Barazangi, Nimat Hafez2015-01-192015-01-192013-10the Near East Theological Seminary Series: Dialogue of Truth for Life Together (volume 3, 2013), (Arabic [63-94] and English [33-63)https://hdl.handle.net/1813/39042Content file updated by author on 21 January 2015.The link to this lecture video: http://cdnapi.kaltura.com/index.php/extwidget/openGraph/wid/1_0b7i1rjhIt is fair to claim that the true message of Islam concerning women has rarely been practiced throughout Islamic history and for the past 14 centuries. Muslim women have remained a passive force in changing the prevailing unjust practices of Islamic thoughts concerning women, and the reality of the 700 million Muslim women. This is the case today despite what we read in the UN Development Agency reports—that the majority of university students in most Muslim countries are females. Recently, during the past two decades, North American Muslim female scholars, for example, have significantly contributed to the reinterpretation of the Qur’an and particularly to the study of Muslim women. Yet, rarely does an American or any Western educational institution, including the Muslim Umma, acknowledge and mainstream such contributions for the reconstruction of new knowledge of Islam (that is, what is known as shari`a or `urf), or in rethinking Islam. In this article I will discuss why these negative images and practices, as well as the sad reality in keeping women away from Islamic thought and the decision- making process, and how to rethink the future of Muslim women that is fundamental to rethinking of Islam.en-USMuslim womenIslamic thoughtAbsence in shaping and developmentChristian-Muslim Dialoguearticle