Germany: Role of a woman in Islam symposium in Osnabrück

"We find a strange portrayal of the role of women in Islam by the media," says Tahira Aziz about the theme of this evening's discussion.

File Photo Basharat Mosque, Osnabrück

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | EU Desk
Source/Credit: Neue OZ | OSNABRUCKER ZEITUNG
Edited by Ahmadiyya Times | December 15, 2011

Osnabrück. What it is really the role of women that Islam dictates? Does the female gender really doesn't  have much say? Is the violence against Muslim women a reality, or it plays a role only in the media?

These issues were the focus of the evening lecture, "honor killings and forced marriages", were the topics were handled at an evening organized by the women's organization of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat Osnabrück to discuss the Ahmadiyya understanding.

"We find a strange portrayal of the role of women in Islam by the media," says Tahira Aziz about the theme of this evening's discussion.

"We want to clarify what the facts really are," the 26-year-old, who studied law and is the representative for inter-religious dialogue in the Pakistani community, says.


Osnabrück Equality Officer Anna Maria Schmitz-Hülsmann support the women gathered at the event.

"It is important to listen and understand each other," says Schmitz-Hülsmann. "Only this can bring people together."

About 60 curious visitors were on hand when Aziz spoke.

She explained the position of women in Islam on the basis of quotations from the Koran. "Before God, man and woman are on equal footing," she quoted Sura 33, verse 36 that the men and women were created from one essence. "How can one gender be worth less?"

It is important, Aziz told student, to distinguish between forced marriages and arranged marriages. "There is no indication in the Koran that a forced marriage is permitted." Arranged marriages, yes, before the came. "It's like a dating agency."

Also, honor killings are totally un-Islamic.

Osnabrück is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, some 80 km NNE of Dortmund, 45 km NE of Münster, and some 100 km due west of Hanover. [Wikipedia]



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