Edited By: UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY ========== RELIGION AND MODERNITY ========== \.. Published By NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE STUDY OF RELIGIONS AND EDUCATION (NASRED) ©NASRED MARCH,2007 ISBN: 978-339714 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means; electrical, mechanical, electrostatic, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner (NASRED). Computer Typesetting By: CRESCENT COMPUTERS 3711, Station Road, Ed9 Osun State, Nigeria Tel: 08034700725,08036657564 Ptinieci By: ALAMSEK PRESS LIMITED 74B, Ondo Road, Ijebu-Ode Ogun State, Nigeria. Tel: 0806 649 4737,08057455893 ii UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY ==========;;; RELIGION AND MODERNITY ;;iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii _ TABLE OF CONTENTS Title Page....... . .. . 1 Ded:~~~!:::~ , ili Forward iv Table of Contents...... v 1. Revisioning Modernity in the Eyes of Religion Prof. K. A. Balogun 1 -18 •.:- 2. Globalization and Christianity: Problems, Solutions and Prospects E. E. Anozie 19 - 26 3. Modernity and Human RightsAbuse: The IslamicAntidotes B. R. Ismaila & H. A. Ayilara-Dindi. 27 ,·33 4. Christianity and Globalization O. S. Akinwumi 34 - 38 5. Religior. and Globalization in the Age of N'iodlm:ity P. D. Danner 39 - 44 6. Globalization for Christian Humanism: Its Ethico-Reliqious Impacts on Nigeria . Dr. M. O.lkeke ".' 45 - 52 7. The Effects of Globalization on the Family institution A. O. Sofadekan 53 - 59 8. Muslim Women in Nigeria between Postmodern Fermnisrn and Religious Fanaticism: The Case ofThe lslarnlc Lciw Dr. I. O. Uthman , 60 -70 9. Women Leadership and Religion: An Overview from Christian Perspective Mrs. J. O. Ojo 71 -75 10. The Effect of Feminism on Consecration of Women in the Church Dr. Mac. A. Jaja 76 - 83 11. The Status of Women in the Eyes of Arabic Prose Writers: A Focus on Mustafa Zughlu/'s Writings . T. O. Yusuf & M. A. Shittu 84 - 93 v UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY .. "~'. 12. . Women Leadership and Reiigion: AC"'''p Qt~(.!ycf t emale Christian Chiefs in E~baiand. .. . . Dr. r.C. :-~:u:~c'."'''~'~·A'''..'.~''''.'~.~''''''''~'''''''''.'''' .....",,,~,,,,,,,,,,,.,,.,~~~,:)~. 13. Feminism, Women Leadership and Religion .....• A. A. E. Jaiy.ola .....•...•...•..•.....•..... , : ..•......................... 104 -108 14. Influence of Cultural and Religious Variables on Gender Discrimination among Nigerian Women Dr. (Mrs) R. O. Bukoye 109 -120 15. Muslim Girls out of School: The Ummah on Call N. O. Junaid-Eko 121 -128 16. The Influence of Western and Christian Ideologies on Muslim Women Spiritual Revivalists in Yorubaland M. O.lsola 129 -134 17. Investigating the Aspect of Modernity in the Language of Prayer in Christian Religion Mrs. E. M. Olarewaju 135 -143 18. The Problem of Biblical Language Dr. E. A. A. Akinlawon 144 -148 19. Language as a Veritable Tool in the Functionality of the Modern Religion J. O. Babalola 149 -152 20. Arabic Language and Educational Policy in Nigeria: A Critique Jamiu A. Azeez ...............................................................• 153 - 158 21. The Intersection of Religion and Media in the Construction of Culture Mrs. C. E. Asah & Umukoro M. Oghenevize 159 -164 22. Tanzim 'al-Usrah: A Reconsideration of Islamic Viewpoint on Family Planning . M. A. Folorunsho 165 -172 23. Educating Christians on Birth Control O. A. Harmona & K. S. Hunye 173 -179 24. Religion and Birth Control: Judeo-Christian View Ope Arowolo 180 -183 > vi UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY .. ' -------------/-------- RELIGION AND MODERNITY .iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii .25. Family Planning and Abortion: Islarni~ Viewpoint M.G. yusuf ...•••••...•••••••••••••••••.•••••••••.••••••••••••••••.....•••••••.• 184 ~193 26. . Family Planning in Christian Marriage: The Biblical Perspective Mrs. Oladayo J.Adekunle •••..........•.......•.••.•••••••..........•••.•. 194 - 200 27. Religion and Birth Control; The Judea-Christian Perspective Mrs. I.G. Ugwu .........••••.•••... : .....•••..•..••..•••••••••...•.....••••••.. 201-209 28. Religion and Birth Control: The Position of Islam L.A. A. Adeniji & D. T. Hadaina ...••.......•••.•.••.•••..........••.... 210 - 216 29. The Role of Information Technology in Promoting Religion as an Instrument of Peace in Nigeria Saba M.Daniel. •...•...••.•.•....•.................................•.•.•.•.•.• 217 - 223 30. The Contemporary Church and Modern Technological . Advances: The Deeper Life Bible Church Experience T. K.Ajamu •.•.•..•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•.••.•.•.•.•..•....•...•..•.•...........•.•.•.•. 224 - 229 31. Religion and Information Technology Mrs. J.O. Folorunso .•...•...•.•.•....•.•...•...•.•.•.•.•.•........•.•.•.•.•. 230 - 234 32. Information and Communication Technology System and the Problem of Teenage Pregnancy: A Religious Panacea A. O. Ogunriade ...•.•..•.•...•.........•.•.•.•.•.•.•..•...•......•.•.•.•..... 235 - 240 33. HIV/AIDS and STDs: Religion as Panacea P..A. Ojebode •.•.•.•.. : .•.•.•.•..•.•..•.•.•.•.•.•.•.•...•..•....•..•.•......... 241 ~245 34. Religion: A Panacea to HIV and AIDS Scourge Mrs. R. O. Oke •.•.•.•..•....•.•.•.•.•.•.•........•........•.•...•.•.•.•.•..•... 246 - 251 35. HIV/AIDS: Church as Panacea A. O. A. Okebukola •.•..•.•.•.•.•..•..•...•..•.•..•.••.•.•...•..•.•.•..•.•.... 252 - 256 36. The Dangerous Stride of Az-Zina and Sustenance of the SOCialand Public Health L. A. Jimoh 257 - 262 37. Social Studies Education: An Integrative Vehicle for Solving National Problems Such as HIV/AIDS in Nigeria Mrs. H. E:·Aina .....•.•..•.•..•..........................................•..... 263 - 268 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY ~, ..~ iiiiiiOiiiiiiOiiiiiiOiiiiiiOiiiiiiO====iiiiiiO RELIGION AND MODERNITY ;;;;;;;;iiiiiiOiiiiiiOiiiiiiOiiiiiiOiiiiiiOiiiiiiOiiiiiiOiiiiiiOiiiiiiO_ 38. . Religion and Human Rights· An Islamic Perspective Oyedeji A7'Wf7 ••••••••••••••••••••••••..•. ,.......... 'R~ _.'74 39. Religion and Human Rights Arimiyah S. Olanrewaju .•...••......•...............•.•••....••..•.•••••••. 275 - 281 40. Religion and Human Rights: The Islamic Perspective AbdulKareem A. Tijjani. .•••.••.•..............•...•••..•...•••.••..•.••.... 282 - 289 41. African Ethical Values in the Light of Modernity: The Yoruba .Experience S. A. Okediji. .............•....•...•...................... ; •....•............... 290 -297 42. The Role of Religion in the Modern Nigerian Society: An Overview G.A. Bamikole ......•.....•........................... ;........•.............. 298 - 302 43. Views cf Shaykh Adam Abdullah AI-lluri (1917-1992) or, Some Contemporary Religious Issues A. A. Tijani & M. A. Folorunsho 303 ~307 . 44. A Critical Examination of Ar-Rusafi's Socialist Philosophy in the Modern Arabic Poetry Dr. B. Adetunji. ~ 308 - 323 Islamic Banking System: A Study of the Malaysian Example Mrs. G.A. Adesina-Uthman 324·338 46. Practicability of Islamic Economic Theories to Poverty Alleviation: AI-Hayat Relief Foundation as an Example· A. O. Azeez & T. A. Salako 339· 348 47. The Concept pf Alms-Giving in Islam and the Contending Issues of Begging in the Society G. M. Adejumo .....•........................................................... 349 - 355 48. A Reflection on the Phenomenon of Poverty in Nigeria and Islamic Framework for Reform M. A. Salahudeen 356 - 369 49. The Effect of Music on Moral Behaviours of Youth in Nigeria A. B. Alabi .........•............................................................. 370 - 373 viii UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY ==========;;; RELIGION AND MODERNITY ;;iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiji;; eu., Unemployment of theAcademically Empowered Youth and Family Stress: Implication for ~elig;bus Education Dr. (Mr~") B':r,Ajayi.. 374 - 381 51. The Role of Muslim Students' Society in Curbing the Scourge of Cultism in Nigeria Tertiary Institutions Mrs. R. O. Aleem 382 - 388 52. Moral Decadence among the Nigerian Muslim Youths: Causes and Panacea Dr. B. Adetunji. : 389 - 393 53. Ethno-Religious Violence in a Plural Society: A Case Study of Nigeria I. A. Adebimpe & A. O. Ogunsola 394 - 401 54. Causes, Effects and Solutions of Religious Intolerance on Nigerian Society M. A. Lawai & O. O. Oyebanji. 402 - 406 55. Music as Panacea to Religious Terrorism E. O. Thompson 407 -410 56. Insecurity and Humanitarian Crises in Nigerian Environs: A Recipe from Islamic Concept of Dhimmah Dr. K. A. Adegoke 411 - 417 57. Problems Militating against Islamic Da'wah in Ekiti State of Nigeria: The Way Out M. A. Kareem 418 -422 58. Congestion of Nigerian Prisons and Islamic Judicial Provision for Social Justice Abdul-Azeez M. Ashimiyu 423 - 430 59. Corruption, National Politics and Religion M.lya-Maina 431 -438 60. Corruption and Its Effects on National Politics /!. A. Adegbola 439 - 446 61. Education against the Problem of Office Abuse in Nigeria Dr. Isaac Olarewaju ~ 447 - 461 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY ========== RELIGION AND MODERNITY ==========;0; 62. . Ine Kole of Religion inAbatinq Corruption in National i-omcs S. O. O-midiwura .. ~ 462 -466_", -.' 63. Parallelism in Biblical and African Traditional Therapies among the Yoruba People of Nigeria Mrs. A. A. Oyedele 467 - 475 64. The Interplay between Christianity and Traditional Healing to the Problem of Infertility in South-Western Nigeria Mrs. A. O. Okunade 476 - 481 65. Inheritance System and the Yoruba Traditional Belief: Issues and Problems P. K. Irokotola 482 - 486 66. The Philosophical Discourse on Soul, Death and Immortality: An African Perspective F.A. Akinseye 487 - 495 67. Religion and National Unity S. A. Ayanrinde 496 - 501 xi UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY ==========-RELIGION ANMDODER=N=I=T=Y======_ MUSLIM WOMEN IN NIGERIA BETWEEN POSTMODERN 8 FEMINISM AND RELIGIOUS FANATICISM: • ~ •. ' ".' ·.,c ••. ·• ,.., THE CASE OF :r~E.!sLAMI~l!\W By DR. I. O. UTHMAN Department of General Studies Crescent University, Abeokuta Abstract In this paper, the Islamic activism of Muslim women in contemporary Nigerian society has been analyzed. The paper examines the position of Muslim women and the reaction of these women to the re-introduction of the criminal aspects of the Sharf'ah law in Nigeria. It begins by recapitulating the development offeminism in postmodem society and the position of Muslim women described as Islamic feminists. There are many philosophical definitions and perspectives in the feminist movement that show that it is not spurious or baseless to wish away the version known as Islamic Feminism but rather demands serious study This article argues that despite the sheer dfh~c.Jty in the philosophical backgrounds of those who debate the role and empowerment of women within the Islamic tradition, it is no longer possible to deny the feminist movement for women's emancipation which is ultimately focused on gaining for women in practical terms all the rights that they have been denied. The paper therefore focuses on the role of Muslim women in the development of sharf'ah implementation in Nigeria as part of their feminist struggle for Muslim women political emancipation and how the feminist aspirations of these women in respect of what they perceive as a destructive and overzealous implementation of the sharfah law can be realizable. This study reveals that Nigeria has failed in the state implementation of the sharl'ah and submits that there is a need to adopt the use of forensic evidence to make the Islamic law gender compliant as envisaged by Allah-the lawmaker. Introduction Feminism was born to advocate for equal treatment of women with men in specific rights. Western Europe in general and Britain in particular, were very late in developing basic rights and equal status for women. In short, feminism originally referred to the struggle for equalities with men in specific areas such as education, voting and employment opportunities. The sordid conditions of women in the Victorian society however continued unabated well into the second half of this century. The feminists' campaign for property rights were only won in Britain with the married women's Property Act of 1870, amended in 1882 and 1887 and in France in 1938 when women were allowed to own property and posses bank accounts respectively. As for the struggle for suffrages, the women's right to vote and political franchise took ,. longer to be won. In fact, Switzeriand was the last European country to have given the rightto vote to women in 1971(Kausar 1996, 476, Boris, 1992,21, 155 and Lietar 2001, p 169 quoted in Uthman, 2005, pp.131-150). Elizabeth Cady Stanton an exponent of this early equity feminism argues that it wants for everyone what it wants for women: fair treatment, without discrimination in the society. But more radical 60 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY ==========- RtLiGION AND MODERNITY ;;;iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiij;;; second wave gender feminism later i!1i~;C1~C-w'; omen into an all out struggle against their perceived subordinate position in a patriarchal society as well as comolete moral Independence, sexual emancipation and total class/gender oeconstruction (Sommers 1994, pp 22-23). It has therefore been making use of any piece of information whether reliable or not to fight a seemingly personal vendetta against men and now centers mostly round the deconstruction of women as gender feminists struggle for a non-male, patriarchal and phallic language. Gender feminists such as Gloria Steinem are ideologues helping no one and certainly not women because their methods are divisive and hurtful to legitimate feminism. Steinem anAmerican journalist and feminist gave a great momentum to postmodern feminism. She worked assiduously with others to give feminism its concrete and postmodern shape, throuqh outrageous, false and unfounded statistics and divisive methods (Sommers, 12·73, 209-226 and 255-275). To radicai gender feminism, no one is born d woman or with whc.'~the female sex represents in society but rather one becomes one. Annie Lsclerc Ii 992, 362-365) asks women to reveal their sexuality not for the pleasures of men but for their own pleasures for this is the only way they can make their body satisfy their own pleasures only. These postmodern gender feminists insist that gender roles are not natural but learned through socialization and that the relationship between men and women are therefore based on socially defined constructs, roles and duties that uphold the concept of 'biology determines destiny' (Butler 199C, pp 5-·12). Sandra Lee Bartky (1990, pp 105-118) opines that though people are born male and female but no one is born masculine or feminine because femininity if msrely a social construct. On the basis of this, she welcomes the liberation r,~uvemem, which is qunstioning the male inspired social construct of fern. lie genGer 2.nti iemininitv Luce Irigaray (1992,312-376) pushes this caB for radical liberation of sexuality by asking women to disrupt thr;-.patriarchal system, end phallic images of femirunity and e,lgagn in anti heterosexual relationships like lesbianism and she callec' on women to work tose~her ~odiscover the tp.!I1inine imaginary. Jutiet Mitchell, d British social ;e:ninist, psycnoanalyst and writer is another gender feminist that had tremendous influence on feminist thinking in the West. Tocay, one can still aasily detect her i;:f!ue:"';es as well asthose of other Marxist feminists in a lot of feminist srruygic2 again::-.t,.onr=ssion 2nd in the current debate on gender equity (Kausar 1896, pp 476-177). In short, postrncce.n trends in feminism represent tile total dAc('!"")~tructic;; of even nature. Michel Foucault is one of such postrnoderrusts who reject the: notions of absolute truth and reality To hirr, social 'JaIU8Shave no .ntrins.c toundatior», and are rather oromoted by those ';"no wish to do so due to their self-interest ':Rac(,v5~i$ 1993, pp 8-9). Other costmodernists include Lacan and Deriida W'lO both :::nalyza(; the symbolic 0rcler- a series of inl~rdependel1t siqns, language anc1 concepts whici, they argue requlate the society using a male, imposed phau.c !anglJage cl1d tht~reoy excluding women and concluded that the search for rneaninqs if pointless Cl"d useless as reality is relative anrj symbolic. Meaninqs according to them differ UIJ. ~hE:'l1c-lle regulated phallic societv "t~i\::::::-t;~' ::~·;:'p,·(':;S3 dif;ar;.'1g and plurai 'nt~ri:·c2t3ti,)ns FOllowing the abOV8, f~rn;iI:3m r. )'" :.:.' ,t.,,":-; mostly round the deconstructio.. ~..,tN..)meIi UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY =========== RELIGION AND MODERNITY =========== ~:-ICllis ever expancinq with no predetermined en-';:> c1:' \:lender feminists struggle for a non-male, patriarchal and phallic language and meaning that they might have been In existence before Adam was given the power of nomenclatures (Tong 1882, pp :1-3'3- . 238). Using Michel Foucault postmodern and poststructuraiist psychoanalytic analyzes of sexuality that argues that many power relations can be located ir. the SGcietysuGtl as body, family and-kinship, Jana Sawicki (1991, L20-2~ ~Q.J11itsthat the struggle for a power-free society is not a utopian vision She tries to reconcile Foucault's pessimism that such a struggle is an illusion with her view by explaining that he was only skeptical about the possibilities a global transformation as propounded by the Enlightenment philosophers but this skeoticisrn did not lead him to despair, Gender feminists approve of women liberal sexual attitudes and liberty to have sex like men on their own terms. Simone De Beavor argues that it is human civilization that produces the woman-creature between man and eunuch, thereafter, the institution of marriage further relegates this feminine creature and deterrnines her status as child and mother in patriarchies such as Islam which smoothers all forms of sexual autonomy and permissive alliances (Kauthar 2003, pp 7-10). In an interview, Simone De Beavor argued that no woman should be permitted to stay at home to raise children because if such a choice is given, too many women willlead blighted conventional lives (Sommer, pp 256-257). In the United States where the postmodern feminist movement took shape, the number of separated families rose between 1975 and 1983 to about three millior women and from 1983 to 1988 to about four million. An astonishing sixty-one percent of women with children under the age of ten suddenly left their families (Hewlett 1986. The increase in the rate of broken homes, abandoned and abused children as well married and un-married homosexial men and women, is not just an American or western phenomenon. It has rather become a global phenomenon and is today a visible feature of Muslim societies. Fatima Mernissi . (1987, pp xxii-xxix) sees the fact that many young Muslim men and women in the Arab-world in particular are un-married today as a sign of women's empowerment and self-perception as actors in the society. To her, it is a sign of progress that women postpone marriage while concentrating on education so much that there is a . staggering increase in the number of un-married urban mer) and women. Thus, for postmodern feminists, modern technology has opened many dosed doors notonly to make heterosexual marriage redundant but to also eliminate the need for either sex in human reproduction. Researchers at Monish University in Melbourne are now re-programming women's eggs to assist women to have their own genetic offspring without a man's sperm (New Strait Times, 12 March 200'1). Worst still, reproduction technology has opened the doors that turn women into more sophisticated and refined sex workers, mistresses and at best singie mothers. Such women are reduced to mere playgrounds for men who abandon the women after sowing their wild oats and these women do bear alone, in most cases the socio- economic responsibility of what the two of them have enjoyed together. The men then become free to move on and hunt for other willing victims in their play-boyish games. 62 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY ===========;;; RELIGION AND MODERN ITY ;;iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiji;; The Re-Emerging 131amic Feminism Today; howeverthere are Muslim women and men who reject both the western oriental feminist arid traditional representation of women. It is theretore only those Muslim women who hold tenaciously to the Islamic teachings and work within Islamic matrices in their struggle for a change in Muslim societies that benefit all, especially women that are referred to in this paper as Islamic feminists and it is to their struggle against injustice in all forms including gender injustice and oppression through their activities in the Islamic movement that Islamic feminism refers (Uthman, 2005, pp. 140-44). Cooke identifies both feminists working within secular and Islamic matrices as 'Islamic feminists'. She includes in her identification, women fighting gender injustice and oppression whether through or against religion and does not distinguish between women who support or subvert the activities of Islamic movement. She also put together feminists who uphold Islamic activism and those who do not and most importantly feminists who believe in the authenticity of the Islamic and those who do not (Cooke, 2001, pp. 55-64). However, her usage of the term, Islamic feminism raises some epistemological questions. It is not really possible to define the term, 'Islamic feminism' in the context of Muslim women and completely overlook or gloss over the ideological convictions of those lumped together; It is not really identical, the disgusting tossing away of seclusion and the harem's life with the conviction that this very harem's life is dignity and empowerment for some women and the belief that the egalitarian message of Islam was the mere product of a revolutionary visionary who finally submitted to a patriarchal cabal in a severe moment of stress and turmoil can never be the- same with the conviction held by millions of Muslim women activists that the revolutionary, visionary and egalitarian message or Islam was not only divine but is also for all time and that it did achieve for women of all times Justice, shelter and in fact resistance to male domination and oppression. It is for these reasons that l.arnya' al-Faruqi, (1408/1988, pp. 28-30) has clarified what can be regarded as Islamic feminism when she argued that the feminist movement will not be compatible with an Islamic environment until it accept the goal of Muslim women to uphold the teachings of Islam which they regard as ideal and to which they want to return. This is no doubt in reference to only those women described as Islamic feminists by this author and is not referring to those feminists who though are Muslims yet are opposed to the teachings of all Islam and who like the mainstream feminists consider all religions including Islam as the chief enemies of feminist stuggles. According to al-Faruqi therefore, those women who are Islamic feminists must accept Islam as an ideology whose concept of religion or DIn encompasses the entire spectrum of life as well the Islamic concept of justice that is in tandem with the wider justice for all human or non-human beings and not just women or men alone for that matter. But at the same time, the research agrees with Cooke on the reality and the authenticity of Islamic feminism. As she has' clarified, feminism is about how the expectations for men and women's conduct should lead to just situations particularly but not necessarily only for women. It seeks justice wherever it can find it in order to put an end to gender discrimination (Cooke, 2001, pp. ix-xx). 63 t UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY =========== RELIGION AND MODERNITY =========== WI',;;", ;~;dmic feminism focuses on women activism c."u fJdrticipation in the society, . it does not restrict itself to justice for the female gender only. In fact as argued by many Muslim women, tstarnrc terrurusrnupholds the Islamic tenet of justice tor all human and even non human beings. In what follows, the roots of Islamic feminism in the revolutionary, visionary, egalitarian and divine message of Islam will be traced and how Muslim women activists in Nigeria are trying today to recapture this authentic Islamic feminism will be examined. There abounds in the primary sources of Islam, the Our'an and Sunnah texts that affirm gender equity and complementarities. Contrary to the claim of many western and secular writers who try to show that it is Muslim men who construct and portray women's contributions in Muslim society, the case of 'A'ishah is perhaps the most vivid example of how Muslim women in the early days of Islam shaped the Muslim society and constructed its legacy in their own unique ways. In fact, 'A'ishah as she challenged leading companions of the Prophet on the narrations from the Prophet and corrected these narrations, was as a Muslim woman, taking active and ;"'c . ':g part in constructing almost all the teachings of Islam. This is what most western and secular writers like Spellberg fail to acknowledge when they arqu= ,.. ..z~all the Muslim women in the early days of Islam like'A'lsbah could not controi the preservation or selection of their words as well as their applications in Muslim societies (Spellberg, 1994, pp. 57-58). This is the revolutionary, visionary, egalitarian and divine basis of Islamic feminism. The label shows the difference between the perception of Islam as a religion, which matches the egalitarian vision at the core of its teachings with realism and pragmatism and western secularism. Islam to him is a religion that is predicated on moderation and balance and therefore upholds gender equity but is opposed totally to the extremism of secular and gender feminism. Ishaq Olatubosun Tijani, a Nigerian Muslim scholar and a former university of Ibadan lecturer therefore submits that Muslim women use Islamic matrices to eradicate women's oppression in the larger Nigerian society. By supporting their moves within Islam, they show clearly that lstarnic tenets are not contradictory to issues of equity, equality, and justice for al' races, groups, sexes etc. To him, their moves also reveal that these women differ from secular and western feminists in their attempts to eradicate women's oppression (Uthman, 2006, pp. ). Hence, these Muslim women at the forefront of Islamic revival in Nigeria today can be described as a new brand of Islamic feminists. History of Muslim Women's Activism and Islamic Feminism in Nigeria Historically, Islamic feminism in Nigeria finds a support in the reforming movement of the JihadT Shaykh 'Uthrnan ibn FOdTpopularly known as Usman Dan Fodio. The fact that today, Muslim women in Nigeria are very active in da'wah work and the efforts to bring about Islamic revivalism have been traced to the Sokoto Jihad and 00fischolars. These nineteenth century Jihad scholars fought vigorously against all the harmful and oppressive practices women were subjected to in the name of Islam and called for their emancipation (AI- AIOrT,1985, pp. 123-143). During the above Sokoto Jihad, Muslim women played prominent and significant roles and 64 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY -==========;;;.;0;; RELIGION AND MODERNITY ;iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii_ .sr.cereo many unique contributions. They t00~~",.:Ai':' of wounded combatants and transported the wounded soldier s from the battlefields to where they were nursed and . qivenmedical care. Tney organized numerous women's education-groups and ensured that all the women were incorporated into these groups as well as the life of the community. Even Nana Asmau, the Shaykh's daughter also attained the status of a senior fakir in the SOff orders. Nana Asmau was in charge of the organization of itinerant women teachers during both pre and post revolution periods. She also served as the Shaykh's scribe and facilitated the writinq of all his works. She equally mediated in all the communal activities of the post revolution Islamic state that was founded. In fact, she has been described as the modern dayAsma' bint Abu Bakrwho protected the Prophet during the Hijrah, (Last 1988, pp. 183-204). but since she was also a revered scholar and leader, Asmau may even be referred to as the modern day 'A'ishah who was a great Muslim jurist and teacher. Muslim women continued to play the above respected roles till the demise of the caliphate at the hands of the British colonial masters. Right from the onset of the Sokoto Jihad, Shaykh Uthrnan ibn Fudl was seriously concerned over the ignorance and decadence of the society, particularly the deplorable conditions of women. He accused the scholars of dereliction of their religious duty for condoning the poor conditions of Muslim women and ignoring their education. Against the norms and traditions of Hausa society, the Shaykh, following the Prophet's step earmarked a special time for women's education, and often directed them not to ~ listen to the words of those misguided men who talk about the duty of obedience to husbands but do not mention anything about obedience to God and his messenger. His brother Abdullah also urged Muslim women to go out in search of knowledge where their husbands had failed to provide adequately for their education. By so ••.J doing, he put the education of women over and above marriage and consequent", Abdullah, not only restored the emergence of women scholars as in earlier qenerations but also b,r;@.Ugahtcomplete revolution into gender relationship in Hausa land (Buqaje, 1995). The Use of Forensic Evidence in Islamic Law The replacement of military leaders with civilians in the national government in199~! fFlspireGithe Muslim efforts to enforce the criminal aspects of shsrt'eh. By 2004, aecordlnq to an Amnesty International report for February, 2004, over ten people had been sentenced to death since the re-introduction of snerreh criminal provisions in Nigerian snerreh courts. In all these cases, women were sentenced in similar circumstances based on circumstantial evidences for zin« which is defined by 'the Zamfara snerreh penal code that came out in 2000 as sexual intercourse by a man • • or woman through the genital of a person over whom he hss- no sexual rights and in circumstances in which no doubt exists as to the illegality of the act. Consequently, ,. over time, Musli", women activists have found compelling reasons or needs to call for the rights and protections of women. According to them, the manner of implementing the hudad has contributed in no small measure to the vulnerability of women to abuse in many forms, by creating conditions in which this abuse can be perpetrated with r~!ative impunity. They wondered why the evidence of a woman should be accepted when she confessed to committing an offence yet her evidence is not gooJ ei lough _~4 65 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY =========== RELIGION AND MODERNITY =========== for her f:.:::y·;, male culprits and when she retracts her con~:'~3;.Jil, it is not accepted. It baffles them how this can suffice to establish her guilt of fornication or adultery-in a religion that has set vel y iliyh ami i"'I-'t::cGable standards fOI the procecu. ~ ul establishing the commission of zine. They therefore call for total overhaul of the operation of the sharrah law especially in respect of the hudad application to Muslim women. According to Hajiya Bilkisu Yusuf (mni) editor, Citizen Communications, •'" Kaduna and a leading member of FOMWAN in Nigeria, the snerreti law in Nigeria has been reduced to a body of laws to fish out women who commit adultery. Currently, she reveals that only poor women and men seem to be the convicts of the snerreti courts while the elites and the rich appear to have some inbuilt immunity from sharrah laws. Denial of education to women in shertet: states is also a glaring flaw as female children are sent to hawk (tal/a), thus making them vulnerable to sexual abuse. She also explained that the divorce rate in sherren states is too high as women are married and divorced at will by men. Hajiya Bilkisu therefore calls for an end to the miscarriage of justice that is witnessed in the implementation of the sharrah(Yusuf, 2002). The clear implication of the above in cases of rape is that men would violate and rape girls and women with impunity as long as they make sure that there are no witnesses to their crime. On the other hand, women and girls who are victims of rape or coercion also have their situations further compounded when they are subjected to charges of both zin« and Qadf (false sexual accusation against their molesters). This clearly violates women's rights, justice and security while protecting those men who harass, molest and rape women and girls. This last point agrees with the 'submission of Prof. D.O.S. Noibi on the sentence of Amina Lawai who was sentenced ,. to stoning that the sentence would be overturned at the sherteh court of l\ppeal. This to him is because the shsrret: -based penal codes already posses provisions for justice to be done and if the various criteria are applied, then justice would not only be done but would also be seen to have been done (Noibi, 2004). As established in some of the above cases, though rape is a punishable crime in every Muslim society, most still insist on the evidence of four witnesses before the culprits are convicted. Insisting as it is stated in the Riseiet: that a pregnant woman who says she was raped is not to be believed and must be given the hadd punishment unless she provides four witnesses that the intercourse was forced on her will only make a mockery of justice under the sheri'eh (Kenny, 1992, p. 176). Punishing the women alone also gives the impression that the snerren is gender- biased especially when there are ways of confirming this allegation as it is done for instance in Malaysia. In upholding the classical position on the provision of four witnesses to the act of rape, the sbarrah operators lose cognizance of the impossibility •• .;: of rape occurring in the view of any normal human being especially the God-fearing one and this ineptitude will only allow rapists to always get away with their crime. ~ Today, it is possible to apprehend criminals for many crimes including rape because " there are modern forensic means of obtaining evidence for the crime such as DNA tests to examine the sperm of the alleged rapists, exarnininq their fingers and palms' prints on the body of the alleged rape victims as well as asking the women to describe 66 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY ===========RELIGION ANDMODERN_IT_Yiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii_ t~.,-,i,[.;..:edbody of such alleged rapists. The last SI.J;l:!':'3:;0nis particularly appl.cable . to men accused by women of cornmittino zine with them. If it was truly mutual, the women should be able to give some bodily descriptions ot these men when tney are naked . .•- Yet, the sharTah is not against the use of forensic evidence which includes finger and toe prints identification and the laboratorial analysis of blood and semen and is therefore pure medical, pathological and other sciences to determine culprits e.- of sexual offences under the snerren. Its use is supported by many Islamic texts. The Prophet once accepted the evidence of an expert on facial comparison for Usamah's paternity. In addition, during Umar's time, a woman accused a man of raping her and came with an egg-stained cloth as evidence. Ali then soaked the stain in water and it turned out to be white solid yoke. This indeed could be said to be the beginning of the use of forensic evidence in Islamic history. This would be in line with a major sharTah principle of removing hardship from the people as well as establishing proof beyond reasonable doubt. Hence Ibn Qayyim argues that whatever establishes justice is an integral part of Islamic law because Allah the just when specifying ways of establishing justice would not overrule other emerging more reliable and strong evidence (Haneef, 2005, pp. 118-127). The same goes for the view of majority of the jurists that a woman's retraction of her confession should be accepted because it • raises the problem of doubt. This view should also be upheld in Nigeria where it is currently not the case. Even Imam Malik as recorded in the At-mewsu'eh (1993), pp.72-73), subscribes to the view that one of the conditions of establishing the guilt of W zin« is the consistency of the evidence till punishment is metea out and ibn Oudarnah •.• gives as evidence for the position of the majority, the case of Mu f;: who was stone at the time of the Prophet in spite of his retraction of his confession and the Prophet said "Perhaps if you had spared him, he would have repented and Allah would have forgiven him". Conclusion In this paper, the prevailing conditions of Muslim women under the Islamic law in Nigeria are bad as to justify condemnations by feminists. One of the socio- political cum religious impediments confronting Muslim women In contemporary Nigerian society is identified in the way the haphazard implementation of sharrah laws give women limited choices to defend themselves in the face of women's rape by men. Yet Muslim women are convinced the lacunas in the sharTah implementations ~ in Nigeria lie in the system and not the sharTah laws. Consequently, the research welcomes the activism of these women and their brand of Islamic feminism. It also c211sfor a reformation in the application of sharTah especially as far as Muslim women • are concerned and it recommends the use of forensic evidence to determine culprits of sexual offences under the shert'eh ..A.t the same time, the economic and social conditions of the society should be considerea in sharTah implementation so that the situations that are conducive for crimes e.g. zine like high number of un-married women and high marriage costs are eliminated. 67 UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN LIBRARY \ ========== RELIGION AND MODERNITY ====~=====- Reference AI-AlurT,Adam 'Abdullah. (1985). AI-Islam AI-yawm Wa Geden FTNayjTriyyah. Egypt: Metabi'AI-Mukhtar Al-lslarni. . Bugaje, Muhammad Usman. 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