The call to change the attitude toward women within the framework of the Islamic religion in general, and in countries where Islamic values dominate in particular, began already in the 19th century by men, such as with the Egyptian jurist Qasim Amin. Since then, women's groups have sprung up throughout the Middle East calling for women's equality.
One of the problems of feminists in the Middle East is that the perception of feminism as a Western idea leads conservative elements to oppose them not only with patriarchal arguments, but with arguments of the dangers to Islam through the introduction of colonial Western culture.
Especially prominent in this context, therefore, is the activist group that derives its claims to equality from Islamic reasons and not from classic feminist arguments. So much so, that there are activists who demand that they not be called feminists at all, and there are even some who claim they are not feminists by virtue of the fact that unlike feminism, which derives its basis from individual secular values, they derive the values of equality from the original Islam itself. As an example, they bring Islam's call to care for the weak in society and equality among all Muslims. They take inspiration from strong and influential women mentioned in the Qur’an such as Fatima al-Zahra, whose death is marked every year in the Islamic Republic of Iran on International Women's Day.
The call to change the attitude toward women within the framework of the Islamic religion in general, and in countries where Islamic values dominate in particular, began already in the 19th century by men, such as with the Egyptian jurist Qasim Amin. Since then, women's groups have sprung up throughout the Middle East calling for women's equality.
One of the problems of feminists in the Middle East is that the perception of feminism as a Western idea leads conservative elements to oppose them not only with patriarchal arguments, but with arguments of the dangers to Islam through the introduction of colonial Western culture.
Especially prominent in this context, therefore, is the activist group that derives its claims to equality from Islamic reasons and not from classic feminist arguments. So much so, that there are activists who demand that they not be called feminists at all, and there are even some who claim they are not feminists by virtue of the fact that unlike feminism, which derives its basis from individual secular values, they derive the values of equality from the original Islam itself. As an example, they bring Islam's call to care for the weak in society and equality among all Muslims. They take inspiration from strong and influential women mentioned in the Qur’an such as Fatima al-Zahra, whose death is marked every year in the Islamic Republic of Iran on International Women's Day.