What is your opinion of Asra Nomani, in terms of her promotion of civil rights?

“Feminist Muslim” is an oxymoron. Anyone who believes that they support women’s rights while being a practicing Muslim is suffering from some severe cognitive dissonance.

Sorry, you cannot be a true feminist and support muslims.

I think some of you may be generalising quite a bit here. Like with Christians, not all Muslims believe in a literal interpretation of their holy book. And if Asra can promote a positive change in the Muslim world for women, this can only be a positive.

So, has she been calling for Islam’s reform, like Ayaan Hirsi Ali?

@trolltoll As it happens Asra Nomani is the co founder of the Muslim Reform Movement.

She works successfully toward women’s equality within the framework of her religion. That is a really tough job. She is also one of our best journalists. Because of her reforms, she is a number one target of every Islamic fundamentalist group on the globe. She is very smart and very brave. I have a very high opinion of her.

I disagree that you can’t be a practicing Muslim AND an advocate for women’s rights. To me, that’s like saying you can’t be a practicing Christian and advocate for women’s rights. You can fight against the religious constraints, just like Christian women did, at the same time you’re fighting social constraints.
Hell, in my own generation I have had to fight that shit, a woman’s place, king of the castle, God’s will that women be subservient, all that crap.

Malala Yousafzai, who is probably the bravest feminist in the world, identifies herself as a feminist and a Muslim.

If one insists that a person can’t be a feminist and a Muslim because Islam has some misogynic elements, then one can’t be a feminist and a follower of any Abrahamic religion for basically the same reason.

That principle of imaginary mutual exclusivity could also dictate that one can’t be a Christian and for racial equality, because the KKK and Xtian Identity claim to be Xtian organizations.