http://www.thewhig.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1101497
Islamic issues on a world stage Organizations around the globe are working to improve lives of Muslim women Posted By BY ALIA HOGBEN Posted 7 days ago Islam and Muslims play a prominent role in academia and community activism. The Canadian Council of Muslim Women is often invited to national and international conferences. This month, I attended two interesting gatherings, one in Cologne, Germany, and the other in Ottawa. It is fascinating to meet in other Western countries and learn about their issues and how they are addressing them. The Germany conference of academics and activists from several European countries was on "Women Power in Islam." Its purpose was to discuss questions of patriarchal interpretations and to encourage activists to continue their efforts to advocate for women's rights. In Germany, the majority of Muslims are of Turkish origin and are still identified as "Turks." Sadly, Germany has restrictive immigration policies and those born in Germany are still deemed "foreigners." Understandably, there are issues of identity and belonging. The issue of the head covering, the hijab, seems to be of greater significance in Germany than in Canada. The issue was raised that hijabi women cannot work for the government or in the educational system. Among the 150 participants, there were a number of converts who were articulate about their rights as Germans and as Muslims, and a Muslim female parliamentarian in Germany spoke about what the government is trying to do for Muslims in Germany. Not only are there a number of European Muslim women's organizations that are researching Islamic writings on women, but there are many women's organizations in Africa and Asia working hard to improve the lives of Muslim women. It is very exciting to learn of their efforts and to share at the international level. In Ottawa, the conference titled "The Cosmopolitan Identity in the Islamic World: Global Citizenship and Social Change," was organized by the Centre for International Governance Innovation at the University of Waterloo. This think-tank is the brain child of Jim Balsillie, one of the creators of the BlackBerry. A number of renowned diplomats and academics addressed topics of Islamic intellectual heritage, as well as the relationship between Canada and the Islamic world. There has been a longstanding debate regarding the lack of development of Islamic philosophy from the 13th century on. Previous to that, it was Muslims who not only safeguarded Greek philosophy but enhanced it before transmitting this knowledge to Europe.