Female Qur'an Interpretations and Kerala Muslim Responses - Part 1
By Grace Mubashir, New Age Islam
25 July 2022
Muslim Woman In Orientalist Writings
Is Portrayed As A 'Victim' Of The Male-Centered System Of Islam And The
Over-Indulgence Of The Muslim Man
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Amina Wadud, an American-African-Muslim scholar
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Feminist interpreters of the Qur'an argue that Muslim women
have historically been excluded from the Islamic scholarly and social spheres
because authentic interpretations of the basic tenets of Islam are
male-centered. This school of thought was able to approach the Qur'an by
criticizing traditional methods of interpretation and emphasizing the theme of
gender justice. Aminah Wadud's Qur'an and Woman: Rereading the Sacred Text from
a Woman's Perspective (1992) is regarded as a classic text in this line. This
school of thought has been analyzed in the Kerala Muslim scholarly space as
well as at the global level and has given way to many debates. This debate is
alive in Kerala with the Malayalam translation of Amina Wadud’s work. Along
with Wadood, the Malayalees have more or less discussed other feminist
commentators in this range. This article intends to provide an overview of the
discourses generated by feminist interpretations of the Qur'an in Kerala
scholarly circles, specifically Muslim spaces.
Historical Backgrounds of Islam-Gender Justice Debates
There are two main reasons why the Muslim world is compelled
to present a world meeting about gender justice as envisioned by Islam. The
first of them is the Islamophobia and the subsequent alienation that is gaining
strength against Islam at the global level. The second is the questions raised
from within Islam itself about gender justice. Discourses on gender justice in
Islam are deeply intertwined with conquest. The Muslim woman in Orientalist
writings is portrayed as a 'victim' of the male-centered system of Islam and
the over-indulgence of the Muslim man. Mainstream feminist movements have
approached the Muslim woman using the possibilities of this logic of
occupation. Thus, the early days of feminist movements in colonized
Muslim-majority areas had a modern secular feel. Hence, they were unable to
absorb the theocratically motivated women's activism that came later.
But, the influence of Islamist ideas, forced secularization
in Muslim-majority areas, and renaissance thoughts formed within the Muslim
community led to new discussions and debates about gender justice in Islam. A
number of academics have called Islamic feminism the faith-based women's
activism active in the West Asian and North African regions of the nineteen
eighties and nineties. Margot Badran, Afzaneh Najmabadi and Ziba Mir Hosseini
are prominent scholars in this field. It should be noted that the so-called
Islamic feminists have generally been reluctant to accept the term.
Rifat Hasan, Aziza Al Hibri, Fatwima Merneisi, Amina Wadood,
Asma Berlas and others have contributed in this vein. Researchers such as Kasia
Ali, Ayesha Hidayatullah, and Saadiyya Shaikh can be called the second
generation by studying the reading of Islamic texts of the first generation of
feminists. According to Ayesha Hidayatullah, Wadudum Barlasum has composed
full-length commentaries on the topic of gender in the Qur'an in this vein.
Zahra Ayyubi observes that Wadud's study is the first research into feminist
critiques of traditional Qur'an interpretations.
Wadud and Barlas argue that the Muslim woman's exclusion
from theological discourse is a violation of her rights as a representative of
Allah. Wadud also argues that women's readings of the Qur'an are necessary to
reclaim the true identity of Muslim women and eliminate otherness. Wadood says
that her study can be considered post-colonial Islamic discourses as she
interprets the Qur'an by moving beyond grand narratives and introducing the
theme of gender, or as a feminist reading as she uses feminist methods.
Refuting the argument that the Qur'an is an oppressive text, Asma Barlas'
interpretation is characterized by its emphasis on emancipation.
Critics allege that Western-feminist influences have
infiltrated feminist commentators just as feminist commentators have criticized
the presuppositions of traditional commentators (the prior text). Another notable
criticism is that it tries to impose modern ideas on the Qur'an. Critics say
that she completely rejects Islamic tradition to adopt modern interpretations
and that her mission is to fit the modern woman into Islam. In connection with
Wadud's leading the Juma’ah prayer (2005), which made a big noise in the
Islamic world, many criticisms were raised for his interpretation of the
Qur'an. Except for a few reactions, the entire Islamic community has put
Wadud's imamate in the crosshairs. Critics have succeeded in giving Wadud an
anti-Islamic image by pointing out the issues of female leadership and
authority that Islam promotes and the inconsistencies in Wadud's
interpretation.
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A regular columnist for NewAgeIslam.com, Grace Mubashir
is a journalism student at IIMC, Delhi
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-women-feminism/female-quran-interpretations-part-1/d/127571
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