Perspective: Islam Educated Me | CNN iReport

---

[T]he oldest university known as The al-Qarawiyyin mosque-university was founded by a Muslim women Fatima al-Fihri in 859.

Omar ibn al-Khattab (584-644 AD) was the 2nd Caliph (successor) after the
demise of the Prophet Muhammad (pubh). 

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: CNN iReport
By AyeshNR | September 16, 2014

A few months ago, I took my children to a nearby park. While the kids were playing, I found myself talking to a young American woman playing with her daughter. The young woman was in her late teens, a single mom, a high school dropout and fantasized being a waitress one day. Being a staunch advocate of women’s education I felt my heart aching at her distressed situation. My mind raced back to 2002, when I decided to go to London for my studies. My decision stemmed from the fact that Pakistan did not offer quality higher education in my field of interest. Here she was, living in one of the most advanced countries of the world and was refusing to use her fundamental right to be an educated woman. I was a citizen of a country where 72% of women were illiterate and I was on my way to London to do masters in Economics.

Unfortunately, Islam is often blamed for the illiteracy of those 72% women. Obviously, ill-treatment of women under Taliban regime, recent brutalities of ISIS and cruelties of Boko Haram have added fuel to the fire. All those whose source of information is media, consider Islam to be the culprit behind low literacy rate among Muslim women. While doing so they conveniently forget that Islam stresses upon the pursuit of knowledge equally for both sexes. They forget the saying of Prophet Muhammad, "seek knowledge, even if you must travel to China." They also forget that Prophet Muhmmad’s wife Ayesha was not only educated but was a great jurist, a prolific scholar of religion and taught both men and women. They also forget that the oldest university known as The al-Qarawiyyin mosque-university was founded by a Muslim women Fatima al-Fihri in 859. So when I was going to England to pursue my education, I wasn’t being rebellious to my religion, instead I was religiously following my religion, my Islam.

On that day at the park, I happened to meet another young woman with her 4 years old child. The woman wore blue Jeans, brown shirt dress, a bright colored Hijab and spoke English with thick Arab accent. We both connected in an instant. She along with her husband and little son had just come from Saudi Arabia. While her husband was doing Phd, she, a pharmacist already, was planning to get her pharmacy license, so she could help her husband during his financially constraint Phd years. That consoled my aching heart from the previous conversation. That’s how I like to see women, educated, liberal, independent, and supportive and this is what Islam requires them to be.

Read original post here: Perspective: Islam Educated Me


This content-post is archived for backup and to keep archived records of any news Islam Ahmadiyya. The views expressed by the author and source of this news archive do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of Ahmadiyya Times.