Archives: Muslim Women

Muslim Women Description

Rajae El Mouhandiz

Rajae El Mouhandiz is Dutch- Moroccan/Algerian Rajae El Mouhandiz (25.03.1979) is a young multi-talented artist. She is a poet, singer, composer/producer and the founder of Truthseeker Records, an independent record label based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Struggling for her life as an artist she decided at the age of 15 to break all ties with her family to pursue her dream: a career in the music industry. At the age of 16 she was the first Moroccan woman to study French horn at a Dutch conservatory. At the age of 20 Rajae decided to stop this study in order to discover her own artistic truth. Over the last 6 years Rajae has recorded with several international producers in Amsterdam, Paris, London, Ibiza, New Yok, California,Texas and Ibiza.

She decided to start her own record label to stay in charge of her style, artistic message and image, resulting in the release of her debut ‘Incarnation’ last spring. The album is a mixture of different music styles en rhythms, produced on several locations. Besides her musical career, Rajae is also active in a social-politic area. She is a member of the board of the Ethica Foundation, a foundation which focuses on the empowerment of Islamic women in general. On October 18th 2006 Rajae presented as six- month benchmark study she did for a consultancy firm about the participation of high potential migrants in the workforce. Three multinationals funded the project in order to receive information on how to increase successful participation of the high potentials in their companies.

Recently Rajae has been asked to produce music for London based Islamic Nasheed record label Meem Music, a unique opening because she obviously proves that it’s cool and not a problem to be modern, female, talented and Muslim. Rajae believes that her music and her other work are a reflection of her own life philosophy: to think and act as universal and free as possible. Making music and art can contribute to a better perception of Islam and at the same time function as a musical DUA.

 

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Leyla Cakir

Leyla Cakir started her professional career working in a youth jail for 2 years. Now, she is a Social Worker in a non-profit institution named PUNT welzijn in the city of Weert, the Netherlands. Her professional goal is to stimulate the intercultural communication between Dutch citizens and immigrants. Next to her profession she is the only female chairman of the mosque Ihlas, a volunteer job. She’s frequently been asked in forums, for discussions and interviews. Previously she wrote articles (in Dutch) like: “(A) Way from Europe”, “A Muslim with a vision without mission”, “Hèhè the Netherlands are radicalising” and “Also a place for God in this society”.

Since so many things have happened with the Muslim society in the Netherlands after 9/11, Leyla Çakir is often interviewed by several media. Also her opinion regarding issues as; integration, terrorism, radicalism, Islam, Muslim women’s position, etcetera is often been asked. She’s been born in the Netherlands in 1978, having immigrant parents from Turkey. Recently she’s been asked to become the chairman of a Muslim women organisation, who operates more nationally.

Najia Elboudali

Najia Elboudali is President of the Association Synergie Civique – Civic Synergy – a group of activists, NGOs, artists, and researchers, whose mission is to consolidate and sustain human rights, and to reinforce the capacity of communication – “The Civic Synergy is a way for the democratization of knowledge.” Each year, the Synergie Civique organizes different workshops on formation, writing, and ‘Civic Caravan’, in order to reinforce the dialogue between the rural and the urban, and between Morocco and Arab and European countries. The last ‘Civic Caravans’ organized by the Synergie Civique and coordinated by Professor Najia Elboudali were: the tenth Civic Caravan, about ‘The women weavers of dreams and the new magicians who build the modern Morocco’, Casablanca, April 29-30, 2006; the Civic Caravan of Turin, about ‘Morocco in change’, Turin, June 28-30, 2006; the Civic Caravan of Bahrain, about ‘The Cow Boy and the Sindibad, duality between dialogue and power, Pencil and Sword’, in collaboration with the Center Alkhalifa of Culture and Research, Al Manama, March 13-20, 2005; the Civic Caravan of Bologna, about ‘The Moroccan Sindbads’, Bologna, October 11-13, 2004.

Najia Elboudali intervenes widely in Moroccan and European Media, above all concerning women’s status in Morocco. In 1998, she was cited by the magazine, Women of Morocco, as one of the 100 individuals who impacted change on Moroccan family laws. She has been invited by the Rai (third Italian TV channel) to lead a séance about women’s legal status in Morocco.

Najia was born on January 15, 1959, in the past Medina of Casablanca. She has a PhD in Geology and is a Professor at the University Hassan II, Faculty of Sciences Ain Chock. Her research in geology led her to the mountainous regions which awakened her to the full plight of women in rural environments. Her research experiences inspired her to become a vocal and committed advocate for women’s issues. In 1998, along with other activists defending women’s rights, she founded the Center Fama – an information resource center for women rights issues. Najia headed Center Fama voluntarily from 1998 to 2001.

In 2003, she was honored by the King of Morocco Mohamed VI, and received the Foundation Mohamed V for Solidarity award.

Marina Mahathir

Marina Mahathir was for 12 years the President of the Malaysian AIDS Council and Chair of the Malaysian AIDS Foundation. She has worked on many issues relating to HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, care and support in Malaysia and in the Asia Pacific region. Currently she is helping to organise the 8th International Congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific in Colombo in 2007.

Born in Kedah, Malaysia, she is also a columnist in the Star English daily in Malaysia where she writes about current issues especially women’s rights, censorship, young people and HIV/AIDS. She is also co-Executive producer of an award-winning TV programme for young women called 3R-Respect,Relax, Respond as well as Malaysia’s Most Popular Movie in 2005, Gol & Gincu. She is currently setting up the 3R Foundation to do mentoring programmes for young Malaysian women.

Marina’s current interest is in the area of Islam, Gender and HIV/AIDS and in March 2006 she gave a public lecture on this topic at Princeton University as well as at Asia Society panels in Washington DC and New York. She has been the subject of a CNN International Talk Asia episode, a coming BBC Radio interview as well as numerous media appearances locally.

Nurbibi Hassanali

Nurbibi Hassanali has repeatedly expressed her concern about HIV positive Muslim women not seeking treatment early on and the lack of empowerment in pregnant Muslim women in accessing services. She is working on tackling these issues and would like to gain more information about designing programs for hard-to-reach groups that bridge the HIV/AIDS knowledge gap through life skills and religious education.

Ms. Sher Mohamed is also interested in establishing a women’s hospital for victims of sexual violence. HIV/AIDS Counsellor, Muslim Community, Coast Province, 2005-present Deputy Vice Chairperson, National Muslim Council of Kenya, Coast Province, 2004-present Volunteer Community Health Worker, Red Cross, Mombasa Branch, 2004-present Deputy Vice Chairperson, National Muslim Council of Kenya, Coast Province, 2004-present Volunteer Community Health Worker, Red Cross, Mombasa Branch, 2004-present HIV/AIDS Counsellor, Muslim Community, Coast Province.

Erika Halima Rubbo

Erika Halima Rubbo is a member of the CoReIs (Comunità Religiosa Islamica), Italian Islamic religious community, an association that has the aim of bearing witness and providing information about the Islamic tradition in Italy and in the West, thus representing the religious interests of the Muslims in Italy and Europe. Born in Italy she acquired a degree in foreign Languages an Literatures at the University of Padova (Italy). She took part to several exchange Programs and studied at many European Universities such as in Germany, Austria and Ukraine.

She recently participated to an intercultural program in the south of France where she dedicated to develop and defend migrants rights and promote interreligious dialogue and peaceful integration.
During her studies she also had the opportunity to get closer the Islamic tradition. She actually works in a Italian society where she takes care of the foreign relations. She recently embraced Islamic faith.

Abidah Al-Madaniyyah

Abidah, started life as a slave owned by Muhammad ibn Yazid. She learned a large number of hadiths with teachers in Madinah. She was given by her master to Habib Dahhun, the great Hadith scholar of Spain, when he visited the holy city Jerusalem on his way to the Hajj. Dahhun was so impressed by her learning that he freed her, married her, and brought her to Andalusia. It is said that she related 10,000 hadiths on the authority of her Madinan teachers.

 

Ilhamallah Ferrero

Ilhamallah Chiara Ferrero was born in 1974 in Turin, Italy. She has written numerous essays, which have been published in various national and international reviews. Ferrero is secretary-general of CO.RE.IS. Italiana (Italian Islamic Religious Community), an organization established by numerous Italian Muslim intellectuals. It is the only Islamic association in Italy to have a woman on its governing board. Ferrero became a Muslim in 1996 as the result of a spiritual quest that led her to investigate the Islamic religion and its contemplative aspects.

Over the last ten years she has tended to focus her activities, including conferences, meetings, and seminars, on providing Westerners with a better understanding of Muslim women in order to dispel prejudices and fears. She has visited various Islamic countries, including Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia, in order to observe the role of Muslim women in society. In May 2004, her essay entitled “Knowing Muslim Women”, was published in Yahya Pallavicini’s book, “Islam in Europe: The Reflections of an Italian Imam (Il Saggiatore, Milan).

In her essay, Ferrero addresses some of the most difficult questions regarding the relationship between Muslim women and Western culture. In October 2005, at the World Competition for Islamic Studies, Yahya Pallavicini was awarded a prize for the book by the President of the Republic of Tunisia, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. The book was described as an ‘example of open-mindedness, moderation and renewal of Islamic thought’. Ferrero usually participates in public debates on television and newspapers stressing the universal values of Islamic civilization, thus representing the religious interests of Muslims in Italy, Europe and around the globe.