Muslim women must not leave the house without their husband’s permission, should avoid wearing trousers and should even delete their Facebook accounts, according to rulings published by mosques and Islamic associations around Britain.
The statements provoked anger among anti-extremism campaigners and moderate Muslims, who have spoken out against “outdated and patriarchal” attitudes. The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) is facing calls to demand that affiliated institutions remove online advice that curtails the freedom of women.
Controversy was triggered this week by a ruling published by the Blackburn Muslim Association, which told women that they must not travel more than 48 miles without a male chaperone. The association is an affiliate member of the MCB, an umbrella body representing hundreds of mosques, schools and other organisations. Research by The Times found that other MCB members had published similar statements.
Under a section titled “Islamic articles”, the Croydon Mosque and Islamic Centre published the document “Advice for the husband and wife”.
Written by a mufti at the mosque, it says: “A woman should seek her husband’s permission when leaving the house and should not do so without his knowledge.”
Advertisement
Another article describes abortion as “a great sin” and describes modelling and acting as “immoral acts”. The Central Masjid of Blackburn has published a website post called “Dangers of Facebook”. It cites a quotation from the Koran about the sin of alcohol, and applies it to the social network.
“Facebook has opened the doors for sin. Muslim girls and women alike have become prey to this evil,” it says. It describes the social media website as a “vicious network”.
In a Q&A posted by the Green Lane Masjid in Birmingham, one worshipper asks if women may wear jeans. The response cites an Islamic scholar and says that wearing trousers is not permitted even in front of her husband. Trousers show off “the details of her body”, it says, adding: “The ones who wear trousers are men, and the Prophet . . . cursed women who imitate men.”
None of the organisations responded to requests for comment.
Justine Greening, the international development secretary, said this week that it was “disgraceful and unacceptable” to ban women from travelling unaccompanied. When presented with the new examples, a spokeswoman for the department reiterated Ms Greening’s comments that such views have “no place in Britain” and her call for the Blackburn Muslim Association to withdraw its comments. Its website had been taken down yesterday.
Advertisement
Sheikh Howjat Ramzy, a scholar and former MCB education committee member, said: “[These interpretations of Islam] are totally wrong. It is nonsense. And Islam has no objections to Facebook, just as a woman can wear trousers or not wear a scarf and can still be a Muslim.” Asked if the MCB should take a stand, Dr Ramzy said: “They should ask the organisation to withdraw their statement or advise them that this may not be applicable for use in the United Kingdom.” Salah al-Ansari, of the Quilliam Foundation anti-extremism think tank, said: “These are typical examples of literalist interpretations of Islam which are extremely fundamentalist and exclusivist.”
Khola Hasan is a female scholar at the Islamic Sharia Council in London and said: “These views are clearly outdated and reflect a patriarchal, narrow world-view that is out of step with the rest of the Muslim world.”
She said women in Muslim countries can easily travel and wear trousers while practising their faith and added: “Some men of an older generation may find these freedoms hard to stomach, but they will have to accept them.”
An MCB spokeswoman said that the body “does not dictate jurisprudential positions to its affiliates” but said that Muslim women were increasingly taking up roles as religious scholars and political leaders. She added: “Rulings that belong to different historical periods and cultural settings get superseded. We encourage affiliates to actively consider this.”