Women in Islam: Sydney Women Speak

Abstract

Interfaith dialogue in the public domain has up till now been dominated by male religious leaders and their concerns. Yet when women are allowed to speak from their own space, rather than have male professsionals speak for them, an entirely other world of experience may be identified. Vatican and Muslim leaders plan to establish a historic new body called the Muslim-Catholic Forum which will meet in Rome in November 2008. However, Catholic and Muslim women have been meeting for interfaith dialogue in Sydney for more than ten years. Through interviews with Muslim and Catholic participants this article surveys the dialogue which had been taking place in Sydney, along with the women's perspectives and themes.