Holy scripture does not hold women back. It's the people that decide to interpret it in such a way for their own, sometimes political, agendas.
Queen Rania of JordanIt is all too easy to draw conclusions and make sweeping judgments about millions of Muslim women based on fleeting television images. That is not right.
Queen Rania of JordanFirst of all, in many Muslim countries women have incredible amounts of freedom, sometimes more than in some countries in Europe. So you cannot just make a generalized statement about women. Second, Islam is not the problem. It's tradition. It's culture. It's age-old mind-sets that need to be changed.
Queen Rania of JordanExtremism is not endemic in my region, nor is anti-Western sentiment. No doubt there is discontent and distrust. That is towards more the American and some Western policies, and not toward the American people.
Queen Rania of JordanPeople sometimes think of 'queen' as a title that's shrouded with protocol and formality, and for that reason sometimes people are not easily saying what they want to say. They're reluctant to express their opinions, and I kind of find that frustrating because I want to know what people really, really think.
Queen Rania of Jordan