## I. INTRODUCTION Humanity has lived for many centuries without realizing the fundamental role of women, and perhaps that is what led to the delay in their march for long periods. However, the human mind has become a high degree of maturity to accept the idea of equality and participation. Despite that, women participated in the presidency of states and, thus contributed to the march of humanity since The creation of Adam, peace be upon him. To this day, the Virgin Mary, Lady Khadija bent Khuaylid, Queen Victoria, Margaret Thatcher, Indira Gandhi, and others. The Arab feminist discourse appears to be complex because of some connotations that we can't talk about it, in an earlier period. Then addressing the issue of women in the Arab-Islamic heritage, various forms of psychological resistance often appear that curb any renewal that occurs in women's discourse, despite the calls for renewal and reform emanating from the Arab national movement, which represented a defining moment in the Arab and Islamic world; However, extremism is still setting society back. Some believe that the Arab community is being hijacked by two forces: the first seems feverish in defending the inheritance from a defensive point of view only, or out of fear of unknown renewal, and the second is the search for renewal with requirements commensurate with the modern era. There is even an intermediate force that cares about women. If we look at the past (the age of enlightenment), we find that one of the first calls to liberate women from the mold prepared for them in advance by a generalized and enlightened sheik: Rifaa al-Tahtawi" (1801-1873), played a decisive role in supporting and defending women's issues, He was a pioneer of enlightenment, He is one of the top leaders of the scientific renaissance in Egypt. He was his social position was aimed at crossing society from the stage of feudalism to the bourgeois stage.(1) He has revolted critically against the many outdated customs of society that turn women into marginalized being who has lost their freedom and dignity in society. And when we talk about the roots of the problem of women in the Arab world concerning (linguistic alienation) and (the curse of the eternal apple), until we reach what has become of their condition in the Arab male mentality, we realize that we are facing a spiritual issue rather than a material one. The human being in our Arab society suffers from various types of oppression. If the woman is deliberately excluded, the man is also in a state of pressure (social, economic, political, and psychological, etc.). The issue of women's liberation must be preceded by human liberty in general, which is why, feminist movements, according to (Fatima Mernissi), $(\star)$ were: A byproduct of Arab Islamic nationalism. $(2)$ There is no doubt that the Arab world's contact with the West during the colonial and post-colonial periods played a significant role in establishing the discourse on women in the Arab world. ## II. FATIMA MERNISSI'S DISCOURSE Mernissi's speech is a mixture of several discourses which makes her discourse unique. When we look at a single work, we find ourselves in front of a variety of positions; as, she worked to shake masculine values at a steady pace, she fought what appears to be sacred in all transparency, and she even did not remain silent about her speech in prohibited areas. Mernissi's war was never gendered, as she did not aim her arrows against men, but chose victory for women away from the glamorous approaches that make men their enemy. Although she fought the war with contentiousness, she was a pacifist presenting her vision to the Western and Arab world in general. With her intellectual contributions, she participated in correcting the perceptions of the other (the West) about the Arab woman, which was transferred to them by orientalists. Her main issue is an issue of social refutation of man; the problem is not religious, but rather a human problem in its highest form. She did not talk about gender, but rather about the human being who protects women in a society that is strained by his masculinity, and thus reflects the man's view of her, so it is a sign of the decline or advancement of women. Mernissi started from a historical approach to reach the roots of the women's crisis, as it has become in the modern era; however, I wonder why all these relentless pressures and restrictions when we prepare to travel through the past, especially if it concerns women in the Islamic heritage? Mernissi has contributed to restoring the marginalized feminine self in the modern era. She takes refuge in history - as the most critical force known to humanity - as an eyewitness to whether a woman was treated fairly or aborted at the doorstep of the harems. She had to travel through time despite the bumpy road and the dangers of the journey, and she explains this in her book "The Political Harem": The Prophet and Women; she, says it is imperative to travel in time because an analysis of the past is necessary from a perspective that does not see it as a myth or a sanctuary, it becomes an essential matter.(3) she has chosen vast forbidden paths, refusing to live obscurely in a time of silence. Perhaps the past inspired Mernissi to utter a new present! Mernissi approaches the religious text through the authority of interpretation and in dealing with the heritage text as a network of cognitive and authoritarian relations by subjecting the heritage text to a precise and deep anatomical process that turns it into material for reading. She mixes structural treatment and historical analysis of the heritage text.(4) She read the Arab Islamic heritage using the mechanisms of criticism from the heritage in search of the writings of ancient historians. In the introduction to her book, The Political Harem, she asks: Is the readers' loitering in the wilds of the vast Islamic memory a sin? Doesn't the Qur'an (according to the tongue of the Arabs) simply mean reading? The imams and politicians do not want to content themselves with managing the affairs of the present to ensure our happiness as Muslims, but rather subject the past to strict control and management, whether it concerns men or women.(5) we are unable to read and decipher the great things about heritage. $^{(6)}$ Although there was a female authority that has already been exercised $(^{*})$ in periods of Arab and Islamic history and the ascension of women to the throne forced the Muslims to face in a few decades what the Westerners took centuries to digest, which is democracy and gender equality; the question of social, political, and sexual inequality is being re-posed and this is what makes us lose our senses. $^{(7)}$ Some groups often refuse dialogue, and claim to know the absolute truth that derives from the Holy text, however, Who among us has this whole truth to have the right to express it? ## III. THE PROBLEM OF POLITICAL FEMINISM It seems a regular feature of women's political discourse that they always fall into a disincentive process of appropriating everything they have done throughout history. Mernissi asks: "What is the source of this tension between the feminine and the political?"⁽⁸⁾ Why has it been forgotten? Why was it decided to bury them in unconscious depths?⁽⁹⁾ Perhaps the real problem is the lack of confidence in historical memory. Perhaps "memory plays the role of an accurately false mirror in the present."⁽¹⁰⁾ It seems that the structure of the Arab mind reduces women to strict gender practices that wear the mantle of religion and impose its authority on them so that they become easy prey in the nets of dependence, as the woman belongs to the world of the harem, which is the hidden world when compared to the public sphere and this is the world of men. Therefore, it is necessary to bridge the dangerous gap between the past and the present by creating bridges and participatory culture; however, is there any doubt that authoritarian practices kill any innovation? Mernissi considers that the most important reasons for women's non-participation in politics are the patriarchal domination of women's relationship with politics. She says: "Those men prevent the presence of women in political work, and use this ideology to place women in the home arena as a mother and wife. This is one of the most vital factors that constitute women's political participation."11) Although throughout his prophetic mission, whether in Mecca (610-622) or Medina (622-632), the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) accorded significant place for women in his public life. He was forty years old (some texts say 43) when he received the first revelation in 610, in the arms of his first wife, Khadija, where he rested to find peace and support.(\*) And Khadija (may God be pleased with her) was his first follower.(12) She endured the critical stage in the history of Islam when the Quraysh tribe imposed a siege on Banu Hashim to afflict the Prophet; (peace be upon him). Her illness and old age did not prevent her from sharing the Prophet (peace be upon him) in his ordeal. In addition, the Prophet (peace is upon him) established a religious and democratic society in which men and women would discuss the laws of the city. $^{(13)}$ Accordingly, the wives of the Prophet; (peace be upon him) would discuss politics, and go with him to war. His women on the battlefield were not mere spectators, but they shared his strategic interests with him, so he would hear their advice, which is sometimes decisive in his thorny negotiations. For example, during the Hudaybiyah Peace (treaty) with the Meccans in the year (6 AH - 628 AD), which the Companions opposed as a humiliating treaty at the level of Al-Harb, (war) after concluding the treaty, the Messenger; (peace and blessings of Allah) gave his order to the Muslims to shave their heads and return to the state of Ihram, none of them responded to his call, which he repeated three times. Umm Salama told the prophet; do not be sad, shave your head and complete the sacrifice. The Prophet; got up and did, and as soon as his companions saw him doing this, some of them started telling others about it, and each one worked on shaving his head and offering sacrifices. $^{(14)}$ Mernissi tried to interrogate history by re-examining the women's history to dismantle this knowledge base and the stereotypes behind it about women and politics. It seems that reviving the idea of women's political involvement in heritage is not an easy matter, as Mernissi says that women are always in secret, unable to make a political decision, but; was Aisha alone an exceptional case? Aisha (may God be pleased with her) was the first woman to penetrate spatial boundaries, issue a political decision, and command an army, thus announcing the beginning of political disobedience. Aisha played a decisive role in the life of the first and second Caliphs and contributed to the destabilization of the entity of the third Caliph, ('Uthman) when she refused to help him the moment the rebels surrounded him in his house. As for the fourth Caliph, she contributed to the collapse of his caliphate and led the opposition armed against him, rejecting his legitimacy. This confrontation is called by historians (the Battle of the Camel) after the camel on whose back Aisha was fighting.[15] Where lady Aisha left Madinah and Uthman was besieged, and twenty days before his death. When she completed her umrah, she stayed in Mecca for a while, then returned to Medina, and on her way back, she was met by a man from Bani Al-Laith who told her of the killing of Othman bin Affan and the pledge of allegiance. Ali, so she went back to Mecca again, saying: (Othman was killed by God unjustly, and they demanded his blood) and thus began the labors of Aisha's position on the matter. Meanwhile, Talha and al-Zubayr went to Mecca and joined Aisha. Therefore, Mrs. Aisha became enthusiastic about this idea, whose goal was nothing but revenge on the killers of Othman, (and she tried to gather people from the cities and the people of Medina against this unjustly murdered man and take revenge on him), and many people responded to Mrs. Aisha's call and followed her position. $^{(16)}$ But why did the name of the camel come instead of the name of Aisha? This may have been deliberately created by some historians fearing that women's memory might associate a woman with the name of a battle, whether she won or not, for fear of being followed in her footsteps. In any case, history cannot erase exited Aisha, who with her retired, contributed to legitimizing women's participation in politics. A hadith was reported in "Sunanan-Nasa'l" on the authority of Abu Bakra who, said: "God has benefited me with a word that I heard from the Messenger of God (peace upon him) in the days of the battle of camel that people will not succeed if they are led by a woman." The hadith is also proven in the thirteenth part of Sahihal-Bukhari, and it is also proven by personalities known for their scientific rigor, such as Ahmed bin Hanbal, the founder of the Hanbali school. This hadith is the argument to those who want to keep women away from politics. However, Mernissi says that since I am a Muslim woman, nothing prevents me from doing double research: historical and methodological about the hadith and who narrated it, especially the circumstances in which it was used for the first time, who narrated this hadith, when, and why? The hadith of Abu Bakra was narrated for the first time after the defeat of Aisha in the Battle of the Camel. Mernissi analyzed it, saying that Abu Bakra must have had a legendary memory because he remembered the hadith a quarter of a century after the death of the Prophet; (peace be upon him). According to Ibn Malik, it is not possible in any case for some people to transmit a single hadith. For example, it is not permissible for an ignorant to receive knowledge, nor those who are controlled by their emotions, nor those who can introduce innovations, and there are people whom I exclude as narrators of hadith, not because they lied as men of knowledge in their narration of false hadiths, but simply because I saw them lying in daily relations. And if we apply this rule to Abu Bakra, then this hadith must be excluded immediately. Perhaps; the evidence for the invalidity of generalizing this hadith is that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) mentioned it on a specific occasion, $^{(**)}$ However, the one reason this hadith is false on the authority of the Prophet (peace be upon him), is that there have been many countries successfully headed by women. These countries have achieved impressive successes, we mention (Indira Gandhi) for India, (Margaret Thatcher) presidency of Britain, and many others in ancient and modern. $^{(22)}$ In addition, Balqees, the Queen of Sheba, is one of the rare Arab women who are difficult to hide or veil, since she is mentioned in the Qur'an, (I found a woman who owned them, and was given of everything and she is the ruler of all things. $^{(23)}$ If a woman cannot rule a country, why did Balquees have such great property according to the Qur'anic text? There is a modern point of view that states that women's political work is a legal duty that is included in either the individual duty or the collective duty, so the woman does not abandon it in any case, as is the case of the man because they participated in monotheism, servitude, and succession and their submission to the Sunnah.[24] Since that hadith, Mernissi has wandered into the heritage to evaluate the view of the jurists of the first centuries and their hostility to women. This tribalism and sexual racism remained prevalent in the era of codification and the development of the history of Islamic jurisprudence? Why do we still live dependent on this codification even after more than fourteen centuries have passed? Was it because the renewal that characterized our Arab societies in the Renaissance was hollow without a method or philosophy? ## IV. CONCLUSION Fatima Mernissi's developmental discourse was never against Islam; she, explained through her discourse that the Prophet (peace be upon him) supported women and their rights to the fullest extent. She considers that equality between men and women is an asset in the religious text and that what must be done is to study the sacred texts that refer to gender discrimination. We are working on recounting them and researching the reasons for their revelation, and this is what Mernissi's interpretive text and her cognitive digging were built on. On the neutrality between men and women, and throughout her books, she does attack men, but rather vigorously defended women. It seems that the real accusation is that she exposed women's legacy of oppression and persecution, and this is considered by some to be a sin in an Islamic country, especially since the speaker is an Arab Muslim woman. Her approach to the unspoken was bold. She maybe been treated violently for her explosive rhetoric, as she sought to make up for the forgotten history of the male mentality. The problem of women in the Arab discourse is one of the most important and dynamic problems, so it is not over yet. Mernissi tweeted" Anthem of Freedom" in her book "Fear of Modernity: Islam and Democracy, "saying that the Arab world will set off. This is not a prophecy; it, is a woman's intuition. It will be launched for the simple reason that all people, especially the fundamentalists, want change.(25) she quickly predicts that women will fuel more violent debates in the next decade, as globalization will force Muslim countries and their citizens to redefine themselves and create new cultural identities, with economic roots rather than religious ones."((26) The main feature of Fatima Mernissi's discourse is her openness to various texts, and her project is characterized by diversity due to overlapping addresses. It is possible to talk about her on more than one level, and she can be read on several groups. Mernissi has been able to provide a new reading of the heritage in the hope of contributing to changing the social and civilized reality of Arab women. Therefore, I find it challenging to cover all the exciting contents of her discourse on this narrow path.

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