ManIslam: Islam and Masculinity

It's time to shake up the stereotypes of Islam and gender roles. An expedition to the world of Muslim men fighting for gender equality takes us to Bangladesh, Indonesia, Kuwait and Turkey. In Koran, Allah has 99 names and attributes. One could assume that there would be room for as many gender roles in Islam. Nefise Özkal Lorentzen is a Muslim woman born in Turkey and living in Norway. She is fed up with listening to excuses for the inequality among men and women in her religion. She wants to reclaim her own just Islam from the hands of extremists. A personal journey of exploration takes her to meet courageous Muslim men, who teach equality through a board game and wear miniskirts to resist violence against women in Indonesia. In Kuwait, Naif Al-Mutawa publishes a popular comic called 99 in which the characters represent the 99 names of Allah. In Turkey, voice is given to Ihsan Eliaçic, who leads anticapitalist Muslim movement. All the men have a common goal: to promote equality. Ossified gender roles limit their lives, too. In addition to Islamic extremists, these efforts are opposed by Christian extremists, who would like to preserve the image of Islam as one-sided and scary as possible.
Anna-Sofia Joro (Translation: Elisa Lautala) (Lens Politica)