No, it is not. The noble position of motherhood aside, our general opinion about women is that, while taking into account their specific needs, it should be made possible for them to take on every role, including the jobs of physician, military officer, judge and president of a country. As a matter of fact, in every aspect of life throughout history Muslim women made contributions to their society. In the golden age (referring to the years during Mohammed’s lifetime) starting with Aisha, Hafsa, and Um Salama (the Prophet’s wives), had their places among the jurists and they taught men.

When these examples are taken into consideration, it would be clearly understood that it is out of the question to restrict the lives of women, narrowing down their activities. Unfortunately, the isolation of women from social activities in some places today, a practice that stems from the misinterpretation of Islamic sources, has been a subject of a worldwide propaganda campaign against Islam.

Source:

Excerpted from an interview with Fethullah Gulen on The Atlantic on August 14, 2013

Islamism and Fethullah Gülen

While it is an Islamic movement at its root, today the movement has become a strong network, able to successfully combine tradition and modernity in an authentic way,…

Fethullah Gülen on Jihad

Basically the lesser jihad is to perform established religious duties while the greater one is to do them in a sincere and conscious manner. It is difficult to…

Lesser and greater jihad

The lesser jihad is material. The greater jihad, however, is conducted on the spiritual front, for it is our struggle with our inner world and carnal soul (nafs).…