KARAMAH, is dedicated to the empowerment of women through education, research and advocacy. A key goal of KARAMAH is the mentoring and training of the next generation of Muslim women leaders.

During the summer of 2003, KARAMAH launched a uniquely designed Islamic studies course, with special emphasis on Shari’ah. The course was created to help prepare Muslim women leaders address community problems and issues relating to women from an Islamic legal perspective. KARAMAH recognizes that these leaders have a duty to formulate appropriate responses to the challenges Muslim women around the country confront in their own communities.

The four week intensive course provided an introduction to four key areas: the Qur’an, the hadith (reported statements of the Prophet Muhammad, pbuh), the Seerah (the life of the Prophet Mohammed, pbuh) and major Islamic scholarly writings. Director and Resident KARAMAH Imamah Sanaa Effendi taught the course to a class of 10 KARAMAH women from various professional and educational backgrounds. The course specifically focused on a subset of important issues relating to Muslim women, including the laws, rights and obligations relating to marriage, divorce, sexual relations, domestic violence, inheritance, dispute mediation and the laws of war. This summer's class was a great success. KARAMAH hopes to continue the course and expand upon its offerings. Please continue to check the website for an upcoming document which presents the syllabus of the course and summaries of topics covered.