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"We have given dignity to the children of Adam..."
Holy Qur'an 17:70
About Us
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Karamah is an educational charitable organization
We are committed to supporting human rights worldwide, especially the rights of Muslim women. Our overarching goal is to promote the well-being of Muslim communities worldwide through legal education and leadership development, and to increase respect and understanding of Islamic law and civilization in other communities. In particular, we try to provide women with a better understanding of their rights under Islamic law, and respond to their needs through legal advocacy, education, and grassroots activism. It is crucial that Muslim women be empowered to gain the capacity to address and eradicate the social ills which exist in their communities, and Karamah is well positioned to lead this effort.
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Our Vision
A World with Dignity, Liberty and Justice for all
Karamah women dream of a world in which all human beings, regardless of their gender or other differences, enjoy their God-given rights of dignity, which cannot be achieved without liberty and justice. Our name is rooted in the Qur’anic verse: “We have given dignity (Karamah) to the children of Adam” (17:70). We seek to transform the archaic conception of women's status within Islamic communities to better reflect the egalitarian Qur’anic worldview of gender equity and humanity. Such a conceptual transformation, along with tangible reforms, will improve the treatment of women and ensure that they take an active part in governing their lives. By mobilizing Muslim women around the world, giving them a forum whereby they can tap into each other’s expertise, and offering them our organization as a resource, we believe we can improve the conditions of Muslim women’s lives and the Muslim community.
Our Mission
Karamah is a Muslim human rights organization dedicated to promoting human dignity through education and legal outreach.
We believe in the right of all humanity to live in peace, justice and dignity. In particular, we believe in the empowerment of Muslim women within their own spiritual and cultural context. In our view, only this approach will enable them to address and successfully eradicate the social ills in their communities. At Karamah, we advance our approach in the U.S. and globally through education, leadership development, serious Islamic jurisprudential research, the creation of jurist and community networks, and legal advocacy.
Our central mission is to develop a comprehensive, just, and thoughtful Islamic jurisprudence which takes into account the current concerns of Muslim women worldwide. We have rooted this jurisprudence in the best of the classical Islamic jurisprudential traditions. Our various educational and grassroots programs are guided by our vision and directed at implementing our mission.
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Our History
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Karamah was the brainchild of Professor Azizah al-Hibri and a handful of Muslim women lawyers who worked mainly on Wall Street during the late eighties and early nineties. They were concerned about the continued oversimplification and misunderstanding in the West of the status of women in Islam, and the increasingly negative stereotypes being propagated about Muslim women. They were also concerned about Muslim women in countries where patriarchal customs were still entrenched and confused with religious mandates. To address these situations, Karamah was born informally in 1992 and formally in 1993 at the University of Richmond Law School.
From Karamah’s inception, substantive research into Islamic jurisprudential issues relating to women’s rights has been the hallmark of its contributions. Many articles on women’s issues have been published by Karamah authors in law journals and other forums. To implement its vision, Karamah participated in various domestic and international conferences, including the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing. The reaction to our contributions was predominantly positive from both Western women who wanted to hear an authentic Muslim woman’s voice, and from Muslims who were ready for thoughtful and considered change.
After 9/11, Karamah directed its attention to domestic concerns, and increased its participation in official meetings where the Muslim voice was sought. In all our efforts, we endeavored to serve both the American Muslim community and the American community at large by spreading education and building communication. More recently, we have rebuilt our efforts abroad through our Muslim Women Jurist Network which is an invaluable source of jurisprudence for Muslim women. Selected works from the Network are posted on our website.
We have also upgraded our service to Muslim women at home by strengthening our lecture series at our headquarters and in the community, and by initiating a well-funded program educating against domestic violence. We also built a bridge between Muslim women at home and those abroad through our distinguished Law and Leadership Summer Program. We plan to continue these efforts to build better understanding around the world, based on mutual respect and knowledge.
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Our
Logo
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Our logo is based in part on an Islamic weave. Weaves are very important in the Islamic history of civilization, and women continue to be major contributors to this art form. Each weave has a different meaning. The one chosen for us by Islamic artist Safia Godlas represents reciprocity, continuity, harmony and unity, all of which are values promoted by Karamah .
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