A feminist blog?

Sahar

A lot of people describe Nuseiba as a feminist blog because it focuses on Muslim women and attempts to express their voice on multiple issues.  However, I don’t really like the idea of Nuseiba being understood as a feminist blog, because my intentions for it are part of a broader project of Islamic revivalism. So I was pleased to come across the writings and work of Nadia Yassine, who is the founder and head of the woman’s branch of the Moroccan Islamist movement Al Adl Wa Al Ihsanne (Justice and Charity). Yassine highlights her position as a politically active Muslim woman who is  conscious of the  issues plaguing her community, especially that of women. Her vision, expressed in the following quote,  is similar to what I see for Nuseiba.

If you mean by feminism pleading the cause of women, then I am a feminist; but better yet, I’m activist for the restoring of the rights granted to women by Islam. But I am very cautious regarding labels. Mine is not the feminism of Simone de Beauvoir, the Western style feminism. I have my very own Islamic references.

The thing is the West got rid of the idea of God, at least in the public sphere. Its endeavors are purely materialistic. They thus automatically exclude any idea of spirituality or return to God. My struggle, on the other hand, is essentially spiritual, not a struggle between men and women for material entitlements. God has given rights to women in Islam; these inalienable rights are far greater than any rights enjoyed by other women anywhere else at any given time. With that said, the rights of women in Islam have unfortunately eroded over the course of Islamic history. This malaise that has steadily eroded the rights of women in Islam has taken its toll on men too. It is an endeavor to restore the rightful place of women in a society that can never be revived without their real participation.