Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
by Katie Anderson
WOMEN AND GENDER IN ISLAM: HISTORICAL ROOTS OF A MODERN DEBATE. By Leila
Ahmed. (Bethany: Yale University Press, 1992)
THE MIDDLE EAST AND CENTRAL ASIA: AN ANTHROPOLOGICAL APPROACH. By Dale F.
Eickelman. (Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2002)
FEMINISM IN ISLAM. By Riffat Hassan. (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1999)
ISLAM, SOCIAL CHANGE AND THE REALITY OF ARAB WOMEN’S LIVES. By Nadia Hijab.
(New York: Oxford University Press, 2002)
with great caution. Scholars have argued whether Islam truly is a universal body of faith that is capable
should choose modernization and question the legitimacy of historic scholarly interpretation of Islamic
scriptures. The goal of this paper is to analyze modern scholarship of the feminine and religious
discourses, and the historical and modern interpretations of Islamic scripture, which perpetuate an
immutable religious-state policy. I will discuss different approaches towards historical perspectives, the
interpretations of the Qur’an, Hadiths, and other Islamic scriptures in relation to gender roles, gender
and Islamic law, and lastly how all of the above have applied to the discourse of Contemporary Muslim
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES
While it is important to have a firm grasp of the history of religion and society of pre-Islamic
and early Islamic Arab society, Leila Ahmed spends too much attention on the history of women and
gender in Islam. On the contrary, Tirza Visser addresses three different historical views regarding
First, that the rise of Islam benefited women because, unlike the previous system, Djahiliyya, Islam
introduced marriage and forbade infanticide. Second, that Djahiliyya was restricted by Islam, and the
rights women held in initiating marriage and polyandry (a woman’s right to have more than one
husband), retain membership within a matriarchy, and ability to divorce one’s husband. Islam imposed
patrilineal marriages and no other marriages were legal. Originally addressed to both sexes, polygamy
dates back to a time when wars were as prevalent as the taking of women as slaves. These slaves were
eventually made into secondary wives. Polygamy is reasoned through not only supporting and honoring
the first wife, but also through protecting a wife who cannot bear children, preventing a man from
committing adultery, which upholds social morality, and the deaths of men in war. Amira El-Azhary
Sonbol’s assertion of the historical marriage rights enjoyed by women supports Visser’s second theory
in which women experienced more freedoms when they functioned in tribal societies before the coming
of Islam.
The third view asserted by Visser, was that Islam took-over the cultural tradition in the region,
especially Mesopotamia. Byzantine and Sasanian women had few rights in marriage and were required
to veil. Pre-Islamic Arabia granted women a relatively large amount of power, enabled involvement in
tribal politics and granted them an individual voice in marriage. However, urban development led to
this system of patriarchy. When Muslim men invaded the tribes, they conquered the tribes and imposed
self-rule over the native women. The third perspective was essentially a combination of the first and
second perspectives.
Valerie Hoffman cites a tale about Sayyida Nafisa, an early Sufi Muslim saint. She investigates
the spiritual worth of men and women as it is addressed in the Qur’an. In Arab society, honor is
conceived in a corporate sense in families, and the honor of men resides in the chastity of their women.
The creation of rigorous modesty codes to uphold their honor has often resulted in the deprivation of
women’s spiritual and intellectual lives. Through maintaining a life of celibacy, eighth century Sufi
women rejected the guardianship of men, the requirement of obedience to them, and the burdens and
responsibilities of being a wife and mother. Extreme abstinence from food inhibits menstruation, which
becomes a tool for ensuring their constant access to the presence of God on par with men. The idea of
some modern historians that a pious woman was a man sent to Earth in the form of a woman implies
the degradation of the female sex, as a whole, and that true spirituality is confined to the male sex. It
also implied that one’s biological make-up is not a barrier to spiritual inspiration. By the 10th century,
only women who had already completed their duty of marriage were free to devote themselves to the
mystical life.
Visser skips to the period of colonialism to focus on how women were denied the opportunity of
entering warfare and politics. In the 19th century, education and European gender roles were introduced
by the colonialists. Conservative Muslims fought against the modernization of women because they
believed it was a plot set by Western Imperialists to undermine Muslim culture. Industrialization made
some women completely dependent on male income, which is also a view that Ahmed addresses.
According to El-Azhary Sonbol, by the twentieth century women were bound by the laws ordained by
scripture and their societies’ understandings of the past. Islam and women’s rights have been part of an
ongoing dialogue regarding the interpretation of Shari’ah since the end of the nineteenth century. The
impact of westernization began to bring about deep structural changes in various Muslim countries. As
Visser points out, the historical roots of patriarchy categorizes women as respectable or disreputable
where the veil has become the divide among women. While elite women had a share in power,
According to Riffat Hassan, a large proportion of Hadiths (scriptures or phrases attributed to the
prophet Muhammad) were judged to be spurious and forged by classical Muslim scholars themselves.
Much of Islam is based on the Hadith literature, and if the basis for its historicity is removed, it will
essentially make the entire religion invalid. The interpretation of the Hadiths has remained a mostly
male occupation, and Muslim culture remains overwhelmingly patriarchal, which inhibits the growth of
scholarship among women (particularly in the realm of religious thought). One reason that many
women are not aware of the misinterpretations of their discourse may be because the literacy rate of
Muslim women in rural areas, is the lowest in many Muslim countries. Hassan moves to address
contemporary Muslim women. Women who contribute towards national development think and behave
very differently from women who have no sense of their individual identity. Many contemporary
Muslim societies draw sharp distinctions between modernity as science, technology and a better
standard of life, and westernization as the degradation of society, which is not only colonization but
Hijab argues that women maintain solidarity and transmit cultural values in how they are
perceived. She emphasizes that women who gain rights do not have the respect of Muslim men, but
women who have their respect also have gained no rights. In Arab society, women have advantages in
all spheres, but priority is given to women who choose traditional, or family roles, since such roles are
supported by the patriarchal government. Hijab states that redefinition of women’s roles are viewed as
culture. However, if it were in the state’s interest to modernize, they would not hesitate to do so.
Hassan asserts that the Hadiths make all representatives of women ontologically inferior and
crooked, male-centered and male-controlled Muslim societies are not at all likely to acknowledge the
egalitarianism evident in the Qur’anic statements about human creation. The Qur’an, which does not
discriminate against women in the context of the “fall” episode, does not support the view, held by
many Muslims, that “woman was created not only from man but also for man”. On the contrary, from
a linguistic standpoint, the word “qawwamun” means “breadwinners” or “those who provide a means
of support or livelihood.” It refers not to those who are “protectors and managers (of women)”, but as
a normative statement pertaining to the Islamic concept of a division of labor in an ideal family or
community structure. Although Qur’anic scripture does not declare specific gender roles, it recognizes
that the burden of childcare is so great that women should not have to bear the burden of providing for
their families alone. Many conservative Muslims have falsely interpreted the above clarification as
certain proof for the assertion of such gender roles. Dale Eickelman explores the differences in the
socialization of the sexes, primarily how girls must be protected until marriage, lest they are
burdensome to the family and carry the burden of shame. Feminine status is tied to gender roles.
Legislative change does not always become active social change, although it depends on the population
and location of the region. Subordination is an ideological assumption shared by both genders – women
GENDER ROLES AND SHARI’AH
In the Qur’an, the sexes are equal but that’s not how it has been interpreted. Hassan, in her
article Feminist Theology as a Means of Combating Injustice Toward Women in Muslim Communities
and Culture, asserts that from a lingustic approach, translators of Qur’anic passages look at words with
multiple meanings and do not consider them all. Instead they only settle on those meanings that will
benefit them the most. Generally the skewed interpretation is used in support of a gender bias, which
perpetuates greater support for a patriarchal government or society. El-Azhary Sonbol seeks to uncover
how, in practice, women experienced a marked deterioration in gender relations under state patriarchy,
since the government extended its authority over all matters of family, gender and personal relations.
Shari’ah established systems and institutions that enabled the forcible incarceration of women by their
husbands. Courts committed women to these institutions of incarceration, and the police were used to
deliver them to husbands and fathers against their will. Eickelman argues that Shari’a is not simply
“law”, but one’s conduct as a Muslim. Nadia Hijab, on the other hand, questions how the identity in
independent Arab states will determine positions of interpretation of Shari’ah. Whereas the Shari’ah is
normally blamed for the unequal gender relations under which Muslim women live today, that Shari’ah
is interpreted and applied differently in the present, than other historical periods. El-Azhary Sonbol
suggests that by comparing the implementation of laws before and after the coming of the nation-state,
Moral precepts presented by Islam are intended to assure the cohesion and equality of the
community. However, this equality is not extended to women. Judgment, as El-Azhary Sonbol states, is
based on the biological differences between the two, and particularly on the fact that women are suited
to bear children. It has also been the male view that men are designed to lend physical protection
towards women. According to the laws and requirements of the Qur’an (into two categories of rituals
and social relations), both men and women are required to follow the same moral code. It is not salient
with the foundations of Islam (as presented within the Qur’an) to assign a position of total dependence
to women and complete legal dominance and guardianship to men (over women).
However, as El-Azhary Sonbol points out, the advancement of firearms and security has made man’s
protection of women less important. It is, indeed, the male view of these roles that has determined the
legal rights and duties of Islamic societies. The public and private spheres may also be viewed as a
form of physical protection, but are another attempt at molding women into a specific role.
El-Azhary Sonbol addresses the public-private sphere as a grevious error. The public-private sphere
teaches that the public sphere is the domain of men, whereas the private sphere, or the home, is the
domain of women. Conservative authors often interpret these spheres as blending with the onslaught of
Western influences. El-Azhary Sonbol uses archival research to prove that the public-private spheres
have questionable foundations in Islamic history. Hassan asserts that in order for women to enter the
public domain or men’s space, they must make themselves “faceless”, through veiling, which serves as
an extension of the segregation of the sexes. This process of veiling, Hassan argues, is also aimed at
reducing the value and status of women. In many matters two women were regarded as being equal to
one man. El-Azhary Sonbol emphasizes that understanding the nature of women’s work is essential to
understanding gender relations before the modern state. In fact, many women produced silk products
at home, and organized into pressure groups, thus showing labor awareness. Many assumptions of
modern scholars and clergy have no legal basis, yet continue to influence the way in which the Qur’an
and other sacred scriptures have been used to build hegemonic patriarchy.
Honor codes and systems of marriage are a selection of Islamic law which has been forged by
the prior interpretations of scripture by clergy, that have shaped the ways in which women experience
life under the veil of patriarchy. Hoffman, in her article about Sayyida Nafisa, the Sufi Muslim saint,
addresses how honor is identified: through the Muslim male. As cited earlier in this paper, the honor of
Muslim men lies in the chastity of Muslim women, a view also supported by Hassan. However, the
lengths that Arab society goes through in order to maintain that sense of order has severe implications
regarding the Muslim woman’s sense of spiritual growth. Hassan asserts that the maintenance of honor
in Arab societies through honor killings, female circumcisions, and denying women the opportunity to
use birth control are ways in which Arab patriarchal societies exert control over women’s bodies, and in
Interpretation of the scriptures has imposed specific rules on women regarding their rights in
marriage and the marital system of polygamy. Hassan states that Muslim societies have never regarded
men and women as equal, particularly in the context of marriage. However, El-Azhary Sonbol argues
that, according to the Qur’anic scriptures, both men and women are required to participate in an equal
distribution of labor in a marriage contract. Another bone of contention in the Islamic marriage is the
demand of men to have their wives worship them. Hassan suggests that Islam cannot conceivably
permit any human being to worship anyone but God. Each person, man and woman, is accountable for
their actions, which is often highly contradictory to the declaration that women must worship their
Scholars who believe women had greater freedom and rights before the coming of Islam
represent a third point of view. They draw upon the Qur’an and medieval clergy, reinterpreting and
questioning the validity of the prophetic traditions; and study connections between Qur’anic verses and
discuss the historical context of each verse to determine the meaning and authenticity of traditions. This
is the basis for reform efforts by governments, individuals and Islamic groups (both Liberal and
Conservative).
Women have become a major issue of contention between Conservative and Liberal Muslim
groups. While both groups differ in their approaches towards women’s rights and gender roles, they
agree with one another in their desire for such an issue to be controlled at the level of the patriarchy.
Unfortunately both Liberal and Conservative Muslims favored more patriarchal interpretations of
Islamic laws dealing with “the woman problem”. Mansoor Moaddel explores the discourses of
modernity and fundamentalism, with respect to Contemporary women’s issues. Modernity, as Moaddel
implies, favors women’s rights to education, involvement in political affairs, and questioning attitudes
towards women and the rejection of polygamy. Fundamentalism, or Conservative Muslim groups, seek
to have women barred from social functions, held in an inferior status to men, and preach about the
acceptance of polygamy. El-Azhary Sonbol believes that the Conservative approach undermines history
given to research detailing the actual practices and application of laws. Textual discourses are given
greater validity than legal practices, and selected texts present an eternal, unchanging appearance of
Islamic law, fitting with modern state patriarchy. In example of this, stoning laws have arisen out of a
skewed interpretation of shari’ah, as it appears in the Qur’an. For instance, while the Qur’an lists
punishment for adultery, it mentions lash or exile, and only after a voluntary confession is rendered
numerous times, but never stoning. On stoning, El-Azhary Sonbol concludes that such legal
FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS
Although some modern scholars do not take historical evidence or new interpretations of scripture as
seriously as they should, Hassan notes that the Qur’an places great emphasis on the preservation of
“fundamental human rights”: justice and equity; privacy and protection from slander; the right to
acquire knowledge; to move freely; to leave a place of origin under oppressive conditions; and the right
to a good life, as is possible in a just society, for justice leads to peace, and peace to self-actualization.
All of which are goals in the contemporary world. As Hassan stated, very few women engage in
scholarly study. The subject practically demands a rise in feminine scholarship, especially among
Muslim women who experience the effects of mis-interpreted scripture as it fits into Islamic law and
their daily lives. All of the authors discussed present fine considerations of future research, however I
propose that the best course of future research would address a series of stages. Before Muslim women
will engage in more scholarly studies, I propose setting the stage for them to do so. In order to attain
this feat, more educational reforms need to be available to Muslim women. By making them aware of
the elements that have traditionally called for strict definition of the rights of Muslim women, and
presenting options of which they may be unaware. Such opportunities may help them realize how
greatly their contributions are needed to solving a problem often called the “woman issue”.
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