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 husbands body is covered with pus and his wife licks it clean, she still wont have paid her dues. Ali Bardakoglu, the president of the Diyanet, Turkeys Islamic authority, said a revised collection of hadiths would be distributed in 2008. Bardakoglu also plans to send moderate imams to Turkeys rural regions to preach against backward practices such as honor killings.