I attended a series of Religion and religious freedom webinars Hosted by BYU university. This first presentation is by Dr. Alaa Murabit UN-high-level commissioner health, employment, and economic growth UnD SDG Global advocate. Any misinformation is the fault of the note taker.

source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsulKdU9vYo

– Her father was a doctor who said he was amazed by how much his patients overcome challenges. Her father believed in a divine being.
– In her youth, she would spend much time in the hospital library room and in the prayer room. In the prayer room, she would share the prayer room for praying for loved ones in the hospital.
– As she grew up she learned how to share her feelings about faith to others in the world.
– Some wondered how could she be a Muslim and a feminist. She did a lot of research on her religions.
– The text of the Koran was held in the care of Hapsad Delaran (sp) a woman.
– Most of the saying of Mohammad transmitted through history and put into the Korean by a woman named, Ishla Dalahn (sp) a woman.
– Kidisha Lahonha (sp) was known as the mother of believers. She fought alongside Mohammad. She was a businesswoman and twenty years older than the prophet. She financed the entire Islamic movement when it was sanctioned and excluded.
– Often our religious scripture and text are manipulated, misused and misinterpreted by a select few because of their own political and economic or social gain. Unfortunately for many faiths that is to the determent of women.
– At the age of 21, she found a group called the voice of DeeBlee(sp) women. Her life went beyond the mission to understand faith for myself and to reconcile organized religion and the belief that everyone is equal.
– Organized religions are a way to organize and maintain power and equality is a way to give power to others.
– Religious freedom becomes most critical when we are exploring the fundamental gaps in our religion or when we are challenging them.
– Religious rhetoric is used to restrict women’s reproductive rights back (in the United States) to other parts of the world where religions are used to promote female genital manipulation. It’s used to prevent girls from going to school or used to not have daughters in the first place.
– When we look at women’s rights and the freedom of religion it becomes the most important.
– At 21 she founded the voice of Libyan women.
– Faith is inherently personal.
– We interpret scriptures by our own experiences.
– Our job is to challenge those who use religion to seek power.
– In whatever place you have power. Ask how do you leverage that sphere power to create opportunity and space for others. You need to have those difficult conversations at home.
– Our test is how we will stand up for others. This is a time to have honest conversations.