Dutch and Flemish Muslim women are far more emancipated than we think. That is the message of Sahar Noor, who obtained her doctorate yesterday. ‘My research forces the Western vision of women, Islam and Muslims to be revised.’

There are many more independent women with knowledge and authority within Islam than we think. That is the conclusion of doctoral candidate Sahar Noor. Over the past few years, she visited more than 120 meetings of so-called ‘sister groups’, at which Muslim women come together to exchange knowledge, to debate, and to talk about the religion. In addition, she held interviews with more than sixty women regarding their role within the religion.

Noor: ‘In Europe, the prevailing image is still that Muslim women are passive and less developed. That image is wrong. Yes, the first generation of women were often illiterate, but we are already a few generations further. Many Dutch Muslim women are free, modern people. They are working, they are mothers, and they are committed to the society – there is nothing passive about that.’

Muslim sister groups

According to Noor, the women get their piety, knowledge, and authority from the sister groups. In this way, they actively contribute to the shaping of Islam within Europe. ‘For example, the position of the Imam is still almost always held by a man, but that is the result of cultural practices rather than the religion itself’, says Noor. ‘In addition, women do not want to necessarily be involved in everything. They feel more at home with their own groups.’

‘The West cannot direct everything’

Noor emphasises that we must not try to understand Islamic women in Western terms. According to her, a huge development is taking place, but this is not completely in line with the same liberal enlightenment ideals as in the West. ‘The question is also whether we should even want it to be in line’, she poses. ‘This is just how it goes: the West cannot direct everything. There are also many different views within the religion. One woman may be more conservative, while another is very individualised and free. This keeps the debate ongoing.’

With her research, Noor hopes to enable people to look beyond the stereotypes. ‘People often ask: What about the headscarves?’ But a head scarf does not say anything about a person, it is just a piece of fabric. One chooses to wear it, while another does not. In doing so or not doing so, you are not suddenly unemancipated or emancipated.’