The Scottish Power Studio Theatre in Charlotte Square Garden was almost full for this event, with a largely female audience, few of whom appeared to be Muslim. Given the tone and attitude of some of the post-talk questions, this was both understandable and a pity. Professor Carole Hillenbrand is a formidable scholar, although, as this reviewer knows from past experience, not always an engaging speaker. Which was a pity, given the non-specialist audience she and Yasmin Hai were addressing.
Hillenbrand's knowledge and experience covers several centuries and a number of countries, and she pointed out that some 40 million web-sites are devoted to the topic of women and Islam.
Two strands of Koranic thought about women can be summarised as an equality of spirituality between men and women - both can be spiritual and achieve God's pleasure and both sexes should behave modestly.
The development of Sharia law reflects Judaic and Christian ecclesiastical practice in the medieval period, being similarly based on interpretation of scripture according to circumstance. Law is ultimately man-made rather than God-made, however, and also reflects human fallibility rather than divine will. Hillenbrand noted the use made of the Prophet's wives as role-models for pious Muslim women and also the interest of Syrian women in particular in the figure of Mary, the mother of Jesus as another inspiration.
Increasing urbanisation led to the increasing seclusion of women. This phenomenon is not exclusive to Muslim societies, although over time it became more pronounced. Although Hillenbrand noted literacy amongst Muslim women, she made no mention of the outlawing of printing by the Ottoman Empire in the late sixteenth century and the resulting damage to Islamic society within its influence.
Yasmin Hai, formerly working for BBC's Newsnight and other programmes, has a very different story to tell. Growing up in a secularised Pakistani family, hers is the immigrant experience personified, watching her friends rebel against their nominally Muslim parents by getting back in touch with their Islamic roots. It is among these generations of radicalised youth that both an upsurge in practice (wearing the hijab, etc.) and identification with Islamic societies in conflict is to be found.
From the ‘post-shtetl' mentality of Muslim migrants to the sophisticated ‘new Muslim male' who focuses on family and home as an expression of piety is a long and complex journey which few non-Muslims fully appreciate, any more than the shades of opinion and action to be found among the radicalised. Wahabi money may have founded and maintain a number of British mosques, but this does not mean those who attend follow a particular line. The many names of God continue, and the multi-faceted, multi-opinionated lives of the many continue. Women and Islam continue to fascinate and confuse.
Copyright Bill Dunlop 2009
First published on EdinburghGuide.com 2009