Bismillahir Rahmaanir Rahiim. Alhamdullillahi Rabbil ‘Aalamiin. Wassalatu Wassalamu ‘alaa sayyidinaa Muhammadin wa ‘ala aalihii wa sahbihii ajmaiin. ‘Ama ba’du. Kallallaahuta’allah Fil Qur’anil Kariim. Rabbis Rahlii Shadrii Wa Yassir Lii Amrii Wahlul ‘Uqdataam minlisaanii Yafqahuu Qaulii. Sadaqallaahul ‘azim.

Excellencies, Distinguished Speakers & Delegates to this Conference, my Brothers & Sisters in Islam, Ladies & Gentlemen, Assalamu alaikum wr. wb.

I would like to thank the Center for Moderate Muslims (CMM), headed by Commissioner Mohammad Taha Basman, for inviting me to this important International Conference of Muslim Leaders and giving me this opportunity to speak with you on the topic “The Role of the Muslimah in Enhancing the Productivity of the Ummah”.

Indeed a Muslimah or Muslim woman plays a very significant role in the society. Unfortunately, the role, status, and rights of the Muslimah have been one of the most misunderstood issues in Islam not only among non-Muslims but among Muslims as well. Among non-Muslims, there is a common misconception that the Muslim woman is considered inferior or unequal to man, do not enjoy educational nor other rights, should be confined at home, and is deficient in intellectual capacity and therefore unable to contribute productively to the society. These misconceptions could be largely due to lack or absence of knowledge among non-Muslims of the true position and role of woman in Islam as well as the obsession of some Muslims to follow and preserve cultural traditions even at the expense of distorting Islamic teachings. The role, status, rights and proper treatment of women could only be fully understood and appreciated by understanding and adhering to the teachings of the Qur’an and the hadiths (sayings of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. (peace and blessings be upon him) with regards to this important issue.

Before going into the specifics of the topic assigned to me this afternoon, please allow me to touch briefly on the basic Islamic teachings with regards to women.

In Islam, the woman is projected as the most honorable human being in her role as a mother thus indicating the kind of society Islam wants to create, this is a society in which a woman is accorded the highest honor and respect. According to the Prophet, paradise lies at the feet of the mother. Respect, love and kindness to parents, especially the mother, come next to the worship of Allah s.w.t (the Most Glorious and Most High).

While men and women are biologically different, Islam accords them equality in terms of their human status, spirituality, intellectual capacity and blessings. Allah s.w.t  has endowed men and women different qualities and capabilities without any question of inferiority or superiority. Certain feminine qualities will be superior to some masculine abilities and vice versa simply because of the different application of these qualities in the natural scheme of life. In Islam, the role of man and woman is complimentary, not conflicting. It is that of a partnership and not a competition so as to achieve supremacy. Islam believes in the equality of men and women but equality does not mean sameness. 

Man and woman are partners and companions of each other. However, Islam has adopted the division of labor between the sexes for both natural and practical reasons---the man’s field of activity being basically external to the home, while the woman’s is internal to the home. This is to preserve the unique qualities of both sexes to enable them to utilize their respective abilities and skills in the most useful manner, and never as a form of discriminatory treatment.

Since the family is the basic unit of a society, Islam gives great emphasis to building a family foundation that is strong, stable, sound and conducive to creating harmony, unity and peace so the children will grow up to be responsible, righteous, tolerant, peace-loving and productive members of the society. The Muslim woman’s role in building this foundation and in nurturing, guiding and transforming generations of men and women should neither be neglected nor underestimated. It is said that it is the woman who imbues principles and faith into the souls of the nation. This noble and significant role cannot be achieved unless a Muslimah gives proper attention and sufficient time and effort in performing her primary duties as a mother.

The role of the Muslim woman in guiding and raising her children to fully understand the true teachings of Islam as a religion of truth, justice, peace & tolerance has become most important and relevant at this time when so many young Muslims resort to violence in order to express their anger, frustrations and hatred about the injustices committed against Islam and Muslims and towards those they see as enemies of Islam. While Islam allows fighting oppressors & aggressors to uphold right, repel injustice & establish peace, freedom & security, resorting to violence targeted at innocent civilians, can never be justified nor condoned by Islam.

With regards to women’s rights, while women in other societies have fought hard to fight for their rights to own property, acquire education, and be recognized as men’s equal, Islam has granted women educational, spiritual, legal, social, economic, property and political rights more than 1400 years ago as stipulated in the Holy Qur’an and the various sayings of the Prophet s.a.w. Contrary to misconceptions that a Muslim woman should be confined in the house and is prohibited from acquiring knowledge and education, Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. highly enjoined the education of the woman and encouraged her participation in activities for the benefit of the community.

Almost 4 decades ago when I graduated from high school, I gave my parents a graduation picture with a message of gratitude for their love and sacrifices in giving me good education and encouraging me to use my God-given faculties and talents. My father, the late Ustaz Iljas Ismail who was a learned man of Islam, framed my picture and wrote a message on it which read: ‘to our dearest daughter, thank you for your graduation picture. We will do our best to give you the best education you need within our means”. This simple message instilled in me the great value my father accorded to educating me, his daughter, as part of my inalienable rights as a Muslim and as his important responsibility as a father. In exerting his best efforts to provide me and my younger sisters, good education, my father was therefore following the Prophet s.a.w. who enjoined parents to educate not only their sons but their daughters.

During the Prophet’s time, there were a number of women scholars in the field of religion, science and medicine. The best example was ‘Aisha, the third wife of the Prophet s.a.w. who gave guidance even to the Companions of the Prophet and the Caliphs and is said to have taught more than 88 scholars. She was an expert not only in the Qur’an and the religious field but also excelled in literature, poetry, Arab history, medicine and math. ‘Aisha was able to preserve with accuracy, the Prophet’s speeches, conversations and sayings in her memory and therefore became a great and authentic source of religious learning for the community after the Prophet’s death. No less than one quarter of the shari’ah injunctions is said to have been derived from Aisha’s narrations. She also played a role of some political importance after the Prophet’s death.

The prominence and position ‘Aisha has attained in Islamic history indicated the high status Islam accorded women within its sphere, and of the scope of the field in which their talents and intelligence might honorably be used. Thus, 14 centuries ago, when female infants were buried alive in the desserts of Arabia, when women were mistreated and used as chattels, Islam provided women their due rights, especially the right to acquire knowledge as enjoined by her Creator.

In our present time, we could cite a number of Muslim women who take part in fruitful and valuable activities and programs for the Islamic communities while being able to effectively perform their primary duties at home. However, let us not look far because within our midst, we have an ideal model of a Muslimah who not only is a commendable wife but a successful mother in raising well-mannered and successful children and who continues to take an active and productive role in promoting the welfare and productivity of the Islamic community. This Muslimah is none other than Ms. Nelia Ann S. Basman, the loving wife of Commisioner Taha Basman. I know Ms. Basman will be quite surprised about this because I did not forewarn her of this tribute. I would like however to request her to stand up so she could be recognized especially by some participants who may not have met her.

I have known Ann (as she is fondly called by friends and relatives) since she and Commisioner Basman were married more than 2 decades ago. She is a highly educated Muslimah who, in raising her 8 children to be faithful Muslims and imbuing them with excellent moral values, also inculcated in them, especially to her daughters, the value of good education. Two of her daughters, Anna Tarhata and Anna Talia graduated cum laude in Public Administration and Landscape Architecture respectively from the University of the Philippines. Another daughter, Anna Tajminah also graduated cum laude in Psychology from the Philippine Women’s University.

In my speech this afternoon, I wish to pay tribute to Ann because for the last five years since CMM was established, I observed how she quietly but tirelessly worked with her husband in promoting Islam as a religion of peace and tolerance, and in providing various programs (such as Computer Literacy, Day Care, Madrasah-Montessori, Imam Training, Women’s Livelihood and Values Training) to promote the welfare, unity and productivity of the Muslims, both young and old, especially those who are in the lower strata of the society. Despite her great contributions, she worked in the sidelines and avoided the limelight of being acknowledged for her great efforts. I therefore see it fitting and proper and relevant to my topic this afternoon, to accord her due credit and recognition for her role in the success of CMM which was recently identified by the UNESCO-Asia-Pacific Centre of Education for International Understanding as one of the best case studies of Experiential Learning Programme (ELP) for Peace in Asia and the Pacific region which could be adapted to other areas.

As President of CMM, Mr. Basman has certainly demonstrated his excellent leadership and competence in achieving the organization’s goals. But this success could not have been possible without the able support and hard work of her wife in CMM’s various programs and activities. I see the couple as a very good example of an excellent partnership and companionship which Islam would like to promote between a man and woman, which is complimentary and not conflicting nor competing and without questions of either inferiority or supremacy on the part of any partner. And as the popular saying goes, ‘behind every man’s success is a woman’ and behind Commissioner Basman’s success is her wife Ann.

Like any of us, Mr. Basman’s family have had their own share of both personal and work-related crises and trials as Allah s.w.t.’s test of their faith, patience, strength and perseverance. In all these trials, Ann has fully accepted Allah’s will and exhibited sobriety, patience, fortitude, and determination to overcome their struggles and hardships. I see her as a Muslimah of strong character who is able to carry out her duties, both at work and at home with firm dedication and competence even under extreme stress and pressure. She continues to be the rock and pillow of the family, both providing strength and fortitude to cope with the trials, while giving comfort and solace to her husband and children to lighten their heart and mind in the face of many adversities. These qualities are born out of her true faith in Islam and her full trust and acceptance of Allah’s will in every aspect of man’s life.

I do not wish to do her injustice with this humble tribute for her great contributions and accomplishments as a Muslimah. However I am constrained by time and the loss of words to be able to fully express my thoughts. So I hope she will forgive me if I have fallen short of according her the great honor which she truly deserves. In line with the key message of my topic this afternoon, I see Ann as an excellent example of how a Muslimah could effectively utilize her skills and talents in playing a significant role in enhancing the productivity of the Muslim community. Through her example, we could see how a Muslim woman of great faith could carry out her basic and important role as a homemaker, as a wife and as a mother, while at the same time contributing her talents and skills for the advancement of the Islamic community in a suitable role that serves the society best.

I would like to end here by commending Ann and all those Muslim women here in this audience and worldwide, especially in depressed and oppressed Islamic societies who quietly and tirelessly contribute their time and efforts in promoting the Islamic cause, enhancing the welfare and productivity of the Muslim ummah and alleviating the suffering of those who are oppressed and downtrodden. To them we owe, at least, a big hand of applause.

Thank you very much and wassalam. May Allah s.w.t. bless you all.

9 January 2009