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.
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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 األمنوذج النسوي، وآخرون ممن يقاومون هذه التسميات. ومع ذلك، تعكس أعمال هؤالء املسلمني أفكاًرا نسوية. تقدم هؤالء النسوايت املسلمات طريقة أتويلية نسوية لتفسري القرآن. يتّم تصوير هذه الطريقة أتويلية لتكون يف إطار أمنوذج إسالمي. أمساء ابرالس هي من بني أولئك الذين يناصرون هذا اللجوء إىل التفسري الكالسيكي الذي قبله املسلمون ألجيال. وتقول إ ّن املفسرون الكالسيكي 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 اإلسالمي ابستخدام النصوص الكالسيكيّة والنصوص املعاصرة. وابملثل، فإنه يدرس أتثري احلركة النسائية الغربية يف أفكار ابرالس ووجهة نظرها. وبشكل أكثر حتديًدا، فإنّه يدرس كي َف أثّر ْت مبادئ ومفاهيم احلركة النسائيّة الغربيّة يف إعادة قراءة ابرالس للقرآن. تفحص الدراسة أي ًضا إعادة تفسري ابرالس لآلايت املتعلقة ابحلجاب، وسلطة الزوج، وتعدد الزوجات. الطريقة املستخدمة يف هذه الدراسة هي حتليل النصوص أو احملتوى. وقد توصل البحث إىل عّدة نتائج. أوالً: حجج ابرالس ضد التفسري الكالسيكي ضعيفة؛ ألهنا تعتمد على مصادر اثنويّة، معظمها من املستشرقني، إلثبات اّدعاءاهتا بدالً من اخلوض يف املصادر األصلية للتحقق منها. اثنيًا: إ ّن أتويل "ابرالس" اخلا ّص هبا خاطئ؛ ألهنا تتجاهل يف قراءهتا املصادر األصيلة مثل األحاديث الشريفة.عالوة على ذلك، يف حماولتها قراءة املساواة بني اجلنسني يف القرآن، تنحرف ابرالس عن املبادئ الراسخة للتفسري القرآين. وأخ ًريا، وجدت الدراسة أ ّن اب رالس أتثّر ْت بشكل كبري ابلنسويّة الغربيّة. وبشكل أكثر حتديًدا، كانت الالهوتيات اليهوديّة املسيحيّة يف غاية األمهية يف قراءهتا للقرآن.
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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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...... 4 1.6 Methodology of the Research ...... 4 1.7 Literature Review ...... 5 1.8 General Organization of the Research ...... 11
CHAPTER TWO: STATUS OF WOMEN IN ISLAM ...... 14 2.1 Introduction...... 14 2.2 Spiritual Aspect ...... 14 2.2.1 Origin of Creation ...... 14 2.2.2 Worship, Reward, and Punishment ...... 17 2.3 Social Aspect ...... 20 2.3.1 Childhood ...... 20 2.3.2 Marriage ...... 22 2.3.2.1 Duties and Rights of Wife ...... 25 2.3.2.2 Polygyny ...... 29 2.3.3 Parenthood ...... 31 2.4 Economic Aspect ...... 34 2.4.1 Freedom in Financial Transactions ...... 34 2.4.2 Inheritance ...... 37 2.5 Summary ...... 39
CHAPTER THREE: WESTERN FEMINISM ...... 40 3.1 Introduction...... 40 3.2 Historical Development of Feminism ...... 41 3.2.1 First Wave Feminism ...... 42 3.2.2 Second Wave Feminism ...... 45 3.2.3 Third Wave Feminism ...... 47 3.3 Schools of Feminism ...... 48 3.3.1 Liberal Feminism ...... 48 3.3.2 Marxist Feminism ...... 52 3.3.3 Radical Feminism ...... 57
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3.3.4 Postmodern Feminism...... 60 3.4 Feminist Theology ...... 61 3.4.1 Christian Feminist Theology ...... 63 3.4.2 Jewish Feminist Theology ...... 71 3.5 Summary ...... 73
CHAPTER FOUR: MUSLIM FEMINISTS ...... 75 4.1 Introduction...... 75 4.2 Modern Muslim Feminists ...... 76 4.2.1 QÉsim AmÊn ...... 76 4.2.2 HudÉ al-Sha‘rÉwÊ ...... 77 4.2.3 Nawal El Sadawi ...... 79 4.3 Postmodern Muslim Feminists ...... 81 4.3.1 Amina Wadud ...... 81 4.3.2 Riffat Hassan ...... 86 4.3.3 Fatima Mernissi...... 88 4.3.4 Other Muslim Feminists...... 90 4.4 Muslims’ Responses to Feminism ...... 92 4.5 Summary ...... 94
CHAPTER FIVE: BIOGRAPHICAL BACKGROUND: ASMA BARLAS .... 95 5.1 Introduction...... 95 5.2 Socio-Economic Status of Women in Pakistan ...... 95 5.2.1 Family and Marriage ...... 98 5.2.2 Women and Legal System in Pakistan ...... 99 5.3 Biography of Asma Barlas...... 101 5.3.1 Childhood and Education ...... 101 5.3.2 Professional Career ...... 102 5.3.3 Work on the Qur’Én ...... 105 5.3.4 Non-Identification with Muslim Feminists/Islamic Feminism ..... 107 5.4 Summary ...... 108
CHAPTER SIX: REREADING THE QUR´ÓN AND FEMINIST DISCOURSE ...... 110 6.1 Introduction...... 110 6.2 Rereading the Qur’Én ...... 110 6.2.1 Barlas’ Critique of Tradition ...... 113 6.2.1.1 TafsÊr ...... 113 6.2.1.2 Sunnah ...... 115 6.2.2 Liberatory Reading of the Qur’Én ...... 117 6.3 Hermeneutics of Asma Barlas ...... 118 6.3.1 Methodological Principles for Reading Equality ...... 118 6.3.2 Theological Basis for Equality ...... 123 6.4 Gender Discourse in the Qur’Én ...... 125 6.4.1 Human Origin ...... 125 6.4.2 Gaze, Seclusion, and the Veil ...... 127 6.4.3 Fathers/Husbands’ Authority ...... 131 6.4.4 Polygyny ...... 139 6.5 Summary ...... 141
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CHAPTER SEVEN: BARLAS’ QUR´ÓNIC DISCOURSE: AN EVALUATION ...... 143 7.1 Introduction ...... 143 7.2 Rereading the Qur’Én: Quest for Liberation? ...... 143 7.2.1 Theological Critique ...... 147 7.2.2 Human Creation ...... 150 7.2.3 Barlas’ Critique of Tradition: An Evaluation ...... 154 7.3 Hermeneutical Framework of Barlas: An Analysis ...... 161 7.4 Sex and Gender in the Qur’Én ...... 166 7.4.1 Gaze, Seclusion, and the Veil ...... 166 7.4.2 Fathers/Husbands’ Authority ...... 171 7.4.3 Polygyny ...... 180 7.5 Summary ...... 184
CHAPTER EIGHT: CONCLUSION ...... 186
BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... 194
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CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 INTRODUCTION
Feminism, like other ‘isms’ is a perspective that has its origins in the West. The feminist movement demanded ‘emancipation’ of women, freedom from dependency of men, educational opportunity and political rights for women.1 During the colonization of the
Muslim world, Muslim women started following the feminist movement of the West.
They didn’t recognize that Islam had already given them their rights, but believed that
Islam is a religion that “professes models of hierarchical relationships and sexual inequality and puts a sacred stamp onto female subservience”.2
However, in recent years, some Muslim women started to differentiate between
Qur’Én as the word of Allah and the understanding of it by scholars. These Muslims believe that Qur’Én is an antipatriarchal text and that it was the men who gave it patriarchal readings.3 Their argument is that the Qur’Én had given women an equal position as men, but that it was the exegesis and the SharÊ‘ah which were developed by men that took away this equality. Hence, they challenge “the theme of male privilege that Muslims historically have read into the Qur’Én while also recuperating its teachings on sexual equality”.4
1 Abdul Salam Muhammad Shukri, “Islamic Feminist Discourse: Origins and Development in the Muslim World”. Paper prepared for the International Conference on Humanities (INCoH), (Penang: Universiti Sains Malaysia, 2011). 2 Fatima Mernissi, Women’s Rebellion and Islamic Memory, (London: Zed, 1996), 14. 3 Asma Barlas, “The Qur’Én, Sexual Equality, and Feminism,” Ithaca College,
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Asma Barlas, a Pakistani-American scholar, is one the top advocates of this view of Islam. She has a B.A. in English Literature and Philosophy (Kinnaird College,
Pakistan), an M.A. in Journalism (University of the Punjab, Pakistan), and a Ph.D. in
International Studies (Graduate School of International Studies, University of Denver,
Colorado). She started her career as an officer in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of
Pakistan. She then worked as an assistant editor at The Muslim, before seeking political asylum in United States. She is currently the director of the Center for the Study of
Culture, Race, and Ethnicity at Ithaca College, New York. She has published books and journal articles on the subject of Islam, Muslims, women, and gender.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
In the recent decades, some Muslims, like Asma Barlas, had started to advocate a re- reading of the Qur’Én. According to Barlas, Qur’Én was revealed to a patriarchal society and had been interpreted by adherents of patriarchy.5 Hence, she argues that it is imperative for Muslims, especially Muslim women to challenge this patriarchal exegesis of the Qur’Én and re-interpret it to give women their equal status as men. In so doing, she criticizes the SharÊ‘ah which she believes is also a manifestation of the patriarchal society. As a result, she moves away from the established methodologies of interpreting the Qur’Én and its sources.
However, since she claims that her fight for sexual equality is within Islam, more specifically, within Qur’Én, it is imperative to analyze and evaluate her methodology and her arguments from an Islamic perspective. More specifically, it is important to see
5 Asma Barlas, “Believing Women in Islam”: Unreading Patriarchal Interpretations of the Qur’Én, (Austin: University of Texas Press, 2002), xi.
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whether this trend of feminism, which Asma Barlas and others like her advocate, is within the framework of Islamic ‘aqÊdah.
Hence, the purpose of this study is to analyze and evaluate the works of Asma
Barlas from an Islamic perspective.
1.3 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
Asma Barlas is a professor who has written numerous articles and delivered a number of public speeches. She is propagating her understanding of Islam with evidence from
Qur’Én as claimed by her. Since she is such a prolific writer, she is able to influence the
Muslims in the Western world. In view of the fact that Barlas argues that her work is within the framework of Islam, it is imperative that it should be investigated thoroughly.
Therefore, this study is intended to find whether Barlas’ understanding is in compliance with the teaching of Islam. The study will help readers to know the true picture of feminism according to Barlas and whether it is really within Islam.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The study will attempt to answer the following questions:
1. What is the methodology of Asma Barlas in understanding Islam’s stance
regarding women?
2. What is Asma Barlas’ interpretation of Islamic teachings regarding issues
of women?
3. Is the position of Asma Barlas regarding the status of women in accordance
with the mainstream teachings of Islam?
4. Is Asma Barlas influenced by the ideologies of Western feminisms and its
principles that are contrary to the teachings of Islam?
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1.5 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
The study is aimed at achieving the following objectives:
1. To explore the methodology used by Asma Barlas to understand issues
related to women.
2. To explore Barlas’ understanding in relation to women’s issues in the
Qur’Én.
3. To investigate whether Asma Barlas’ understanding women’s issues and
related principles are in accordance with the mainstream teachings of Islam.
4. To evaluate the concepts and principles of Western feminism and see if
Asma Barlas’ understanding of feminism has been influenced by Western
feminism.
1.6 METHODOLOGY OF THE RESEARCH
The current study aims at analyzing works of Asma Barlas from an Islamic perspective.
Hence, a detailed and thorough examination of all her works which are related to feminism, women and gender issues is conducted. Furthermore, an in-depth analysis of her methodology in reinterpreting the Qur’Én is done in order to analyze it from an
Islamic perspective.
Thus, the method used in this study is qualitative. As such, the main feature of this approach is textual/content analysis. In addition to works conducted by Barlas, classical texts on the subject are used in the analysis. Furthermore, to examine and critically evaluate the thoughts of Barlas, other Muslim scholars’ views on the same issues are studied as well. The materials that are used in this research include books, journal articles, conference papers, and public lectures. Thematic analysis is used to analyze the collected data.
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1.7 LITERATURE REVIEW
The subject of Western feminism has been a well-researched area. However, there is limited number of researches conducted on individual Muslim feminists and their ideologies. This part of the research will review the literature conducted on the writings of Asma Barlas.
Several authors have reviewed Barlas’ book “Believing Women" in Islam:
Unreading Patriarchal Interpretations of the Qur’Én, in which she provides her methodology in understanding the Qur‘Én and her stand regarding women and gender issues. Even though there have been some studies on feminism from an Islamic perspective, few have been conducted regarding the works of Barlas. The researcher was not able to find any published study that focuses primarily on the works of Barlas and critically examine her methodologies and understandings from an Islamic perspective.
Nonetheless, in some studies, researchers did examine Barlas and her works in a section of their research. Duderija and Rane, in their article “Female religious authority”,6 discussed the main female actors in religious authority among the Western
Muslims. Amina Wadud and Asma Barlas were identified as two scholars in gender jihad. As such, Duderija and Rane gave descriptions of their work and their methodologies. According to them, the main focus of Barlas is to develop non- patriarchal interpretations and restore Qur’Énic basis of sexual equality. According to them, she does this on historical and interpretational grounds. Nonetheless, their work on the work of Asma Barlas is only descriptive with no analysis of her methodology or interpretations of Qur’Én.
6 Adis Duderija and Halim Rane, “Female Religious Authority” in Islam and Muslims in the West, edited by Adis Duderija and Halim Rane (Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 2019), 121-141.
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Farah Deeba also discusses few Islamic feminists and their contributions in her article, “Islamic feminism: Gender equity by deconstructing tradition”.7 Among the books Deeba analyzes is Asma Barlas’ “Believing women…”. However, Deeba gives only a brief account of the book and the rationale of Barlas in criticizing Islamic tradition. The article does not provide a detailed analysis on the contents of the book.
A more detailed account of Barlas’ work is portrayed by Katajun Amirpur in her book “New Islamic thinking in Islam: The jihad for democracy”.8 In this book Amirpur examines the works of six figures in the field of Islamic studies. Amina Wadud and
Asma Barlas are among those who interpreted the Qur’Én from a feminist perspective.
Like Wadud, Barlas also believes that suppression of women is contrary to the teachings of Islam. However, Amirpur concludes that Barlas’ approach to rereading the Qur’Én is more systematic than Wadud.9
Juliane Hammer, in her article “Identity, authority, and activism: American
Muslim women approach the Qur’Én”,10 gives a general account of Barlas and her book
“Believing women in Islam.” Hammer describes Barlas and two other Americans, namely, Amina Wadud and Nimat Barazangi as scholars in Islamic thought and activists for the cause of women. She highlights the personal stake of each of these women in writing their books and their challenges in promoting their views and to be accepted by the mainstream. Furthermore, in her article, Hammer only provides only a brief description of the work by Barlas in reinterpreting the Qur’Én.
7 Farah Deeba, “Islamic Feminism: Gender Equity by Deconstructing Tradition”, Paper presented at 3rd Kanita Postgraduate International Conference on Gender Studies, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 2016. 8 Katajun Amirpur, New Islamic Thinking in Islam: The Jihad for Democracy, Freedom, and Women’s Rights. (London: Ginko, 2015).
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A study conducted by Norma Kassim entitled, “The influence of feminist movement and establishing of women’s rights in Islam”11, describes the emergence of feminism in the West and the different ideologies within Western feminism. She further identifies Muslims who were influenced by this Western feminism and provided a brief description of their works. As such, she described briefly Barlas and her rereading of the Qur’Én. She summarized the arguments of Barlas in just one paragraph and there was no analysis of her thoughts.
Another study was done by Israt Turner-Rahman, who had allocated a small section for views of Barlas in her Doctoral dissertation “Consciousness blossoming:
Islamic feminism and Qur’Énic exegesis in South Asian Muslim diaspora communities”.12 In it she provided a basic account of the arguments made by Barlas in her book. In about five pages, she briefly describes the foundations of Barlas’ theory.
Even though this is a little bit more detailed than the other studies, it still does not provide a critical evaluation from Islamic perspective. In general, Turner-Rahman praises Barlas’ endeavors.
Some Muslim feminists have criticized Asma Barlas on the way she engages in dismissing others’ views. A critique of Asma Barlas is given by Kecia Ali in her article
“On critique and careful reading”.13 However, in this article, Ali does not analyze
Barlas’ methodology in interpreting the Qur’Én, but rather she responds to Barlas’ critique of Ali’s article “Secular and Feminist Critiques of the Qur’Én: Anti-
Hermeneutics as Liberation”. According to Ali, Barlas “mischaracterizes others’
11 Norma Kassim, “The Influence of Feminist Movement and Establishing of Women’s Rights in Islam” in Muslim Women in Contemporary Societies, edited by Hassan Ahmed Ibrahim and Zaleha Kamaruddin (Kuala Lumpur: IIUM Press, 2009), 230. 12 Israt Turner-Rahman, “Consciousness Blossoming: Islamic Feminism and Qur’Énic Exegesis in South Asian Muslim Diaspora Communities,” (Ph.D. Thesis, Washington State University, 2009), 205-210. 13 Kecia Ali, “On Critique and Careful Reading”, Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, vol 32, no.2 (2016), 121-126.
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arguments by weaving together decontextualized snippets and misconstruing specific phrases”.14 Furthermore, she accuses Barlas of not engaging in exegetical argument with others and instead is portraying “herself as speaking from within the bounds of religious orthodoxy (“Since I believe in an omniscient God” (emphasis added) while implying that others lack this belief.”15 Thus, according to Ali, Barlas holds that those who offer critiques of her interpretations are not really Muslim.16
Another critique is given by Karen Bauer in her article “In defense of historical- critical analysis of the Qur’Én.”17 Bauer criticizes Barlas’ accusations that other
Muslim feminists’ methodology raises questions whether the Qur’Én is the Word of
God. According to Bauer, the liberatory approach of Barlas ignores “the full scope of justice and ethics that exist in the text.”18 A much thorough investigation of Barlas was done by Aysha Anjum Hidayatullah in her doctoral dissertation, “Women trustees of
Allah: Methods, limits, and possibilities of feminist theology in Islam”19 published in
2014 as a book entitled “Feminist Edges in the Qur’Én”. In her dissertation,
Hidayatullah examined and compared selected works of seven Muslim feminists, namely, Riffat Hassan, Aziza al-Hibri, Fatima Mernissi, Amina Wadud, Asma Barlas,
Sa’diyyah Sheikh, and Kecia Ali. She identified the textual interpretive strategies that are common in all of them and categorized these into three: historical contextualization, holistic reading, and tawÍÊdic paradigm. The selected portions were then read to examine the use of these three methodologies in the works of the Muslim feminists.
14 Ibid, 122. 15 Ibid., 125 16 Ibid. 17 Karen Bauer, “In Defense of Historical-Critical Analysis”, Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, vol 32, no.2 (2016), 126-130. 18 Ibid., 127. 19 Aysha Anjum Hidayatullah, “Women Trustees of Allah: Methods, Limits, and Possibilities of Feminist Theology in Islam,” (Ph.D. Thesis, University of California, 2009).
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Hidayatullah also discussed the Qur’Énic exegesis and HadÊth according to Muslim feminists. For them, including Barlas, the text should be treated as a unity, read holistically and intratextually. However, according to Barlas and other Muslim feminists, exegetes have “violated one of the hermeneutic principles suggested by the
Qur’Én for its own interpretation”20 and has been treating it in a “piecemeal manner”; thus resulting in the patriarchal readings of the text.21 After discussing the methodologies used by the Muslim feminists, Hidayatullah concludes that the “feminist interpreters distinguish the Qur’Én’s universal moral principles from its particular and contingent statements, and they examine the historical context of the language and revelation of the Qur’Én’s central to its meaning”.22 It should also be noted that
Hidayatullah compares these Muslim feminists to great reformist thinkers and revivalists such as ’Ibn ‘Abd al-WahhÉb, MawdËdÊ, and QuÏb. She asserts,
Like them, Muslim feminist theologians are concerned with going back to the sources and reevaluating the Qur’Én independently, avoid recourse to ’isrÉ’iliyyÉt texts and advocating holistic treatment of the Qur’Én. They also reject the reiterations of taqlÊd, and perhaps most importantly, passionately lay claim to right of ijtihÉd.23
Hidayatullah also discussed how Muslim feminists draw upon Jewish and
Christian feminist theology in formulating their views. According to her, Muslim feminists refer to the Jewish and Christian theology to understand patriarchy and religious anthropology and have been inspired by their “interpretive devices such as hermeneutics of suspicion”.24 In her conclusion, Hidayatullah discusses the challenges faced by Muslim feminists including “race, class, sexuality, sectarian affiliation, and
20 Ibid., 169. 21 Ibid., 172. 22 Ibid., 237. 23 Ibid., 238. 24 Ibid., 238.
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national identity”.25 She also discussed the interpretative problems in the discourses of the Muslim feminists analyzed in the thesis. Citing Kecia Ali, she stresses that the methodologies of historical contextualization, holistic approach, as well as tawÍÊdic paradigm does not fully explain the seemingly patriarchal verses of the Qur’Én.26 In her thesis, Hidayatullah has very well discussed the methodologies used by Muslim feminists including Barlas, as well as some of the shortcomings of these methods.
However, she has not analyzed or discussed these methodologies from an Islamic perspective.
In 2016, Hidayatullah wrote an article in response to Barlas’ critique of her book
“Feminist edges”. In it, Hidayatullah questions the methodology of Barlas in privileging one set of interpretation over others based on the text itself as Barlas does. She argues, that treating the Qur’Én as a repository text which is used to draw principles from the language of other scholars “will extract meanings of male-female mutuality in some textual cases but also the meanings of male-female hierarchy in other textual cases.27
A much thorough study is conducted by Ibrahim Ilyasu Adam in his Doctoral dissertation entitled, “Gender sensitive verses in the Qur’Én: An analytical study of
Amina Wadud’s and Asma Barlas’ hermeneutics”.28 The purpose of his study was to examine the extent of Wadud’s and Barlas’ perception of gender inequality in shaping their Qur’Énic hermeneutics. In his study, Adam had focused on analyzing the gender- sensitive verses on which Barlas had offered her new readings and analyzed them from
25 Ibid., 239. 26 Ibid., 251. 27 Aysha Anjum Hidayatullah, “Claims to the Sacred”, Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, vol 32, no.2 (2016), 134-138. 28 Ibrahim Ilyasu Adam, “Gender Sensitive Verses in the Qur’Én: An Analytical Study of Amina Wadud’s and Asma Barlas’ Hermeneutics,” (PhD dissertation, International Islamic University, 2015).
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an Islamic perspective. However, he had not analyzed Barlas’ views on theology and how much Barlas was affected by Western feminism and Muslim feminists.
From the above literature review, it is observed that none of the existing literature, as far as the readings of the researcher is concerned, critically analyzed works of Barlas from an Islamic perspective in a comprehensive manner. While some works on Barlas are descriptive and merely cursory, others have focused from a methodological point of view.
Feminism has taken many forms, in the West as well as in Muslims societies.
While some Muslim feminists argue that Islam is a patriarchal religion, others scholars view that Islam in its pure form is antipatriarchal. While Western feminism has been analyzed by Muslim scholars quite extensively, recent Muslim feminists’ thoughts have to be researched as well. Moreover, it is more important to analyze the works of Muslim feminists since they are claiming that their interpretations are within the paradigm of tawÍÊd and is based on Qur’Én itself. Since these Muslim feminists are dealing with the
Qur’Én and the way to interpret it, it is imperative that their methods and interpretations are discussed from an Islamic point of view as well.
Thus, analyzing Barlas’ understanding and interpretation of women’s issues is vital and a must, given that up to date, no one has so far critically analyzed all her works whether her understanding and methodology is in compliance with the teaching of
Islam.
1.8 GENERAL ORGANIZATION OF THE RESEARCH
The research is divided into eight chapters. The first chapter is an introductory chapter which highlights the need for the study. The chapter consists of statement of problem,
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significance of the study, research questions and objectives, methodology of the research. It also consists of review of literature conducted on the works of Barlas.
The second chapter focuses on the status and role of women in Islam. A detailed study of the status of women in society is conducted with reference to Qur’Én and
Sunnah. This is done by focusing on four main aspects, namely, spiritual, social, economic, and political aspects.
The third chapter is a study of Western feminism and feminist ideologies. Thus, this section highlights the history of Western feminism and its roots as well as the different stages in its development. The chapter also looks into the different ideologies of Western feminism, inter alia, Marxist feminist, liberal feminism, and radical feminism. It also discusses the Jewish and Christian feminist theologies as well. The purpose of this chapter is to understand Western feminism and identify if there is any influence of it on the thoughts and views of Asma Barlas.
The fourth chapter is a study of feminism and Muslims. This include study of
Muslims who follow Western feminism and those who declare themselves as “Islamic feminists”. These figures include Qasim Amin, Huda ShaÑrÉwÊ, ØÉdiq al-MahdÊ, Fatima
Mernissi, Riffat Hassan, Amina Wadud, Aziza al-Hibri, and Sa‘diyyah Sheikh. The views of these scholars are studied to analyze whether the views of Asma Barlas correspond with their views and her point of departure from them.
The fifth chapter consists a detailed study on Asma Barlas. Her life and works are explored. Moreover, the socio-political background of Pakistan during the period
Barlas was residing in Pakistan are explored to understand the circumstances that shaped the views of Barlas.
The sixth chapter is a thorough study of the works of Barlas. Firstly, her understanding of ‘aqÊdah and methodology in interpreting the Qur’Én is studied.
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Secondly, her viewpoint on Sharʑah law is examined. Lastly, the specific issues relating to women are examined.
The seventh chapter consists of an analysis of the sixth chapter from an Islamic perspective. As such, the chapter discusses Barlas’ understanding of ‘aqÊdah, analyze her understanding of Qur’Én interpretation, analyze her views regarding the traditions and her views on polygamy, equality of women and men, modesty, family issues, and so forth. This chapter also identifies, if any, the similarities and differences of the thoughts of Barlas to that of Western feminist ideologies, Jewish and Christian feminist theologies, and Muslim feminists. The eighth and final chapter is the conclusion. This chapter summarizes the findings of this research and conclude whether the views and understanding of Barlas is in line with mainstream teachings of Islam.
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