Muslims cautioned against looking at women

The head of the Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques Affairs argued in Riyadh on Saturday that general perceptions about Western lifestyle and culture have played a major role in influencing public opinion on women’s rights in a Muslim society.Saleh Abdurahman Al-Hussein’s remarks came at a gathering of more than 1,000 participants attending a forum on the rights and duties of women in Islam.Al-Hussein, who is also president of the King Abdulaziz Center for National Dialogue, was addressing the first Saudi conference on women’s rights organized by the Researchers’ Center for Women Studies (RCWS).A large number of prominent Saudi scholars, charitable organizations and human rights advocates participated in the event. The first session was presided over by Yousof Al-Aqeel.Al-Hussein said these perceptions based on the concept of Western culture may be either correct or incorrect. However, it has heavily affected the culture, language and even the dress style of Muslims, he said, adding the same influence is seen when it comes to the evaluation of women’s rights.In his inaugural speech, Fuad Abdul Kareem Al-Abdul Kareem, RCWS' secretary-general, said the forum’s main focus, among other issues, is on the socioeconomic factors of Saudi women based on Saudi law.“This conference is merely intended to be a research and scientific forum where we can come up with resolutions and solutions to some social and financial problems facing Saudi women.”There are other aspects to be tackled during the course of the discussion, such as divorce problems and an increasing number of unmarried women.However, in an interview on the sidelines of the conference on the current campaign in favor of allowing Saudi women to work for the first time at shopping malls, Al-Abdul Kareem said that there are discussions on this matter among Saudi intellectuals.He said people would allow Saudi women to work within the framework of Islamic teachings and for their financial needs. There are some who reiterate their belief that Saudi women have major family responsibilities, adding that other countries' experiences with regard to working women were not very encouraging and did not necessarily change their economic situations.Pointing out that in Islam men are obliged to take care of their women’s financial needs, he said in this conference they are going to address the issue in line with Islamic teachings and the rights due to them under the existing system.Al-Abdul Kareem said that imposing Western views on Saudi and Muslim women with regard to their rights amounts to interference.He added every country has its own way of dealing with issues. "We deal with our Muslim women in our own way and provide for all their needs, including the right to education, health and other expenses within the framework of our religion.”He said Muslim women in their countries should be left alone to carry out their religious obligations because of the prevalent values of democracy and freedom.They should not be accused of being backward because of their religion, he added. He said if Westerners want to know the reality about Muslim women, they should read books available on this issue, he observed.Ali Al-Namlah, the former minister of social affairs who spoke about philosophy on women's rights in the East and West, said that there is no comparison between Muslim women and their counterparts in the West in terms of value.Al-Namlah agreed Muslim women have been affected by the lifestyle of others. However, they have also exerted a positive influence on the West, particularly in America where Islam has gained a large number of followers.Citing a forecast, the lecturer said that in Europe Islam is predicted to prosper within 12 years. In contrast, Al-Namlah said there are millions of women around the world whose moral values have been declining. This has resulted in numerous abortions due to their illegitimate relations with men.At Saturday night's session, other lecturers who spoke were RCWS Director Noorah Ibrahim Al-Omar and Saad Nasser Al-Shithri, a senior religious leader in the Kingdom. Zaid Abdul Muhsin Al-Hussein, vice president of the Saudi Human Rights Commission, acted as a moderator for the session.