The controversial subject of women's rights has assumed great importance in the Islamic world and is a burning issue today. The author of the book, Qur'an, Women and Modern Society, feels that the orthodox Shari'ah Laws have been extremely slow to respond to the needs of Muslim women who wish to keep pace with the modern world. These emancipated women are far more assertive about their rights that their mothers and grandmothers were, and often excel in fields once considered the sole prerogative of men. Hence, there is a crying need to usher in radical changes without disrupting the equilibrium of Qur'anic norms and values.
Dr. Asghar Ali Engineer, a noted Islamic scholar with an in-depth knowledge of Shari'ah Laws, deals in great detail with those pertaining to women. He maintains that Shari'ah Laws are a product of socio-cultural influences on the thinking of jurists, who interpreted various Qur'anic verses in accordance with their own time and milieu which have no relevance in our modern times.
The author of another book on the same subject, The Rights of Women in Islam, he advocates the imperative necessity and urgency for ijtihad (creative reinterpretation) and reform of Shari'ah Laws, to breach the vast chasm that exists between them and the needs of modern Muslim women.
About the Author
Dr. Asghar Ali Engineer, a renowned Islamic scholar, is proficient in English, Hindi, Urdu, Arabic, Persian, Gujarati and Marathi. Though a Civil Engineer, he is well versed in Islamic theology, Tafsir (commentary on the Holy Qur'an), Islamic jurisprudence and Hadith.
Apart from having published 37 books on Islam, Dr. Engineer has also written several research articles of current interest for leading Indian newspaper. The Origin and Development of Islam, Islam and Its Relevance to Our Age and Islam and Muslims-Critical Perspectives, are some of his important works.
He has lectured at universities in the USA, Canada, the UK, Switzerland, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Yeman, Egypt and Hongkong and in other countries.
Dr. Engineer was conferred an honorary DLit by Calcutta University in 1993 for his publications and work on communal harmony and inter-religious understanding. For his individual efforts he was awarded the Communal Harmony Award for 1997 and was adjudged the best journalist for 1998 by the New Leader Award Committee in Chennai. The recipient of the Dr. R. B. Johsi Inter-Religious Understanding Award in Maharashtra, Dr. Engineer has held office as Chairman, EKTA (Committee for Communal Harmony); Founder Chairman, Center for Studies of Society and Secularism and Convenor, Asia Muslims' Action (AMAN), amongst other prestigious posts.
He has been awarded the Right Livelihood Award (also known as alternate Nobel Prize) for 2004 by the Swedish Parliament.
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