The Afghan Taliban's Decision To Deny Women Modern Education Violates Islamic Principles
By Kaniz Fatma, New Age Islam
21 February 2023
Taliban's Decision To Prohibit Women And
Girls From Attending University In Afghanistan Violates Sharia Law
Main Points:
1.
The
Taliban's decision has prompted many social media users to wonder whether Islam
prohibits women from receiving an education.
2.
How
did the Taliban forget the history of Muslim men and women who pioneered in
science, education, politics, and the rise of Islamic societies, past and
present?"
3.
The
Taliban is attempting to prevent Muslim Ummah women from obtaining an education
through a variety of means, despite Islam's support for female education
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Representative Photo
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In a new step towards further restrictions
on Afghan women, the Afghan Taliban banned university education for girls. This
decision dealt a blow to the country and was strongly condemned at the
international level, a process that is still ongoing. The decision of the
Taliban was openly condemned by the majority of Muslim countries, particularly
Turkey and Saudi Arabia.
However, the Taliban's decision has
prompted many social media users to wonder whether Islam prohibits women from
receiving an education. When people wear the cloak of Islam to prevent women
from obtaining an education, a question must arise in people's minds. According
to what we have read in the Qur'an and Hadith in this regard, Islam commands
both men and women to acquire knowledge.
Knowledge could be defined as either modern
knowledge or religious knowledge. As a result, women are not prohibited from
learning modern sciences in the Qur'an or Sunnah. This is why the vast majority
of Muslim scholars around the world acknowledge that women can study both
religious and modern studies.
Sheikh Al-Azhar Ahmed al-Tayeb sent a
message to the world about Afghan girls and women a few weeks ago. In this
message, he stated that the Taliban's decision to prohibit women and girls from
attending university in Afghanistan violates Sharia law. He stated that
Al-Azhar University deeply regrets the Afghan authorities' decision to prohibit
Afghan girls from attending the university. This Talibani decision violates
Islamic law and the clear demand that men and women must acquire knowledge from
the lap of the mother to the grave.
He went on to say that the call of Islam
has produced great minds among talented women throughout Islam's scientific,
political, and cultural history, and that this is still a source of pride for
every Muslim who is faithful to Allah, the Messenger, and the Shariat.
Sheikh Al-Azhar stated that the Taliban's
decision demonstrates that the Taliban did not pay attention to the more than
two thousand hadiths in the most authentic Sunni books, which were narrated by
Hazrat Ummul Muminin Ayesha, the Prophet's wife and the mother of the
believers.
"How did the Taliban forget the
history of Muslim men and women who pioneered in science, education, politics,
and the rise of Islamic societies, past and present?" he asked.
Furthermore, Sheikh Al-Azhar stated that this shocking decision for the
consciences of Muslims and non-Muslims should not have been made by any Muslim.
He stated that he, along with Jamia
Al-Azhar scholars all over the world, are proud to oppose the Taliban's
decision. We see it as a decision that is not in accordance with Islamic Sharia
and directly contradicts the call of the Holy Quran.
The Sheikh of Jamia Al-Azhar warned Muslims
and non-Muslims alike against the Taliban's belief, idea, or illusion that it
is forbidden to educate women and girls.
He also urged Afghanistan's rulers to
reconsider their decision and reminded us all that nothing from Allah will be
of use to us on the Day of Judgment, not money, honour, or politics.
However, the tragedy is that the Taliban
declared their decision to be correct. Nida Mohammad Nadeem, the Taliban
government's minister of higher education, defended the decision, claiming that
the decree was issued to prevent mixing of genders. He went on to say that some
subjects are taught in universities that violate Islamic principles. The
Taliban did not specify which principles are incompatible with Islam.
Despite promising a more moderate rule that
respects the rights of women and minorities, the Taliban have widely
implemented their interpretation of Islamic law, or Sharia, since taking power
in August 2021. Gender mixing is merely an excuse to keep women out of school.
The reason for this is that the problem of gender mixing could be solved by
providing education in two shifts, one for boys and one for girls. Many
countries are dealing with two such shifts in education for girls and boys. The
Taliban's goal, however, is not to find a solution, but to keep girls from
attending university.
To summarise, the Taliban is attempting to
prevent Muslim Ummah women from obtaining an education through a variety of
means, despite Islam's support for female education.
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Kaniz Fatma is a classic Islamic scholar
and a regular columnist for New Age Islam.
New Age
Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in
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