This report offers a high-level comparative review and analysis of Muslim family laws (MFLs) in seven countries in the Greater Horn of Africa (GHoA) region that was conducted to build the case for legal reform towards justice and equality in Muslim families.

The seven countries include three countries with Muslim-majority populations (Sudan, Somalia, and Somaliland ) and four countries with Muslim-minority populations (Ethiopia, Kenya, South Sudan, and Uganda).

The analysis examines twelve key areas of concern identified by Musawah in which discrimination often takes place against women and girls. These include:

  • Issues related to entry into marriage: equality of spouses, age of marriage, consent, and capacity
  • Issues during marriage: polygamy, violence against women, nationality rights
  • Issues upon dissolution of marriage: divorce rights, financial rights after dissolution, custody and guardianship of children
  • The general issues of inheritance and access to justice

Analysis was conducted on data collected in the form of six country tables and an internal brief on Somaliland, as well as additional data obtained from researchers and other sources on the subject.

Mindanao State University-Sulu (MSU-Sulu) partnered together with the ICRC to produce the book’s translation into Tausug, a major language spoken in the Sulu archipelago and Zamboanga, among other places. Pana’ta offers guidance on important topics, such as ways to attend to victims of armed conflict according to Islamic Shariah, the lessons learned from historical battles, and the proper treatment of prisoners of war. It was translated from the original Arabic text, Muqadima fi ‘l-qanun ad-duwali al-insani fi ‘l-Islam, which was written by Dr. Zaid bin Abdul Karim Al-Zaid of Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University in Saudi Arabia.

 

This book:

  • Discusses the roles that mosques play in saving lives and reducing losses
  • Shows the role of imams’ flexibility to help communities in need
  • Presents point of view to see religion differently in a much broader constructive array than portrayed since 9/11

Available here.

The publication explores such important topics such as how to deal with victims of armed conflict in accordance with Islamic Shariah, looks at lessons learnt from the early Islamic battles like Badr, and lays out what Islamic law says about the treatment of Prisoners of War, women, children, dead bodies and the protection of property. It also talks about the protection of those who offer services on the battlefield but are not directly involved in fighting, such as medical personnel and reporters.

This important reference work, now available to the many millions of Kiswahili speakers around the world, is divided into four chapters focusing on ways to protect civilians, the wounded, the dead, non-combatants and their property during armed conflict, as well as on how to treat and handle prisoners of war in accordance with Islamic law. It also addresses the protection of those who offer services on the battlefield but are not directly involved in fighting, such as medical personnel and reporters.

Almost all religions reflect on the creation of the universe, or universes, in different forms and with varying degrees of clarity or detail. Common across most religions is an agreement that “creation” is an act of God and should be treated as such. This rapid literature review collates evidence on the role of faith and belief in environmental engagement and action in MENA region. The review draws on academic and grey literature and finds an expanding evidence base on the relationship between Islam, Islamic thought and climate change. It also identifies emerging examples of green approaches to pilgrimage and the ‘greening’ of places of worship. Evaluations or assessments of these initiatives are, however, limited and inconclusive and much of the evidence is from a theoretical or philosophical position. Similarly, reflections on the traction of interventions such as the Islamic Declaration on Climate Change are mixed, identifying a lack of traction. The review draws particularly on the work of Skirbekk et al. (2021); Koehrsen (2021) and the UNEP Faith for Earth Initiative.

The evidence base on the connections between religion and climate change is wide ranging, including: social science research into how religious identity figures in attitudes toward climate change; confessional and constructive engagements of religious thought with climate change from various communities and traditions; historical and anthropological analyses of how climate affects religion and religion interprets climate; and theories by which climate change may itself be interpreted as a religious event.

Read the helpdesk report here

Promoting respectful relationships, equitable communities, child spacing and social cohesion

This resource has been adapted for Gender Champions who have been trained using Tearfund’s Transforming Masculinities toolkit and are working with Muslim communities as part of the Masculinities, Faith and Peace (MFP) project.

It is based on the standard Transforming Masculinities set of community dialogues but includes new components on social cohesion and child spacing.

It is designed to be used in parallel with the Christian version which draws out similar messages from Christian holy texts.

The goal of MFP is to see a reduction in sexual and gender-based violence, an increase in the healthy timing and spacing of pregnancies, and improved inter-religious relationships.

View the Transforming Masculinities Training Manual for Gender Champions and Faith Leaders – Muslim version

The Muslim training manual for Gender Champions in the Masculinities, Faith and Peace (MFP) project

This Masculinites, Faith and Peace (MFP) manual introduces the training for Muslim Gender Champions and faith leaders. It provides a detailed activity guide for use in training, and includes guidelines to support the community dialogues that the Gender Champions will lead and facilitate.

It is based on the standard Transforming Masculinities manual but includes new components on social cohesion and child spacing.

It is designed to be used in parallel with the Christian version which draws out similar messages from Christian holy texts.

The goal of MFP is to see a reduction in sexual and gender-based violence, an increase in the healthy timing and spacing of pregnancies, and improved inter-religious relationships.

View the Masculinities, Faith and Peace Project Community Dialogues: Promoting respectful relationships and equitable communities – Muslim version

 

Interim Guidance

7 April 2021

This document is an update of the same title published by WHO on 15 April 2020. Updates reflect the latest guidance on COVID-19 published by WHO since then, with focus on areas of transmission of SARS-CoV-2, critical preparedness, public health and social measures (PHSMs)/precautionary measures, ventilation, high-risk and vulnerable groups, vaccination, and use of masks. The advice included in this publication has been tailored to the Ramadan context.

This document provides public health advice on religious and social gatherings taking place during Ramadan that can be applied across different national contexts. Its target audience includes health authorities and religious institutions involved in the organization of events related to Ramadan, although the advice it proposes can also be used by the general public and communities.

اضغط هنا بالعربية

Islam aur Takreem-e-Insaniyat ke Usool (Islam and Humanitarian Principles) is a new Urdu publication jointly produced by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) Islamabad and the ICRC. Based on discussions held during a two-day National Round Table arranged by IPS and the ICRC in 2019, this book has been compiled by Senior Researcher IPS Nadeem Farhat and Senior Programme Officer ICRC Dr. Ziaullah Rahmani.

This is the first publication in Urdu that investigates the subject and it aims to ignite discussions on relevant themes within religious/academic circles. Themes discussed in the book include: the evolution of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and the importance of its Fundamental Principles, putting humanitarian values into practice; principles, standards and practical examples of humanitarianism in Islam; and public welfare and humanitarian principles in Pakistan.

Among the conclusions reached in the book are that humanitarian principles are strongly anchored in Islam, arguably even more than in the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. God-consciousness is central to the Islamic faith and humans are believed to be the family of God. That is why for a Muslim it is a matter of fundamental faith to consider humanity and neutrality while he/she engages in humanitarian affairs. This is proven on daily basis by the conduct of faith-based Islamic humanitarian organizations who serve those in need on a neutral basis and do not discriminate between those who are Muslims and those who are not.