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INTRODUCTION The position of women in society has often been the subject of much debate. Islam’s position regarding this has usually been presented to the Western reader with little objectivity. This paper is intended to provide a brief and accurate explanation of the Islamic stance, drawing upon the authentic sources of the Qur’an (God’s final revelation) and Hadeeth (sayings, actions and approvals of Prophet Muhammad, (P). The paper begins with a look at the position of women in pre-Islamic societies. It then focuses on some major questions: what does Islam teach   regarding the position of women in society? How does this stance differ from,or resemble, the position of women in the era in which Islam was revealed? Finally, how does this compare with the rights gained by women in recent decades? II  HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES In order to assess if Islam made any notable contribution to the restoration of woman’s rights, it may be helpful to briefly review how wom...

It is day six. I've woken up feeling very strange . I'm not sure whether its the sheer exhaustion finally taking its toll, or whether the fact that this being the last day of Hajj is damping my mood. Today we are leaving Mina to return to Makkah, where we will do our final circuits of the Kaaba - concluding our pilgrimage. I've been on a high all week, always looking forward to the day ahead whilst constantly savouring the moment. Just as I never thought I would actually go on Hajj so soon in my life, I guess I never really anticipated this amazing experience ending so soon. Never before have I felt so many different emotions so strongly. I try and channel them all - some make sense to me, other things that I feel are strange... they are new to me. A few years ago I was given the autobiography of Malcolm X (El-Hajj Malik El-shabazz) as a present. Aside from being one of the best books I have ever read, the African-American leader's life story had a profound impa...

Day three, and its probably been the most difficult so far. We are up at dawn again - leaving Mecca for the plains of Mina . Here we camp for three days, going to Arafat and coming back in the middle . Aside from the spiritual high felt by the team, we're also pretty happy with our first day of live coverage. But the strain of travelling, working and Hajj itself is beginning to take its toll on us. If we're not filming, we're worshiping and if we're not worshiping we're on the road . As we approach our base in Mina, we drive by hundreds of thousands of white tents . The sheer quantity of things here, be it people, coaches or tents, and the way in which they appear in unison still amazes me. No rest We have a live news segment as soon as we arrive so there's no time to rest, and to add to the stress, the guest we hoped to have on the show doesn't make it. But our skin is saved when we meet an African-American couple who agree to fill in. It transpires that th...