Muslim women and shari'ah tribunals: Examining liberal-secular hegemonies

This dissertation examines the contentions in consolidating the supremacy of liberal-secular ideals and the reproduction of Orientalist discourses in the context of the Canadian state and its social relation formation by examining the debates about Ontario shari'ah tribunals. A major focus of the debates was that Islamic laws do not embody gender equality; hence, Muslims need to draw on secular laws when resolving family disputes to assure women's rights. There was also an insistence on maintaining the separation of church and state and to render religion to the private realm as Canada considers itself a liberal-secular state. However, I argue that the borders between secular and religious and public and private spheres are always in flux; also that such a suggestion assumes a priori boundary stability between these sites that is not present. Such a dominant idea also is informed and shaped by a presumed set of Western values (Christian Reform movements, Enlightenment thought etc.). These prevailing liberal-secular values are in a sharp contrast to a Qur'anic worldview as the latter orientation considers God as the centre of existence and the former regards humankind as the centre of existence. Although these differences are important, the critics opposed anything outside of the liberal-secular framework. Muslim and non-Muslim interlocutors, thus, ended up re-centralizing liberal practices that embodied colonialism. Further, the critics articulated approaches that converge with Orientalist discourses as they depict Islam as an inherently "oppressive" religion and Muslim women as its "victims." Such a convergence then makes possible colonial relations where Muslims are expected to comply with liberal-secular normative values even when they disagree with them.;In this dissertation, I also argue that the standpoint of those who supported the Ontario shari'ah tribunals is a shortsighted one. The proponents do not seem to have enough resources to undertake the task of utilizing the shari'ah tribunals effectively. The supporters' views also do not assure the rights of women as they have overlooked the shifting circumstances in which many Canadian Muslims live. Because of these realizations, I argue that the proponents must engage with ijtihad (individual and/or critical intellectual reasoning) to tackle the question of Muslim women's rights and the Qur'an must be read holistically where its core moral values should exemplify gender relations. Such an engagement with the shari'ah laws also has a global relevance because concerns regarding women's rights are not limited to the Canadian context, rather Muslims around the world are grappling with them. In sum, Ontario shari'ah tribunals not only have emphasized that there is an urgent need that Muslims re-examine Islamic family laws, but they also have underscored how different aspects of liberal-secular ideals can become modes of racialization and can feed into racist ideologies as they reproduce Orientalist discourses.