Conference Reports 

Eighteenth Annual Conference 

of the Canadian Council of 

Muslim Women 

"Strengthening Our Voices" was a fitting topic for the most recent Canadian 

Council of Muslim Women (CCMW) conference held on September 13-15, 

2002, at the Bank of Montreal Learning Institute, Markham, Ontario, 
Canada. This national organization, with chapters across Canada, was 

founded in 1982 when Muslim women from across Canada attended the 

founding conference in Winnipeg, Manitoba. This year's conference cele­
brated 20 years of leadership and "working towards equity, equality, and 

empowerment." Lila Falhman, a founding member and now 78 years old, 

was on hand to commemorate the event. Other founding members, current 

CCMW president Barbara Siddiqui, and many local chapter leaders also 
were present. The Bank of Montreal Learning Institute in Markham was the 

perfect venue, for it allowed almost 300 people to hear the keynote speak­

ers. Tables were set up for silent auction and sales of the latest books by 

Farid £sack, Sadia Zaman, and Khaled Abou El Fad!. 
The invited keynote speaker, Beverly Amina McCloud, professor at De 

Paul University, (Chicago, IL) unfortunately could not attend. Graciously 

taking her place, however, was Sheila McDonough, professor of religion at 

Concordia University (Montreal, Quebec, Canada) and author of the 
recently released The Muslim Veil in North America: Issues and Debates 

(University of Toronto Press: 2002.) She engaged the audience in a lively 

discussion of the philosophical question "Can a Muslim Woman Think?" 
She logically argued that genetics are evenly distributed to offspring, so that 

women receive intellect from both parents; that children think as they learn; 

and that, in general, all homo sapiens are thinking creatures. She used sev­

eral Qur'anic verses to demonstrate that God addresses women as a group 
separately from men and also stressed that everyone is responsible for his 

or her own actions on the Day of Judgment. 





150 The American Journal of [slamic Social Sciences 19:4 

Abou El Fad! reminded the conference participants that God commands 
them to testify honestly, even against themselves. However, contemporary 

Muslims have a problem with discourse and truth. He stated that Muslims 

do not take their heritage seriously and that piety has been cheapened by out­
ward displays, particularly in how Muslim women are treated. He men­
tioned that those who seek to deny women their rights in an effort to reject 

westernization, based on the assumption that suppressed and hidden women 

somehow make the society more pious and religious, are mistaken. Abou El 
Fa.di stated that intellect is the most complex part of God's creation, and 

reminded the attendees that the Qur'an tells women to overcome the path­

ways that exclude them. 

He also spoke about the lives and actions of the female Companions 
and the Prophet's wives, who were not, as some would like us to believe, 
stereotypical paper dolls, and declared that there is a fine line between 

being protected and being patronized. Abou El Fa.di gave the example of 

'A'ishah, who questioned those around her when she heard a hadith being 
interpreted incorrectly. Also brought up was the example of the false hadith 

that a person's prayer is nullified if a woman or a dog passes in front of the 

person praying, to which 'A'ishah responded: "Have you made women like 
dogs?" In addition, he reminded the audience that the Prophet accepted the 

pledges of allegiance and shahadah directly from women, and not through 

their husband's or father's mediation. 

Sharon Hoosein RN, MN/ACNP 
Acute Care Nurse Practitioner. Neurosurgery 

Toronto, Ontario, Canada