Quranic First for Egyptian Woman

   The Egyptian former TV presenter, Kariman Hamza, has had her book ‘The Conspicuous Interpretation of the Quran for Youth and Youngsters’ approved by Sunni Islam’s most influential  seat of learning, Al Azhar University in Cairo — the first time a Quranic interpretation by a woman has received such an endorsement. The move is being greeted by moderate Muslims as a big step forward (and a slap in the face for fundamentlists notably in Pakistan and Afghanistan, who seem intent on downgrading women’s status further, by excluding girls from education).

Ms Hamza commented, ‘I was careful to make my interpretation as simple and clear as possible so that youngsters can understand it.’ Ali Abdul Baqui, Secretary General of the Islamic Research Centre at Al Azhar, justified the breakthrough endorsement by saying ‘in Islam, there is no such thing as male or female interpretations. What matters most is that the interpretation should comply with the texts of the Holy Quran and the codes of the Sharia.’