National Newsletter
Summer 2005

CANADIAN COUNCIL
OF MUSLIM WOMEN
LE CONSEIL CANADIEN DES
FEMMES MUSULMANES

 “Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty: that will make for greater purity for them: and God is well acquainted with all that they do.” Quran 24:30

We usually have two newsletters per year, but due to the number of projects and activities, we regret that this is the first newsletter of 2005. The use of our email list serve has kept the membership informed.

Summary Update
Since the last newsletter of Fall 2004, CCMW has been heavily engaged in a number of tasks resulting from our Strategic Plan and more recently from our  new project funded by the Status of Women, titled Muslim Women’s Equality Rights in the Justice System: Gender, Religion and Pluralism. Till the Fall of 2004, we held a conference/Forum in Montreal in October 2003, “Engaging Muslim Women in Civic and Social Change” followed by a number of regional meetings through the summer of 2004. No conference was held in 2004 due to the workload and the regional meetings held with the chapters in Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver.

Since the Fall of 2004, we have completed a number of projects identified in the Three Year Strategic Plan.

THREE YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN.
Fact sheets: We have completed three Reports and based on these, three Fact Sheets: Beyond Perceptions: Muslims Women in Canada; Muslim Women: From Polling Booths to Parliament; Triple Jeopardy: Muslim Women’s Experiences of Discrimination. These demographics reports have been useful to the media and to other organizations as till now there has been no data specific to Muslim women. Press releases were done and the media did have some articles on these reports. We are grateful to Dr Daood Hamdani for his assistance with the research for these reports. The reports and fact sheets are on our website.

Position Papers: McGill University’s Institute of Islamic Studies has agreed to have their students write the CCMW Position Papers. The intent is to present an Islamic, pro-woman perspective of women’s issues. The draft papers have been done and we are waiting for the finalized Papers. These are on, Gender and Sexuality, Violence against Women, Leadership of Women and Gender Equality. The purpose of these Position Papers are to demonstrate that Islam is a religion which is favourable to women.

Media Handbook & Media Orientation: Some board members received media orientation and then Nuzhat Jafri did the orientation for chapters at the regional meetings. The old handbook was revised, updated and re-designed. It has been forwarded to our chapters. Copies are available to interested individuals and organizations

Regional Meetings: These were held in the summer of 2003, in Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver. Board members attended each meeting and the meetings were facilitated by Nuzhat Jafri. The Summary Report of the meetings was forwarded to the chapters and at the AGM they presented their updates. Report is on the website. In the Fall of 2005, we will again hold regional meetings. The meetings will be for updates, orientation for Muslim Family Law advocacy, focus groups for the Needs Assessment and for orientation to the Primer of Comparative Family Laws: Muslim and Canadian.
These meetings are open to all women and we would be pleased to have all attend. Please contact the board for the dates and places.

Increased Use of Technology: We have been fortunate in having Andreea
Muscurel as a part time administrative assistant and Faisel Saeed our webmaster. Between them we have been able to develop a list serve, and on the website we have all our documents which are easily accessible. Without them we could not have responded as quickly as we have done to media requests and to put messages and our documents on the website. The list serve has allowed us to send different information to our members and other interested organizations and individuals.

We also monitor the use of the website as to visits and there has been a phenomenal increase in the number of visits. We are getting calls from parts of Canada, the States and around the world regarding specific issues and issues of general concern to Muslims. We would still like greater use of the website by chapters as it is an easy way to let others know of their activities.

Needs Assessment:
CCMW wants to ensure that our work is based on what Muslim women identify as their needs. To this end, we are in the process of designing a questionnaire with Dr.l Daood Hamdani, which will be used across the country and form part of the regional meetings. The Needs Assessment will not be of use only for CCMW, but we hope will help other organizations learn of the issues facing Muslim women.
If you are interested in participating in this Needs Assessment please contact us.

NEW PROJECT: MUSLIM WOMEN’S EQUALITY RIGHTS IN THE JUSTICE SYSTEM: GENDER, RELIGION AND PLURALISM.
CCMW is pleased to be funded by the Status of Women for this project. The issues of religious laws in public law, the jeopardy to women’s equality rights, the use/abuse of multiculturalism and the argument of religious freedom have arisen because the Ontario Arbitration Act allows for private, legally binding arbitration agreements, using religious laws.

CCMW Position
After serious and careful consideration, and with the support of many Islamic scholars, CCMW has taken the position that no religious laws should be allowed in family matters and that all of us, regardless of religion, ethnicities, cultures or races should be under one Ontario Family Law. If every group separated itself by one criteria only, the discrimination, segregation and the development of a parallel system of private justice would be divisive. This project is to mobilize and engage organizations to ensure that one law applies to all of us and that family matters do not fall under the jurisdiction of the Arbitration Act. The Arbitration Act’s primary purpose is for commercial disputes and not for family matters. CCMW is an organization of believing women and it is difficult for us to make a stand against the application of Muslim Family laws, but we feel strongly that we can be good Canadians and good Muslims living under the same laws. CCMW makes a clear statement that as believing Muslim we cannot be against Sharia, but we know that fiqh/jurisprudence was developed by scholarly men and therefore has the context of their history, culture and traditions. Sadly, equality of women is not part of the patriarchal family model.

As the scholar Khaled Abou El Fadl states, “The Shariah, for the most part, is not explicitly dictated by God. Rather, Shariah relies on the interpretive act of the human agent for its production and execution. Paradoxically, however, Shariah is the core value that society must serve. The paradox here is exemplified in the tension between the obligation to live by God’s law and the fact that this law is manifested only through subjective interpretive determinations. Even if there is a unified realization that a particular positive command does express the divine law, there is still a vast array of possible subjective executions and applications. This dilemma was resolved somewhat in Islamic discourses by distinguishing between Shariah and fiqh. Shariah, it was argued, is the Divine Ideal, standing as if suspended in midair, unaffected and uncorrupted by life’s vagaries. The fiqh is the human attempt to understand and apply the ideal. Therefore, Shariah is immutable, immaculate, and flawless- fiqh is not.” Islam and the Challenge of Democracy, 2004.

Please visit our website for a number of documents regarding this issue.

A Symposium, “Muslim Women in the Justice System: Gender, Religion and
Pluralism”, was held in Toronto on April 9/05 and CCMW ensured that the differing voices of the discussion were represented. We had experts such as Will Kymlicka, Abdullahi an Naim and Ziba Mir Hosseini amongst many others who spoke on the topics within this discussion.
The purpose of the symposium was to have an open discussion on the issues, to hear other voices, to hear from experts, to have greater participation of other groups and individuals, to have politicians attend and to have a plan of action resulting from the discussions. We were honoured to have Professor Ziba Mir-Hosseini not only speak at the Symposium, but also assist us with the federal government regarding the use of Sharia/Muslim Family Law in Canada.

Partnerships
We are most grateful to Rights and Democracy and to the National Association of Women and the Law, for their sessions in Montreal and Ottawa. The conference on Fundamentalisms at Rights and Democracy introduced us to a number of international organizations who wrote a joint letter of support. The meeting with Rashida Manjoo of South Africa, Farida Shaheed of Pakistan, of Zazi Sadou from Algeria, Soheib Bencheikh, the Mufti of Marseilles, Vahida Nainar of India and many others was inspirational and their advice helpful. We also met Yakin Erturk, the U.N Special Rapporteur on Family Violence and she was very interested in what is happening in Ontario, Canada.

The NAWL session was on the specific issues of religion in public law and the gathering of organizations concluded in a joint Declaration that religious laws should not be applied in family matters.

Women Living Under Muslim Laws, under the direction of Marieme Helie-Lucas, has been of great support to us. They facilitated the visit of Ziba Mir Hosseini with the financial help of Rights and Democracy. We suggest a visit to their website as it is full of information and updates of international issues. www.wluml.org

CCMW held a meeting June 19/05 in Toronto with a number of organizations and a coalition was formed who signed the same joint Declaration of the Ottawa meeting. We will campaign together so that the government of Ontario limits all family matters under the Family Law Act regime. A Steering Committee has been formed to organize a campaign. We have had an incredible amount of Canadian and international attention and support as this issue is seen as having  repercussions around the world. We are grateful to many individuals who have become friends of Muslim women and have taken on this issue as one affecting all women of faith.

Provincial NDP Position on the use of Religious laws via the Arbitration Act
The provincial party, on May 30/05, made a public statement on this issue. We thank them for their courageous position, considering that it was their government in 1991 who revised the Arbitration Act which allows for private legally binding arbitration using religious laws in family matters. It is courageous, as Marion Boyd was in the NDP government of the day and because she has been a longstanding member of the party.

We quote their entire statement as it is an important document.
“For some time there has been a continuing debate about what legal processes should be used to settle “family law issues.” Some advocates argue that family law issues should be treated like other legal disputes that are “contractual” in nature, and where possible should be determined by processes such as mediation and arbitration. Mediation or arbitration allow the parties to “find their own settlement;” avoid expensive and time consuming court proceedings; and design their own rules and choose their arbitrator. They also point out that the arbitration process has been used to resolve some kinds of family law disputes for decades in Ontario.

Critics of the “arbitration is best” argument frequently raise the concern that without ultimate court supervision of arbitration decision in family law matters, women may be disadvantaged in mediation-arbitration processes as a result of power imbalances in the relationship. This concern is heightened where women live according to the tenets of a faith community or social traditions that have a history of subjugating the interests or rights of women to the interest or rights of men.

In 1991, when Ontario’s Arbitration Act was amended these issues were then as now the subject of much debate. The policy review process which preceded the new Arbitration Act recommended that arbitration continue to be available to resolve some family law matters, but it also acknowledged the potential problem of power imbalances in family relationships and the very real possibility that women could be treated unfairly.

For that reason the 1991 Arbitration Act contained provisions that would allow a future government to easily exclude family law issues from the Arbitration Act if it concluded that arbitration did not work well in family law disputes.

Ontario New democrats believe that alternative dispute resolution processes such as mediation and arbitration should be available to women and men to settle some disputes, but believe there is sufficient evidence to conclude arbitration has no place in family law.”

We hope that both the Provincial Conservative and Liberal parties will follow the lead of the NDP.

Quebec support
The Quebec legislature passed a motion that they would not support the use of Sharia/Muslim family law in that province, and they urged other provinces to follow suit. CCMW had a Press Release, thanking the Quebec legislature and adding that it we are working towards the elimination of ALL religious laws not just one form. We continue to be grateful for the friendship and support of Madame Fatima Houda Pepin, MLA of Quebec.

Information Kit
CCMW has developed an Informational Kit which is fairly comprehensive about the issue of religious laws in family matters. It has been shared with our partners and will be used for the campaign.

Media and World Interest
There has been a great deal of media interest, again from Canada and abroad. We have had innumerable speaking engagements and have been invited to a number of world conferences to speak on the issue. CCMW has spoken at universities, churches, women’s groups, social service organizations’ meetings and other gatherings. In the near future, we will be speaking at the Organization of Security and Co-operation in Europe conference in Poland, at the World Conference of Family Violence and at the Metropolis conference in Toronto. A Symposium Report will be available soon and will be on our website. The joint Declaration is also on our website. An Information Kit is available.

Primer on Comparative of Family Laws: Muslim and Canadian.
There is a need for Muslim women and others to learn about the two systems of law and to review the similarities and differences for themselves. This will be an educational tool not just for women, but we think useful for professionals as well. The Primer is being written by lawyer Pam Cross and Islamic scholar Lynda Clarke. Currently, we have some women readers who are reviewing the content for ease of understanding, and their comments will be provided to the authors who will finalize the Primer prior to publication. The Primer will be translated into other languages as well.

Media
We continue to have a lot of media contacts, not only about the Sharia/Muslim family law issue but about other subjects which affect our lives. Nuzhat Jafri and Alia have been in the newspapers, TV, and radio from many parts of the world. We are grateful that we had the media training as it helped us deal with the media.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING:
The meeting was held on Sunday, April 10/05 after the Symposium in Toronto. The chapters presented their annual reports and an election was held for board positions. Iman  Zebian and Nina Karachi-Khaled resigned from the board and we want to thank them for their years of service to Muslim women. We wish them happiness and health and hope that they will remain active at the chapter level. We welcome the two new board members, Khaddouj Souaid from Ottawa and Shaheen Ashraf of Montreal. Khaddouj brings needed skills to the board as she is a social worker specializing in research and policy. She is also bilingual which will help the board. Shaheen is a longstanding member of CCMW and is a business woman whose administrative skills will be an asset as will her dedication to Muslim women’s issues. An AGM report is to be published soon and will be forwarded to the chapters and will be on the website.

OF INTEREST:

Consultation with Government
CCMW has been invited by the federal government to attend various meetings, for example, in March 2004, CCMW was invited by the Department of Foreign Affairs to meet with Journalists from Southeast Asia. Alia Hogben attended with Senator Mobina Jaffer.  In November 2004, Department of Justice invited CCMW for the consultation on the Anti-Terrorism Act.

Canada Pension Plan: old Age Security and Guaranteed Income Supplement Allowance.
If you are 60-64, have a low income and think you need additional funds via the Income Supplement Program, please contact the federal government for an application. Please contact 1-800-277-9914 Social Development Canada.

Legal Aid Certificate
The legal aid program is to make sure that people who do not have money to pay a lawyer can still get the legal help they need. Please contact Legal Aid Canada 1 800 668 8258 or www.legalaid.on.ca

Legal Information
METRAC and OWJN in Toronto have brochures which explain matters such as Family Law, Child Support, Custody and Access, Child Protection and Custody issues for Immigrant and Refugee Women. These are available in a number of languages. Please contact www.ojwn.org or www.metrac.org or call 416-392-3138.

Cross Cultures Canadian Magazine
Gehan Sabry of Kitchener publishes a magazine which is an open forum to promote harmony through better understanding between different cultures. Gehan is planning a conference on Sharia/Muslim family law and has invited CCMW to participate.

Muslim Family Safety Project
An interesting project is taking place in London, Ontario and is a collaborative project between the Muslim community of London and the Coordinating Committee to End Woman Abuse. For more information please contact Mohammed Baobaid at 519 438 9869 #25. Or mbaobaid@changingways.on.ca

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: a member’s opinion.
Though not recognized, it is well known, that there is no one Islamic/Muslim culture. There is no monolithic, homogenous culture which is common to all Muslims. There are definitely shared values and practices, but the plurality of Muslims, of different ethnicities, means that the practice of Islam is also affected by the surrounding culture, history and geography of the region. That is why we should acknowledge with pride that Islam has accommodated and adapted throughout the world. This diversity needs to be celebrated, not frowned upon, and accepted that it does not detract from the sense of the “ummah.” Let us take the example of the subcontinent of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. All these countries have a history of mingling with the local civilizations, as well as with those of Turkey, Iran and Arabia.In the last 2 years, it seems that Indo- Pakistanis in Canada have been heavily influenced by the Arabs, mostly of the Saudi peninsula. This has resulted in Indo - Pakistanis wanting to use more Arabic words and phrases and to discard certain customs and practices which the Arabs have judged as “bida” or “haram.” In their sincere desire to be more “authentic” Muslims, it seems that other languages and other cultures are deemed inferior, and the language of all Muslims, whether Arab or non Arab should only be Arabic. On the surface what appears to be a minor issue is in fact symptomatic of this desire to be “politically correct” within the Muslim world. One of the most striking example demonstrate this point. A sudden hostility has developed to the longstanding greeting common amongst Indo- Pakistanis, derived from the Iranis of saying “Khuda Hafiz” at the time of departure. This practice is hundreds of years old and has never been questioned by Muslims. However, the recent demonizing of the word Khuda [ God in Farsi] has led to the abandonment of Khuda Hafiz and to the newly coined “Allah Hafiz” instead. What is ironical is that this phrase is not used by Arabs either, as they use other forms of greetings, depending on their country of origin.

It appears that the reasoning is that “Allah” is Islamic because it is Arabic, while Khuda is Farsi and therefore suspect. It is true that Allah for God is used in the Quran, which was of course revealed to the Prophet Muhammad, an Arab, in Arabic. Is the word only for the “Muslim God” or is it Arabic for God? It is true that the word Allah is traditionally used by Muslims, but it is not used in Islam exclusively; Arab Christians and Arab Jews also use it to refer to the monotheist deity and is part of their Arabic heritage. Surely this means that we Muslims cannot and should not usurp the Arabic word Allah as if it only belongs to us. It is helpful to inquire where the Arabic word for God originated.
Was the word Allah coined by the Prophet or by the Quran or did it exist previously and was assimilated into the new faith?
What we know is that historically and simply, Allah is the Arabic word for God. It is derived from Proto-Semitic il as is Hebrew el, the word originated in pre-Islamic times. Although the word Allah has no plural form, it is grammatically masculine, and is a contraction of al-ilah or the only God and translates to God in English.

The pagan Arabs had a chief deity or high God in their pantheon, whom they called allah. Along with al-lah, however, these pre Islamic Arabs worshipped a host of lesser gods and daughters of al-lah [Allat meaning Goddess, Al-Uzza meaning the mighty one and Manat, the fateful one.] Along with allah, these females deities were particularly dear to the Arabs of the Hijaz. The Arabs of the day did seem to equate allah with the same God as the one worshipped by the Jews and Christians. Pagan Arabians often used the word al-lah in the names of their children, for example, Prophet Muhammad’s father, who was born into paganism, was named Abdullah, meaning the servant of Allah. So if Allah is the Arabic for God and Khuda is the Farsi for God and other languages have other names for the same monotheistic God, should we Muslims not be open to all the words as they all mean the same? The concept of the One God, indivisible and unique is what is significant, and this is not detracted by calling him Khuda if one’s heritage has Farsi words in the language? What a great pity if each one of us abandons our rich and diverse heritage so as to be viewed as more Muslim? Surely, we can be proud of being Muslim and being from different parts of the world and of different cultures and races? Should we not question the rush to identify only with things Arabic as if only being Arab or pseudo Arab can make us good Muslims? Won’t Muslims and Islamic history be deprived of this richness of so many traditions which constitute the reality of being Muslim. This is plurality within Islam. Let us not lose it.
Sources: Karen Armstrong: A History of God,
1993
And Wikipedia.org

CHAPTERS CONTACT
Calgary Pervina Khan (403) 293-4131
Edmonton Soraya Hafez (403) 420-6729
Halifax Munawar Ahmed (902) 425-7222
London Zanifa Ali (519) 850-7893
Montreal Sajida Hussain (514) 630-5625
Montreal Fehmida Khan (514) 932-0592
Niagara Hasna Tayab (905) 871-6853
Ottawa Farhat Rehman (613) 830-7175
Newfoundland Mona El Tahan (709) 579-9922
Pr. Ed. Island Farida Chishti (902) 368-2360
Peel Atiya Ahsan (905) 568-1274
Regina Samina Ahmed (306) 789-0416
Toronto Barbara Siddiqui (416) 769-4500
Vancouver Shahnaz Rahman (604) 241-4417
Waterloo Sadia Gassem (519) 746-5814

BOARD
Shaheen Ashraf (514) 945-6860
Najet Hassan (519) 434-1872
Humera Ibrahim (613) 233-7773
Razia Jaffer (403) 243-7995
Nuzhat Jafri (416) 487-8037
Solmaz Sahin (905) 262-4103
Khaddouj Souaid (613) 741-0675
Alia Hogben, Executive Director  (613) 382-2847
Eman Ahmed, Coordinator (416) 225-4322
Sarah Bukhari, Coordinator (416) 237-1393

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“It shall be given to all who attain to faith and in their Sustainer place their trust; and who shun the more heinous sins and abominations; and who, whenever they are moved to anger, readily forgive; and who respond to the call of the Sustainer and are constant in prayer; whose rule is consultation among themselves; and who spend on others out of what We provide for them as sustenance; and who, whenever tyranny afflicts them, defend themselves. But remember that an attempt at requiting evil may, too, become an evil: hence, whoever pardons his foe and makes peace, his reward rests with God - for He does not love evil doers.

Quran 42:37-41.

CCMW ACTIVITIES

Three Year Strategic Plan 2003-2005.

The objectives were set and we have been working hard to achieve these.

FORUM: “Engaging Muslim women in Civic and Social Change” was held in October, 2003 in Montreal.  The Forum had workshops in partnership with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and with the Council of Agencies Serving South Asians.

The Forum’s follow up tasks have been part of the Three Year Plan, e.g. the recommendations from the Civic participation workshop with the Municipalities and the Media workshop have been part of the Regional meetings with the chapters.

CAPACITY BUILDING: Regional meetings were held in Vancouver, Toronto, Halifax, Calgary and Montreal over the period of May- July 04. In each meeting, chapters outside the specific cities participated as well.

The meetings were facilitated by board member Nuzhat Jafri and attended by other board members. The agenda included an update on the Plan; a Media orientation for the chapters; an update on the emerging issue of the proposal to use Sharia/Muslim Family law and the follow up of the Fed of Municipalities Forum workshop.

The purpose of the regional meetings was to strengthen the organization’s capacity and so chapters devised their own plans based on the Three Year Plan of the whole organization.

The board is thrilled that there is great interest in building chapters in Fredericton, Moose Jaw and the Kitchener-Waterloo and Winnipeg areas. InshaAllah, we hope these will start soon.

Regional Meetings Evaluations

At the end of each meeting participants were asked to provide feedback and the feedback was very positive with constructive suggestions for improvements.

Next Steps:

There will be quarterly follow up with the chapters on the progress of their work plans.

Regional meetings will be held next year for follow up on the Three Year Strategic plan, on going capacity building and mobilization at the local level.

Information from the regional meetings and other CCMW activities is being shared with all of the chapters to keep up the momentum.

The national board is providing advice and guidance to women in other locations regarding the establishment of new chapters, e.g. Kitchener/Waterloo, Winnipeg, Fredericton and Moose Jaw.

Increased Use of technology: An aspect of capacity building is to increase the use of technology and we are continuing to do this. Faisel Saeed with board member Iman Zebian, ensure that the website is updated and has relevant information. We are looking into improving the website design as well. The use of the website has increased dramatically in the last year, mostly because of the issue of Sharia/Muslim Family law.

Andreea Muscurel, the assistant to the board, has initiated a list serve and many of you are already on it and have been receiving information which we hope is of interest to you. Please contact Andreea at Info@CCMW.com as we would be pleased to add you to the list.

MEDIA ORIENTATION AND REVISED HANDBOOK: The chapters had an orientation at the regional meetings and we are now proceeding to the revisions to the current handbook as some of the information requires updating as does the format.

FACT SHEETS: As part of education and advocacy, we are committed to developing three Fact Sheets on Data and Facts about Muslim Women in Canada; Political Participation of Muslim Women and Bias and Discrimination vs. Muslim Women.

The research demonstrates that there are few documented cases of discrimination and we are concerned about the lack and the silence. The research has been completed and we are currently developing documents..

POSITION PAPERS: CCMW is proud to have the support of the Institute of Islamic Studies of McGill University on this project. Professor Sajida Alvi, one of the strongest and hardworking friends of CCMW has been able to obtain the help of Professor Bilal Kuspinar and students to develop some CCMW Position Papers.

Along with many others, CCMW believes that Islam is about equality of men and women, and that we need scholarly work to demonstrate to all of us that this is a fundamental truth of Islam.

MashaAllah, papers will be on subjects such as, Violence vs. Women, Gender and Equality, Leadership and Muslim Women and Islamic Perspective on Sexuality.

These are to be available by the end of 2004.

NEEDS ASSESSMENT: CCMW prides itself that our work is grounded on what Muslim women need. For a number of reasons, we think that research is required, across the country, to clearly identify what is happening in the lives of Muslim women and what are the emerging needs and how best these can be met. The identification of the needs will help not only  CCMW but other organizations as well.

This will be initiated once we have the Fact Sheets data and the results from the regional meetings so that we can base the research questions on this information.

COLLABORATION/ADVOCACY: These have continued and increased because of the emerging issue of the proposal to use Sharia/Muslim Family law in Ontario.

We collaborated with the National Association of Women and the Law (NAWL} and the National Organization of Immigrant and Visible Minority Women of Canada {NOIVWMWC} to complete research on the Ontario Arbitration Act, and on examples on the use, or lack of, in Europe.

We have had an enormous outpouring of support from individuals and groups and have them on our list serve so that we can keep all informed.

We have been collaborating with groups such as the Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan, and Razia Jaffer represented CCMW at their conference in Calgary over the weekend of October 7/04.

The media interest has been significant and CCMW’s  visibility has increased a great deal. We are now called upon for many items which affect Muslims and not only women.

We have had very positive feedback from the media about our prompt responses and the calibre of our information.

We have met with the Afghan Women’s organization and with the Federation of Muslim Women and we hope that we can work together for our common objectives.

OTHER PROJECTS: CCMW had been approached by the U.S based organization, KARAMAH, about a joint project to educate non Muslims about Islam. Sadly, the project did not obtain funding but we hope to collaborate with Karamah on other initiatives.

Professor John Graham of the University of Calgary has submitted a proposal for a project  “Muslim Women: Understanding Exclusion, Promoting Inclusion” and has asked CCMW to participate in this. We are so pleased and hope the funding will be approved.

Professor Bruce Mabley of Laval University, has a project on developing tools to assist teachers when dealing with Muslim students. He is to work closely with the Montreal chapters on this project.

United Nations Canada has asked CCMW to be part of their advisory committee for their project “Integrating and Belonging.” This project is to promote youth and communities to ensure strong participation of youth in community matters.

SHARIA/MUSLIM FAMILY LAW UPDATE: Marion Boyd, the provincially appointed reviewer is to release her recommendations to the Provincial government and to the public within the next month. CCMW, along with other groups met with Marion Boyd and did written submission. We are anxious to learn what she will recommend.

As you are aware, in December 2003. we were contacted by the media as some Muslims in Toronto, proposed the use of Sharia/Muslim family law in Ontario, rather than using the laws of Ontario.

This is possible because of the provincial Arbitration Act, amended in 1991, by the NDP government. The primary focus of the Act is for commercial, rental and labour issues, but there is a clause which allows for its use in family matters, even though there is a specific law, the Family Law Act which has a preamble stating principles about the family.

CCMW has been very active in this issue. We have written a position paper, after consulting with  a number of scholars. We have advocated and with the media attention we received a flood of letters and emails. We had asked all Canadians to write to the Premier and this resulted in the Premier appointing Marion Boyd to review the Arbitration Act and its affect on “vulnerable” women and families.

Research

CCMW in partnership with NAWL, NOIVMWC and CCMW, initiated research on the Arbitration Act. The research was done by Natasha Bakht, under the supervision of NAWL and it demonstrates that the Arbitration Act is inappropriate for family matters because of the lack of safeguards and the possibility of harm to women. The whole

procedure of using the Act is considered private and so has no court oversight and is not guided by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The proponents have tried to reassure people that the laws of the land will supersede the arbitration process, the agreement and the arbitral award, but that is not the reality. There is a lot more about how alternative dispute resolution can be useful,  but the fears of the privatization of family law remain.

The other research on Europe and Sharia, done by Pascale Fournier, is completed and is on our website. Both the papers have been presented to Ms Boyd, the provincially appointed reviewer of the Arbitration Act.

We are pleased that the paper on the Arbitration Act, by Natasha Bakht,  has been published in the new journal, Muslim World and Human Rights.

We will be summarizing the research papers and distributing it widely in other languages soon, in the meantime please visit our website for the Arbitration Act research report.

Media

The media from all over the world has paid attention to the issue and CCMW has had almost 100 interviews and articles. The latest has been the Readers’ Digest and Chatelaine magazine of October 2004.

Conference: The Making of the Islamic Diaspora, May 7/04.

An international conference held by York University under the leadership of Professor Haideh Moghissi of the Diaspora, Islam and Gender Project..

Alia Hogben of CCMW was one of the speakers on the subject of the proposal to implement Sharia/Muslim Family law in Canada.

NAWL Consultation, spring 2004.

Alia also spoke to about 30 women from across Canada on the same issue and an article was written for the journal Jurisfemme.

Workshops on Sharia/Muslim Family law :

The Ottawa chapter organized an educational forum at the University of Ottawa on June 12/04. The participants, men and women, wanted to learn about the Arbitration Act and the impact of using it with Muslim family law in Ontario. Another was organized by Sadia Gassem in Waterloo for about 70 service providers. Board members and the Executive Director have been speaking at these sessions.

So many groups have supported us and we are grateful for the thought and the work they did on behalf of Muslim women. For example, LEAF, the University Women’s Club and the National Council of Women of Canada submitted proposals to Ms Boyd and wrote to the Ontario Premier. NCWC not only made presentations but ensured that information was circulated to all the members.

Symposium: CCMW is planning a symposium for March 2005, on the intersectionality of secularism, the  role of religion in the state, the limits of multiculturalism and the balancing of rights such as religious freedom and equality for women. This will be a groundbreaking opportunity for all of us, even beyond Canada. We will collaborate with Rights and Democracy and NAWL as well as the University of Toronto.

The intent is to have a wide ranging discussion by experts and activists which will lead to policy papers of interest to all liberal democracies.

Funders: We are grateful of the funding provided to CCMW for all this work by the Status of Women and the Dep’t of Canadian Heritage, Multiculturalism Program.

OF INTEREST

Arab Regional Conference 10 Years after Beijing, Beirut, July 2004.

Board member Najet Hassan was in Beirut and attended a session at this conference which reviewed and set goals for the future of Arab women.

Book: Nowhere to Turn? Voices of Frontline Workers, 2004.

The book is produced by the Canadian Council on Social Development, Ottawa.

An excellent resource book both for women and for professionals.

Please contact CCSD phone 613 236 8977 of email council@ccsd.ca

Book: New Horizons Human Rights Education for Families, 2004.

Another excellent book which can be used for groups. An initiative of the Indo-Canadian Women’s Association and the Alberta Human Rights Commission.

Edmonton chapter member, Professor Zohra Husaini was part of the group who developed this book.

Book: Family Law Guidebook for Recent Immigrants, 2003.

Another publication by the same association. It is full of good information.

Please contact them at

335 Tower II, Milbourne Market Mall, Edmonton, Alberta T6K  3L6.

Book: Woman, Power and Politics, 2003.

To assist women to understand that without involvement in the political processes, women will not have power to change their lives. It is worthwhile for individuals and groups to use this resource book.

A project of the Toronto Coalition for Better Child Care.

Briarpatch Magazine, March 2004.

This magazine contained articles by a young Muslim woman about her hijab, and another on Naushaba Habib, the president of the Regina chapter.

Naushaba writes about her experiences as a new Canadian immigrant. MashaAllah, she is very active in the community and last year was in the media as she explained to all Canadians what Ramadan and fasting means to Muslims.

The Regional chapter under Naushaba has established a scholarship to encourage them to attend university.

Lecture Series: Progressive Muslims & the Future of Islam in Canada, March 14/04.

This was organized by the Snowstar Institute of Religion and the CCMW Toronto chapter. Our friend Raheel Raza is one of the leaders of the Snowstar Institute.

The founding of a new organization: Progressive Muslims.

A couple of years ago, some Muslims started a website called Muslimswakeup and it has been so successful that they have initiated a new organization.

There is a crying need for alternative voices and perspectives on Islam and Muslims and we hope that this group will be a beacon of hope.

New Translation of the Quran.

Egyptian Islamic scholar of the University of London, M.A.S. Abdel Haleem, has  completed a new translation using modern English for easier access. 

Consultation on the Dep’t of Justice’s Anti-Terrorism Act.

CCMW has been invited to the consultation on this Act for November 04.

CHAPTERS CONTACT

BOARD

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Shirin Ebadi

Our best wishes to the Irani lawyer who won the Nobel prize in 2003.

To a reporter’s question: “Do you have any message for Muslim women?”

Shirin Ebadi responded

“Yes, keep on struggling. Do not believe that you are condemned to inferior status. Look carefully in the Quran so that the oppressors will not succeed in misleading you with their commentary and their selective quotes. Do not let people masquerading as clerics claim that they have a monopoly on understanding Islam. Teach yourself and invest your best efforts in competing in all areas of life. Allah created as equal, and when we struggle for equality, we are doing what Allah wanted us to do.”

Source: Al-Sharq Al-Awsat [London] October 19/03.

Forum:

The conference held in Montreal on Oct 3-5/03, was titled “ENGAGING MUSLIM WOMEN IN CIVIC AND SOCIAL CHANGE.”

The keynote speakers were Professors Azizah al Hibri and Homa Hoodfar. The panel discussion provided the context for the day with speakers professor Bilal Kuspinar, Hanny Hassan, Noren Majeed and Riad Saloojee. We partnered with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and the Council of Agencies Serving South Asians in Toronto on projects. The plenary on Art in Islam was wonderful as the evaluations stated that it was the first time there was a focus of art and music in Islam at a conference.

The Forum was a great success as demonstrated by the evaluations we received from the 200 participants, and from the follow up work which resulted from the Forum.

We are most appreciative of the Montreal and Ottawa chapters’ hosting of the event, and thank our funders, the Status of Women, the Multiculturalism Program and the Canadian Women’s Foundation.

CCMW’S WORKPLAN:

ACTIVITY&OUTPUTS TIMELINE
MID TERM OUTCOMES [results achieved while project is on-going.

Forum:

To increase integration/participation of Muslim Women so that they can be effective agents of change in society.

Planning/Preparation                                                                         May 03-Oct 03
“Engaging Muslim Women in Civic and Social Change”

OUTPUTS

Forum held in Montreal Oct 305/03

Follow Up of Forum: Projects&Partners                                                 Nov 03/Aug 04
CASSA; Fed Cdn Municipalities

Forum report completed and submitted                                                Jan 04

French translation to be completed.                                                    March 04

Précis of Report on website                                                                Feb 04

Capacity Bldg

To increase effectiveness/visibility & provide a voice for Muslim Women:

OUTPUTS

Develop agenda with timelines for capacity bldg activities Regional Mtgs.

Regional Meetings: dates and agenda set.                                            Jan 04
                April 2/04 Toronto; April 23 Vancouver;
                May 28 Halifax; June 11 Calgary; June 25 Montreal.

Initial Notice provided to chapters                                                        Jan 04

Agenda set and chapters to be notified.                                                Feb 04

Recruit/Select Ex Director and Admin Ass’t.                                            Dec 03

Board Mtgs Set: Jan 23;March 26;May 7; July 16/04

Increase Use of Technology: Website; list serve;                                    Ongoing

Communication: Newsletter, Forum info on website.                                Feb 04

Needs Assessment                                                                            2004

To assess Muslim women’s needs and assess increased participation/presence in the community, e.g. in politics, community organizations, educational institutions and business world. As well, to follow up on identified needs.

OUTPUTS

Civic participation survey completed at Forum with chapters                  Oct 03

Strategic Plan implementation to include chapters,                               Regional mtgs

Meeting with Stats Can consultant data collection                               Jan 04

To hire researcher                                                                         March 04

Needs assessment discussion at Regional Mtgs                                    April on

Report to be completed                                                                   Dec 04

Final report to be submitted to Dept                                                  March 05

Follow Up/Evaluation of Identified Needs                                            March 06

Media Training

To produce media/communication products to foster a positive awareness of Muslim women as active participants in Canadian society

OUTPUTS

Media training of Board members.                                                    Jan 04

Preparation of Media Kit for Regional mtgs                                        Regional Mtgs
with chapters. Update Handbk.

Board member to train chapters re media relations.                            Regional Mtgs

Identify Speakers for Media                                                           Regional Mtgs

Fact Sheets & Position Papers

To foster greater understanding of issues faced by Muslim women by publishing 3 facts sheets and 8-10 position papers on critical issues, e.g. racism/discrimination.

OUTPUTS

Recruit/Select researchers for FACT SHEETS                                Jan-Feb/04
Research/Writing of Fact Sheets:

1.Data and Facts about Muslim Women in Canada;
2.Political Participation of Muslim Women;                                    July 04
3.Bias and Discrimination Against Muslim Women.

Position Papers with McGill’s Institute of Islamic Studies.                Dec03-Dec 04
e.g. on gender equality, ,leadership, dress code, segregation.

Distribution/circulation to educational facilities, libraries,
Faith organizations, community agencies, media and gov’t.            2004-05

ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES:

To achieve CCMW’s objectives to assist Canadian Muslim women, we developed a Strategic planning to identify and meet the needs and the means to achieve these, e.g. advocacy/collaboration.

Advocacy/Collaboration

OUTPUTS

Collaborate on project re Employment of Muslim Women with
WOMEN WORKING WITH IMMIGRANT WOMEN.                            Jan-Dec 04

Collaborate with other women’s groups, e.g. newly formed
Women’s Political ConneXion [ lobby for increased women in politics]
Afghan Women’s Organization, NOIVMWC, NAWL, NCWC etc.

Continue with Kit: In My Own Skin to increase
awareness of issues facing young women.                                Ongoing

Emerging need: the proposed implementation of Shariah in Canada.

Develop position paper on the issue.

Initiate project in collaborate NOIVM & NAWL.                            Dec 03 on

Apply for funding from Status of Women for project.                    Jan 04

Hire legal students for research.

Write final paper in accessible English,
translate intoUrdu,Arabic,Farsi Somali.

Set up a list serve of interested parties.

Respond to media requests.

Other activities will be identified after research completed.

Report On The Shariah Issue: Summary Of Activities

“The Law is not a still pool merely to be tended and occasionally skimmed of accumulative debris, rather it should be looked upon as a running stream, carrying society’s hopes, and reflecting all of its values, and hence requiring a constant attention to its tributaries, the social and other sciences, to see that they feed in sustaining elements”

Chief Justice Bora Laskin.

Background

In December 03, we heard via the media that a group of Muslims, in Toronto, were proposing the implementation of arbitration boards for Muslims, and that these boards would use the Shariah for personal law matters.

The board quickly drafted a Position paper because it was necessary to have a cohesive approach to the questions from the media.

The Paper has been revised as of Feb 12/04, is on our website and has been distributed widely.

CCMW Position

The paper outlines our concerns and has been used as the basis for discussion with the media.

Contact with Mumtaz Ali

A long discussion with Mr. Mumtaz Ali, the founder of the Islamic Institute of Civil Justice [arbitration board] did not assuage CCMW concerns.

The motivation for this proposal is unclear, only that he believes that Muslim should live under Shariah laws wherever they reside.

If it is correct that Muslims should live under Shariah {Muslim law] then why focus on only some aspects of personal law, why not all the other laws, such as criminal law as well? Unanswered questions are regarding which and whose Shariah will be applied in Canada, what will the training be of the arbitrators and most fundamental of all is the question of how Muslim women will be better served under Shariah as distinct from Canadian law?

Chapters

The paper and later an update has been provided to all chapters with the request that media inquiries be directed to the board for consistency of the message.

Collaboration

CCMW will collaborate on the Shariah project with NAWL [National Ass’n of Women and the Law] and with NOIVMWC [Nat’l Organization of Immigrant and Visible Minority Women of Canada].

We want to proceed with legal research on a number of related issues. The intent is to produce some papers resulting in one paper which will be in easy to read English, translated into a number of other languages and distributed widely. The paper will provide Muslim women with sound accurate information on which they can base their own decisions.

We have also heard from the group of Irani women who are against the Sharia implementation and have put a petition on the internet. We understand that over 1,000 people have signed the petition. CCMW’s concern is that the petition’s language can be seen as anti Muslim and we have expressed our concerns to the organizers.

They are holding a day of speakers in Toronto, on March 7/04, and have invited CCMW to speak as well.

We have also heard from the Humanist Ass’n who are also against the Sharia because their perspective is that religion and state should remain distinct.

Amongst the groups who are supporting us, are Rights and Democracy in Montreal, the MCC [Muslim Cdn Congress] and WLUML [Women Living Under Muslim Law].

A board member, Nina is to be on the Muslim T.V program hosted by Tarek Fatah,in mid February/04.

Individuals have also come forward to support CCMW, such as young Muslim lawyers, a young man from the U.S and a journalist from Pakistan.

Media

There has been an extraordinary amount of interest from the media and what has been positive about this is that CCMW has now increased visibility and journalists are phoning for other stories as well.

The list of contacts includes:

CBC radio and TV; French and English.

Vancouver’s CKNW

Il Manifesto newspaper in Rome.

Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, German and Austrian journalists.

Reuters and Time magazine.

Toronto Star, The Hamilton Spectator and so on.

Politicians

We have written to ministers of justice of the federal and provincial gov’ts but have not heard back.

Alia had the opportunity to speak at the 15th Anniversary of the Multiculturalism Act in Feb 0, at the Parliament Building and did raise our concerns about the proposed implementation of Shariah personal law.

Jurisfemme Journal

CCMW article will be published in this journal in March/04.

Alia is also attending a conference of NAWL, in March, on issues of law and women.

Next steps

• To proceed with the legal research with NAWL and NOIVMWC.
• Wait to hear from the politicians, if not soon, contact them again.
• Continue media coverage and discussion with other groups.

Other Board news

The board was invited to the CANADA AND ISLAM IN ASIA IN THE 21ST CENTURY conference held in Montreal 24-26/03. This was sponsored by the Department of Foreign Affairs, CIDA, the Aga Khan Foundation and the McGill University Institute of Islamic Studies. It was a very interesting conference as it gathered Muslims from all over South and South East Asia.

In Febraury 04, Alia was invited to be one of the speakers at Parliament Hill on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the Multiculturalism Act. The Minister is the Honourable Jean Augustine.

Nina Karachi Khaled will be on the Muslim Chronicle TV show, in Feb 04.

Nuzhat Jafri will represent CCMW at a meeting arranged by the Dept of Foreign Affairs for Muslim journalists from across the world.

Forum and AGM Reports

The reports have been mailed to the funders, chapters and speakers.

There will be a French translation of the Plenary session and this will be on our website.

If you would like a copy of either reports, please give us a call or email us.

Chapters News

A member of the Edmonton chapter, Kishwer Ghani, is active in the Edmonton Multilingual Library, through the group called Bazm-e-Sukhan Literary and Cultural Society. The group promotes Urdu and works for better communication and between scholars, writers and other artists.

A Regina chapter member, Nargis Bhimji, talked about Ramadan at a news conference at the Bay, one of the stores, along with IKEA, which recognized the fasting of Muslims during Ramadan. Nargis was quoted in the Press Release of The Bay in Regina.

Dr Naiyer Habib, the Regina President, Naushaba’s husband, was quoted in the Toronto Star, saying that he appreciated this initiative to recognize Muslims in Canada.

Erum Afsar, a member of the Calgary chapter was a speaker at the conference CANADA AND ISLAM IN ASIA IN THE 21ST CENTURY. The conference was held in Montreal on September 24-26/03 and was organized by the Department of Foreign Affairs and CIDA.

Donation for Books for Libraries.

CCMW is grateful to the Noor Cultural Centre of Toronto for their generous donation of funds which enabled us to place 40 copies of the book MUSLIM VEIL IN NORTH AMERICA in main libraries across the country.

Please let your communities know that these books are available so that they are well read!

Congratulations Ayshi Hassan!

Ayshi Hassan of London, Ontario, was honoured by the Mayor of London as a humanitarian. Ayshi has helped refugees for 16 years at the Cross Cultural Learner Centre.

Ayshi is the mother of a number of well known children, amongst them the artist Jamelie, the author Marwan and the social activist Hanny.

Book: Muslim Veil in North America

This is the book which was edited and written by scholars from Concordia and McGill Universities.

MashaAllah, we have heard that a number of universities are using the book as a text.

For example, Ziba Mir Husseini is using it as the New York University and Kisha Ali is using it as Harvard.

Congratulations to the editors, Sajida Alvi, Homa Hoodfar and Sheila McDonough as well as the writers!

Of Interest:

Student Loans for Refugees.

The federal law changed so that refugee students now have access to deferral student loans.

For more information please contact:
    Getting_landed@cpj.ca or studentloans@cpj.ca

New website on Fundamentalisms

A joint initiative of the Association of Women’s Rights in Development [AWID] Women Living Under Muslim Law [WLUML] and Rights and Democracy has launched a website on fund-amentalisms.

Please visit the WHRnet site at

http://www.whrnet.org/fundamentalisms/ or email: wluml@wluml.org

The Feminist Alliance for International Action [FAFIA]

The group works to further women’s equality in Canada though implementation of international human rights agreements.

For further information contact:

Nancy Peckford 613 232 9505 # 222 or via email npeckford@fafia-afai.org

or their website http://www.fafia-afai.org

United Church of Canada

A draft on Muslim- United Church dialogue was approved for study and feedback across the church by the 38th General Council on August 13/03.

The statement says that the church “acknowledges a long history within Christianity of hostility and misunder-standing toward Muslims and Islam and seeks to commit itself to a journey of reconciliation with Muslims…”

This remarkable document was developed with Muslims and one of these was Hanny Hassan of the Canadian Council of Muslim Communities.

Canadian Arab Federation

This organization is offering language instructions to newcomers {LINC] as well as job search workshops.

Please contact CAF at 416 493 8635 or linc@caf.ca

REHMA Foundation.

This is a community service of Muslims and other seniors in Toronto, located in North York. They provide a number of services free of charge and in different languages so please contact them.

Phone 416 510 0880 or email Rehma@rehma.org

Mariam Bhabha

Mariam was written up in Homemaker’s Magazine, Oct 2003, because of her work in Palestine. Mariam and her husband has returned to Palestine to work on human rights issues.

We pray that her work is successful and that they return safely to Canada.

StatsCan Report

A recent survey by StatsCan showed that discrimination is faced by a number of minorities in Canada. Arab Canadians are targeted due to the attack in the U.S in 2001.

Audrey Jamal of the Canadian Arab Federation is quoted as saying that children want to change the colour of their skin and their names. About 3 million Canadians call into the category of “visible minority.” Blacks and native people were also included in the survey.

Indian women build their own mosque

In December 2003, the Hindustan Times newspaper reported that women, in the village of Parambu in Tamil Nadu state, have formed a group and has acquired land to build a mosque. The women state that they are fed up with sexist decisions made by male authorities, called jamaats, particularly in divorce cases.

The All India Muslim Personal Law Board vice chair Maulana Kalbe Sadiq said the women had every right to construct a mosque.

Dial a Fatwa

A member of CCMW, Raheel Raza, a journalist in Toronto, has for many years held a celebration for the Prophet, Milaad un Nabi. Raheel had heard that the “grand mufti” of Saudi Arabia had pronounced that any celebration of the Prophet’s life was heretical.

She was notified in October 2003, that a fatwa had been issued against her because she celebrated an occasion for the Prophet’s life. The fatwa came from an American organization, Al Amana [American Muslim Association of North America-the Islamic Centre for Reaching and Preaching] who boasts of issuing fatwas. Raheel was even given a number for her fatwa and a 1 800 number.

We are appalled and wonder at the intimidation and waste of time of such people.

On a Pleasanter Note

A good male friend of CCMW [thank you, Shahbaz] sent us this message and we pass it on to you for a laugh.

Rules from a male perspective:

Learn to work the toilet seat. You are a big girl. If it is up, put it down. We need it up, you need it down. You don’t hear us complain about you leaving it down.

Ask for what you want. Let us be clear on this one: subtle hints do not work. Strong hints do not work. Just say it.

Come to us with a problem only if you want help solving it. That is what we do. Sympathy is what your girlfriends are for.

A headache that lasts for 17 months is a problem. See a doctor.

Anything we said 6 months ago is inadmissible in an argument. In fact all comments become null and void after 7 days.

If you think you are fat, you probably are. Don’t ask us.

You can either ask us to do something or tell us how you want it done. Not both. If you already know best how to do it, do it yourself.

Christopher Columbus did not need directions, neither do we.

All men see in only 16 colours, like Windows default settings. Peach, for example, is a fruit, not a colour, pumpkin is also a fruit. We have no idea what mauve is.

If we ask what is wrong and you say “nothing” we will act like nothing is wrong. We know you are lying but it is not worth the hassle.

If you ask a question you don’t want an answer to, expect an answer you don’t want to hear.

When we have to go somewhere, absolutely anything you wear is fine.

I am in shape. Round is a shape.

CHAPTERS CONTACT

BOARD

 Canadian Council of Muslim Women
Le Conseil Canadien des Femmes Musulmanes
P.O.Box 154, GANANOQUE, ONT K7G 2T7

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Engaging Muslim Women in Civic & Social Change

21st Annual Conference

October 4, 2003

Montreal

Engaging Muslim Women in Civic & Social Change

 What:                   A Forum:  To promote effective participation of Muslim women

                        so as to create change.

When:                   Saturday, October 4, 2003. 

                        8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

                        7:30 p.m. Dinner

Where:                Crowne Plaza Hotel

                       505 Sherbrooke St. East

                       Montreal

                       1-800-561-4644

Program:             Keynote Speakers:

                        Prof. Azizah al Hibri

                        Prof. Homa Hoodfar

Workshops:       Federation of Canadian Municipalities

                        “Increasing Women’s Participation”

                        Council of Agencies Serving South Asians et al

                        “Social Inclusion & Determinants of Health”

                              Raheel Raza

                        “Developing a Media Kit”

                        Young Women on Their Issues

                        “In My Own Skin”

                        Artists:  Jamelie Hassan & Naz Ikramullah

                        “Art as a Medium for Change”

Dinner Speaker:  Nurjehan Mawani

Please Contact:   Farida Ansari        (514) 693-3650

                        Razia Jaffer          (403) 243-7995

                        Farhat Rehman     (613) 830-7175

FORUM 2003

InshaAllah, we will have our conference in Montreal, on the weekend of October 3, 2003. The theme of the Forum is “Engaging Muslim Women in Creating Civic and Social Change” and the keynote speakers and workshops will demonstrate how and what women can do to participate fully in various aspects of our lives.

Our keynote speakers are Azizah al Hibri, professor, lawyer and found of Karamah; Homa Hoodfar, professor and activist with the network Women Living Under Muslim Law. Nurjehan Mawani, Federal Public Service Commissioner will be our dinner speaker.

We have speakers from the Universities of McGill and Concordia, as well as speakers from organizations such as the Canadian Federation of Municipalities. A significant workshop will be on Art as a Medium of Change. CCMW wants to emphasize that art, music, sculpture and literature have always been part of Islamic civilization, in all parts of the world, and that negating or frowning on such God given beauty and talent is not true to the history of Islam.

The Ottawa and the two Montreal chapters are hosting the conference and have done a lot of work already to ensure the success of the gathering.

Please come to our conference, meet wonderful vibrant women, learn more about Islam, learn how to create change by being active participants in Canada. 

VISION TV Show

In 2003, CCMW contacted Vision TV with the idea of interviewing Muslim children to hear directly from them about the effects of the impending war with Iraq.

Vision interviewed some mothers and children at a Toronto school and the children were remarkable in their openness to discuss their fears and anxieties as well as the ways they were coping. The program has been aired a number of times since. We are grateful to Sadia Zaman of VISION TV, Barbara Siddiqui, President of the Toronto chapter and the parents who let their children speak on national television.

In this same vein, we are grateful to Muhammad Ali Assaf Hassan, aged 8 years old, who has given us permission to publish his poem.

            “Life doesn’t frighten me

            Getting lost in my mind

            Get left all behind

            Life doesn’t frighten me at all.

            Flames of a fire all above

            Losing someone I really love

            Life doesn’t frighten me  at all

            Not at all, not at all, not at all”

National Muslim-Christian Liaison Committee Dinner

On May 21/03, Alia Hogben spoke at the Recognition Dinner of this Committee, where over 100 individuals attended. The Committee comprises of representatives of all the Christian churches and several of the Muslim Centres. Barbara Siddiqui represents CCMW on the Committee.

The United Church draft document “That We May Know Each Other” addresses the history of misunderstanding between Christians and Muslims and then proposes an open, tolerant perspective on which to build common ground.

Ottawa Chapter Representation at the Refugee Board

In May, 03, Farhat Rehman appeared before a Hearing of the Refugee Board on

behalf of a Muslim woman. MashaAllah, she was given refugee status.

Remembering Rachel Corrie and Nuha Sweidan

On May 11/03, Nina Karachi Khaled represented CCMW, one of the sponsors, at the memorial service for these two young women who died in the fighting in Gaza.

Meeting with The Honourable Bill Graham, Minister of Foreign Affairs, The Honourable Jean Augustine, Secretary of State. 

CCMW was invited to a meeting with the two Ministers for a “Dialogue on Community Relations” on April 27/03 in Toronto.

Nina attended on our behalf and expressed our views on the status of community relations since the onset of the crisis in Iraq.

Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan

This non profit women’s organization is sending books for the education of Afghani women. The project is “Libraries for Afghanistan” and individuals such as author Deb Ellis, journalist Michelle Landsberg and activist Sally Armstrong are strong supporters of this project.

Please contact the group at W4Wafghan, P.O.B 32014 Bankview, Calgary, Alta, T2t 5X6. Or the website www.w4wafghan.ca

Canadian Lawyers Magazine,  May 2003.

There is an article of interest to Muslims written by Judy Van Rhijn about “Islamic Law in Canada”. Judy contacted CCMW and has quoted  us along with other Muslims.

SALAM: Rehma Foundation

An organization has been started in Toronto to provide services to Muslim elders. A Forum was held in April 03, entitled “Aging With Dignity.”

They have trips and hold a women’s group called “Saheli”.

Please contact them for more information.

REHMA Foundation, 875 Don Mills Road, Unit 7, North York Ont  M3C 1V9.    

Phone  416 510 0880.

CRIAW FACT SHEET

CRIAW, the Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women, has published a FACT SHEET titled “Women’s Experience of Racism: How Race and Gender Interact” It is full of information on how racism affects housing, jobs, self-esteem, health and every other aspect of life.

For more information contact: CRIAW at their website www.criaw-icref.ca.

Or phone 613 563 0681.

NOIVM RESEARCH ON IMPACT OF BILL C 36.

NOIVM [National Organization of Visible and Immigrant Minority Women] in partnership with CRIAW and NAWL [National Association of Women and the Law] is embarking on a study of the impact of Bill C36 on the lives of Muslim, Arab and South Asian women.  The research will be confined to a sample of 70-80  women from three major urban centres and one semi rural area.

CCMW has contacted NOIVM to inform them that CCMW has done a community research, in 2002, with focus groups of 120 women, across Canada, and our Report provides solid information on the effects of September 11/01 on the lives of Muslim and Arab women. This related research should be of help to their project.

WOMEN’S LEARNING PARTNERSHIP

We were pleased to receive the Annual Report of WLP. This is an organization, founded by Mahnaz Afkhami, which is committed to teaching women of the “global south” to facilitate sustainable development, promote peace, to empower women and strengthen their ability to participate in civil society building. They have partnered with several NGOs of many countries and have provided leadership development programs.

For further information contact them at 4343 Montgomery Ave #201, Bethesda, Maryland 20814, U.S.A.

or phone 301 654 2774. 

ASSESSING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN: A STATISTICAL PROFILE:

This is a report, published in 2002, of the Federal-Provincial Ministers Responsible for the Status of Women. It is a rather weighty document with lots of information.

For example, it has excerpts of the federal Criminal Code, lists of the provincial court

systems and statistics broken down by provinces.

The basis for the Canadian law is that:

“Violence against women in society seriously affects the ability of women to achieve equality.

It is not only the incidence of violence against women which limits women’s lives, but the fear of violence which affects their daily existence, how they dress, where they go, with whom they associate, and their mode of transportation.”

A Supreme Court Justice, in 1990, stated in one of his decision:

“Laws do not spring out of a social vacuum.   The notion that a man has a right to “discipline” his wife is deeply rooted in the history of our society.  The woman’s duty was to serve her husband and to stay in the marriage at all costs...and to accept as her due any “punishment” that was meted out for failing to please her husband”

The Report states that the focus on women does not deny or diminish the rate of violence against men and boys; however women are the majority victims of sexual and spousal assault.

It is difficult to assess the economic costs of violence against women, but the psychological consequences are described by women as feeling upset; suffering from lowered self-esteem, depression, shame, having sleeping problems and fear for themselves and their children.

Copies of the Report are available from Office of the Status of Women, Canada. 

WIFE BEATING?

CCMW was informed that there is an article on the website which is disturbing, as it has a specific narrow and somewhat  inaccurate interpretation by Jamal Badawi.

As Professor Badawi is well known, we have decided to question some of his comments in the article. We do so without malice or rudeness but we can not ignore his article as the topic is extremely important for Muslim women, esp. those of us living in Canada, under Canadian law.

Jamal Badawi states, that a man after using reason, persuasion, separation of beds  may resort to hitting his wife. “There are cases,

however, in which a wife persists in deliberate mistreatment and expresses contempt of her

husband and disregard for her marital obligations. Instead of divorce, the husband may resort to another measure that may save the marriage. Such a measure is more accurately described as a gentle tap on  the body, but NEVER ON THE FACE [his italics] making it more of a symbolic measure than a punitive one.”

He goes on to say that this is a rare exception, but it can be used in cases of “lewdness on the part of the wife or extreme refraction and rejection of the husband’s reasonable requests on a consistent basis [nushuz] ” Professor Badawi does states that the Prophet Muhammad never hit any of his wives.

His conclusion is that it is permissible to hit one’s wife, and that the qualifiers such as, no hitting on the face and a light tap, will ensure how the hitting is to be done and therefore this does not come under the heading of violence against women or physical abuse.

1. Professor Badawi must be aware that, in Canada, what he is espousing is defined as both physical abuse and violence against women which is against the law. He is providing grounds to strike a woman which is against the Cdn Criminal Code.

2. Why would a woman who has not listened to “persuasion, reason and separation of beds” be affected to become a “good” wife by a “gentle symbolic tap” which is not seen as punitive? It seems that he is basing his argument on the principle of “progressive discipline” and somehow the last and most severe is a gentle tap?

3. When he uses the word “nushuz” he needs to explain what he means by it, as there are several interpretations of the word.  If he means that the wife is refusing sex or is committing adultery, will a tap effect any change?

4. He does not address what can be done with a husband who may be guilty of nushuz, lewdness, adultery or withholding from his wife?

5.   Some “interpreters” state that Muslim husbands can not ask their wives to do any housework, cook for their husbands, breastfeed the children, or provide any of her funds to support the household. The question then arises what exactly is she contracting in her marriage? There are some  who say that the meher is paid by the husband for his conjugal claims on the wife. Is this what Jamal Badawi accepts as the fundamental nature of the marriage contract?

6. It is true that parents are allowed a limited form of physical discipline of their children. So this physical discipline should also be applied to one’s partner in life? Is she to be treated as if she is child-like?  What does it say about a marriage of partnership? What example does this provide to children that the father can hit his wife, albeit “ a gentle tap”?

7. There is enough recent research that children who even witness physical abuse have a higher chance of becoming abusers themselves. Provincial laws, such as Ontario’s Child and Family Services Act take into consideration any violence in the family when they assess  the welfare of the children.

8. Has Mr. Badawi  read any of the recent scholarship by renowned Muslims on this subject and their sense that there is ground for much more intense interpretation and review of the Quranic word “daraba?” The point is that there can be different interpretations to the traditional one he is using.

8. As a “preacher” Jamal Badawi could make statements which would be beneficial to Muslim families and women instead of the topic of “hitting, striking” of one’s wife. We pray that what he preaches as being Islamic is not from a narrow perspective and that he will take into consideration what is permissible in his country of adoption.

We think he could so easily be a source of re-thinking which is Islamic and pro-woman. 

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PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDAR TO ATTEND CCMW FORUM, OCTOBER 3-5/03 IN MONTREAL AT THE CROWNE PLAZA HOTEL IN DOWNTOWN MONTREAL!

APPRECIATION

We gratefully acknowledge that we will be funded for our Forum by the Dept. of Multiculturalism & the Women’s Program of the Status of Women.  We appreciate their continued support of our work on behalf of Muslim Women.

Please visit our website or contact any of us for information.

Thank you.

CHAPTERS CONTACT