Zainab al Ghazali
Encyclopedia
Zaynab Al-Ghazali was a Egyptian activist. She was the founder of the Muslim Women's Association (Jamaa'at al-Sayyidaat al-Muslimaat), and was closely associated with the Muslim Brotherhood.
, invited al-Ghazali to merge her organisation with his, an invitation she refused as she wished to retain autonomy. However, she did eventually take an oath of personal loyalty to al Banna. (Mahmood 2005: 68) The fact that her organisation was not formally affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood was to prove useful after the Ikhwan was banned, as for a time al Ghazali was able to continue to distribute their literature and host their meetings in her home.
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Al Ghazali's own life stands in contradiction to some of her professed beliefs. (Ahmed 1992: 199) Although she wrote that it was a "crime" for a woman to seek a divorce, she made no secret of the fact that she had divorced her first husband because of his discomfort at her public career. Her memoir describes how she told her husband that her oath of loyalty to Hassan al Banna meant that her devotion to the Islamist cause would always come before her marriage, and if ever the two should conflict, the marriage would end:
In justifying her own exceptionality to her stated belief in a woman's rightful role, al Ghazali described her own childlessness as a "blessing" that would not usually be seen as such, because it freed her to participate in public life. (Hoffman 1988). Her second husband died while she was in prison, having divorced her after government threats to confiscate his property. al Ghazali's family were angered at this perceived disloyalty, but al Ghazali herself remained loyal to him, writing in her memoir that she asked for his photograph to be reinstated in their home when told that it had been removed.
's Presidency in 1971.
During the imprisonment, Zainab Al-Ghazali and members of the Muslim Brotherhood underwent inhumane tortures. Al-Ghazali recounts her being thrown into a cell locked up with dogs to confess assassination attempt on President Nassir. Al-Ghazzali during these periods of hardship she is reported to have had visions of Muhammed. Some miracles were also experienced by her, as she got food, refuge and strength during those difficult times.
After her release from prison, al-Ghazali resumed teaching and writing for the revival of Muslim Brotherhood's magazine, Al-Dawah. She was editor of a women's and children's section in Al-Dawah, in which she encouraged women to become educated, but to be obedient to their husbands and stay at home while rearing their children. She wrote a book based on her experience in jail.
. The "Pharaoh" referred to is President Nasser. Al Ghazali depicts herself as enduring torture with strength beyond that of most men, and she attests to both miracles and visions that strengthened her and enabled her to survive.
Early life
Her father was an Al-Azhar-educated independent religious teacher and cotton merchant. He encouraged her to become an Islamic leader citing the example of Nusaybah bint Ka'ab al-Maziniyah, a woman fought alongside Prophet Muhammad in the Battle of Uhud. For a short time during her teens, she joined the Egyptian Feminist Union only to conclude that "Islam gave women rights in the family granted by no other society.At the age of eighteen, she founded the Jamaa'at al-Sayyidaat al-Muslimaat (Muslim Women's Association), which she claimed had a membership of three million throughout the country by the time it was dissolved by government order in 1964.Allegiance to Hassan Al-Banna
Hasan Al-Banna, the founder of the Muslim BrotherhoodMuslim Brotherhood
The Society of the Muslim Brothers is the world's oldest and one of the largest Islamist parties, and is the largest political opposition organization in many Arab states. It was founded in 1928 in Egypt by the Islamic scholar and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna and by the late 1940s had an...
, invited al-Ghazali to merge her organisation with his, an invitation she refused as she wished to retain autonomy. However, she did eventually take an oath of personal loyalty to al Banna. (Mahmood 2005: 68) The fact that her organisation was not formally affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood was to prove useful after the Ikhwan was banned, as for a time al Ghazali was able to continue to distribute their literature and host their meetings in her home.
Muslim Women's Association
Her weekly lectures to women at the Ibn Tulun Mosque drew a crowd of three thousand, which grew to five thousand during holy months of the year. Besides offering lessons for women, the association published a magazine, maintained an orphanage, offered assistance to poor families, and mediated family disputes. The association also took a political stance, demanding that Egypt be ruled by the Qur'anQur'an
The Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
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Al Ghazali's own life stands in contradiction to some of her professed beliefs. (Ahmed 1992: 199) Although she wrote that it was a "crime" for a woman to seek a divorce, she made no secret of the fact that she had divorced her first husband because of his discomfort at her public career. Her memoir describes how she told her husband that her oath of loyalty to Hassan al Banna meant that her devotion to the Islamist cause would always come before her marriage, and if ever the two should conflict, the marriage would end:
In justifying her own exceptionality to her stated belief in a woman's rightful role, al Ghazali described her own childlessness as a "blessing" that would not usually be seen as such, because it freed her to participate in public life. (Hoffman 1988). Her second husband died while she was in prison, having divorced her after government threats to confiscate his property. al Ghazali's family were angered at this perceived disloyalty, but al Ghazali herself remained loyal to him, writing in her memoir that she asked for his photograph to be reinstated in their home when told that it had been removed.
Life in prison
After the assassination of Hasan al-Banna in 1949, Al-Ghazali was instrumental in regrouping the Muslim Brotherhood in the early 1960s. Imprisoned for her activities in 1965, she was sentenced to twenty-five year of hard labor but was released under Anwar SadatAnwar Sadat
Muhammad Anwar al-Sadat was the third President of Egypt, serving from 15 October 1970 until his assassination by fundamentalist army officers on 6 October 1981...
's Presidency in 1971.
During the imprisonment, Zainab Al-Ghazali and members of the Muslim Brotherhood underwent inhumane tortures. Al-Ghazali recounts her being thrown into a cell locked up with dogs to confess assassination attempt on President Nassir. Al-Ghazzali during these periods of hardship she is reported to have had visions of Muhammed. Some miracles were also experienced by her, as she got food, refuge and strength during those difficult times.
After her release from prison, al-Ghazali resumed teaching and writing for the revival of Muslim Brotherhood's magazine, Al-Dawah. She was editor of a women's and children's section in Al-Dawah, in which she encouraged women to become educated, but to be obedient to their husbands and stay at home while rearing their children. She wrote a book based on her experience in jail.
Return of the pharaoh
She describes her prison's experience, which included sufferings of many heinous forms of torture, in a book entitled Ayyam min hayyati (literally, "Days from my life"), published in English under the title Return of the PharaohReturn of the Pharaoh
Return of the Pharaoh is a book by Zainab al Ghazali. It relates how, accused of conspiring to kill Gamal Abdel Nasser, the president of Egypt, in 1965, the author was arrested and imprisoned. While awaiting trial, she was subjected to torture....
. The "Pharaoh" referred to is President Nasser. Al Ghazali depicts herself as enduring torture with strength beyond that of most men, and she attests to both miracles and visions that strengthened her and enabled her to survive.
Legacy
Zaynab al-Ghazali was also a writer, contributing regularly to major Islamic journals and magazines on Islamic and women's issues. Although the Islamic movement throughout the Muslim world today has attracted large number of young women, especially since 1970s, Zaynab al-Ghazali stands out thus for as the only woman to distinguish herself as one of its major leaders.External links
Read the Book 'Return of the Pharaoh' online;- http://www.scribd.com/doc/18540888/Return-of-the-Pharaoh-Memoirs-in-Nasirs-Prison-
- A website about Muslim personalities