On January 6th, in the deliberation hall of the Municipality of Malika (Dakar), a training meeting took place with the facilitators and animators of the project “Résaux de Femmes: Empowerment of Women and Gender Rights in Senegal,” promoted by Energia per i Diritti Umani and co-financed by the Prosolidar Foundation. The project aims to create awareness campaigns on gender rights and violence in homes, schools, and women’s groups on the outskirts of Dakar, Senegal.
The meeting featured Professor Hussain Mohi-Ud-Din-Qadri, deputy chairman of the board of governors at Minhaj University Lahore, home to the School of Religion and Philosophy. Connecting directly from Pakistan, the professor, an expert in interreligious studies and Islamic deradicalization, delivered a speech focused on the interpretation of the Quran and how its misinterpretation has negatively impacted the condition of women.
The problem highlighted during the discussion was the frequent confusion between religion and culture, which leads to legitimizing, in the name of religion, practices and behaviors that belong to customs developed within the population, often radically diverging from the content of the Quranic text.
In this perspective, a particularly relevant example was the Quran’s view on polygamy: during the presentation, it was emphasized that Islam does not encourage it at all, considering it only as a residual possibility admissible in specific situations (in contrast to the majority opinion in Senegal, where it is seen as a usual condition). Other examples included the right to family planning, often denied despite being established by sacred texts, including abortion in cases of medical and economic necessity; the absence in the Quran of persecutory prescriptions towards homosexual individuals (to the detriment of the violent discrimination they are subjected to); and the nature of domestic work as a mere faculty of the woman to contribute, together with her partner, to household management (and not, in any way, as a role confined to the female gender or an obligation to be fulfilled solely by it).
The conclusions of the speech emphasized that what is often justified on religious grounds has a cultural origin, stemming from traditions and beliefs crystallized, primarily, by a patriarchal society common to most countries around the world. In this sense, it is essential to distinguish between culture and religion, which lies in a comparative judgment on the compatibility of customs and behaviors with religious teachings: to delineate the boundary between the two, it will be necessary to verify that the contents of religion (as originally outlined) are reflected in cultural attitudes. For example, in the case of Islam, where custom deviates from what is prescribed in the Quran, leading to discrimination, it will become evident that the inequity of treatment originates from a purely cultural factor.
Similarly, the relationship between legislation and religious teachings can be framed: Islam encourages respect for the state and its institutions, regarded as autonomous and binding powers. Therefore, even if the law of a Muslim-majority country does not adhere to what is stipulated by the Quranic laws, the issue should be raised in front of the appropriate judicial bodies, and the development of an outright dominance of religion will not be permitted. Unfortunately, this has occurred in countries like Iran and Saudi Arabia, where religious prescriptions and norms have come to coincide, often on unfounded bases.
The normative theme had also been touched upon during the previous training day on January the 5th, during which a discussion between international, European, and local legislation led to the conclusion that, when speaking about human rights, law transcends geographical and cultural boundaries to establish principles and protections that share a common core.
It is therefore interesting to observe how both legal and religious systems, as human constructs, actually form a guarantee system against violence mechanisms, even though the interpretive margin, in both cases, has opened the possibility of deviation in terms of implementation, which requires constant vigilance.
The meeting on January the 6th turned out to be a wonderful snapshot of the transversal principles of the major monotheistic religions, which, although manipulable in terms of interpretation, ultimately aim at safeguarding the human being. Like any form of spirituality, the tendency towards non-violence finds a complete expression in Islam, although often stifled by cultural interferences that generate suffering and discrimination. The dialogue between the professor and the audience, overcoming thousands of kilometers and cultural barriers, illuminated shadowy areas and opened horizons of meaning, creating communication channels between those who, despite not speaking the same language and coming from different worlds, recognized in their interlocutor a common value base with the primary aspiration of human freedom and dignity.
The hope is that the attempt to understand each other and build together, manifested during this day, will inspire a path of consciousness evolution that concerns all of us as human beings.
Federica De Luca
