on the idea of islamic feminism

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On the Idea of Islamic Feminism

Introduction

Raja Bahlul(Birzeit University)

The object of this paper is to explore the possibility of defendingwomen's rights within a framework oflslamic concepts and ideas. Thisis to be accomplished by introducing a number of methodologicalprinciples that can, and for feminists should, govern the practice of"religious interpretation" (ijtihad) which Muslims have usedthroughout the centuries to adapt Qur)anic and Islamic teachings tochanging realities and circumstances. The main goal is to explorethe meaning and possibility of "Islamic feminism". The term itselfassumes that Islam and feminism are compatible, something whichmany people will deny immediately. But it must be acknowledgedthat Islam and feminism are not simple concepts. The terms areoften understood and explained in dramatically different ways. Thusit is not a simple matter to prove that one cannot (logically) be anIslamist and a feminist at the same time, as this would requireproving that on no possible or thinkable account of either termcan 'Islam' and 'feminism' be combined.

In the course of the present discussion we hope to offer someaccount, however sketchy and programmatic, of how feminist ideascan be accommodated in the space of Islamic concepts and ideas.But first we need to explain the motivation for the search for Islamicfeminism. There are, in fact, two reasons for the undertaking. First,there is a purely theoretical consideration which is suggested by theexistence of a rich variety of "feminisms" which present themselvesas "progressive" or "revolutionary" inflections of previously existing

Journal for Islamic Studies, Vol.20, 2000, pp. 33-62


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62 On the Idea of Islamic Feminism

licences that are granted by the Qur)an. From the other side of thedivide, some will say that no feminism can remain within the boundsof religion, since any self-respecting feminism must reject religionand the specific understanding of spirituality that is associated withit.41 But this is hardly surprising. For we have known all along thatIslam is not the same to all interpreters, and that feminism is not thesame to all those who advocate it. There is a wide range ofunderstandings in both fields of meanings, and it is somewheretowards the middle that I have sought to find room for Islamicfeminisw.

My purpose has not been to argue that this or that specificconception of Islam or feminism is true. This is a large task whichI am not equipped to carry out. Rather, what I wanted to accomplishis to chart out a possible meeting-place for people who want toargue for women's rights within an Islamic framework of thought,as well as people who are prepared to view religion from a gendersensitive point of view. More work needs to be done in order tocreate a common vocabulary, and to produce intellectual innovationsthat are true to the present while not betraying the past of Muslimsocieties.

41 This is evident from the radical feminist critiques of some of the majorconcepts that appear in religion and philosophy - concepts such as "matter","spirit", "mind", "reason", "God", etc. Leaving aside specific androcentric itemsof legislation which can be found in most or all religions, many feminists makethe further claim that the concepts we have just mentioned are thoroughly pervadedwith gender bias. See, for example, H. Hein, "Liberating Philosophy: An End tothe Dichotomy of Spirit and Matter", and G. Lloyd, "The Man of Reason", bothin A. Gary and M. Pearsall (eds.), Women, Knowledge and Reality: Explorationsin Feminist Philosophy (New York and London: Routledge, 1996). Such critiqueswill not leave any religion recognizably the same

on the idea of islamic feminism

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