Islamic feminism

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The Islamic feminism is concerned with the role of women in Islamic society. It aims for equality for all Muslims, regardless of gender, in public and private life. Muslim feminists represent women's rights, gender equality , equality and social justice in Islamic society. Although rooted in Islam , the movement's pioneers have also used secular and western discourses and see the role of Islamic feminism as part of a global feminist movement.

Movement representatives emphasize the deeply rooted teachings of equality in the Qur'an and encourage one to question the patriarchal interpretation of Islamic teachings through the Qur'an (word of God), hadith (traditions about Muhammad) and Sharia (Islamic law) for a more egalitarian and fairer society. In general, it can be classified as a more liberal movement in Islam .

A symbol of Islamic feminism with a crescent moon and a star within the symbol for the female gender

Definitions

Islamic feminism is defined as more radical by Islamic scholars compared to secular feminism. Islamic feminists base their reasoning on Islam and its teachings. They seek and demand full equality between men and women in public and private areas. Non-Muslims also contribute to the debate. The Koran is anchored as a central text within the discourse in Islam.

In recent times the concept of Islamic feminism has evolved, with Islamic groups taking care to get support from as many sections of society as possible; educated Muslim women strive to articulate their role in society. However, freedoms such as men's property rights and respect for women are often pushed aside, with little opportunity for those who wish to protest. It was mainly the upper and upper middle class women who were able to give the Islamic feminist movement a voice because they had the economic security and the necessary access to education and articulation to oppose widespread views.

Influences of secular feminism

The rise of modern feminism in the Islamic world is linked to increasing Western influence, with the political and economic endeavors to orientate themselves towards Western states and markets and Western ideas such as universal suffrage , human rights and access to education.

History of Islamic Feminism

Early reforms under Islam

During the early 7th century Islamic reforms, reforms of women's rights included marriage , divorce, and inheritance law . In other cultures, including the West, women were far from having this legal status; they only got it centuries later. The Oxford Dictionary of Islam says the general improvement in the status of Arab women is the prohibition of infanticide - especially the killing of girls shortly after birth - and the recognition of women as a legal person before the law. "The dowry , until then a price that was paid to the father (of the husband's AD), was converted into a gift that the wife could keep as part of her personal property."

After the introduction of Islamic law ( Sharia ), marriage was no longer seen as a status, but rather as a civil contract in which the woman's consent was mandatory. The women got inheritance rights in a patriarchal society in which previously only male relatives could inherit. Annemarie Schimmel writes, “Compared to the pre-Islamic position of women, Islamic legislation represented enormous progress; the woman has - at least according to the letter of the law - the right to dispose of what she has brought into the family or earned through her own work. "

William Montgomery Watt says Mohammed can be seen in the historical context of his time as a figure who testified on women's rights and made some things better. Watt explains: “At the time when Islam began, the conditions for women were terrible, they had no right to property , they were seen as man's property (as for example with the Samburu , Ade.), And if the Man had died, everything went to the sons. Mohammed gave women a certain basic security by introducing rights to property, inheritance, education and decision-making. "Haddad and Esposito write:" Mohammed gave women certain rights and privileges in the sphere of family , marriage, education and economic ventures, Rights that help improve the status of women in society. "

In the heyday of Islam

During the premodern period, here in the Golden Age of Islam , there was no definitive feminist movement. Nevertheless, individuals campaigned for the expansion of women's rights and their autonomy. The positions range from the mystic and philosopher Ibn ʿArabī (1165–1240), who argues with the ability of women to reach spiritual levels like men, to Nana Asma'u , the daughter of the reformer Usman dan Fodio , who was in the 18th century Century advocated literacy and educational opportunities for Muslim women.

Education

Women played an essential role in the founding of Islamic educational institutions: Fatima al-Fihri, for example, founded the Koran school and later university al-Qarawīyīn in Fez, Morocco in 859 . This tradition continued in the time of the Ayyubid dynasty in the 12th and 13th centuries, when 26 of 160 mosques and madrasas in Damascus were founded by Muslims as a pious foundation ( waqf ).

According to the 12th century Sunni scholar Ibn ʿAsākir , there were opportunities for women's education . He writes that girls and women can study, achieve academic degrees (ijazah) and work as scholars ( ʿUlamā ' ) and teachers. This model was particularly applicable to families with a very high standard of education who wanted sons and daughters to be equally well trained and as best as possible. Ibn ʿAsākir himself studied with women.

Women's education was inspired by the example of Muhammad's wives: Khadidja was a successful business woman , Aisha a hadith scholar and military leader. Even Muhammad himself is said to have been enthusiastic about the religious knowledge of the Medin women. If it was not possible for women to study as regular students, they attended unofficial lectures and meetings on studying in mosques, madrasas or in public places. Although there were no legal restrictions against women's education, some men did not approve of this practice.

Civil and military activities

The workforce during the Caliphate had diverse religious and ethnic backgrounds. It was noticeable that both genders, men and women, were involved in different economic activities and areas of responsibility. Women occupy a wide range of fields of employment and professions: in the primary sector they worked as farmers, in the secondary sector as construction workers, dyers, weavers, etc., in the tertiary sector as business women, doctors, in nursing, as teachers and much more in different areas Economic sectors.

Muslim women held the monopoly over some industries such as spinning, dyeing, and embroidery. In comparison, female ownership and wage levels in Europe were relatively underdeveloped until the Industrial Revolution in the 18th and 19th centuries.

In the 12th century, the famous Islamic philosopher and Qādī (judge) Ibn Russhd , also known by the name Averroes, demanded that women be equated with men because they had the same dispositions in times of peace as in times of war. He cites examples of women warriors who were involved in armed conflicts. Especially in the early history of Islam, this was not uncommon: famous women fought alongside their husbands during the Islamic expansion and in the Islamic civil wars ( fitna ), as soldiers or in high positions, including Nusaybah bint Ka'ab , Aischa or Kahula and Wafeira.

Divorces

In contrast to the so-called Western World during the 15th century and up to the modern age, where divorce was relatively uncommon, the "dismissal from spouse" ( Talāq ) was far more common in the Muslim world . According to a study, the divorce rate was under the rule of the Mamluks and the Ottoman Empire higher than in the Middle and the Middle East of today.

Nineteenth century

The movement has its roots in the late 19th century. The Iranian poet and martyr of Babism , Qurrat al-ʿAin (1814–1852), was the first modern woman to call for a new interpretation of the Koran . Immediately before her execution, she spoke out in favor of equal rights for women.

The Egyptian lawyer Qāsim Amīn , author of the book Women's Liberation ( Tahrir al-Mar'a "Liberation of Women") published in 1899 , which was ahead of his time, is often described as the father of the feminist movement in Egypt. In his work, Amin criticized some of the practices prevalent in his society at the time, such as polygyny in Islam, the veil and the Purdah , i.e. H. Gender segregation in Islam. He condemned this as un-Islamic and contrary to the true spirit of Islam. His work had a tremendous impact on the political movements of women throughout the Islamic and Arab world and is still read and cited today.

Less known than Qasim Amin, however, are women whose feminist criticism of their societies preceded him. The Women's Press in Egypt began addressing such things from its very first edition in 1892. Egyptian, Turkish, Iranian, Syrian and Lebanese women read European feminist magazines a decade earlier and discussed their relevance to the Middle East in the general newspaper.

Fields of activity of Islamic feminism

Muslim family law

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One of the larger areas of learning and campaigning for Muslim feminists in different parts of the world is personal Islamic law (also called Muslim Personal Law, MPL ), which consists of the three main areas of marriage, divorce, and inheritance law .

Among the Muslim majority countries that have adopted parts of the MPL are Saudi Arabia , Afghanistan , Pakistan , Libya , Sudan , Senegal , Tunisia , Egypt , Indonesia and Bangladesh . Muslim minority countries where a government has implemented MPL or where aspects of MPL are in the legislative process are India and South Africa .

In general, Islamic feminists in many of these countries have protested against Islamic law, saying that these laws are discriminatory against women. Some Islamic feminists are of the opinion that a reformed family law based on the Koran and Sunna , in which substantial things also come from Muslim women and do not discriminate against women, is possible. These Islamic feminists are working on women-friendly forms of the MPL. (See, for example, “Canadian Council of Muslim Women” for arguments based on the Koran and not on medieval consensus from men.) Other Islamic feminists, particularly in the context of Muslim minorities within democratic states, say that Islamic family law is not reformed, but rather should be rejected and that Muslim women should instead seek remedy through the civil laws of these states.

For most Islamic feminists, precarious matters are the way Islamic family law has been formulated so far: polygyny, divorce, child custody, maintenance and property in marriage. In addition, there are also major considerations regarding the notions governed by such legislation, such as the idea that the man is always the head of the household .

sexuality

In spite of the fact that human sexuality is often taboo , some Koranic scholars ( Ulamā ' ) say that the Koran itself discusses these things openly and positively, and of the major world religions, Islam is the one that most accepts sexuality. The Koran recognizes that people are sexual beings, and Mohammed spoke of the "sweetness of sexual intercourse".

There is discussion about the interpretations of Quranic verses that declare homosexuality illegal: especially those verses that refer to the story of Lot (Suras 11: 69-83 and 29: 28-35). These Quranic verses seem to refer specifically to male homosexuality. Contemporary interpreters and organizations are working to reinterpret the texts so that they allow a wider range of sexual relationships, including homosexual and bisexual partnerships. There is much resistance from Muslim orthodoxy.

Dress code

In the Western (also Western-feminist) discourse, for example, wearing veiled clothing automatically and unreflectively represents symbolism for patriarchal oppression of Muslim women. Leila Ahmed points out that precisely this argument corresponds to the colonial strategy of de-Islamization (see also Population lobby and Hunt's " embedded feminism "). From a resulting conflict of loyalties Iranian women's rights activists want themselves not as feminists (in the sense of Western feminism know identified).

Islamic feminists, Muslim feminists, and Islamists

It is important to mention the fundamental differences between the terms Islamic feminist , Muslim feminist and those who are assessed as " Islamist ":

  • Islamic feminists base their arguments on Islam and its teachings, they seek full equality in the private sphere and the public and include non-Muslims in discourse and debate.
  • In contrast, Muslim feminists see themselves as Muslims, but they occasionally use arguments outside of Islam, for example national secular law or international agreements on human rights , in order to tackle gender discrimination, see for example the Ni Putes Ni Soumises movement (Eng . Neither whores nor submissive), which began in impoverished areas of France ( Banlieue ) after the murder of the young Muslim woman Sohane Benziane .
  • Islamists are representatives of political Islam, they are of the opinion that the Koran and hadiths require a caliphate . Some Islamists defend women's rights in public , but are against gender equality in private life .

Islamic feminism in Germany

This article or the following section is not adequately provided with supporting documents ( e.g. individual evidence ). Information without sufficient evidence could be removed soon. Please help Wikipedia by researching the information and including good evidence.

In Germany, especially since the 1990s, an Islamic women's movement has been formed that differs from traditional Islamic as well as traditional feminist movements.

Role of women's clubs

Against this background, women's associations (e.g. Center for Islamic Research and Promotion of Women (ZIF)) were founded to promote women's rights and the self-image of women. They offer Muslim women special offers such as B. Legal advice, Koran courses or represent discussion forums in which a gender-equitable interpretation of Islam is practiced. It is striking that the founders and members of these associations are mostly Muslim women with a migration background . They often belong to the second or third generation and have a high level of education. In addition, German women who have converted to Islam can also be found in the associations.

Mixed identity

When asked about their self-image, many of the women are rather negative about the term “Islamic feminism”. Nevertheless, the examples in the study by Markus Gamper (2011) show that enlightened Muslim women combine gender and religious aspects in Germany. The mixed identities constructed from this can be interpreted as a possible response to stigmatization by sections of German society and as a protest against sections of Muslim society that are influenced by patriarchy.

Personalities (chronological)

  • Qāsim Amīn (1863–1908) - is considered by some to be an early advocate of women's rights in Islamic society, by others as an advocate of Western / British colonialism
  • Hudā Schaʿrāwī (1879–1947) - early advocate of women's rights in Egypt, founded the first general school for girls in 1910 and in 1920 the first women's association and women's magazine "L´Egyptienne". She was the first Egyptian to take off her veil in public.
  • Rokeya Sakhawat Hussain (1880–1932) - Bengali author of "The Sultan's Dream" , an early work of feminist science fiction , founder of girls' schools.
  • At-Tāhir al-Haddād (1899–1935) - Tunisian women's rights activist
  • Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah (1921–2000) - first woman columnist and editor in Pakistan, first woman speaker at al-Azhar University , author of The Bull and the She Devil
  • Isa Wali (1929–1967) - Nigerian diplomat who in 1956 in a series of articles in Hausa on the "position of women in Islam" (Makamin Mata a Musulunci) made the claim that women have the same political and social rights according to the Islamic text sources like men, thereby sparking a heated debate among Muslims in northern Nigeria.
  • Nawal El Saadawi (born 1931) - Egyptian author
  • Margot Badran (born 1936) - feminist historian and specialist in women's studies
  • Leila Ahmed (born 1940) - Egyptian-American professor of studies on women's affairs
  • Fatima Mernissi (1940-2015) - Moroccan writer
  • Azizah al-Hibri (born 1943) - American professor of corporate law of Lebanese origin who founded the organization KARAMAH - Muslim Women Lawyers for Human Rights in 1993 and is actively committed to reforming Islamic civil status law. In her criticism of the Islamic tradition, she is strongly influenced by Fazlur Rahman .
  • Shirin Ebadi (born 1947) - Iranian lawyer and human rights activist; She founded the Association for the Support of Children's Rights, and in 2003 she won the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts for democracy and human rights, especially for women and children.
  • Asma Barlas (born 1950) - Pakistani-US professor at Ithaca College and author of “Believing Women” in Islam: Unreading Patriarchal Interpretations of the Qur'an
  • Amina Wadud (born 1952) - African American professor and author, book "Qur'an and Woman: Rereading the Sacred Text from a Woman's Perspective"
  • Ebrahim Moosa (born 1957) - South African scholar in Islamic law at Duke University
  • Shirin Neshat (born 1957) - Iran-born American artist
  • Saïda Keller-Messahli (born 1957) - Tunisian-Swiss human rights activist for a liberal Islam
  • Farid Esack (born 1959) - supporter and scholar
  • Shamima Shaikh (1960–1998) - from South Africa
  • Asra Nomani (born 1965) - Indian-American journalist, author of "Standing Alone in Mecca: An American Woman's Struggle for the Soul of Islam"
  • Na'eem Jeenah (born 1965) - South African scholar and activist
  • Irshad Manji (born 1968) - Canadian journalist, author of "Der Aufbruch - Plea for an enlightened Islam" (English original title: "The Trouble with Islam Today" )
  • Zilla Huma Usman (1971–2007) - Pakistani politician and activist, murdered in February 2007
  • Mukhtaran Bibi (born 1972) - Pakistani women's rights advocate and rape prevention activist
  • Mariam al-Mansuri (born 1979) - military pilot from the United Arab Emirates
  • Khola Maryam Hübsch (born 1980) - German journalist, was a. a. Commissioner for interreligious dialogue at the women's organization Lajna Imaillah of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaat in Germany
  • Soumya Naâmane Guessous - Moroccan sociologist; she campaigned to inherit citizenship
  • Kübra Gümüşay (born 1988) - German-Turkish journalist and activist, initiator of Without exception

See also

literature

  • Leila Ahmed: Women and Gender in Islam: Historical Roots of a modern Debate. 1992, Yale University Press, ISBN 0-300-04942-0 (English).
  • Margot Badran: An historical Overview of Conferences on Islamic Feminism: Circulations and New Challenges. In: Revue des mondes musulmans et de la Méditerranée. Volume 128, December 2010 (English; full text: doi: 10.4000 / remmm.6824 ).
  • Interview with Margot Badran: Islamic feminism means justice to women. In: The Milli Gazette. January 2004, pp. 16–31 (English; online at milligazette.com).
  • Margot Badran, Miriam Cooke (Eds.): Opening the Gates: An Anthology of Arab Feminist Writing. 2nd Edition. Indiana University Press, Bloomington September 2004, ISBN 0-253-34441-7 (English).
  • Serap Çileli : Your honor - our suffering: I fight against forced marriage and honor killing. Blanvalet, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-7645-0301-7 (with foreword by Matthias Platzeck and afterword by Terre des Femmes ).
  • Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of Resistance of Iran: Women, Islam, and Equality. E-book (English).
  • Markus Gamper: Islamic Feminism in Germany? Religiousness, Identity and Gender in Muslim Women's Associations. Transcript, Bielefeld 2011, ISBN 978-3-8376-1677-4 .
  • Na'eem Jeenah: Towards an Islamic Feminist Hermeneutic. In: Journal for Islamic Studies. Volume 21, 2001, pp. 36–70 (English; PDF: 181 kB at shams.za.org ( memento of August 19, 2012 in the Internet Archive )).
  • Na'eem Jeenah: The National Liberation Struggle and Islamic Feminisms in South Africa. In: Women's Studies International Forum January 29 , 2006, pp. 27–41 (English; PDF: 195 kB at shams.za.org ( memento of August 19, 2012 in the Internet Archive )).
  • Azam Kamguian: Women and Religions: Islam and the Liberation of Women in the Middle East. In: Free Inquiry. Volume 23, No. 4, Fall 2003 (English; online at secularhumanism.org).
  • Edith Laudowicz (ed.): Fatima's daughters: Women in Islam (= New Small Library. Volume 29). PapyRossa, Cologne 1992, ISBN 3-89438-051-9 .
  • Mashhoor Hasan Aal Salmaan: The Noble Women Scholars of Hadeeth. Translation 2007 (English; PDF: 574 kB, 48 pages on salafimanhaj.com ( memento of November 18, 2007 in the Internet Archive )).
  • Muna Tatari: Gender equality and gender Ǧihād: possibilities and limits of women liberating interpretations of the Koran. In: Hansjörg Schmid, Andreas Renz, Bülent Ucar (eds.): "The word is close to you ...": Scripture interpretation in Christianity and Islam. Friedrich Pustet, Regensburg 2010, ISBN 978-3-7917-2256-6 , pp. 129-144 ( Theological Forum Christianity - Islam ).
  • Liv Tønnessen: Islamic Feminism, a public lecture. Regional Institute of Gender, Rights, Peace & Diversity, Ahfad University for Women , Sudan, Omdurman January 2014, ISBN 978-82-8062-500-7 (English; PDF: 381 kB, 14 pages on cmi.no).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Margot Badran: Islamic feminism: what's in a name? ( Memento from March 20, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) In: Al-Ahram Weekly . No. 569, January 17, 2002, accessed February 15, 2020.
  2. ^ "Exploring Islamic Feminism" by Margot Badran, Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, Georgetown University, November 30, 2000
  3. ^ Humphreys, R. Stephen: "Between Memory and Desire - The Middle East in a Troubled Age," University of California Press , 2005
  4. ↑ a b c d Esposito (2005) p. 79
  5. ↑ Jones, Lindsay. p.6224
  6. ↑ a b Esposito (2004), p. 339
  7. ↑ a b Khadduri (1978)
  8. ↑ Schimmel (1992) p.65
  9. ↑ Maan, McIntosh (1999)
  10. ^ Haddad, Esposito (1998) p.163
  11. ↑ James E. Lindsay: Daily Life in the Medieval Islamic World, Greenwood Publishing Group. 2005, p. 196
  12. ↑ Maya Shatzmiller: "Women and Wage Labor in the Medieval Islamic West: Legal Issues in an Economic Context", Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient 40 (2), 1997, pp. 174-206.
  13. ^ Edwin Black: Banking on Baghdad: Inside Iraq's 7,000 Year History of War, Profit, and Conflict , John Wiley and Sons 2004, p. 34.
  14. ^ Yossef Rapoport: Marriage, Money and Divorce in Medieval Islamic Society , Cambridge University Press 2005, p. 2.
  15. ↑ Shoghi Effendi: God Passes By , Bahá'í Publishing Trust, Wilmette, 1953, p. 75.
  16. ↑ Farida Shaheed with Aisha LF Shaheed: Great Ancestors: Women Asserting Rights in Muslim Contexts . London / Lahore: WLUML / Shirkat Gah, 2005.
  17. ^ Canadian Council of Muslim Women (CCMW): About Us. In: ccmw.com. 2020, accessed on March 15, 2020.
  18. ^ Safra Project: Sexuality, Gender and Islam: Women's Sexuality and Islam. ( Memento of July 23, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) In: safraproject.org. 2008, accessed February 15, 2020.
  19. ↑ See the works of Asra Nomani for more details
  20. ^ Safra Project: Sexuality, Gender and Islam: (Male) Homosexuality and Islam. ( Memento of July 23, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) In: safraproject.org. 2008, accessed February 15, 2020.
  21. ↑ When Muslim women argue with the self-determined wearing of representational clothing, Western feminists counter classically ( deconstructively ) with (forced) socialization , which allows subjects affected as such to experience it subjectively (and rationalize accordingly).
  22. ↑ “The Islamic women surveyed are more highly educated, more emancipated and more progressive than some mediums would have us believe.” (Isabelle Roth: Review by Markus Gamper: Islamic Feminism in Germany ).
  23. ↑ "Ahmed also describes in detail how the policy of unveiling colonial powers in the Egyptian context was a symbolic element of the missionary work aimed at deliberately de-Islamizing Egyptian society." (Schirin Amir-Moazami: Politized Religion. The Headscarf Controversy in Germany and France, Bielefeld 2007, p. 72).
  24. ↑ Katajun Amirpur: "We are half the population of Iran." The women in the democracy movement. In: Gender equality through democratization? Transformations and restorations of gender relations in the Islamic world (Ed. Susanne Schröter). Bielefeld 2013, p. 121.
  25. ↑ http://www.milligazette.com/Archives/2004/16-31Jan04-Print-Edition/1631200425.htm
  26. ↑ http://www.iran-bulletin.org/women/Islamic_feminism_IB.html
  27. ↑ Huda - Network for Muslim Women e. V .: Official website ( Memento of September 20, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) 2011, accessed on March 15, 2020.
  28. ^ Jehan as-Sadat: I am a woman from Egypt Wilhelm Heyne Verlag GmbH, Munich 1992, ISBN 3-453-04599-8 , main chapter Youth in Cairo , p. 60.
  29. ↑ Jonathan T. Reynolds: The Time of Politics (Zamanin Siyasa): Islam and the Politics of Legitimacy in Northern Nigeria 1950-1966. San Francisco et al. a. 1999, pp. 113-124 (English).
  30. ↑ See John Esposito: The Oxford Dictionary of Islam. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2003. p. 111b.
  31. ↑ See Tamara Sonn: "Fazlur Rahman and Islamic Feminism" in EH Waugh and FM Denny (ed.): The Shaping of an American Discourse. A Memorial to Fazlur Rahman. Scholars Press, Atlanta, 1998. pp. 123-145.