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Mohammad Javad Akbarin

In 1992, when women’s sports were not yet widely discussed in the public discourse of Islamic society, one of the sermons of “Seyyed Mohammad Hossein Fadlallah” caused controversy during the Friday prayers of the Shi’a community in Beirut.

Fadlallah, who later became known as the “Shia Leader of Lebanon”, did not have the position of marja’iyyat and fatwa until that year because his teacher, Sayyid Abu al-Qasim Khoei, the leader of the Najaf seminary, was still alive. Fadlallah was considered his representative in Lebanon until the end of his life and marja’iyyat. In August of that year, Sayyid Abu al-Qasim Khoei passed away and shortly after, when the discussion of Fadlallah’s marja’iyyat became heated, his critics still condemned him for the same Friday sermon.

In that sermon, he asked Muslim girls and women to learn various sports, including martial arts, self-defense, and even boxing, so that they would not fall behind in these fields and would not be unable to defend themselves.

Traditional critics used to say that not only does he consider women’s sports permissible and allowed, but he also recommends it to women as a desirable act and considers it necessary!

Fifteen years after that controversial sermon, when Fazlallah was sitting on the seat of authority and issuing fatwas, “Hala Ballout”, a reporter from the Lebanese weekly magazine Al-Sharaa, mentioned that sermon during a long conversation with him and asked, “Do you still defend that viewpoint and issue that fatwa, even in combat sports?”

Fazlollah responded: “Just as a man has the right to learn combat and defense sports, a woman also has the right; furthermore, a woman needs these sports to defend herself against the dangers that threaten her.”

He once again asked Muslim women to have “self-confidence in this path and use their country, society, and nation from their own thoughts, experiences, and creations.”

The reporter asked, “You have been accused by your critics of showing bias towards women in your religious rulings,” Fazlollah responded, “I take the side of the oppressed and believe that although women are equal to men in intellect and ability, they have been deprived and oppressed throughout history due to lack of recognition and experience.” (Al-Sharaa/ December 24, 2007) Fazlollah passed away in 2010, but his outspokenness on women’s sports remained unmatched among his fellow jurists.

Such debates, of course, have a longer history and presence in Sunni society; as an example, the Kuwaiti magazine “Al-Wa’i” (issue 556) published a report on the opinions of some prominent figures of Al-Azhar University in Egypt regarding women’s sports, most of whom believed this trend to be a result of competition with women’s status in Western culture and emphasized the condemnation of women’s sports and the necessity of resisting Western influence.

In the same report, however, the cautious opinion of the head of the Faculty of Principles of Religion at Al-Azhar was that women’s sports are not inherently forbidden and the sidelines of the issue should not be mixed with Sharia.

In general, it can be said that in Shia and Sunni jurisprudence, there is no evidence for the sanctity of women’s sports in any field, and all opinions regarding sanctity or disapproval refer to its consequences (including hijab and clothing). Some have also considered such action contrary to “the main duty of women, which is to take care of the family and raise children.”

What has passed, although an example of a religious perspective on the issue of women’s sports, is not separate from the chain of traditional and historical discrimination against women; a chain that first defines a woman’s identity from a patriarchal point of view and then, after demonstrating this definition as obvious, goes on to intimidate and threaten her body and duties. Exactly in this historical chain, when it comes to religion, it also defines the religiosity and Muslim identity of women in a patriarchal manner and considers any deviation from it as a departure from religious laws or a sin.

Therefore, removing such historical obstacles requires more than just reform and revision in jurisprudence and fatwa. Because patriarchy is not only intertwined with our theology, but also with our understanding of God, humanity, worldview, and all aspects of our knowledge and identity. Perhaps it was with this perspective that Fazlollah demanded “self-confidence” for women in sports! It seems that the wall of restraining women is higher than it can be brought down by jurisprudence and fatwa, and as long as they do not insist on entering these areas and breaking down barriers, they will continue to spin in the same place.