An Islamic Reformation

The week's news at a glance.

Istanbul

Turkish religious authorities are purging the hadiths of statements that treat women as inferior to men. The hadiths, traditional sayings that inform much of Islamic sharia law, are filled with misogynistic dictates. “The best of women are those who are like sheep,” reads one. Notes another: “If a husband’s body is covered with pus and his wife licks it clean, she still won’t have paid her dues.” Ali Bardakoglu, the president of the Diyanet, Turkey’s Islamic authority, said a revised collection of hadiths would be distributed in 2008. Bardakoglu also plans to send moderate imams to Turkey’s rural regions to preach against backward practices such as honor killings.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us