Toronto Women Sports League Allows Hijab, Prayer Breaks
New Age Islam News Bureau
09 August 2023
•
Toronto Women Sports League Allows Hijab, Prayer Breaks
•
Women’s Forum, Activists Of NISA, To Stage Sit-In Against Muslim Law Of Inheritance
In Delhi
•
KU professor emerita writes book on Nigerian women’s Islamic scholarship
Compiled by New
Age Islam News Bureau
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/toronto-hijab-sports/d/130416
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Toronto
Women Sports League Allows Hijab, Prayer Breaks
Photo:
About Islam
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08
August, 2023
Toronto
has seen a surge in the popularity of sports leagues catering to Muslim women
Several
leagues also provide Muslim women with a female-only environment where athletes
can adhere to modesty rules
Getting
an opportunity to practice sports in an environment friendly to her faith has
always been a challenge for Muslim women.
One
of these women is MalakAiad, a Toronto Muslim woman who spent summers playing
soccer in youth leagues across the GTA.
Yet,
it wasn’t until last summer that she finally felt like she belonged in a sport
when she joined the Muslimah Athletic Association to play in their Division A
soccer league.
“As
you get into more competitive leagues as you get older, the diversity really
decreases,” Aiad, who plays on team Messi-ssauga, told Toronto Star.
Over
the past two years, GTA has seen a significant increase in sports leagues
catering to Muslim women. Several leagues also provide Muslim women with a
female-only environment where they can wear the hijab or be safe from
judgmental people.
“The
leagues are open to everyone, but one of the requirements is that people follow
Islamic guidelines, which can entail the way teams speak to each other, the way
people talk to refs, or the dress code,” said Zainab Gajani, one of the
organizers of Muslimah Athletic Association, which launched in April 2022.
Huge
Demand
Toronto
Women Sports League Allows Hijab, Prayer Breaks - About Islam
England
Stars Visit Group Encouraging Muslim Women to Play Football
The
idea of the association first came to Gajani and her friend Salma Abu Hattab
after moving to Toronto from Calgary because she was “looking for like-minded
friends and a community” in a new city.
But
soon, Gajani said, they realized the demand was more than they could handle
through a volunteer organization.
Realizing
the demand for these associations, Gajani, who now runs Muslimah Athletic
Association full-time, said the organization has grown from one soccer league
to more than 400 athletes in various sports, including soccer, volleyball,
basketball, boxing, and dragon boat racing.
“I
was surprised at the turnout and that women were willing to commit to coming
out for a few hours every weekend,” said Gajani. “But I think that just goes to
show that they didn’t have this opportunity.”
Khadija
Atcha, currently playing beach volleyball with Muslimah Athletic Association,
said modest uniforms are a unique part of their league.
“It’s
a way for us to challenge our passions … and take it a step beyond our own
careers or own homes or the roles that we play when we are off the court.”
Muslims’
approach to sports is often determined by religious, cultural, and ethnic
factors.
In
general, Islam promotes good health and fitness and encourages both men and
women to engage in physical activity to maintain healthy lifestyles.
Recently,
a growing number of Muslim women have been taking part in different sports in
celebration of diversity.
In
the UK, the Muslimah Sports Association (MSA) was launched eight years ago to
empower young sportive Muslim women. It now offers over 15 sports a week
including; Badminton, Basketball, Netball, Karate, Football, and Tennis.
Source:
aboutislam.net
https://aboutislam.net/muslim-issues/n-america/jacksonvilles-american-muslim-clinic-a-blessing-to-less-fortunate/
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Women’s
Forum, Activists Of NISA, To Stage Sit-In Against Muslim Law Of Inheritance In
Delhi
NISA
chairperson V P Zuhra (centre) with other activists at ..
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Aug
9, 2023
KOZHIKODE:
Activists of NISA, a Kozhikode-based progressive Muslim women's forum, will
stage a sit-in at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Wednesday, while Parliament is
in session, demanding amendment of Muslim law of inheritance and reforms to the
Muslim personal law to ensure gender justice.
Interestingly,
NISA's fight for gender justice comes at a time when various organizations and
political parties have raised strong concerns over the proposed Uniform Civil
Code (UCC) citing that it will curtail religious rights and freedoms. Also,
Kerala assembly on Tuesday passed a unanimous resolution against the proposed
UCC.
Besides
sit-in in Delhi, NISA hopes to meet top government authorities and leaders of
various political parties and the law commission seeking support for their
demand.
NISA
chairperson V P Zuhra, who has been in the forefront fighting gender
discrimination in Muslim personal law, said that women of the community were
facing discrimination under the Muslim law of inheritance and demanded
equality. NISA is also seeking codification of Muslim personal laws to remove
gender discrimination, she said.
In
a letter to minority affairs minister Smriti Irani, NISA said the organization
strives for necessary reforms in Sharia law to ensure gender justice. As per
prevailing law, daughters of sonless Muslim parents are not entitled for the
whole wealth of their parents and the property is shared among close male
relatives, it says. "It is highly discriminatory and unfair to Muslim
women to deprive them of their parents' wealth. Hence, it is imperative to
ensure that the wealth of such sonless parents is wholly inherited by the girl
children," the letter said.
NISA
prepared a draft bill to be added to the Indian Succession Act of 1925. Instead
of implementing the UCC, NISA took a stand that it would propose making the
Succession Act applicable for Muslims and to undertake reforms in personal
laws.
Source:
timesofindia.indiatimes.com
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kozhikode/nisa-sit-in-against-muslim-law-of-inheritance-in-delhi/articleshow/102559143.cms
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KU
professor emerita writes book on Nigerian women’s Islamic scholarship
Aug.
8, 2023
Shayndel
Jones
LAWRENCE,
Kan. (WIBW) - A University of Kansas professor emerita wrote a book on Nigerian
women’s Islamic scholarship.
University
of Kansas officials said the stereotype of Islam as patriarchal and averse to
educating women misrepresents the legacy of the egalitarian leader of the
Sokoto Jihad who reformed Islamic rule in early 19th century northern Nigeria.
Not only did leader Usman ‘dan Fodio approve of education for women, but he
endorsed its promotion by his daughter Nana Asma’u through her outreach program
called Yan Taru, or in English, the associates.
KU
officials indicated “winning the peace” through education, and the crucial role
of women in this process is the subject of a new book titled “Equals in
Learning and Piety: Muslim Women Scholars in Nigeria and North America”
(University of Wisconsin Press) by Beverly Mack, University of Kansas professor
emerita of African and African-American studies.
According
to KU officials, Mack’s 2004 book, “Muslim Women Sing: Hausas Popular Song,”
explains the social importance of contemporary women poets and performers, but
Mack’s fourth book which focuses on Nana Asma’u, extends to the legacy of the
Yan Taru in the U.S. today, where groups of this women’s study program were
established in the late 20th century.
“West
African history has always been about the battles, the kings, the men in power,
and Asma’u had been literally a footnote — maybe two footnotes,” Mack said.
“Scholars have said, ‘She’s an exception.’ This book demonstrates that Asma’u
is not an exception. She is one of many women scholars and students. Her Yan
Taru program is indicative of regional women’s activism that was more
widespread than has been acknowledged. In fact, Yan Taru teachers may be more
responsible for the 19th century institutionalization of Sunni/Sufi Islam in
northern Nigeria than any man or battle.”
KU
officials said because this grassroots program was self-maintained by local
women and not tied to government structures, it was unaffected by political
change and thus may continue to be operating in Niger, even in the face of the
current coup.
Mack
said that Usman ‘dan Fodio was a member of the region’s minority Fulani tribe.
Before his successful jihad, as a literate Muslim, he preached and sometimes
advised local kings of the majority Hausa tribe. When the jihad was won, there
remained the task of disseminating Sunni/Sufi reformations to local Islamic
practices throughout the region. That required teachers who spoke the dominant
Hausa language.
Led
by Nana Asma’u, Yan taru women undertook this social reform. Poems functioned
as lesson plans for Yan Taru teachers, who taught women, who then taught their
children, both girls and boys. For most, Yan Taru education was transmitted
orally.
“Most
women in the rural areas at that time were not literate, but literacy was not
necessary for learning adab (Arabic), the Islamic concept of ethical behavior,
morality,” Mack said. “These lessons were meant to educate women in Islam as a
structure that could support the acquisition of knowledge as a means of moving
closer to God and practicing right behavior towards others. It’s just that
simple. It has nothing to do with Sharia or an eye for an eye, or any of that.
It’s hard enough, just learning to be good in this world.”
The
Yan Taru’s Islamic education program aims to prepare individuals to use their
intellectual gifts to better understand the world and their place in it, to
help them to move closer to God.
“The
Quran consistently promotes the use of one’s reason, one’s intellect. The point
of being human and having intellectual capabilities is to develop them by
knowing everything that you can, depending on what your interests are. If you
want to be a chemist, an architect, a journalist, that’s great. Pursue whatever
your interest is, because the more you know about anything, the closer you get
to knowledge of God, although spiritual knowledge ultimately is inexhaustible,”
Mack said. “The lifelong pursuit of knowledge is a means of developing the
spirit, so for anybody to deny someone the opportunity to develop their mind
is, ultimately, to deny them the opportunity to deepen their spirituality.”
While
the Nigerian YaTaru program continues in the 21st century, it has diasporic
links in North America today. The U.S. Yan Taru movement was started in the
1990s at the urging of an African American scholar, Sheikh Muhammad Sharif, who
had learned about Asma’u when he studied among Fodio family scholars in West
Africa. He asked Mack to speak to his Pittsburgh Islamic community when her
book of translations of Asma’u’s poems was published in 1997, and he suggested
to women there that they start their own Yan Taru chapters to take control of
educating themselves and others. Mack said she has continued to consult with
them since they organized.
“Now
they have North American Yan Taru chapters in places as disparate as Los
Angeles, Georgia, Florida. These Yan Taru chapters expand and contract,
depending on demographic changes, but technology allows them all to stay in
touch with the Pittsburgh chapter, the hub of North American Yan Taru
activity,” Mack said. “Instead of having women go out to the villages on foot,
women go out to the cities virtually, on Zoom, to teach. Local groups meet
regularly in person or virtually, and the entire North American continent can
meet annually or biannually by Zoom, even when separated by time zones. It
saves money, time and energy. I think that’s very cool. Asma’u was very
practical. If she were alive today, she would be using Zoom all the time —
without a mute button.”
Source:
wibw.com
https://www.wibw.com/2023/08/08/ku-professor-emerita-writes-book-nigerian-womens-islamic-scholarship/
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URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/toronto-hijab-sports/d/130416