Critiquing Islamic Feminism from a Social Psychological Perspective
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59653/jmisc.v1i02.130Keywords:
Islamic feminism, Islamic reformism, social psychology, revelation, prophet, gender, masculinity, femininity, gender rolesAbstract
Islamic feminism represents a feminist discourse that seeks to reinterpret the Qur'an from a contemporary egalitarian perspective, challenging the traditional and patriarchal interpretations of Islam. By doing so, Islamic feminists aim to reclaim an ethical vision of the Qur'an, especially concerning verses that have historically deprived women of equal rights within the family and society. Through their efforts, Islamic feminism introduces new discourses and debates on gender relations within an Islamic context, fostering a greater gender and religious consciousness and furthering the cause of gender equality. This paper takes a critical approach to Islamic feminism, employing a social psychological perspective on gender, using Abdulkarim Soroush's theory. According to Soroush, revelation is understood as the prophet's inspired expression resulting from his religious experience. It is not a direct word from God but rather Muhammad's interpretation of a divine experience. In this context, the paper examines the lived experience of the prophet as a man in a specific historical epoch where women's lived experiences were not adequately represented. It highlights how the revelation or the Qur'an is rooted in a male lived experience. The paper begins with an overview of Islamic feminists and Islamic reformists, both of whom strive to view the revelation as the prophet's word rather than attributing the non-scientific content of the Qur'an directly to God's word. Subsequently, it delves into a critique of Islamic feminism through the lens of Abdulkarim Soroush's theory on recognizing the revelation as the prophet's word. Additionally, the paper draws upon gender theories from the field of social psychology to provide a comprehensive analysis of the subject matter.
Downloads
References
Abu-Lughod, Lila. 1998. Feminist Longings and Postcolonial Conditions. In Remaking Women Feminism and Modernity in the Middle East. Edited by Lila Abu-Lughod. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Adujar, Ndeye. 2013. Feminist Readings of the Quran: Social, Political, and Religious Implications. In Muslima Theology: The Voices of Muslim Women Theologians. Edited by Ednan Aslan, Marcia Hermansen and Elif Medeni. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, pp. 59-80.
Ahmed, Leila. 1992. Women and Gender in Islam Historical Roots of a Modern Debate. London: Yale University Press.
Ali, Kecia. 2003. Muslim Sexual Ethics: Understanding a Difficult Verse, Qur'an 4:34. Near Eastern and Judaic Studies Brandeis University. Available online: https://www.brandeis.edu/projects/fse/muslim/diff-verse.html (accessed on 21 November 2022).
Ali, Kecia. 2006. Sexual Ethics and Islam Feminist Reflections on Qur'an, Hadith, and Jurisprudence. Oxford: Oneworld Publications.
Ali, Kecia. 2014. The Lives of Muhammad. London: Harvard University Press.
Anwar, Zainah. 2009. Negotiating gender rights under religious law in Malaysia. 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, pp. 175-86.
Badran, Margot. 2001. Understanding Islam, Islamism, and Islamic Feminism. Journal of Women's History 13: 47-52. [CrossRef]
Barlas, Asma. 2007. Women's readings of the Qur'atn. In The Cambridge Companion to the Qur'a-n. Edited by Jane Dammen McAuliffe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 255-72.
Barlas, Asma. 2019. Believing Women in Islam Unreading Patriarchal Interpretations of the Qur'an. Austin: University of Texas Press.
Beall, Anne E., Alice H. Eagly, and Robert J. Sternberg. 2004. Introduction. In The Psychology of Gender. Edited by Alice H. Eagly, Anne E. Beall and Robert J. Sternberg. New York: The Guilford Press.
Berger, Peter L. 1967. The Sacred Canopy: Elements of a Sociological Theory of Religion. New York: Doubleday.
Berger, Peter L., and Thomas Luckmann. 1966. The Social Construction of Reality: A Treatise in the Sociology of Knowledge. Garden City: Anchor Books, pp. 1-8.
Berger, Peter L., and Thomas Luckmann. 1995. Modernity, Pluralism and the Crisis of Meaning, the Orientation of Modern Man. Gutersloh: Bertelsmann Foundation Publishers.
Bussey, Kay, and Albert Bandura. 2004. Social Cognitive Theory of Gender Development and Functioning. In The Psychology of Gender.
Clarke, Peter B. 2006. New Religion in Global Perspective: A Study of Religions Changes in the Modern World. London: Routledge.
Deal, William E., and Timothy K. Beal. 2005. Theory for Religious Studies. New York: Routledge.
Edited by Alice H. Eagly, Anne E. Beall and Robert J. Sternberg. New York: The Guilford Press, pp. 92-120.
Eagly, Alice H., Wendy Wood, and Mary C. Johannesen-Schmidt. 2004. Social Role Theory of Sex Differences and Similarities: Implications for the Partner Preferences of Women and Men. In The Psychology of Gender. Edited by Alice H. Eagly, Anne E. Beall and Robert J. Sternberg. New York: The Guilford Press, pp. 269-95.
Hidayatullah, Aysha A. 2014. Feminist Edges of the Qur'an. New York: Oxford University Press.
Hunter, Shireen T. 2009. Islamic Reformist Discourse in Iran Proponents and Prospects. In Reformist Voices of Islam: Mediating Islam and Modernity. Edited by Shireen T. Hunter. New York: M.E. Sharpe, pp. 33-97.
Kadivar, Mohsen. 2011. Human Rights and Intellectual Islam. In New Directions in Islamic Thought: Exploring Reform and Muslim Tradition. Edited by Kari Vogt, Lena Larson and Christian Moe. London and New York: Tauris, pp. 47-74.
Marecek, Jeanne, Mary Crawford, and Danielle Popp. 2004. On the Construction of Gender, Sex, and Sexualities. In The Psychology of Gender. Edited by Alice H. Eagly, Anne E. Beall and Robert J. Sternberg. New York: The Guilford Press, pp. 192-216.
Mernissi, Fatima. 1991. Women and Islam an Historical and Theological Enquiry. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
Mir-Hosseini, Ziba. 1996. Stretching The Limits: A Feminist Reading of The Shari'a in Post Khomeini Iran. In Feminism and Islam Legal and Literary Perspectives. Edited by Mai Yamani. London: Ithaca Press, pp. 285-319.
Mir-Hosseini, Ziba. 2012. Decoding the "DNA of Patriarchy" in Muslim Family Laws. Open Democracy Free Thinking for the World. Available online: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/5050/decoding-dna-of-patriarchy-in-muslim-family-laws/ (accessed on 21 November 2022).
Mir-Hosseini, Ziba. 2015. What is Islamic Feminism. CILE Seminar on Ethics and Gender at the University of Oxford, CILE Center: Research Center for Islamic Legislation and Ethics -Official Account. Available online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fzf2D43wcTc (accessed on 21 November 2021).
Mir-Hosseini, Ziba. 2020. Why Do We Need "Islamic Feminism"? Al Raida Journal 44: 85-91.
Mubarak, Hadia. 2022. Rebellious Wives, Neglectful Husbands Controversies in Modern Qur'anic Commentaries. Oxford: Oxford Univer- sity Press.
Naraghi, Arash. 2005. Abdolkarim Soroush va Kamal-e Proje-ye Roshanfekri (Abolkarim Sorosh and Completeness of Intellectual Project). Official Website of Arash Naraghi. Available online: http://arashnaraghi.com/articles/soroush.pdf (accessed on 22 January 2022).
Pratto, Felicia, and Angela Walker. 2004. The Bases of Gendered Power. In The Psychology of Gender. Edited by Alice H. Eagly, Anne E. Beall and Robert J. Sternberg. New York: The Guilford Press, pp. 242-68.
Ridgeway, Cecilia L., and Chris Bourg. 2004. Gender as Status: An Expectation States Theory Approach. In The Psychology of Gender. Edited by Alice H. Eagly, Anne E. Beall and Robert J. Sternberg. New York: The Guilford Press, pp. 217-41.
Robinson, Neal. 1998. Ash'ariyya and Mo'tazila. In Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Edited by Edward Craig. London: Routledge. Available online: http://www.muslimphilosophy.com/ip/rep/H052 (accessed on 23 July 2022).
Sirry, Mun'im. 2022. The Qur'an with Cross-References. Berlin: de Gruyter.
Soroush, Abdolkarim. 2007. The Word of Mohammad. Interviewed by Michel Hoebink. Official Website of Abdolkarim Soroush. Available online: http://drsoroush.com/en/the-word-of-mohammad/ (accessed on 22 January 2022).
Soroush, Abdolkarim. 2008. Islam, Revelation and Prophethood: An Interview about the Expansion of Prophetic Experience. Official Website of Abdolkarim Soroush. Available online: http://tinyurl.com/nfwwgkk (accessed on 20 July 2022).
Soroush, Abdulkarim. 2009. The Expansion of Prophetic Experience Essays on Historicity, Contingency and Plurality in Religion. Boston: Brill. Soroush, Abdulkarim. 2020. Theory of Religion and power (Nazariyeh Din va Qodrat). An online speech at the New Vision Institute on December 26, 2020. Available online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yso34TeIXYY (accessed on 8 October 2022). Wadud, Amina. 2008. Inside the Gender Jihad Women's Reform in Islam. Oxford: Oneworld Publications.
West, Candace, and Don H. Zimmerman. 1987. Doing Gender. Gender and Society 1: 125-51.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Alberta Constance
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
