We protest what the university teacher said
Recently, on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Roquiah Sakhawat Hossein, popularly called Begum Rokeya, a university teacher of physics—one of the most advanced and vital subjects of modern education—has reportedly referred to her as a "murtad" and "kafir." Begum Rokeya (1880-1932), a pioneer of Bangalee Muslim women's education, transformed the lives of Muslim women in South Asia, especially in Bengal. She was instrumental in helping them become more knowledgeable and skilled in every aspect of their lives. Her work revolutionised the intellectual, social, and educational landscape of Bangalee Muslim women at a time when illiteracy, exploitation, and poverty dominated their lives.
In 1916, she founded the Sakhawat Memorial Girls' School in Patna, which later moved to Kolkata. It became one of the earliest and most effective institutions of modern education for Muslim girls. She worked tirelessly to ensure access to English and science education for girls. In Sultana's Dream (1905), she envisioned a world where women led and men followed. Not that she ever advocated female domination of men, but her point was to make men aware of the oppressive conditions in which women lived. In her essays, including "Stri Jatir Abanati," she highlighted the deeply suppressed world of women. She advocated for their legal and social rights, opposed child marriage, and compelled reformers to rethink gender roles in society. She founded a women's organisation called Anjuman-e-Khawatin-e-Islam. She believed that Islam permits rationalism and women's empowerment.
So, despite all that, why would a university teacher—whose name I am deliberately omitting to keep this from becoming personal—condemn her as a "kafir" and "murtad"?
Every writer, scholar, or social reformer can be subject to divergent and critical views. In fact, throughout history, they have been debated, questioned, or reinterpreted in light of changing social contexts. But shouldn't an attack on an intellectual icon be based on facts and logic? Can anyone simply castigate another using terms that carry deep significance for Muslims in general? In another Facebook post, the teacher also wrote: "No Muslim can take a position that would put their faith in question and raise allegations of being involved in kufur. I am talking about democracy, socialism, feminism, and Lalonism." (Translation ours.) So, this teacher, whose salary is paid by taxpayers, considers "democracy" to be "kufur" andBegum Rokeya to be a "murtad" and "kafir"! What kind of education he is imparting to the younger generation is a question that we cannot avoid.
Begum Rokeya led a deeply pious life, full of respect for Islam and its values. Never did she write anything remotely against the religion she loved. In all the years since she died, no Islamic scholar has used such derogatory terms against her. In fact, she saw all her social activism as part of her duty as a Muslim to support her coreligionists.
I am not an Islamic scholar, but merely an ardent learner. So while writing this piece, I conducted some internet searches and spoke to several people. Below are some relevant findings that I wish to share here.
There are many world-renowned Muslim women scholars who have spent years researching fundamental issues relating to Islam and women that are of vital importance to our society. Many of us probably don't know much about them or their work. For example, Asma Barlas, an American-Pakistani scholar, is known for her groundbreaking work on women's rights—"Believing Women" in Islam: Unreading Patriarchal Interpretations of the Qur'an—in which she argues that patriarchal readings of the Qur'an are historically constructed and not divinely mandated. She emphasises "justice" as the core basis of all Islamic values.
Fatema Mernissi of Morocco, a scholar of Hadith, revolutionised Islamic understanding of women's issues, highlighting politically motivated interpretations during certain historical periods. Leila Ahmed, an Egyptian-American scholar of Islamic history, traces the historical origins of patriarchy in Islamic societies in her book Women and Gender in Islam: Historical Roots of a Modern Debate. Omaima Abou-Bakr from Egypt, a prominent voice in gender-sensitive tafsir, has shown how Islam supports the equality of all human beings, including women. Hatoon al-Fassi of Saudi Arabia promotes women's rights through historical and Qur'anic analysis. Sa'diyya Shaikh of South Africa re-reads Ibn Arabi's metaphysics from a feminist perspective, combining spiritual, ethical, and feminist visions of Islam.
The historical timeline of the spread of Qur'anic teachings begins with our Prophet (PBUH), who in the 7th century proclaimed unprecedented rights for women including inheritance, consent in marriage, property ownership, and more. Women such as Hazrat Aisha (RA), Hazrat Fatima (RA) and many others were highly respected transmitters of Hadith and interpreters of the Prophet's teachings in Islam's early days. However, between the 8th and 10th centuries, classical tafsir started to become increasingly male-dominated. Patriarchal cultural norms took root, and women's voices in religious interpretation declined, a stark contrast to the time of the Prophet (PBUH).
Much later, in the 19th century, Jamaluddin Afghani, Muhammad Abduh and Qasim Amin argued that Islam inherently supports women's rights, laying philosophical foundations for later scholarship emphasising women's rights.
In Southeast Asia, Indonesian Muslim women scholars have played a transformative role in shaping debates on gender, religion, and social reform. They argue that while the Qur'an is a Revealed Book, its interpretation has long been controlled by men, creating challenges for women. They promote ijtihad (independent reasoning) in understanding the Qur'an, arguing that Islam supports women's rights but patriarchal interpretations do not.
Two prominent scholars—Siti Musdah Mulia and Nur Rofiah—have contributed fundamentally to these discourses in Indonesia. They have helped empower grassroots movements that train Muslim women in gender-sensitive Islamic thought. They have developed a distinctly Islamic feminism rooted in local culture. The key features of Indonesia's feminist movement are: i) reforming Islamic interpretation to promote gender equality; and ii) shaping public discourse and policy by grounding feminism in Islamic ethics.
In Bangladesh, religion is discussed far more today than before. There are several political camps and parties that seek public support by using religion directly or indirectly. There are also many issues being discussed on social media, where the absence of Islamic voices with years of research and global-level scholarship is creating serious risks of misinformation and misinterpretation.
It will not be an overstatement to say that South Asian Muslim women scholars owe their intellectual lineage largely to Begum Rokeya. Later figures from various countries have made significant contributions to this field.
Today, the political use—and misuse—of Islam, combined with widespread misinformation and distorted interpretations, have made unverified claims commonplace. The rise of social media preachers, unqualified "scholarly" lectures, and political activists using religion for influence is a new reality. This makes genuine Islamic scholarship more urgent than ever. Selective quoting, often taken out of context, has left us all vulnerable in different ways. Because we take pride in our religion and seek to live by it, its misuse and distortion make it imperative that we nurture authentic scholarship and follow the global trend of rigorous, research-based study of Islam.
We cannot allow teachers such as the one mentioned at the outset to shape our understanding of religions.
Mahfuz Anam is Editor and Publisher of The Daily Star.
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