SITUATING ISLAMIC FEMINISM: AN EPISTEMOLOGICAL STANCE
Abstract
Islamic feminist paradigm has gained momentum in the last decade among the Muslims societies where feminist started inducing gender equality and gender justice from Qur‘ānic interpretations and religious teachings. Islamic feminists have challenged the patriarchal writings and have highlighted how subjective orientation of the Islamic text and tradition has been used as a manipulative tool by the male scholars and writers. According to Islamic Feminists, Muslim male jurists had tried to represent Islam in patriarchal manner which is quite visible in their interpretation of the Holy Qur‘ān and their explanation of the concepts of Ijtihad, Tafsir, Qawwamun and Parda or veil. Islamic feminist writers aim to redefine the notions of gender equality and patriarchy within religious interpretations and are working to provide an accurate representation of gender equality in their writings. Certain limitations and restrictions are visible in the writings of Islamic feminists. Islamic feminism has been criticized for being a ―western product‖ and has been accused of promoting western ideals of equality and gender roles. However, introducing the concept womanism can help them in removing all ambiguities and redefined Islamic feminism, winning over the trust of the masses once again. This article deals with an insight into the Islamic Feminism, its historical development, epistemological stance and an appraisal.
Keywords: Islamic Feminism; Patriarchy; Qawwama; Qur‘ān and Hadith
Metadata Record
References 68
- Abduh, Muhammad. Tafsir al -Manar. edited by Muhammad Rashid. 12 vols. Cairo: Al-Hay‘a al-Misriya al- ‗Amma.110 1990
- Abdul Kodir, Faqihuddin. ―Gender equality and the Hadith of the Prophet Muhammad: Reinterpreting the Concepts of Mahram and Qiwāma‘ in Gender and Equality .‖ In Muslim Family Law: Justice and Ethics in the Islamic Legal Tradition . Edited by Ziba Mir -Hosseini, Kari Vogt, Lena Larsen, and Christian Moe. London and New York, I.B. Tauris, 2013 . 169–90.
- Abou-Bakr, Omaima. ― The Interpretive Legacy of Qiwamah as an Exegetical Construct .‖ In Men in Charge? Rethinking Authority in Muslim Legal Tradition . Edited by Ziba Mir -Hosseini, Mulki A l-Sharmani, and Jana Rumminger. Oxford, Oneworld, 2015. 44–64.
- —. ― Turning the Tables: Perspectives on the Construction of ―Muslim Manhood.‖ Hawwa: Journal of Women of the Middle East and the Islamic World 11, (2013): 89–107.
- Abu-Odeh, Lama. ―Egyptian Feminism: Trapped in the Identity Debate. ‖ In Islamic Law and the Challenges of Modernity . Edited by Yvonne Haddad and Barbara Stowasar. Walnut Creek, CA: Alta Mira Press, 2004.
- Afshar, Haleh. ―Islam and Feminism: An Analysis of Politic al Strategies.‖ In Feminism and Islam: Legal and Literary Perspective. New York: New York University Press, 1996.
- Ahmadi, Fereshteh . ―Islamic Feminism in Iran. ‖ Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, vol. 22, No. 2 (Fall 2006): 36.
- Ahmed, Leila. ―Feminism and Feminist Movements in the Middle East, A Preliminary Exploration: Turkey, Egypt, Algeria, People‘s Democratic Republic of Yemen .‖ In Women and Islam. Edited by Azizah al. Hibri. New York: Pergamon Press, 1982.
- —. Women and Gender in Islam: Historical Roots of a Modern Debate . New Haven: Yale University Press, 1992.
- Ahmed-Ghosh, Huma. ―Dilemmas of Islamic and Secular Feminists and Feminisms.‖ Journal of International Women‟s Studies vol. 9, Issue 3 (May 2008): 103.
- Ali, Parveen Shaukat. Status of Women in the Muslim World, A Study in the Feminist Movements: Turkey, Egypt, Iran, Algeria and Pakistan . Lahore: Aziz Publishers, 1986.
- Ali, Shaheen Sardar . ― Equal before Allah, Unequal Before Man?: Negotiating Gender Hierarchies i n Islam and International Law. ‖ PhD Dissertation: The University of Hull, 1998 . https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/2731703.pdf.
- Amin, Qasim. The Liberation of Women and the New Woman . Translated by Samiha Sidhom Peterson. Cairo: The American University Press, 2004.
- Badran, Margot. ―The Course and Future of Islamic Feminism. ‖ Margot Badran in Conversation with Yoginder Siknad, 13 th October 20110, https://www.resetdoc.org/story/the-course-future-of-islamic-feminism/;
- —. ―Islamic Feminism. ‖ https://stealthishijab.com/islamic-feminism/ accessed on 16.8.2018
- —. ―Islamic feminism: What‘s in a Name?‖ Al-Ahram Weekly, no. 569 (January 17 -23, 2002), http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2002/569/cu1.htm retrieved on February 11, 2010.
- —. Feminism in Islam: Sec ular and Religious Convergences. Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2009.
- —. Feminist, Islam and Nation: Ge nder and Making of Modern Egypt. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1995.
- Barlas, Asma. ―Believing Women” in Islam: Unreading Patriarchal Interpretations of the Qur‟ ī n. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2002.
- —. ―The Qur‘ān and the Hermeneutics: Reading the Qur‘ān‘s Opposition to Patriarchy.‖ Journal of Qur‟ ī nic Studies, vol. 3, No. 2, (2001): 17-19.
- Beauvoir, Simone de. The Second Sex . New York: Vintage Books, 2011 . online Edition, https://uberty.o rg/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/1949_simone-de-beauvoir-the-second-sex.pdf
- Brown, Jonathan A. C. Hadith Muhammad‟s Legacy in the Medieval and Modern World. Oneworld Publications, 2009.
- Cooke, Miriam . Creating Islamic Feminism through Literature Women Claim Islam. Routledge: New York, 2001.
- Dorey-Stein, Caroline. ―A Brief History: The Three Waves of Feminism.‖ https://www.progressivewomensleadership.com/author/cdorey-stein/
- Engineer, Asghar Ali . The Qur‟ ī n, Women and Modern Society . New Dawn Press, 2005.
- Farooq, Hassan . ―Women‘s Position in Muslim family Laws: Needed Reforms.‖ Synopsis of address presented at World Islamic International Awards ceremony,16th September, South Hall, London, 2006.
- al-Faruqi, Maysam. ―Women‘s Self -Identity in the Qur‘ān and Islamic Law.‖ In Windows of Faith: Muslim Women Scholar -Activists in North America. Edited by Gisela Webb. Syracuse University Press. 2000 , 72– 101.
- Frieden, Betty . The Feminine Mystique. New York: W. W. Norton & Norton Company Inc., 1963.
- Hassan Dr. Riffat . ―Reform, Revivalism a nd the Place of Women in Islam.‖ An interview with Dr. Riffat Hassan . http://www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-16904400/reform-revivalism-and-place.html.
- —. ―Members, One of Ano ther: Gender Equality and Justice in Islam .‖ http://www.sacredchoices.org/hassan.htm;
- —. ―Religious Human Rights in Qur‘ān .‖ http://muslim-canada.org/emory.htm;
- —. ―An Islamic Perspective.‖ In Sexuality: A Reader, ed. Karen Lebacqz. Cleveland, Ohio: The Pilgrim Press, 1999. http://riffathassan.info/wp - content/uploads/2014/03/An_Islamic_Perspective.pdf — ―Feminism in Islam .‖ http://riffathassan.info/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Feminism_in_Islam.pdf
- —. ―Are Human Rights Compatible with Islam? The Issue of the Rights of women in Muslim Communities .‖ http://www.religiousconsultation.org/hassan2.htm
- —. ―Challenging the Stereotypes of Fundamentalism: An Islamic Feminist Perspective.‖ The Muslim World, vol. 91, Issue 1-2, (2011): 55-70.
- https://www.progressivewomensleadership.com/a-brief-history-the-three-waves-of-feminism/ updated June 28, 2018
- al-Hibri, Azizah. edited Women and Islam . New York: Pergamon Press, 1982.
- Khan, Maulavi Mumtaz Ali . Huquq Al -Niswan (1898), https://ia801308.us.archive.org/4/items/HuqooqENiswaan-MaulaviSayyidMumtazAli/Huqooq%20e%20Niswaan%20- %20Maulavi%20Sayyid%20Mumtaz%20Ali.pdf
- Kristeva, Julia . Women‟s Time. trans. Alice Jardine, Harry Blake. Signs Vol. 7. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1981.
- Mernessi, Fatima. Women‟s Rebellion and Islamic Memory . London, Zed Books, 1996.
- —. The Forgotten Queens of Islam . Translated by Mary Jo Lakeland. Minnesota. University of Minnesota Press, 2006.
- —. The Veil and the Male Elite: A Feminist Interpretation of Women‟s Rights in Islam. New York: Addison Wesley, 1994.
- —. Women‟s Rebellion and Islamic Memory . London and Atlantic Highlands, N. J.: Zed Books, 1996.
- Mill, John Stuart. The Subjection of Women. London: J. M Dent and Sons LTD, 1955.
- Mir-Hosseini, Ziba . ‗Justice, Equality and Muslim Family Laws: New Ideas, Prospects.‖ In Gender and Equality in Muslim Family Law: Justice and Ethics in the Islamic Legal Tradition . Edited by Ziba Mir-Hosseini, Kari Vogt, Lena Larsen, and Christian Moe. London and New York, I.B. Tauris, 2013. 7–34.
- —. ―Classical Fiqh, Contempo rary Ethics, and Gender Justice. ‖ In New Directions in Islamic Thought: Exploring Reform and Muslim Tradition . Edited by Kari Vogt, Lena Larson, and Christian Moe. London and New York, I.B. Tauris, 2010), 77–88
- —. ― Muslim Women‘s Quest for Equality: between Islamic Law and Feminism.‖ Critical Inquiry 32, (2006): 629–45
- —. ―The Construction of Gender in Islamic Legal Thought and Strategies for Reform.‖ Hawwa: Journal of Women of the Middle East Women and Islamic World 1 (1), (2003): 1–25.
- —. Islam and Gender: The Religious Debate in Contemporary Iran . London and New York: I.B. Tauris, 2000.
- Mirza, Qudsia . ―Islamic Feminism and Gender Equality. ‖ ISIM Review 21. Spring (2008 ) https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/bitstream/handle/1887/17220/ISIM_21_I slamic_Feminism_and_Gender_Equality.pdf?sequence=1
- Moghdam, Valentine. ―Islamic Feminisms and its Discontents: To ward a Resolution of the Debate.‖ Signs. Vol.27, Issue 4 (2002): 1135-1171.
- Moghissi, Haideh. Feminism and Islamic Fundamentalism: The Limits of Postmodern Analysis. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.
- Mojab, Shahrzad . ―Theorizing the Politics of Feminism. ‖ Feminist Review No. 69, The Realm of the Possible: Middle Eastern Women in Political and Social Spaces (Winter, 2001),
- Moll, Yasmin . ‗People like us in Pursuit of God and Rights: Islamic Discourse and Sisters in Islam in Malaysia. ‘ Journal of Women‟s Studies 11 (1) (2009): 40 –55. http://vc.bridgew.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1147&context=jiws
- Murad, Shaikh Abdal -Hakim. ―Islam, Irigaray, and the Retrieval of Gender.‖ http://masud.co.uk/ISLAM/ahm/gender.htm
- Nomani, Asra. Standing Alone in Mecca: An American Woman‟s Struggle for the Soul of Islam. HarperCollins Publications, 2006.
- Ramadan, G. F. Haddad . ―An Innovation of Misguidance: Amina Wadud‘s Untigh tened Feminism. ‖ https://www.abc.se/home/m9783/ir/d/ufaw_e.pdf,
- Shaikh, Sa‘diyya . ―Knowledge, Women and Gender in the Hadith: a Feminist Interpretation.‖ Islam and Christian -Muslim Relations 15 (1), (2004): 99–108.
- —. Sufi Narratives of Intimacy: Ibn „Arabi, Gender, and Sexuality. Chapel Hill, NC, University of North Carolina Press, 2012.
- al-Sharmani, Mulki . ―Islamic Feminism: Transnational and National Reflections.‖ Approaching Religion, vol. 4, No. 2 (December 2014.
- Thomas, Linda . ―Womanist Theology, Epistemology, and a New Anthropological Paradigm.‖ Cross-Currents. Winter. (1998)
- Tohidi, Naverah. ―Gender and Islamic Religious Extremism: Feminist Politics in Iran.‖ In Third World Women and the Politics of Feminism. Edited by Chandra Mohanty, Ann Russo and Lourdes Torres. Bloomington: Indian University Press, 1990. 251-270.
- —. ―The Issues at Hand. ‖ In Women in Muslim Societies: Diversity Within Unity, edited by. Herbert Bodman and Nayereh Tohidi. London: Lynn Reiner, 1998
- Umar, Fatima Naseef . Women in Islam: a Discourse i n Rights and Obligations. Sterling: New Delhi, 1999.
- Wadud, Amina . ― Islam be yond Patriarchy through Gender I nclusive Qur‘ānic Analysis .‖ In Wanted: Equality and Justice in the Muslim Family. Edited by Zainah Anwar. Kuala Lumpur, Musawah, 2009 . 95–
- —. Inside the Gender Jihad: Women‟s Reform in Islam . Oxford: Oneworld, 2006.
- —. Qur‟ ī n and Women: Rereading the Sacred Text from a Women‟s Perspective. New York :1999.
- Williford, Miriam . ―Bentham on the Rights of Women. ‖ Journal of History of Ideas Vol. 36, No. 1 (Jan. - Mar., 1975): 167-176.
- Wollstonecraft, Mary . The Vindication of the Rights of Women . New York: Prometheus Books, 1989.