(RNS) The United Arab Emirates, a tiny, tradition-laced state in the Persian Gulf, will become the third Islamic country to appoint female muftis, religious scholars who have the power to issue fatwas and other religious decisions.
Still, the decision hardly bucks tradition, according to some Islamic experts, who say women religious authorities appear throughout Islamic history.
“The significance of this is that it’s an active effort by a state to give women a voice in religious authority,” said Ebrahim Moosa, an Islamic studies professor at Duke University.
Six females will begin a mufti-training program early next year, according to The National newspaper in Dubai. The program will be headed by the country’s official grand mufti, Ahmed al Haddad, who issued a fatwa last February sanctioning female muftis, and called for applicants in May.
The grand mufti said his decision was based on the Quran, and earlier precedents. Asma Afsaruddin, a professor of Islamic studies at Indiana University, and author of “The First Muslims,” points to a verse which says, “Believing men and believing women are protecting friends of one another; they enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong.”
“Women are not just allowed to have these positions, it’s required,” said Afsaruddin. She added that women scholars gave advice not just on female issues, but politics, economics, and other important state matters.
“It was very common. It was accepted that female scholars would transmit knowledge and give counsel.”
Historically, the wives of Islam’s Prophet Muhammad head a long list of female religious authorities. Only in the modern era have women’s views become marginalized, scholars say.
In a few places, female religious authorities are reappearing. Morocco’s government started certifying female religious “guides” in 2007, while the dean of Qatar’s College of Sharia and Islamic Studies, is a woman, Aisha Al-Mannai.
The key to whether the women succeed, Moosa said, is not how well they know Islamic law, but how familiar they are with modern-day issues. “A mufti is an advocate of Islamic knowledge and gives it contextual expression, ” he said.
