The Saudi Arabian newspaper, Arab News, carried a story last week about a one-day seminar organized by the Information Center for the Women?s Cultural Committee at the ongoing Janadriah Heritage Festival. The seminar, entitled "The Image of Muslim Women in the Western Media", took place at the King ?Abdul ?Aziz Library in Riyadh and was attended by Princess Nouf bint ?Abdul ?Aziz. The Arab News article summarized the event in its title, which read, ?Seminar on women focuses on Western double standard?.
The Saudi newspaper reported that Jawahir ?Abdul Aa?l, the head of the Women?s Cultural Committee, ?said that the aim of the seminar was to set the record straight regarding Western misconceptions and attacks on both Islamic culture and the rights of Muslim women.? Emphasizing the point, guest lecturer Dr. Noura bint ?Abdullah ibn ?Abdul Rahman ibn Adwan, an education specialist at King Saud University in Riyadh, ?made the point that the Western media makes judgments on the rights of Muslim women from the perspective of Western feminism, and questioned its validity in Muslim societies.? Arab News quotes the lecturer as saying, ?It is clear that religious codes of dress for nuns who cover from head to foot is respected in the West while the abaya worn by Muslim women is regarded as oppressive.?
Noura Khaled al-Sa?d, a sociology specialist at King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah, was second guest lecturer. According to the News, she ?reinforced much of what had been said by the first [lecturer], and specifically drew attention to the image of Muslim women in the Western media. ?We should not try to defend Islam because Islam does not need to be defended,? she stated.? Rather, al-Sa?ad said, ?Only through the true practice of Islam can we project its meaning and set an example for others to follow.?
Even at a seminar in the Arab world that was dedicated to women and the media, the speakers felt the need to take a swipe at Israel. Noura Adwan, according to the Saudi newspaper, asked, ?If the Western media is so concerned with Muslim women?s rights, where are the human rights for Palestinian women who cannot lead normal lives under the pressures of Israeli occupation??
The Saudi newspaper reported that Jawahir ?Abdul Aa?l, the head of the Women?s Cultural Committee, ?said that the aim of the seminar was to set the record straight regarding Western misconceptions and attacks on both Islamic culture and the rights of Muslim women.? Emphasizing the point, guest lecturer Dr. Noura bint ?Abdullah ibn ?Abdul Rahman ibn Adwan, an education specialist at King Saud University in Riyadh, ?made the point that the Western media makes judgments on the rights of Muslim women from the perspective of Western feminism, and questioned its validity in Muslim societies.? Arab News quotes the lecturer as saying, ?It is clear that religious codes of dress for nuns who cover from head to foot is respected in the West while the abaya worn by Muslim women is regarded as oppressive.?
Noura Khaled al-Sa?d, a sociology specialist at King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah, was second guest lecturer. According to the News, she ?reinforced much of what had been said by the first [lecturer], and specifically drew attention to the image of Muslim women in the Western media. ?We should not try to defend Islam because Islam does not need to be defended,? she stated.? Rather, al-Sa?ad said, ?Only through the true practice of Islam can we project its meaning and set an example for others to follow.?
Even at a seminar in the Arab world that was dedicated to women and the media, the speakers felt the need to take a swipe at Israel. Noura Adwan, according to the Saudi newspaper, asked, ?If the Western media is so concerned with Muslim women?s rights, where are the human rights for Palestinian women who cannot lead normal lives under the pressures of Israeli occupation??