Only illiterates would deny access to education to women and girls. Education is the foundation upon which successful families, communities and nations are built. Whatever these illiterates are striving for, it is not the vision of our deen, which consistently prioritises learning for all — male and female, young and old — as a communal obligation.
Only those working to undermine the development of successful families, communities and nations would seek to deliberately produce an uneducated population. Islam does not make a distinction between religious and so-called secular knowledge. That’s why, thankfully, most Muslim nations in fact prioritise female education.
This reactionary political rendition of religion will only bring about its own demise. It will only cause the masses to flee, repulsed, turning their backs on divine guidance, thinking these representations of illiterate men representative of the whole. What a disservice to a deen whose first imperative was, “Read!”
Last modified: 21 December 2022
