I need to place a disclaimer. I am in no position to talk about women or gender roles. I'm not a women studies major or an educated feminist; I'm a computer engineering student. Worst of all, I'm a man.

Despite this disclaimer, I'm going to give it my best shot and address the Islamic perspective of women and leadership, and what I'm writing is open for discussion.

Both my mother and my grandmother are considered leaders and pioneers in Seattle's Muslim community. My grandmother was one among several women who founded the first Islamic school in Seattle, which still runs to this day.

My mother was the vice-chair of the Seattle chapter of Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). She also established one of the first women's photography studios in Saudi Arabia in addition to being a successful photojournalist, which is still a male-dominated field in most of the world.

The point I'm trying to make is that they are not anomalies in Muslim communities, because women have always taken on leadership roles.

The Quran itself does not limit women from being leaders in any form, be it spiritual, societal or commercial. Many accounts throughout history reflect this idea, as women have held positions or pioneered movements.

Since Islam does not have a formal religious hierarchy, Islamic scholars with various backgrounds have established its rulings and moors through debate and discussion. Women such as Umm al-Darda, who lived during the seventh century, have always been part of these groups.

It's undisputed that one of the earliest commentators and scholars of Islamic knowledge was Aisha, the Prophet Muhammad's wife (may God be pleased with her). She transmitted and commented on many things the Prophet Muhammad said and did, which forms part of the basis of fiqh, or Islamic law.

In addition to being legal scholars, women like Rabi'a al-'Adawiyya were spiritual leaders as well. These women are distinct from jurists because they focused on the spiritual needs of the people as opposed to expanding Islamic rules and laws.

The only religious area from which women have traditionally been barred is leading the five daily prayers as an imam. Various explanations have been put forth, and although people like Amina Wadud have challenged them, the vast majority of Muslims have condemned her ideas.

This isn't much different from the debates raging in Catholicism and Orthodox Judaism about ordaining female priests or rabbis.

Although female Muslims have been business owners, political leaders and health professionals, it should be pointed out that historically these leaders have been among a minority. This is directly the result of our male dominated and patriarchal society, which persists today.

However, the role of women is not a "Muslim problem;" rather, it's humanity's problem. I realize I might be stepping on some toes here, but I would argue that even our country still hasn't reached true gender equality.

Women only got the right to vote 90 years ago in the United States, and statistically, men are likely to make more money and advance faster and higher than a woman in my field. The disparity between the treatment of males and females is even more apparent in other countries.

It's easy to use Saudi Arabia as an example where women aren't even allowed to drive. But as most Saudis will be quick to point out, it's based on cultural reasons, not Islamic justifications.

However, Saudi Arabia is an extreme example that defies the norm, especially compared to countries such as Egypt, Syria, Malaysia and Jordan, where they don't have these laws.

Some religions are criticized for portraying God as male. Certain feminists maintain that this portrayal leads to societal male dominance. Islam has a somewhat unique perspective on the gender of God as compared to other traditions.

Although God is referred to as "He" in the Quran, "he" isn't used exclusively for males, especially since Arabic does not have gender-neutral pronouns. God's qualities are described using both masculine and feminine archetypical traits. So God is beyond anthropomorphic description, and it's impermissible to assign God a gender.

This ties into the belief that God will judge men and women equally, making neither spiritually superior over the other. Therefore, it's ludicrous to assume that men are divinely predisposed to be leaders and women are not.

Women can excel in whatever field they choose, but they must continually grate against our male-centric society. Hopefully, through continuing discourse, these barriers will eventually ebb away.

[Reach columnist Zakariya Dehlawi at opinion@thedaily.washington.edu.]