Žene: zaboravljeni ukras islamske tradicije
Women: the forgotten ornaments of Islamic tradition

Summary/Abstract: This analysis starts from the claim that prophetic religions are deeply marked by the selfish and selective memory of men – to their own advantage and to the detriment of women – i.e., the claim that depreciation of women in Christian and Islamic traditions is in fact rooted in the suppression of feminine foundations of both Islam and Christianity. In that, three great women of the first Islamic community come to the fore – Hatija, Fatima and Aisha – but also Hajera, the mother of Abraham / Ibrahim's first born son Ishmael / Ismail. Hatija is presented as the paradigm of feminine openness towards divine address and intentions, often surpassing man's openness towards divine inspiration. The paradigmatic example of Fatima reminds us that the essence of prophetic religions is in compassion (charity, assistance and solidarity), but also that religion must not be abused as a tool for acquisition of political or social power. The paradigmatic example of Aisha shows the condemnation of deprivation of women of education and political engagement in the name of Islam and religion in general, but also the deprivation of women of the right to perform responsible and authoritative tasks in religious communities, including ceremonies and prayer. Hajera appears from oblivion to act as the symbol of direct access to God and announces the mystic / feminine approach to God typical for women theologians, the need to engage in the promotion of the ethos of equality and partnership between men and women in prophetic religions, based on the Decalogue: Thou shall not be sexually immoral! / Respect and love one another! In that, it will be very important to restore from oblivion the long ignored contribution of women to all the religious traditions. This is the precondition for the wealth of any religious tradition to bloom, thus allowing modern women to develop their self-awareness and autonomy, not only in their religious communities, but also in society in general. This is a special challenge for our region, marked by patriarchal views and further aided by distorted interpretation of faith. The same applies to interreligious dialogue, in our country and in the world.

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