)

[JustHuman48]

No clever clogs. I don't oppose allowing women to wear hijab or dress modestly out of their own freewill. I oppose people LYING and saying that Islam liberates women. Cerrah may give some good examples which do liberate women however the verses which devalue women are far more plentiful in the Qur'an and Hadith so essentially, that outweighs her argument. I think that the bikini and the burqa are two sides of the same ugly coin. Extremes.

[surreyislamicsociety]

@JustHuman48 Who said anything about burqa? Can you please provide this so called authentic quote which tells all Muslim men to FORCE women to wear a burqa for us all to see.. :) You are so focused on the outer appearance of a Muslim woman but fail to address the ethics and values. Hardly much of the talk even referred to the outer appearance. Does it really bother you that much if a lady wishes to cover her hair out of modesty? What about nuns, Jewish women, and other similar religions?

[surreyislamicsociety]

@JustHuman48 Who said anything about burqa? Can you please provide this so called authentic quote which tells all Muslim men to FORCE women to wear a burqa for us all to see.. :) You are so focused on the outer appearance of a Muslim woman but fail to address the ethics and values. Hardly much of the talk even referred to the outer appearance. Does it really bother you that much if a lady wishes to cover her hair out of modesty? What about nuns, Jewish women, and other similar religions?

[Scorsese]

@JustHuman48 Not sure that's right. The burqa suppresses the tendency towards sexualisation - not sexuality - objectification and sexualisation doesn't mean sexuality.

[MsCurbsideprophet]

People as so quick to judge someone on their outer appreance without looking into depths. This is what's making society fail as whole. We are at a place were we are so focused on how we look rather than our intellect, wisdom and knowledge.

Much respect to Myriam Francois Cerrah, who is clearly a woman of wise words.

[CoolKandahary1]

@karlsmith00 , I welcome you to Afghanistan :)

[horsie111]

But...but...if most of the people in hell are women ("I was shown the Hell-fire and that the majority of its dwellers are women.") then how can Allah be merciful and compassionate? Because people don't choose to be created man or woman, so those people are in hell due to how Allah chose to make them different to men.

Blame Allah, not the women! Because obviously, he just should have made women *as good as* men.

[sususoos]

@karlsmith00 ,One can do like the way you comment but we read from Hadith when the opposite of it happen.so we conclude, we can not judge Islam by some ignorant Muslims.

[Yessir432]

Fantastic talk by an intelligent woman :)

[zidane247]

@JustHuman48 to my understanding burqa is more a cultural thing than it is islamic. although shouldn't people be allowed to dress how they want to? and where in the quran do islam debase/devalue women? during the days of the of the prophet, the disbelievers would kill their daughter/s because they much prefer a son. tell me how bad that was.

[AllThatKnowHow]

@karlsmith00 your understanding outreachs anything I came accross, please tell us more about the suffering of this muslim women in islamic countries. Better still go and tell them to their faces. I'm sure they have representive where you live (you know refugees)!!! Right for women to inherit is give in the quran 1400 years ago, when did europe allow women to inherit? You are free but lack Freedom, let others find there way.

[arseymcpherson]

@AllThatKnowHow Where did I say that I wanted women too be 'nude to be free'? It is you who are obsessed with the idea.

[karlsmith00]

@chocolatepaki they're not reverts, you confused bitch. nobody reverts to anything, because nobody is automatically born inot a religion. they're converts, and most end up leaving after a few years anyway.

i know what a secular democracy is, idiot. islam is the opposite. if they're muslims, they should follow islamic law, and therefore they must leave.

judaism isn't a complete political system like islam. no country enforces old testmanent laws. fucking dumbass.