Shaking Hands Is 'Haram' - Muslim Woman Refused to Shake Hands with The Crown Prince of Norway
New Age Islam News Bureau
07 Oct 2024
· Shaking Hands Is 'Haram' - Muslim Woman Refused to Shake Hands With The Crown Prince Of Norway
· Green Party Presidential Candidate Jill Stein: She's The Option for Michigan's Arab and Muslim Voters
· The Afghan Women Writers Who Witnessed the Fall OfKabul
· Taliban Intensify Surveillance of Women and Girls InKabul
· Reading Rumours Uncovers Truth of 20th Century Muslim Women Writers InKerala
Compiled by New Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/shaking-hands-haram-crown-norway/d/133378
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Shaking Hands Is 'Haram' - Muslim Woman Refused to Shake Hands With The Crown Prince Of Norway
Muslim woman refused to shake hands with the Crown prince of norway
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SIBY JEYYA
07/10/2024
In a notable cultural and religious incident, a Muslim woman refused to shake hands with the Crown prince of Norway, citing her faith's guidelines as the reason. In Islamic tradition, particularly among more conservative interpretations, physical contact between men and women who are not related is considered "haram" (forbidden). This belief led the woman to decline the handshake, a gesture that is customary in Western cultures, especially during formal or diplomatic interactions.
The incident, which occurred during an official event, sparked discussions about the intersection of religious beliefs and cultural norms. In Norway and other Western countries, shaking hands is seen as a basic gesture of respect and courtesy, making the refusal stand out. However, from the woman’s perspective, adhering to her religious principles was paramount, even in a high-profile setting.
This event led to debates about respect for religious practices in a multicultural society. Some viewed her action as a legitimate expression of religious freedom, while others saw it as a refusal to engage with accepted social customs. The Crown prince reportedly handled the situation gracefully, respecting her decision. This incident highlights the challenges of balancing religious observance with societal expectations, especially in diverse, globalized settings.
Source: indiaherald.com
https://www.indiaherald.com/Breaking/Read/994751689/Shaking-Hands-is-Haram-Muslim-woman-refused-to-shake-hands-with-the-Crown-Prince-of-Norway
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Green Party Presidential Candidate Jill Stein: She's The Option for Michigan's Arab and Muslim Voters
Green Party candidate Jill Stein
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By Steve Carmody
October 6, 2024
Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein urged Michigan’s Arab and Muslim voters to cast ballots for her as a rebuke to Vice President Kamala Harris during a rally in Dearborn on Sunday.
Stein told her supporters they must reject calls to get in line behind the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee.
“The Democrats are running scared. And they should be scared,” Stein told dozens of supporters at the Bint Jebail Cultural Center in Dearborn. “They could fix this if they wanted. They could win back the Muslim vote. They would rather lose the election than stop the genocide.”
Stein was referring to Israel’s military response to the Oct. 7th attack by Hamas a year ago.
Speakers at Stein’s rally called on Michiganders to “punish” Harris for supporting Israeli military strikes in Gaza and southern Lebanon.
Those strikes began after Hamas attacked Israel one year ago today.
Back in February. more than 100,000 peopled voted “uncommitted” in Michigan’s Democratic presidential primary as part of a protest of the Biden administration’s support of Israel.
Stein’s weekend campaign stop came a couple days after Democratic Party presidential nominee Harris campaigned in Detroit and Flint.
Republican Party presidential nominee Donald Trump was in Saginaw last Thursday. The former president is scheduled to be in Detroit on Thursday for a speech before the Detroit Economic Club.
Source: wemu.org
https://www.wemu.org/michigan-news/2024-10-06/green-party-presidential-candidate-says-shes-the-option-for-michigans-arab-and-muslim-voters
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The Afghan women writers who witnessed the fall of Kabul
6 October 2024
The resurgence of the Taliban in August 2021 sent shockwaves throughout the world. Images from Afghanistan showed fear, panic and unrest looming. With the country back under Taliban rule, a group of Afghan women writers feared the worst. They kept in touch with the Untold Narratives, a development programme dedicated to writers from marginalised communities or conflict zones. It was a group of messages from these writers detailing their lives that the collective curated into a diary ‘My Dear Kabul’. Georgina Godwin speaks to the director, Lucy Hannah, and co-editor, SunilaGalappatti, about the process of recording the diary entries. We’ll also hear from one writer about life in Kabul today.
Source: monocle.com
https://monocle.com/radio/shows/meet-the-writers/464/
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Taliban intensify surveillance of women and girls in Kabul
By ZabihullahDoorandish
October 6, 2024
Women and girls in Kabul say the Taliban’s Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice has intensified its inquiries and interrogations, creating significant challenges for them.
Many report that they can no longer move freely in public spaces, such as markets or streets, without facing harassment from the Taliban’s so-called moral police.
Several women told Amu that the heightened surveillance is making daily activities, like shopping, increasingly difficult. “We can’t even walk in our own neighborhoods. They’ve turned Afghanistan into hell for us,” said one Kabul resident. “Since the Taliban’s Vice and Virtue Ministry deployed these moral police, we can’t move around the city or the market,” she added.
A video obtained by Amu shows Taliban moral police arresting several women and taking them away in a pick-up truck. According to the women, the Taliban have intensified their surveillance in public places, questioning women for not wearing masks or allowing strands of hair to show, even while wearing hijab.
“Yesterday, I went to the supermarket, and they were walking inside. If you’re not wearing a mask or if even a bit of hair shows, they start questioning you,” said another Kabul resident. “We are all wearing hijab out of fear, and they even tell shopkeepers, ‘Why are you allowing this?’”
The crackdown follows the Taliban’s enactment of a new Vice and Virtue law a month ago, which has imposed heavy restrictions on citizens, especially women and girls. Despite this, the Taliban themselves have repeatedly violated many of its provisions.
Women’s rights activist Maryam MaroofArwin condemned the Taliban’s actions. “This is a continuation of gross and widespread human rights violations, specifically against women and girls in Afghanistan,” she said. “This clearly shows that no matter how much opportunity is given to the Taliban, they are incapable of change.”
Meanwhile, the Taliban have ramped up efforts to detain political activists and religious scholars. Political analyst JavidKohistani has been held in custody for nearly two weeks, with no information about his whereabouts. Human rights activists have called for his immediate release. “Release JavidKohistani from the Taliban’s prison. He is behind bars without committing any crime, and there is no information about his physical and mental well-being,” one activist said.
Last month, Germany, along with Australia, Canada, and the Netherlands, launched an initiative to hold the Taliban accountable at the International Court of Justice for their violations of human rights under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). The initiative has been supported by 22 countries.
Source: amu.tv
https://amu.tv/128411/
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Reading Rumours uncovers truth of 20th century Muslim women writers in Kerala
Lakshmi Athira
07 Oct 2024,
KOZHIKODE: Victorian-era English novelist and poet Mary Ann Evans famously adopted the pseudonym George Eliot to escape the constraints of social norms and patriarchy.
As times changed, female writers increasingly gained the courage to publish under their own names. However, in Kerala - a region still grappling with significant gender disparities - women defied the odds and entered the publishing industry as early as the 1900s. Yet, tracing the contributions of some, particularly Mappila women, proves challenging.
The exhibition titled Reading Rumours, held at Silk Street in Kozhikode, shed light on the hidden history of women’s involvement in Kerala’s print culture between 1900 and the 1950s. Curated by research scholar Haseena P A and exhibition designer Jazeela Basheer, the event is the result of two years of research by the collective Around TheSufrah. Their work focused on Muslim women writers and their contributions to magazines in Kerala during the period.
“Print culture flourished in Kerala from 1900 to 1950, and readership grew. But the contributions of women writers from this era have largely been overlooked,” Haseena told TNIE.
“Reading Rumours brings together the micro-histories of these women writers, encouraging visitors to engage with their stories and legacies.” The title, Reading Rumours, symbolises women’s quest for knowledge and their fight for recognition.
“Rumours are often seen as statements without a reliable source of truth, frequently associated with women. Much of women’s knowledge, history, and experiences are dismissed as mere gossip. The title is also a play on the traditional vayanashaala, or reading rooms, where men would gather to read and discuss,” Haseena explained.
The idea for Reading Rumours originated from a desire to present Haseena’s postgraduate thesis in a more accessible, popular format.
“This exhibition is an extension of my thesis, which focused on Mappila women in print. We are generally aware of only a handful of female writers from the early 1900s, but my research uncovered around 25 Muslim women who were actively involved in writing for magazines and other publications,” she said.
The three-day exhibition, which began on October 4, received enthusiastic support from the public. “The response has been overwhelming,” Haseena noted.
“Many visitors expressed surprise at discovering the significant role Muslim women played in Kerala’s early print culture.”
Source: newindianexpress.com
https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/2024/Oct/07/special-investigation-team-questions-actor-sidhique-over-rape-allegations
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URL: https://www.newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/shaking-hands-haram-crown-norway/d/133378