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Feminism in the Discourse of Asma Barlas: an Analysis from an Islamic Perspective

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Feminism in the Discourse of Asma Barlas: an Analysis from an Islamic Perspective FEMINISM IN THE DISCOURSE OF ASMA BARLAS: AN ANALYSIS FROM AN ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVE BY AISHA MOHAMED RASHAD A dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in UÎËl al-DÊn and Comparative Religion Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences International Islamic University Malaysia DECEMBER 2019 ABSTRACT The discourse on feminism among Muslims is gaining momentum around the world. While there are Muslims who identify themselves and their work within the feminist paradigm, there are others who resist such labels. Nonetheless, the works of these Muslims reflect feminist ideas. These Muslim feminists offer a feminist hermeneutical method to interpret the Qur’Én. This hermeneutical method is claimed and portrayed to be under an Islamic paradigm. Asma Barlas is among those who champion this recourse to the classical exegeses that have been accepted by Muslims for generations. She argues that classical exegetes read the Qur’Én in a way that gives men privilege over women and oppresses them. Accordingly, she offers her hermeneutics which she believes would liberate women and provide gender equality. This study assesses her hermeneutical method in light of Islamic perspective using classical texts as well as contemporary texts. Similarly, it examines the effect of Western feminism on Barlas’ ideas and her views. More specifically, it examines how the principles and concepts of Western feminism have influenced Barlas’ rereading of the Qur’Én. The study also examines Barlas’ reinterpretation of verses related to the veil, husband’s authority, and polygyny. The method utilized in this study is textual/content analysis. The research has obtained several findings. Firstly, Barlas’ arguments against classical exegeses are weak as she relies on secondary sources, most of which are from orientalists, to substantiate her claims rather than delving into the original sources to verify them. Secondly, Barlas’ own hermeneutics is faulty as she disregards authentic sources such as the aÍÉdÊth in her reading. Moreover, in her attempt to read gender equality into the Qur’Én, Barlas deviates from the established principles of Qur’Énic exegesis. Finally, the study has found that Barlas has been largely influenced by Western feminism. More specifically, Judeo-Christian feminist theologies have been crucial in her reading of the Qur’Én. ii مل َّخص البحث ABSTRACT IN ARABIC يكتسب احلديث يف النسوية بني املسلمني قّوةً دافعةً يف مجيع أحناء العامل. يف حني أن هناك مسلمني يعرفون أنفسهم وعملهم يف إطار اﻷمنوذج النسوي، وآخرون ممن يقاومون هذه التسميات. ومع ذلك، تعكس أعمال هؤﻻء املسلمني أفكاًرا نسوية. تقدم هؤﻻء النسوايت املسلمات طريقة أتويلية نسوية لتفسري القرآن. يتّم تصوير هذه الطريقة أتويلية لتكون يف إطار أمنوذج إسﻻمي. أمساء ابرﻻس هي من بني أولئك الذين يناصرون هذا اللجوء إىل التفسري الكﻻسيكي الذي قبله املسلمون ﻷجيال. وتقول إ ّن املفسرون الكﻻسيكي يقرءون القرآن بطريقة متنح الرجال امتيازات على النساء ويضطهدون النساء. وبناءً على ذلك، فإهنا تعرض أتويلها الذي تعتقد أنه سيحرر املرأة ويوفر املساواة بني اجلنسني. تقيم هذه الدراسة أسلوهبا التأويلي يف ضوء املنظور اﻹسﻻمي ابستخدام النصوص الكﻻسيكيّة والنصوص املعاصرة. وابملثل، فإنه يدرس أتثري احلركة النسائية الغربية يف أفكار ابرﻻس ووجهة نظرها. وبشكل أكثر حتديًدا، فإنّه يدرس كي َف أثّر ْت مبادئ ومفاهيم احلركة النسائيّة الغربيّة يف إعادة قراءة ابرﻻس للقرآن. تفحص الدراسة أي ًضا إعادة تفسري ابرﻻس لﻵايت املتعلقة ابحلجاب، وسلطة الزوج، وتعدد الزوجات. الطريقة املستخدمة يف هذه الدراسة هي حتليل النصوص أو احملتوى. وقد توصل البحث إىل عّدة نتائج. أوﻻً: حجج ابرﻻس ضد التفسري الكﻻسيكي ضعيفة؛ ﻷهنا تعتمد على مصادر اثنويّة، معظمها من املستشرقني، ﻹثبات اّدعاءاهتا بدﻻً من اخلوض يف املصادر اﻷصلية للتحقق منها. اثنيًا: إ ّن أتويل "ابرﻻس" اخلا ّص هبا خاطئ؛ ﻷهنا تتجاهل يف قراءهتا املصادر اﻷصيلة مثل اﻷحاديث الشريفة.عﻻوة على ذلك، يف حماولتها قراءة املساواة بني اجلنسني يف القرآن، تنحرف ابرﻻس عن املبادئ الراسخة للتفسري القرآين. وأخ ًريا، وجدت الدراسة أ ّن اب رﻻس أتثّر ْت بشكل كبري ابلنسويّة الغربيّة. وبشكل أكثر حتديًدا، كانت الﻻهوتيات اليهوديّة املسيحيّة يف غاية اﻷمهية يف قراءهتا للقرآن. iii APPROVAL PAGE The dissertation of Aisha Mohamed Rashad has been approved by the following: _____________________________ Thameem Ushama Supervisor _____________________________ Haslina Ibrahim Co-Supervisor _____________________________ Adibah binti Abdul Rahman Internal Examiner _____________________________ Anis Ahmad External Examiner _____________________________ Sharifah Hayati Syed Ismail External Examiner _____________________________ Amir Akramin bin Shafie Chairman iv DECLARATION I hereby declare that this dissertation is the result of my own investigations, except where otherwise stated. I also declare that it has not been previously or concurrently submitted as a whole for any other degrees at IIUM or other institutions. Aisha Mohamed Rashad Signature ........................................................... Date ......................................... Co v COPYRIGHT PAGE INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA DECLARATION OF COPYRIGHT AND AFFIRMATION OF FAIR USE OF UNPUBLISHED RESEARCH FEMINISM IN THE DISCOURSE OF ASMA BARLAS: AN ANALYSIS FROM AN ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVE I declare that the copyright holders of this dissertation is Aisha Mohamed Rashad Copyright © 2019 Aisha Mohamed Rashad. All rights reserved. No part of this unpublished research may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior written permission of the copyright holder except as provided below 1. Any material contained in or derived from this unpublished research may be used by others in their writing with due acknowledgement. 2. IIUM or its library will have the right to make and transmit copies (print or electronic) for institutional and academic purposes. 3. The IIUM library will have the right to make, store in a retrieved system and supply copies of this unpublished research if requested by other universities and research libraries. By signing this form, I acknowledged that I have read and understand the IIUM Intellectual Property Right and Commercialization policy. Affirmed by Aisha Mohamed Rashad ……..…………………….. ……………………….. Signature Date vi DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my beloved parents Mohamed Rashad Hussain and Aminath Zameel for their love and care & To my husband Mohamed Shujau Abdul Hakeem for always being there for me vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Alhamdulillah. All praise is to Allah, the Most Gracious, for showing His mercy and blessings and giving me strength and courage to complete this journey. And may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon our beloved Prophet MuÍammad. I am indebted to all those who contributed towards the completion of this study. First and foremost, I am deeply indebted to my supervisor Professor Dr. Thameem Ushama for his constant guidance, advice and support throughout my study. He has been very generous with his time and provided me with the most useful suggestions and detailed comments. May Allah bless him and grant him good health. My sincere thanks goes to all my lecturers especially Professor Dr. Ibrahim Mohamed Zein and Professor Dr. Mohammad Mumtaz Ali for guiding me during my studies at IIUM. My deepest gratitude to my parents who sacrificed so much for me. Words cannot give justice to what you have given me. I also wish to thank my brothers, Husen and Ahmed; and sisters, Athika, Alima, and Athiga for their constant encouragement and their help during my studies. My heartfelt appreciation to my husband Mohamed Shujau Abdul Hakeem for believing in me when I had doubts myself and for been patient with me and encouraging me. Without his constant encouragement and support I would not be here today. To my daughters Uswa and Ulya for bringing joy and happiness to my life. I am also grateful to my friends especially Aishath Khaleela Abdul Sattar and Munira Arshad for their help and support. And to all those who helped me. May Allah bless you all. JazÉkum Allah khairan. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract .................................................................................................................... ii Abstract in Arabic .................................................................................................... iii Approval Page .......................................................................................................... iv Declaration ............................................................................................................... v Copyright Page ......................................................................................................... vi Dedication ................................................................................................................ vii Acknowledgements .................................................................................................. viii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION .................................................................. 1 1.1 Introduction............................................................................................. 1 1.2 Statement of the Problem........................................................................ 2 1.3 Significance of the Study ........................................................................ 3 1.4 Research Questions ................................................................................. 3 1.5 Research Objectives...............................................................................
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