A group of Muslims residing in England requested the authorities to allow them to establish private Islamic schools. This is a normal request, and it is common in various parts of the Islamic world for immigrants in our countries to set up schools of their own where they learn the teachings of their religion and master their language alongside general civil knowledge.
However, some English individuals opposed this request, expressing their discontent with the establishment of these schools, claiming that they would promote racial division between boys and girls! They accused Islam of being biased against women and of denying women's rights.
Nonetheless, the British Labour Party supported the request. Mr. Jack Straw, the party's spokesperson for education, stated, as reported by The Times, that those who oppose the establishment of these schools are mistaken, and they may be influenced by racial biases, accusing them of not understanding Islam.
At a conference held in London on the future of Islamic education in England, Mr. Jack Straw stated that the Islamic community's treatment of women should be studied deeply, and its roots must be examined! He noted that there are many claims that Islam is against women, and the proponents of these claims rely on the absence of women involved in religious advocacy or giving lessons at mosques, claiming that men monopolize authority or leadership in this field as they do in the political arena.
He remarked that there is almost complete ignorance regarding the role of women in Islamic theology and in the history of Islam itself! Upon reflection, we see that the status of Muslim women is more significant than that of Jewish or Christian women in the past.
Moreover, the Prophet Muhammad granted women the right to inherit all properties long before the British government implemented such rights thirteen centuries later.
I indeed thanked the Labour Party representative for his commendable defense, although the "BBC" attributed it to electoral competition and the goal of gaining votes from the Conservative Party.
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From the book "Women’s Issues Between Stagnant and Incoming Traditions."
