Maryam Dilki is a German Muslim convert and one of the media activists in this country. She believes that Saint Mary (PBUH) is not sanctified and honored in the Bible as much as in the Holy Quran. The sanctity of Mary (PBUH) in the Bible is only because she is called “Mother of God”.
According to the Estebsar Islamic Revert World, Marion Dilki is an Islamic convert woman living in the city of Bremen in Germany. She changed her name to Maryam after converting to Islam. She is currently working as a media activist. Here is her interview with Risheh News Agency:
As a Muslim convert woman, you certainly know Hazrat Fatimah Zahra (PBUH) as the best lady in Islam. What impressed you most about her personality and lifestyle?
For me, everything in the life of Hazrat Fatimah (PBUH) is special: The condition before Her birth, Her childhood in that Holy house, Her courage in the first years of youth, Her patience in the face of adversity and the loss of her mother, Being the support of the Prophet (PBUH) despite Her young age, Her unique marriage with Amir al-Mu’minin Ali (AS), Her effective role as the wife and mother of unique children, and many more.
I praise the perseverance of Hazrat Fatimah (PBUH) more than everything. She had unshakable trust in God, led a simple living, paid attention to Hijab, and at the same time, presented in society; like Her protest against the oppressive rule of her time, defending the rights of the Ahlul-Bayt (AS), and the events that led to her martyrdom. I have recently started reading Islamic texts.
Have you ever understood any similarities between Saint Mary (PBUH) in the Bible and Hazrat Fatemeh Zahra (PBUH) in Islamic sources?
I am not a Biblical scholar, but I am sure that Lady Maryam (PBUH) is not sanctified and honored in the Bible as much as in the Holy Quran. The Bible does not mention any information about the youth and characteristics of Saint Mary. There is also no mention of the miracle of the birth of Jesus (PBUH) in the Bible. Even the adolescence of Jesus Christ is seldom found in the Bible, and so the historical passages of Mary in the Bible are presented only before the trial and hanging of Jesus Christ (which contradicts the historical narrative of Islam).
So I do not see many similarities. The holiness of the Virgin Mary in the Bible is only because she is called “Mother of God” and not because of her character or lifestyle. Of course, the Catholics consider her as an infallible and the mediator of revelation, while the Protestants have a completely different view sight. The Blessed Virgin Mary can be known more from the verses of the Qur’an than from the Bible; because unlike the blessed name of Hazrat Fatemeh Zahra (PBUH), the name of Hazrat Maryam (PBUH) is mentioned directly in the Qur’an.
The 8th of March is International Women’s Day. In general, what is your idea about this day? Do you see similarities or differences between the struggles of women’s movements in the West and Islamic ideals towards women?
Women’s movements and “International Women’s Day” have not been able to stop the culture of nudity.
International Women’s Day on March 8 stems from a socialist tradition that began with an egalitarian struggle for women’s suffrage and the fight against discrimination against women in the workplace. Although the source of this movement was a good movement, many things have changed in the hundred years that the women’s movement has emerged. Some discriminations have been eliminated, but in today’s world of economics, women are still attended as a workforce that capitalists either want them or if don’t need, fire them. This is precisely why, at times in history, the role of housekeeping and motherhood of women is despised, and instead, they propagandize that a woman should give her baby to a stranger and go to work. If the woman is no longer needed, the role of motherhood for the woman will be recognized again. Another point is that the value of women is still –and even more than past- reduced in the media to the appearance of their faces and bodies. Women’s movements and “International Women’s Day” have not been able to stop this culture of nudity.
In my opinion, the difference between this view and the view of Islam is exactly this: human beings who do worldly activities for the sake of God are safe from plagues such as paying attention to self-interest, whether power or wealth. This sincerity includes the struggle for the realization of women’s rights, and of course, in Islamic countries, efforts must be made to improve the situation of women.