Cooke speaks on history of Muslim women and conflict

Tufts students were given the opportunity to learn Wednesday about women's role in Muslim history and the impact that they have had in Jihads over the past 1,300 years.

Muslim women have been passionate defenders of religion throughout history, according to speaker Miriam Cooke.

Cooke, a professor of modern Arabic literature and culture at Duke University brought her 20 years of research and travel around the Middle East to Barnum Hall.

Her lecture, "Women's Jihad: Before and After 9/11," sought to explain both the history and reemergence of woman into Muslim politics and protest through jihad.

Jihad, a Muslim term for "struggle," refers to wars fought in the name of religion. According to Cooke, "Jihad provides the language and reality of modern war where religious ideas and symbols are central." She described jihad as both "an internal struggle and an external struggle to defend one's religion."

Cooke went on to explain how jihad could effect positive spiritual changes as it forces one to believe in Islam to the point that one must be willing to sacrifice her life for it.

In Islamic tradition, the calling of jihad is perceived to be more important than marriage _ the highest calling in the life of a Muslim woman. The presence of women in jihad has been profoundly important because of the determination of peace they bring to the movement.

Cooke referred to jihad as a Muslim woman's "universal duty and right." She emphasized the word "right" since jihad has long been considered a male custom. Now, however, the involvement of women in jihad has turned it into a political mobilization for the equality of Muslim women in Islamic society.

Muslim women's involvement began with Khadijah, the wife of Muhammad, who was convinced her husband was a prophet, according to Cooke. Khadijah, along with three other seventh century heroines, became known as the "Warriors of the Faith."

Although Muslim women are commonly perceived to have a primarily domestic role, Cooke emphasized that women are ultimately responsible to Allah. If an invader _ from either outside or inside the community _ threatens their religion, it is ultimately the woman's job to stand against them, Cooke said.

These perceived intrusions have led women to rise up, notably in Palestine. The 20th century has transformed jihad with the incorporation of arms in the Islamic fight.

Recently in Palestine, there has been an unprecedented growth of female suicide bombers. Cooke cited many other modern examples, such as the Algerian uprising in the post war era, and said that woman are no longer "the negotiators [of peace], but imitators, who are adopting men's ways of fighting."

Cooke argued that, despite what many people think, the majority of Islamic women do not feel oppressed by their religion and customs.

In fact, jihads have created large groups of women who fought against the racism and gender oppression of many Muslim cultures. These women helped to create the Islamic movements of the 1970s and 1980s, including the overthrow of the shah of Iran. Cooke cited the fact that the Ayatollah's bodyguard was a woman as one of many examples of woman power in Muslim culture.

Cooke said that several women in Saudi Arabia hold weekly lectures to praise the virtues of the religion, ushering a whole new generation of followers.

Following the initial importance of women in the seventh century, "Women were increasingly marginalized from affairs in the years after Muhammad," Cooke said. "Authorities wanted women to be less visible and certainly not fight."

Her speech was the second in a series of talks about Middle Eastern Politics and Culture. Cooke is the president of the Duke University's Department of African & Asian Languages & Literature. Since 1999, she has co-chaired the Muslim Network Projects, which seeks to create connections between Arab universities and those in the United States.

Her most recent work is a novel called "Hayati: My Life" and intertwines three generations of Palestinian women in the midst of war and poverty.