“I wish that all the Bushes, Putins and Schroeders of the world were here with us today in this conference, not to participate but to sit in the backseats, listening to how women engage and explore with passion the major issues in their lives and their world.”
With this sentence, a conference on Muslim women in the Muslim world and in Germany ended. The participants at the conference came from all over the Muslim world and from Germany as well. At the invitation of the German Foreign Ministry, these women gathered to discuss role models for Muslim women. Discussions were animated and heated all the time. Subjects ranged from the headscarf in the West to the rights of Muslim women and the challenges facing them.
For some time at the beginning, I had the impression that we were witnessing a case of East meets West — with the usual skeptical undertones and mistrust of motivations inspired by a long colonial history and subordination. For some, that skepticism remained till the end but for the majority some sort of understanding crept in, or at least a willingness to understand the other side’s point of view. By the end of the second day, friendships were being made and contacts established. A Syrian teacher attending the conference said: “If there is only one good thing in this conference, it should be that it gave us a chance to meet each other and to learn so much from others experiences.”
One of the interesting points raised by Muslim women living in Germany was that they were able to handle the headscarf issue without reference to Arab countries. They needed the moral support but they preferred to fight their own battle; one Lebanese girl said to me, “I appreciate the support the Muslim world is giving us, but sometimes their help creates misunderstandings here and we have to explain a lot. We know our own situation here better and we are better able to handle it.”
I was surprised to hear this as I expected Muslim women’s issues to be the same all over the world. But what I heard from an Iranian Islamic scholar corrected my misconception; she said that she did not understand why the German government would seek non-German Muslim scholars’ opinions instead of the opinions of those living in Germany.
Among those attending, attitudes varied from very conservative to moderate and that enriched the discussions since most were willing to listen and learn — something we do not always have here.
What is expected from Muslims who live in the West? Are they supposed to become one with Western culture, to relinquish their Islamic identity in order to be accepted in their adopted countries? This question was so topical and was discussed from various perspectives. Some people stressed the fact that Muslim girls in schools have to have special treatment that respects their Muslim identity; others said that there was much more to Islam than appearances and that the stress should be how to create a healthy society that accepts diversity.
On another note, I noticed how much women have in common; throughout the discussions, it was interesting to see how in different societies women are still struggling to prove themselves, to be useful to their communities and to guard their independence. What is a strong woman? The question was addressed to me and all I could think of was all these women sitting around the table, their experiences in their countries, their contributions to their societies and the influence they have on future generations.
At the end of the three-day trip to Berlin I could not help but remember our visit to what remains of the Berlin Wall and the feeling that there still remain other walls. Our duty is to reach out to each other and create understanding, openness and respect for other opinions and approaches.
