According to an article in The New York Times, Osama Yehia Abu Salama, the new Egyptian regime's “family expert”, has summarised the place of women in Egypt by saying: “Women need to be confined within a framework that is controlled by the man of the house.” Statements about women by the Muslim Brotherhood regime have been criticised before. The regime has made it compulsory for women to obtain their husbands' permission to travel, work or use birth control. Let us look at these decisions more closely. The collapse of the Mubarak dictatorship was a success for Egypt, and the coming to power of the Muslim Brotherhood with a huge majority was a sign of stability. The Egyptian people rejoiced at their success in eliminating a dictatorship, and this act would now mean freedom for them. The people wanted a democratic order in which their voices could be heard. This had never happened before. The Muslim Brotherhood has been in power for around a year now, but the Egyptian people are still in the street. Why? Because of a fear of radicalism. The Muslim Brotherhood's past record is by no means spotless in this regard. Morsi's radical statements when he first came to power were described in fearful terms in the world press. Was Egypt now an Islamist country? Morsi's words that, “I support reform, I support change,” and the country's adoption of an intermediary role along with Turkey in the Israel-Palestine conflict (a continuation of the Mubarak tradition), eased fears somewhat. But the policies did not satisfy the public; they are back on the streets again. The danger of radicalism reveals itself in three main points: democratic weakness, intolerance of other faiths, and ideas on women. Let us look at the situation in terms of women. Throughout history, women have long been regarded as inferior beings. The main reason was fundamentalism in the name of religion. This has happened in all religions, not just Islam. Nonsense was added onto faiths, and the main targets of this nonsense were women. The more women were despised, treated as second class citizens and pacified, the easier it would be for those seeking to spread their nonsensical ideas to control them. Over time, this became dogma, a form of barbarity and disgrace among some Islamists. New radicals were brought up to think, “women are the servants of the man of the house.” Nobody ever asked what made the man who needed to be served and to make all the decisions superior in the first place; everyone immediately signed up to this misguided radical logic, so much so that even those who agreed on the baselessness of this logic had no doubt that Islam enjoined this. Women of course hated this policy, but the disturbing thing is that even they came to believe they were second-class citizens. That was where the greatest problem arose. People imagined that the logic that looked down on women stemmed from Islam, not from fundamentalism, and since they believe that, they imagine that the solution was to keep away from Islam. They are mistaken, however. Muslim societies are now as they are because they have moved away from the Quran. Allah places great value on women in the Quran, and compares them to flowers. Which Muslim society today shows women the same care as flowers? There is no such concept as “the man of the house” in the Quran: the Quran speaks of male believers and female believers at the very same time. Female believers have the same responsibilities to Allah as male believers. While many Muslim societies oppose education for women, there is an example in the Quran of a woman who was a powerful head of state and whose opinions were sought — the Queen of Sheba. Women are always protected in the Quran: not because they need protection, but because they are valuable. Therefore, if women are to be evaluated in the name of Islam, they are equal to men in terms of responsibility, but superior to men in terms of respect, care and value. This fact is largely unrecognised in the world. Since it is not well known, administrations that say they want reform do not apply it in this way. People are led onto false paths; however, their attitudes can change through education. Statements by the Muslim Brotherhood and Morsi saying that they want reform, therefore, have to be evaluated. If they are sincere in this, then reform must be carried out according to the Quran and that reform must start with women. An Egypt that sets women free, allows them to serve in the functions of the state, that emphasises the superiority and value of women at every opportunity, that respects them, that heeds their opinions at all levels and that gives them priority in education and work will then make its mark on the Arab Spring. Since this reform will be the most compatible with the Quran, it will bring prosperity with it. This government, wrestling with the question of “What kind of reform?” can win the hearts of the Egyptian people with this reform, the most compatible with the Quran. As a first step, of course. According to Islam, if there is to be reform, there has to be freedom of ideas, democracy, a love for other faiths and opinions and a policy of unification. That is what is compatible with the Quran. If reform is made proceeding from the radical mindset, this will continue to frighten the Egyptian people. And since people will regard these measures as part of Islam, they will continue to heed useless opinions. That would be the greatest tragedy for Egypt. But a reform based on the Quran will bring great freedom, secularism and joy, both to the Egyptian government and to its unhappy people. Love is needed. And that love cannot appear unless a concept of Islam compatible with the Quran is brought in. It is impossible to bring forth such a concept with superstitions, fundamentalism and a radical worldview misconstrued as Islam. Neither the administration, nor the people, nor the Middle East will be happy under that.
The writer is a commentator and religious and political analyst on Turkish TV and also a peace activist.
