Reinterpretation of the Hadith:

The government of Turkey's Department of Religious Affairs has been concerned that many sayings in the Hadith were not actually stated by Muhammad or his followers, and that some of his valid sayings need to be reinterpreted. They have commissioned a team of theologians at the School of Theology of Ankara University to revise the Hadith over a three year project. Their findings are expected to generate an explosion of angry debate within the faith. Some suggest that it will produce conflict similar to that of the Christian reformation when the document is published.
Felix Koerner, says some of the sayings can be proven to have been written centuries after the death of Muhammad, He said:

"Unfortunately you can even justify through alleged hadiths, the Muslim - or pseudo-Muslim - practice of female genital mutilation. ...You can find messages which say 'that is what the Prophet ordered us to do'. But you can show historically how they came into being, as influences from other cultures, that were then projected onto Islamic tradition."

BBC News reports that some Islamic reformers argue that:

"... Islamic tradition has been gradually hijacked by various - often conservative - cultures, seeking to use the religion for various forms of social control. Leaders of the Hadith project say successive generations have embellished the text, attributing their political aims to the Prophet Muhammad himself."

Prof Mehmet Gormez, a senior official in the Department of Religious Affairs and an expert on the Hadith notes:

"There are some messages that ban women from traveling for three days or more without their husband's permission and they are genuine. But this isn't a religious ban. It came about because in the Prophet's time it simply wasn't safe for a woman to travel alone like that. But as time has passed, people have made permanent what was only supposed to be a temporary ban for safety reasons. ... [In another speech, Muhammad said:] he longed for the day when a woman might travel long distances alone."

In another project, Turkey has trained 450 women in theology and appointed them as senior imams called "vaizes." Their task is to visit remote communities and explain the original spirit of Islam. BBC News reports:

"One of the women, Hulya Koc, looked out over a sea of headscarves at a town meeting in central Turkey and told the women of the equality, justice and human rights guaranteed by an accurate interpretation of the Koran - one guided and confirmed by the revised Hadith."

"She says that, at the moment, Islam is being widely used to justify the violent suppression of women. 'There are honor killings,' she explains. 'We hear that some women are being killed when they marry the wrong person or run away with someone they love. There's also violence against women within families, including sexual harassment by uncles and others. This does not exist in Islam... we have to explain that to them'." ₆