My recent visit to the 1001 Inventions exhibition in London introduced me to an awe inspiring woman who is a motivation to Muslim women globally.
What I really want to share from my experience, which had an impact on me, was the story of a remarkable woman; Fatima Al-Fihri.
Twelve hundred years ago, under the Islamic State, a woman named Fatima Al-Fihri lived to make life for her community better and was a woman with a vision. She was from a prestigious family and had inherited a fortune from her father. As a young, wealthy and well educated woman her interest was neither in shoes or handbags, nor in any celebrity lifestyle, neither to woe a man for marriage, nor in any of the stereotypes that are usually associated with us women folk. There was depth in this woman, she had a vision that was cultivated and allowed to grow because of the Islamic society she lived in and encouraged her. Her vision did not remain a dream but was accomplished and the results can still be seen today. In 859, Fatima Al-Fihri founded the oldest academic degree-granting university existing today, the University of Qarawiyyin in Fez, Morocco.
The Al-Qarawiyyin Mosque is one of the largest Masjids (mosque) in Africa and one of the world’s oldest universities. Al-Qarawiyyin is the perfect example of how Islam combines the spiritual with education and that Islam is not separate from life’s affairs. This is not only an example of how education and religion merge in this small corner of the globe, but it sheds light on the esteemed role that women played in the Islamic community – an aspect of Islam that is often misunderstood. Furthermore, during medieval times it was regarded as being a major intellectual centre in the Mediterranean. Its excellent reputation even led to Gerber of Auvergne studying at the mosque. Auvergne later went on to become Pope Sylvester II and has been given the credit of introducing Arabic numerals and the zero to the rest of Europe.
It saddens me to say that in the Muslim world today, such inspirational women, the likes of Fatima Al-Fihri cease to exist. Women are engulfed with problems of oppression and subjugation at different levels and hence not able to realise their true potential. This problem is a result of an oppressive, male-dominated society, and governments that lack Islamic laws and systems and rulers that are more interested in the lining of their pockets then the real development and protection of its citizens. As a result we Muslim women have suffered and taken on the burden of being voiceless in society.
Fatima Al-Fihri gave me the realisation of the empowerment and encouragement Islam gives to women and it left me spell-bound.
I don’t think I could ever be like Fatima Al-Fihri with such a profound vision and setting out to accomplish it. However it has encouraged me to take practical steps. It has made me reflect on how I want more in my life as a Muslim woman not just chapatti making or chasing a career. It made me realise that I want to fulfil my purpose in life.
It inspired me to be a woman seeking change, working for an Islamic society in the Muslim world and to make this world a better place. It helped me realise that there is a need for a contribution from Muslim women in working for Islamic empowerment and seeking an Islamic society that will cultivate generations of women to use their mind rather than being exploited by a society that uses her for her body.
Fatima Al-Fihri is only one example out of many others and she is a remarkable story that has left a lasting impression upon me. She is a typical example shedding light on the role and contribution of women under the Islamic civilisation. Such a role is the subject of widely held misconceptions of Islam that now need to be questioned and corrected!