Hermeneutics of feminism in Islam

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermeneutics_of_feminism_in_Islam 

Hermeneutics of feminism in Islam is a system of interpreting the sacred texts of that religion, the Quran and Sunnah. Hermeneutics is the theory and methodology of interpretation, especially of sacred texts, and Islamic feminism has a long history upon which to draw. Muslim feminists reinterpret gendered Islamic texts and challenge interpretive traditions (e.g. exegesis, jurisprudence, Hadith compilations) to promote the ideas of gender equality.

The hermeneutics of feminism in Islam posits gender equality and justice as the foundation of Islamic morality, critically deconstructing historical Islamic perceptions of women. It employs various tools and methods of argument. These include focusing on women (opposing conventional male centrist gender bias), giving primacy to equality and gender justice, reinterpreting relevant religious texts, and investigating, contesting and exposing the historical contexts of religious texts and conservative interpretations which cause perpetuate injustice and inequality.

History and context

Social, cultural and political behavior of Muslim individuals, groups, institutions and states are deeply influenced today by Islamic advice literature, including religious interpretive traditions.

According to several scholars, including Shemeem Burney Abbas, many hadiths were corrupted or even fabricated after the death of Prophet Muhammad. Abbas posits the creation of hadiths was possibly a recreational activity, sharing stories for public entertainment; for others, it was an opportunity to exploit a skewed interpretation for vested interests in a culture of fiercely competitive power dynamics.  According to Abbas, patriarchal interpretations are not only used to sideline women from political competition, keeping men in power by relegating women to subordinate roles, but also exploiting their immense resources. According to Margheriata Picchi, the marginalization of women in Quranic interpretation resulted in hierarchical gender roles and the false claim of the superiority of men over women.

According to Picchi, in context of emerging of feminist views by end of 19th century and early 20th century tafsirs i.e. interpretations from Muslim women started coming. As per Picchi in context of Muslim women when first wave of feminism came, secular as well as religiously more inclined, both groups of women began using religious arguments to propagate their claims, but access to modernist religious education of first generation of muslim feminist women was limited and they had to largely rely on arguments forwarded by scholarly modernist men. For that reason, except few exception systematic rereading of Islamic texts was still missing in efforts of first batch of equality seeking Muslim women. Effective gender egalitarian feminist Hermeneutics of Quranic literature started coming on literary horizons by last quarter of 20th century and started becoming noticeable by 1990s across global Muslim corners. This process of Muslim feminist literary emancipation has been happening in considerable competition of revivalist Islamic tendencies, even some of women exegesis distancing themselves from feminist demands of equality sided with conservative views of accepting male dominance and patriarchal interpretations.

Since patriarchal culture inherent in classical interpretation produces a gender-biased interpretation, When the idea of gender equality and justice is brought into the Quranic interpretation, for feminists, by the end of the 20th century, gender equality and justice became quite a lively issue. Islamic feminist intellectuals began questioning gender biases in the interpretation of the Quran. They study the Quran and interpret Quranic verses from a feminist perspective. Criticism of gender bias in the view of classical interpretations gave birth to the Feminist Hermeneutic method for the interpretation of the Quran.

Prominent Islamic feminists

Picchi informs that, Bauer 2015 and Encyclopedia of Women and Islamic Cultures includes several entries on women in conservative and feminist tafsir. For a basic orientation of first time readers of gender relations in the sacred texts of Islam Awde 2000 is better primar. . Cooke 2001 encapsulates one of the early accounts of emerging Islamic feminism. Badran 2009 covers further matured levels of the field of Islamic feminism. Journal Hawwa published by Brill since 2003 has covered many a Muslim feminist articles. Kynsilehto 2008 includes effective capture of the debates surrounding the term and concepts of “Islamic feminism”.Hidayatullah 2014 provides an excellent overview of Islamic feminist authorship in the west.

Islamic feminist figures who introduce feminist-based hermeneutics of the Qur'an can be categorized into two generations. The first generation is Riffat Hassan, Azizah Al-Hibri and Amina Wadud. The second generation is, Asma Barlas, Sa'diyya Shaikh and Kecia Ali. The first generation has contributed to the rise of feminist-based Qur'anic interpretations. This generation works as "Trailblazers", because in producing their work they are under tremendous pressure, experiencing male domination. Their work is nuanced against the patriarchal system with a hard and many personal experiences that show that they are oppressed. This generation is focused on their respective works, there is no quotation quoting and discussing the themes they discuss and there is no mutual support for the views expressed.

The second generation emerged in 1990, triggered by an increase in the movement of women in the fight for women's human rights internationally, such as the World Women's Conference in Beijing in 1995 which gave birth to a commitment to build people through gender equality and the CEDAW (Convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women) which gave birth to a commitment to eliminate discrimination against second generation thought is more moderate against the patriarchal system and they are mutually supportive and interrelated.

Hermeneutics of Islamic feminism

Hermeneutics is more than interpretive principles or methods we resort to when immediate comprehension fails. Rather, hermeneutics is the art of understanding and of making oneself understood. The way this method works, uses methodological steps and principles of modern hermeneutics theory. Hermeneutics of Feminism is relatively newer. The use of hermeneutics for the interpretation of the Quran is still debated. Some refused and others supported. Contemporary Islamic scholars, encouraged by the awareness of the present reality and to meet scientific standards support the use of hermeneutics as a method of interpreting the Quran.

Islamic feminist figures who developed their thoughts on the Quranic interpretation methodology, including Aminah Wadud, Musdah Mulia, Aysha A. Hidayatullah and Kecia Ali. Amina Wadud, through her Qur'an and Women, Rereading the Sacred Text from a Woman's Perspective, developed her thoughts on the methodology of Quranic interpretation. Wadud referred to contemporary Islamic thought, Fazlur Rahman, to dismantle the gender biases that colored the Quranic interpretation tradition so far. He dissected certain verses and keywords in the Quran that limited the role of women both individually and socially. When finding several aspects of gender equality and justice in the Quran, Wadud reinterpreted gender verses in the Quran from a women's perspective without the stereotype created by the male interpretation framework. Wadud initiated feminist-based hermeneutics, a method of interpreting the Quran that refers to the idea of gender equality and justice and rejects the patriarchal system. Wadud criticized the classical interpretation, both the method, perspective and contents. Then it offers a holistic interpretation of the Quran that considers all methods of interpretation of various social, political, cultural, moral and religious, life issues and women and solves problems comprehensively. Wadud shows the theoretical and methodological links between the interpretation of the Quran and the things that gave rise to it (who and how). Some of the focus of concentration, namely what the Quran says, how the Quran says it, what is said against the Quran and who says. Coupled with the current understanding, namely what has not been said. With feminist-based hermeneutics, Wadud reinterprets gender verses in the Quran and produces gender-just interpretations. Gender justice interpretation is not only in the text, but is practiced in social life. Amina Wadud's famous breakthrough was when Wadud became a priest and preacher on Friday prayers on March 18, 2005 at an Anglican church, at Synod House, Manhattan, New York. This Friday prayer was attended by approximately one hundred male and female worshipers. In Wadud's view, leadership in worship has been used as a support for political leadership, so that support must be broken down.

Aysha A. Hidayatullah Islamic feminist figure who developed his thoughts on the methodology of interpretation through his work Feminist Edges of the Qur'an (2014). This Assistant Professor of the University of San Francisco presents a comprehensive analysis of contemporary feminist interpretations of the Quran. She combines feminist-based interpretation of the Quran from feminist figures and provides an important introduction to the field of feminist-based interpretation of the Quran. Aysha conducted an in-depth investigation and radical criticism of feminist-based Quranic interpretation methods and approaches.

Aysha put forward three feminist-based Quranic interpretation methods namely: the method of historical contextualization, intratextuality and the paradigm of monotheism. The historical contextualization method is to interpret the Quran by paying attention to the context of time and the background of the verse or revelation (asbab al-nuzul). With this method distinguished particular and universal verses. The particular verses are applied to define the situation and condition of 7th Century Arab society and universal verses for all humans. Historical contextual methods place the role of history in giving birth to gender biases and biological essentialism in classical interpretations.

The intratextual reading method treats the Quran holistically, which is to track how linguistic forms are used throughout the Quranic text and compare one verse with another on the same theme. How to read the Quran with the intratextual method, which is not reading the verses one by one, but reading the verses in the same theme as a whole by referring to the Quranic principle of justice for all humans. Monotheism paradigm is related to the main concept of Islam, namely monotheism. Monotheism paradigm means the oneness of Allah and Allah cannot be divided and compared. In the monotheism paradigm that distinguishes gender (sexism) can be considered idolatrous, because all humans are caliphs on earth. If a woman is said to have an imperfect capacity, then this is clearly a mistake in understanding God's intention about humans as caliphs on earth. If women are seen as imperfect, women cannot fulfill their role as guardians of God. Thus the monotheism paradigm is the basis of gender equality and justice.

The Islamic feminist figure from Indonesia who developed his thoughts on the interpretation methodology is Musdah Mulia through his work Indahnya Islam Menyuarakan kesetaraan dan Kedilan gender (2014). The Professor UIN Syarif Hidayatulah Jakarta is known as a persistent and consistent champion of gender equality and justice. In Indonesia, with regard to gender in religious life, the challenges are severe and the sensitivity is high. Musdah sued gender bias in interpretation of the Quran and brought in the idea of gender equality and justice in interpretation. Musdah has long been aware that women are confined in theological prisons, due to gender biases in the interpretation of the Quran. Departing from the belief that human males and females are both khalifah fil ardh, Musdah interpreted the feminist-based Quran and produced feminist interpretations, including interpreting polygamy verses and reinterpreting the concept of nushuz in the Quranic verses. According to Musdah, polygamy denies women's humanity. The interpretation of the concept of nushuz is that the Quran commands only obey Allah and respect for husbands.

Kecia Ali, Professor of the Department of Religion at Boston University has written various books on gender in Islam that focus on Islamic law about women. Through his work Sexsual Ethics & Islam: Reflections on the Feminist Qur'an, Hadith and Jurisprudence (2012), Kecia Ali discusses sexual violence against women and shows a collision between morals and law. He is of the view that the verses of the Quran are interpreted by demeaning women, so it needs feminist reflection on the Quran and Hadith. Kecia Ali conducted a feminist reflection on the Quran and hadith and Islamic law, especially regarding marriage and sex and the problem of slavery in Islam. In the matter of marriage, Kecia Ali discussed dowry, divorce and misogyny toward women. According to Kecia Ali, a progressive approach to the Quranic text cannot be limited to the selective presentation of egalitarian verses in isolation from the context of the vast holy book. Such an approach would be futile, because the argument for gender equality is built by interpreting verses that are selective. He offers a method of jurisprudence, because legal experts will relate to the source of the text in a social context. The established law has the objective of interpretive action. According to Kecia Ali, understanding of the Quranic text must change every time according to social change.

Hermeneutical Islamic feminist works

• Amina Wadud, her work Qur'an and Women, Rereading the Sacred Text from a Woman's Perspective and Inside The Gender Jihad, Woman's Reform in Islam. This Islamic feminist figure and gender fighter from the United States developed her thoughts on the methodology of Quranic interpretation, she referred to contemporary Islamic thought, such as Fazlur Rahman. Wadud dismantled the gender bias that colors the Quranic interpretation tradition so far. She dissected certain verses and keywords in the Quran that limited the role of women both individually and socially. When finding several aspects of gender equality and justice in the Quran, Wadud reinterpreted gender verses in the Quran from a women's perspective without the stereotype created by the male interpretive framework. Wadud initiated feminist-based hermeneutics, a method of interpreting the Quran that refers to the idea of gender equality and justice and rejects the patriarchal system. Wadud criticizes classical interpretations, both methods, perspective and contents. She offers a holistic interpretation of the Quran that considers all methods of interpretation of the various problems of social, political, cultural, moral and religious life and women and solve problems comprehensively. Wadud shows the theoretical and methodological links between the interpretation of the Quran and the things that gave rise to it. With feminist-based hermeneutics, Wadud reinterprets gender verses in the Quran and produces gender-just interpretations. Gender justice interpretation is not only in the text but practiced in social life. Amina Wadud's very famous breakthrough was when Wadud became a priest and preacher on Friday prayers on March 18, 2005 at an Anglican church, at Synod House, Manhattan, New York. This Friday prayer was attended by approximately one hundred male and female worshipers. In Wadud's view, leadership in worship has been used as a support for political leadership, so that support must be broken down.
• Aysha A. Hidayatullah, her work Feminist Edges of the Qur'an (2014). This Assistant Professor of the University of San Francisco presents a comprehensive analysis of contemporary feminist interpretations of the Quran. She combines feminist-based interpretation of the Quran from feminist figures and provides an important introduction to the field of feminist-based interpretation of the Quran. Aysha conducted an in-depth investigation and radical criticism of feminist-based Quranic interpretation methods and approaches. Aysha suggested three feminist-based Quranic interpretation methods, namely: the method of historical contextualization, intratextuality and the monotheistic paradigm. The historical contextualization method is to interpret the Quran by paying attention to the context of time and the background of the verse or revelation (asbab al-nuzul). With this method distinguished particular and universal verses. The particular verses are applied to define the situation and condition of 7th Century Arab society and universal verses for all humans. Historical contextual methods place the role of history in giving birth to gender biases and biological essentialism in classical interpretations. The intratextual reading method treats the Quran holistically, which is to track how linguistic forms are used throughout the Quranic text and compare one verse with another on the same theme. How to read the Quran with the intratextual method, which is not reading the verses one by one, but reading the verses in the same theme as a whole by referring to the Quranic principle of justice for all humans. Monotheism paradigm is related to the main concept of Islam, namely monotheism. Monotheism paradigm means the oneness of Allah and Allah cannot be divided and compared. In the monotheism paradigm that distinguishes gender (sexism) can be considered idolatrous, because all humans are caliphs on earth. If a woman is said to have an imperfect capacity, then this is clearly a mistake in understanding God's intention about humans as caliphs on earth. If women are seen as imperfect, women cannot fulfill their role as guardians of God. Thus the monotheism paradigm is the basis of gender equality and justice.
• Siti Musdah Mulia, her work Kemuliaan Perempuan dalam Islam (2014). The Professor UIN Syarif Hidayatulah Jakarta is known as a persistent and consistent champion of gender equality and justice. He moves from ideas to action. In Indonesia, with regard to gender in religious life, the challenges are severe and the sensitivity is high. Musdah sued gender bias in interpretation of the Quran and brought in the idea of gender equality and justice in interpretation. Musdah has long been aware that women are confined in theological prisons, due to gender biases in the interpretation of the Quran. Departing from the belief that human beings, men and women are the same khalifah fil ardh, Musdah interpreted the Quran based on feminists and produced feminist interpretations, including interpreting polygamy verses and reinterpreting the concept of nushuz in the Quranic verse. According to Musdah, polygamy denies women's humanity. The interpretation of the concept of nushuz is that the Quran commands only obey Allah and respect for husbands.
• Asma Barlas, her work Believing woman in Islam: Unreading Patriarchal Interpretation of the Quran (2002. Barlas came from Pakistan and became the first woman in Pakistan during Ziaul Haq who worked for foreign service (1976). In looking at how Islam talks about women, Barlas uses two important arguments: historical arguments and hermeneutic arguments. What is meant by historical argument is the expression of the textual and sexual political character that develops among Islamic societies, especially the process that has produced interpretations in Islam that have a patriarchal tendency. While the hermeneutic argument is intended to find what he calls the epistemology of egalitarianism and antipatriarchal in the Quran. Barlas explains the character of the policemic text of the Quran and opens up various possibilities of meaning, as a criticism of a reductionist interpretation pattern in a patriarchal framework. Asma Barlas gave rise to a new epistemology by applying the principles of feminist-based hermeneutics in the interpretation of Quranic verses.
• Kecia Ali, her work Sexual Ethics & Islam: Feminist Reflections on Qur'an, Hadith and Jurisprudence (2012). The Professor of the Department of Religion at Boston University has written various books on gender in Islam focusing on Islamic law about women. Kecia Ali discusses sexual violence against women and shows a collision between morals and law. He is of the view that the verses of the Quran are interpreted by demeaning women, so it needs feminist reflection on the Quran and Hadith. Kecia Ali conducted a feminist reflection on the Quran and hadith and Islamic law, especially regarding marriage and sex and the problem of slavery in Islam. In the matter of marriage, Kecia Ali discussed dowry, divorce and misogyny toward women. According to Kecia Ali, a progressive approach to the Quranic text cannot be limited to the selective presentation of egalitarian verses in isolation from the context of the vast holy book. Such an approach would be futile, because the argument for gender equality is built by interpreting verses that are selective. This is where the jurisprudence method can be offered. Because legal experts will relate to the source of the text in a social context. The established law has the objective of interpretive action. According to Kecia Ali, understanding of the Quranic text must change every time according to social change.
• Mardety, her dissertation research, Hermeneutika Feminisme Menuju Tafsir Alquran Berkeadilan Gender (Refleksi Filosofis Terhadap Pemikiran Amina Wadud), Universitas Indonesia (2016). Hermeneutics of Feminism offered by Mardety is Quranic hermeneutics. Contemporary Islamic figures, such as Hasan Hanafi, Fazlur Rahman, Muhammad Arkoun, first introduced the Quranic hermeneutics, and offered various hermeneutics that favor social justice, but there is no hermeneutic method that favors gender justice. Then, feminist-based hermeneutics of the Quran emerged and sided with gender justice. Hermeneutics Feminism is compiled by formulating the thoughts of Islamic feminist figures who conduct studies on feminist-based hermeneutics of the Quran. Departing from gender bias in the classical interpretation of the Quran which makes women theological prisoners, then to free women need to reinterpret verses of the Quran. Gender bias is caused by methodological problems, for this reason Hermeneutics of Feminism is offered to the Quran. her book entitled Hermeneutika Feminisme Reformasi Gender dalam Islam was presented in May 2019 at the Anniversary of the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Indonesia at Cemara 6, Central Jakarta. Published in Mitra Budaya Magazine No. 26 years XX / June 2019.

The hermeneutics model of feminism

Gender bias in the interpretation of the Quran is caused by methodological problems. The classical interpretation method contains inequality of meaning and describes unfair gender relations. This is where Hermeneutics Feminism as an alternative method of interpretation of the Quran can be offered.

Hermeneutics Feminism is composed by formulating the thoughts of Islamic feminist figures regarding the methodology of Quranic interpretation. The formulation of the Hermeneutic model of Feminism can be explained in 5 schemes viz:

First, based on the perspectives of women. The experience of women in the interpretation of the Quran is one important thing. If the Quran is interpreted based on men's experience, then men's perceptions influence the position of interpretation of women.

Second, framed the theory of feminism. The theories of feminism which are centered on the idea of equality and gender justice become a framework for building hermeneutics of feminism. If critical hermeneutics is framed by critical theory, then Hermeneutics of Feminism is framed by feminism theory.

Third uses the historical contextualization method. Historical contextualization method, namely paying attention to the context of time and the background of the verse or revelation (asbab al-nuzul). This method aims to differentiate particular verses, namely verses to define the situation and condition of 7th Century Arab society and universal verses, namely verses for all humans.

Fourth, the intratextuality method. The application of the intratextuality method, is intended to develop a framework based on systematic thinking to correlate several verses that discuss the same theme so that it appears to be related in accordance with the verses of the Quran, rather than applying a single meaning to one verse.

Fifth, the monotheistic paradigm. To get a fair interpretation of women, we must return to the core teachings of the Quran, monotheism as a paradigm of interpretation of the Quran. The concept of monotheism recognizes the unity of God, His uniqueness and indivisibility. Tauhid is a key method in hermeneutic of feminism for the interpretation of the Quran and is a doctrine of God's incomparable unity. With the monotheism paradigm will be seen clearly, the difference in the Quran with its interpretation

Understanding and addressing criticism

Aysha Hidaytullah through her hermeneutics in Feminist Edges of the Qur'an not only addresses criticism coming from conservative circles but also attempts honest peer review of Islamic Feminists.

Sadaf Jaffer in her research article points out 'Pakistani Atheist and Agnostic women' are very clear in their (online) autobiographies that, they appeal to alternative sources of ethical values based on humanism and constraining in 'Islamic' is fundamentally flawed in its assumptions and projection of identities.

Virtual volunteering

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_volunteering

Virtual volunteering refers to volunteer activities completed, in whole or in part, using the Internet and a home, school buildings, telecenter, or work computer or other Internet-connected device, such as a smartphone or a tablet. Virtual volunteering is also known as online volunteering, remote volunteering or e-volunteering. Contributing to free and open source software projects or editing Wikipedia are examples of virtual volunteering.

In practice

In one study, over 70 percent of online volunteers chose assignments requiring one to five hours a week and nearly half chose assignments lasting 12 weeks or less. Some organizations offer online volunteering opportunities which last from ten minutes to an hour. A unique feature of online volunteering is that it can be done from a distance. People with restricted mobility or other special needs participate in ways that might not be possible in traditional face-to-face volunteering. Likewise, online volunteering may allow people to overcome social inhibitions and social anxiety, particularly if they would normally experience disability-related labeling or stereotyping. This empowers people who might not otherwise volunteer. It can build self-confidence and self-esteem while enhancing skills and extending networks and social ties. Online volunteering also allows participants to adapt their program of volunteer work to their unique skills and passions.

People engaged in virtual volunteering undertake a variety of activities from locations remote to the organization or people they are assisting, via a computer or other Internet-connected device, such as:

• researching subjects (e.g. for Wikia projects)
• writing software (see open-source software which is often made by volunteers)
• fixing software (e.g. Community patches)
• creating web pages
• editing or writing proposals, press releases, newsletter articles, etc.
• translating documents (e.g. Fan translations)
• developing material for a curriculum
• designing a database
• designing graphics
• scanning documents
• providing legal, business, medical, agricultural or any other expertise
• counseling people
• tutoring or mentoring students
• moderating online discussion groups
• writing songs
• creating a podcast
• editing a video
• monitoring the news
• internet pastoral care
• answering questions
• tagging photos and files
• distributed computing
• managing other online volunteers

In the developing world, innovative synergies between volunteerism and technology typically focus on mobile communication technologies rather than the Internet. Around 26 per cent of people worldwide had Internet access in 2009. However, Internet penetration in low-income countries was only 18 per cent, compared to over 64 per cent in developed countries. While the costs of fixed broadband Internet are falling, access still remains unaffordable to many. Despite this, online volunteering is developing rapidly. Online volunteers are "people who commit their time and skills over the Internet, freely and without financial considerations, for the benefit of society." Online volunteering has eliminated the need for volunteerism to be tied to specific times and locations. Thus, it greatly increases the freedom and flexibility of volunteer engagement and complements the outreach and impact of volunteers serving in situ. Most online volunteers engage in operational and managerial activities such as fundraising, technological support, communications, marketing and consulting. Increasingly, they also engage in activities such as research and writing and leading e-mail discussion groups.

Online micro-volunteering is also an example of virtual volunteering and crowdsourcing, where volunteers undertake assignments via their PDAs or smartphones. These volunteers either aren't required to undergo any screening or training by the nonprofit for such tasks, and do not have to make any other commitment when a micro-task is completed, or, have already undergone screening or training by the nonprofit, and are therefore approved to take on micro-tasks as their availability and interests allow. Online micro-volunteering was originally called "byte-sized volunteering" by the Virtual Volunteering Project, and has always been a part of the more than 30-year-old practice of online volunteering. An early example of both micro-volunteering and crowdsourcing is ClickWorkers, a small NASA project begun in 2001 that engaged online volunteers in scientific-related tasks that required just a person's perception and common sense, but not scientific training, such as identifying craters on Mars in photos the project posted online; volunteers were not trained or screened before participating. The phrase "micro-volunteering" is usually credited to a San Francisco-based nonprofit called The Extraordinaries.

Early history

The practice of virtual volunteering to benefit nonprofit initiatives dates back to at least the early 1970s, when Project Gutenberg began involving online volunteers to provide electronic versions of works in the public domain.

In 1995, a new nonprofit organization called Impact Online (now called VolunteerMatch), based in Palo Alto, California, began promoting the idea of "virtual volunteers". In 1996, Impact Online received a grant from the James Irvine Foundation to launch an initiative to research the practice of virtual volunteering and to promote the practice to nonprofit organizations in the US. This new initiative was dubbed the Virtual Volunteering Project, and the web site was launched in early 1997. After one year of operations, the Virtual Volunteering Project moved to the Charles A. Dana Center at The University of Texas at Austin. In 2002, the Virtual Volunteering Project moved within the university to the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs. The first two years of the Virtual Volunteer Project were spent reviewing and adapting remote work manuals and existing volunteer management guidelines with regards to virtual volunteering, as well as identifying organizations that were involving online volunteers. By April 1999, almost 100 organizations had been identified by the Virtual Volunteering Project as involving online volunteers and were listed on the web site. Due to the growing numbers of nonprofit organizations, schools, government programs and other not-for-profit entities involving online volunteers, the Virtual Volunteering Project stopped listing every such organization involving online volunteers on its web site in 2000, and focused its efforts on promoting the practice, profiling organizations with large or unique online volunteering programs, and creating guidelines for the involvement of online volunteers. Until January 2001, the Virtual Volunteering Project listed all telementoring and teletutoring programs in the USA (programs where online volunteers mentor or tutor others, through a nonprofit organization or school). At that time, 40 were identified.

In August 1999, the NetAid.org initiative was launched. The initiative included an online volunteering component, today known as the UN Online Volunteering service. It went live in 2000 and has been managed by United Nations Volunteers since its inception. It quickly attracted a high number of people ready to support organizations working for development. In 2003, several thousand people already contributed to the UN's Online Volunteering service – volunteers with very diverse backgrounds, including university graduates, private sector employees, and retirees. While the UN's Online Volunteering service became independent, NetAid continued as a joint project of UNDP and Cisco Systems. It aimed "to utilize the unique networking capabilities of the Internet to promote development and alleviate extreme poverty across the world".

Current state

Online volunteering has been adopted by thousands of nonprofit organizations and other initiatives. There is no organization currently tracking best practices in online volunteering in the USA or worldwide, how many people are engaged in online volunteering, or how many organizations utilize online volunteers, and studies regarding volunteering, such as reports on volunteering trends in the USA, rarely include information about online volunteering (for example, a search of the term virtual volunteering on the Corporation for National Service's "Volunteering in America" yields no results. On IVCO's Forum Discussion Paper 2015 it is recommended that a collective measurement tool developed as part of a global measurement framework should also capture online volunteering.

The UN's Online Volunteering service connects organizations working in or for the developing world with online volunteers. It does have statistics available regarding numbers of online volunteers and involving organizations (i.e. NGOs, other civil society organizations, a government or other public institutions, United Nations agencies or other intergovernmental institutions) that collaborate online via their platform. In 2013, all 17,370 online volunteering assignments offered by development organizations through the Online Volunteering service attracted applications from numerous qualified volunteers. About 58 percent of the 11,037 online volunteers were women, and 60 percent came from developing countries; on average, they were 30 years of age. More than 94 percent of organizations and online volunteers rated their collaboration as good or excellent in 2013. For civil society organizations with limited resources in particular, the impact of online volunteer engagement is significant: 41% involve UN Online Volunteers for technical expertise that is not available internally. According to the same impact evaluation carried out in 2014, in many instances, organizations without access to online volunteers would have difficulties achieving their own peace and development outcomes.

In July 2016, UNV unveiled a redesigned website and launched two additional services: The 1-click query to allow organizations to reach out to half a million people to provide real-time data for their projects, and its new employee online volunteering solution for global companies. Inclusive multi-stakeholder partnerships emerged as a necessity to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the first private sector partner of the Online Volunteering service is based in Brazil (Samsung Electronics Latin American Office).

Several other matching services, such as VolunteerMatch and Idealist, also offer virtual volunteering positions with nonprofit organizations in addition to traditional, on-site volunteering opportunities. VolunteerMatch currently reports that about 5 percent of its active volunteer listings are virtual in nature. As of June 2010, its directory included more than 2,770 such listings including roles in interactive marketing, fundraising, accounting, social media, and business mentoring. The percentage of virtual listings has dropped since 2006, when it peaked at close to 8 percent of overall volunteer opportunities in the VolunteerMatch system.

Wikipedia and other Wikimedia Foundation endeavors are examples of online volunteering, in the form of crowdsourcing or micro-volunteering; the majority of Wikipedia contributing volunteers aren't required to undergo any screening or training by the nonprofit for their role as editors, and do not have to make a specific time commitment to the organization in order to contribute service.

Many organizations involved in virtual volunteering might never mention the term, or the words "online volunteer," on their web sites or in organizational literature. For example, the nonprofit organization Business Council for Peace (Bpeace) recruits business professionals to donate their time mentoring entrepreneurs in conflict-affected countries, including Afghanistan and Rwanda, but the majority of these volunteers interact with Bpeace staff and entrepreneurs online rather than face-to-face; yet, the term virtual volunteering is not mentioned on the web site. Bpeace also engages in online micro-volunteering, asking for information leads from its supporters, such as where to find online communities of particular professionals in the USA, but the organization never mentions the term micro-volunteering on its web site. Another example is the Electronic Emissary, one of the first K-12 online mentoring programs, launched in 1992; the web site does not use the phrase virtual volunteering and prefers to call online volunteers online subject-matter experts.

Rumie, an edtech non-profit organization also uses subject-matter experts, as well as corporate partners and leading non-profit organizations to create microlearning Bytes(TM) - interactive learning modules centered on life skills and career development. Rumie is an example of how virtual volunteering can offer an experience that is impactful on various levels. Rumie-Build, Rumie's microlearning authoring platform allows volunteers to work individually or in teams to create these Bytes. Filled with built-in guidance and prompts to support authors in creating quality content, real-time collaboration capabilities, and multimedia integration, Rumie-Build is the tool that facilitates a digital skills-based volunteer opportunity that feels effortless and fun, often helping volunteers develop their own knowledge in the process. The created Bytes are used by learners around the world to increase their skills, empowering them to achieve their full potential.

Evolving forms of volunteerism will enhance opportunities for people to volunteer. The spread of technology connects ever more rural and isolated areas. NGOs and governments are beginning to realise the value of South-to-South international volunteerism, as well as diaspora volunteering, and are dedicating resources to these schemes. Corporations are responding to the "social marketplace" by supporting CSR initiatives that include volunteerism. New opportunities for engaging in volunteerism are opening up with the result that more people are becoming involved and those already participating can expand their commitment. A phenomenon that is still quite new, but growing rapidly, is the formal integration of online employee volunteering programmes into the infrastructure and business plan of companies.

Islamic feminism

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_feminism

Islamic feminism is a form of feminism concerned with the role of women in Islam. It aims for the full equality of all Muslims, regardless of gender, in public and private life. Islamic feminists advocate women's rights, gender equality, and social justice grounded in an Islamic framework. Although rooted in Islam, the movement's pioneers have also utilized secular, Western, or otherwise non-Muslim feminist discourses, and have recognized the role of Islamic feminism as part of an integrated global feminist movement.

Advocates of the movement seek to highlight the teachings of equality in the religion, and encourage a questioning of patriarchal interpretations of Islam by reinterpreting the Quran and hadith.

Prominent thinkers include Amina Wadud, Leila Ahmed, Fatema Mernissi, Azizah al-Hibri, Riffat Hassan, Asma Lamrabet, and Asma Barlas.

Definition and background

Islamic feminists

Main article: Hermeneutics of feminism in Islam

Since the mid-nineteenth century, Muslim women and men have been critical of restrictions placed on women regarding education, seclusion, veiling, polygyny, slavery, and concubinage. Modern Muslims have questioned these practices and advocated for reform. There is an ongoing debate about the status of women in Islam, with both conservatives and Islamic feminists using the Quran, the hadith, and prominent women in Muslim history as evidence for the discussion on women's rights, with feminists arguing that early Islam represented more egalitarian ideals, while conservatives argue that gender asymmetries are "divinely ordained".

Islamic feminists are Muslims who interpret the Quran and hadith in an egalitarian manner and advocate for women's rights and equality in the public and personal sphere. Islamic feminists critique patriarchal, sexist and misogynistic understandings of Islam. Islamic feminists understand the Qur'an as advocating gender equality. Islamic feminism is anchored within the discourse of Islam with the Quran as its central text. The historian Margot Badran states that Islamic feminism "derives its understanding and mandate from the Qur’an, seeks rights and justice for women, and for men, in the totality of their existence."

Islamic feminists differ from Islamists. Islamists are advocates of political Islam, the notion that the Quran and hadith mandate an Islamic government. Some Islamists advocate women's rights in the public sphere but do not challenge gender inequality in the personal, private sphere. Su'ad al-Fatih al-Badawi, a Sudanese academic and Islamist politician, has argued that feminism is incompatible with taqwa (the Islamic conception of piety), and thus Islam and feminism are mutually exclusive. Badran argues that Islam and feminism are not mutually exclusive.

Islamic feminists have differed in their understandings and definitions of Islamic feminism. Islamic scholar Asma Barlas shares Badran's views, discussing the difference between secular feminists and Islamic feminism and in countries where Muslims make up 98% of the population, it is not possible to avoid engaging “its basic beliefs.”

Elizabeth Segran states that just talking about human rights mentioned in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) does not create immediate resonance with ordinary Muslim women; since Islam is the source of their values, integrating human rights frameworks with Islam makes sense.

South African Muslim scholar Fatima Seedat agrees with both Barlas and Badran about the importance of feminism in the Islamic world. However, she debates the term “Islamic Feminism” is unnecessary since feminism is a “social practice, not merely of personal identity.” Seedat believes the convergence of both Islamic and feminism creates more conflict and opens more doors for “Islamists” to interpret or misinterpret the Qur'an to suit their political needs. She believes it is important to speak about and illustrate how feminism has existed in the lines of the Qur'an. By separating the two and giving their own space, it will be more inclusive to everyone (men, women, Muslims and non-Muslims). In the same article, “Feminism, and Islamic Feminism: Between Inadequacy and Inevitability,” Seedat explains that the existence of such a term separates Muslims and isolates them from the rest of the world and the universal feminist movement. She states in her essay the importance of sharing with the rest of the world what Islam has to offer feminism, and to show the true image of Islam by not referring to themselves as Islamic feminists.

Some Muslim women writers and activists have eschewed identifying themselves as Islamic feminists out of a belief Western feminism is exclusionary to Muslim women and women of color more generally. Azizah al-Hibri, a Lebanese-American Muslim scholar, has identified herself as a "womanist".

Context in the Quran

Islamic feminists understand the Quran as advocating gender equality. In the view of feminist legal scholar Azizah al-Hibri, the Quran teaches all human beings are creations of God from one soul, who were divided into nations and tribes to know each other, and the most honored individuals are those who are the most pious. Therefore, al-Hibri writes that the Quran recognizes differences between human beings while asserting their natural equality and no man is recognized as superior by his gender alone.

Early Muslims and modern Islamic Feminists

Modern Muslim feminists and progressive Muslims have taken early figures in Islamic history as role models including Khadijah, Aisha, Hafsa, Umm Salama, Fatima, and Zaynab bint Ali. Zainab Alwani cites Aisha as an empowered and intelligent woman who repeatedly confronted the misogyny of other sahaba. Moroccan feminist Asma Lamrabet has also argued Aisha was an empowered female intellectual against what Lamrabet sees as a misogynistic intellectual history. Lamrabet has also praised Umm Salama as a feminist figure.

Iranian revolutionary thinker Ali Shariati wrote Fatemeh is Fatemeh, a biography of Muhammad's daughter Fatima, that holds her as a role model for women. Ednan Aslan suggests Fatima is an example of female empowerment in early Islam, as she was not afraid to oppose Abu Bakr and demand her inheritance.

Some Muslim feminists have asserted Muhammad himself was a feminist.

History

In the past 150 years or so, many scholarly interpretations have developed from within the Islamic tradition itself that seek to redress social wrongs perpetrated against Muslim women. For example, new Islamic jurisprudence is emerging that seeks to forbid practices like female genital mutilation, equalize family law, support women as clergy and in administrative positions in mosques, and supports equal opportunities for Muslim women to become judges in civil as well as religious institutions. Modern feminist Islamic scholars perceive their work as restoration of rights provided by God and the Prophet but denied by society.

Nineteenth century

The modern movement of Islamic feminism began in the nineteenth century.

Aisha Taymur (1840 - 1902) was a prominent writer and early activist for women's rights in Egypt. Taymur's writings criticized male domination over women and celebrated women's intellect and courage.

Another early Muslim feminist activist and writer was Zaynab Fawwaz (1860 - 1914). Fawwaz argued for women's social and intellectual quality with men and wrote a book of biographies of famous women.

An early feminist activist in the Bengal region was Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain, known as Begum Rokeya (1880 - 1932). Hossain was an activist for women's education and writer. She criticized patriarchy in South Asian societies and the practice of purdah, the veiling and segregation of women.

Egyptian jurist Qasim Amin, the author of the 1899 pioneering book Women's Liberation (Tahrir al-Mar'a), is often described as the father of the Egyptian feminist movement. In his work, Amin criticized some of the practices prevalent in his society at the time, such as polygyny, the veil, and purdah, i.e. sex segregation in Islam. He condemned them as un-Islamic and contradictory to the true spirit of Islam. His work had an enormous influence on women's political movements throughout the Islamic and Arab world, and is read and cited today.

Despite Qasim Amin's effects on modern-day Islamic feminist movements, present-day scholar Leila Ahmed considers his works both androcentric and colonialist. Muhammad 'Abdu, an Egyptian nationalist and proponent of Islamic modernism, could easily have written the chapters of his work that show honest considerations of the negative effects of the veil on women. Amin even posed many male-centered misconceptions about women, such as their inability to experience love, that women needlessly talk about their husbands outside their presence, and that Muslim marriage is based on ignorance and sensuality, of which women were the chief source.

Lesser known, however, are the women who preceded Amin in their feminist critique of their societies. The women's press in Egypt started voicing such concerns since its very first issues in 1892. Egyptian, Turkish, Iranian, Syrian and Lebanese women and men had been reading European feminist magazines even a decade earlier, and discussed their relevance to the Middle East in the general press.

Twentieth century

Aisha Abd al-Rahman, writing under her pen name Bint al-Shati ("Daughter of the Riverbank"), was one of the first to undertake Quranic exegesis, and though she did not consider herself to be a feminist, her works reflect feminist themes. She began producing her popular books in 1959, the same year that Naguib Mahfouz published his allegorical and feminist version of the life of Muhammad. She wrote biographies of early women in Islam, including the mother, wives and daughters of the Prophet Muhammad, as well as literary criticism.

Moroccan writer and sociologist, Fatema Mernissi was a prominent Muslim feminist thinker. Her book Beyond the Veil explores the oppression of women in Islamic societies and sexual ideology and gender identity through the perspective of Moroccan society and culture. Mernissi argued in her book The Veil and the Male Elite that the suppression of women's rights in Islamic societies is the result of political motivation and its consequent manipulative interpretation of hadith, which runs counter to the egalitarian Islamic community of men and women envisioned by Muhammad. Mernissi argued that the ideal Muslim woman being "silent and obedient" has nothing to do with the message of Islam. In her view, conservative Muslim men manipulated the Quran to preserve their patriarchal system in order to prevent women from sexual liberation; thus enforcing justification of strict veiling and limiting their rights.

A later 20th-century Islamic feminist is amina wadud. Wadud was born into an African-American family and converted to Islam. In 1992, wadud published Quran and Woman, a work that critiqued patriarchal interpretations of the Quran.

Some strains of modern Islamic feminism have opted to expunge hadith from their ideology altogether in favor of a movement focusing only on Qur'anic principles. Riffat Hassan has advocated one such movement, articulating a theology wherein what are deemed to be universal rights for humanity outlined in the Qur'an are prioritized over contextual laws and regulations. She has additionally claimed that the Qur'an, taken alone as scripture, does not present females either as a creation preceded by the male or as the instigator of the "Fall of Man". This theological movement has been met with criticism from other Muslim feminists such as Kecia Ali, who has criticized its selective nature for ignoring elements within the Muslim tradition that could prove helpful in establishing more egalitarian norms in Islamic society.

Twenty-first century

Islamic feminist scholarship and activism has continued into the 21st century.

In 2015, a group of Muslim activists, politicians, and writers issued a Declaration of Reform which, among other things, supports women's rights and states in part, "We support equal rights for women, including equal rights to inheritance, witness, work, mobility, personal law, education, and employment. Men and women have equal rights in mosques, boards, leadership and all spheres of society. We reject sexism and misogyny." The Declaration also announced the founding of the Muslim Reform Movement organization to work against the beliefs of Middle Eastern terror groups. Asra Nomani and others placed the Declaration on the door of the Islamic Center of Washington.

Feminism in the Middle East is over a century old, and having been impacted directly by the war on terror in Afghanistan, continues to grow and fight for women's rights and equality in all conversations of power and everyday life.

Muslim feminist writers today include Aysha Hidayatollah, Kecia Ali, Asma Lamrabet, Olfa Yousef, and Mohja Kahf.

Muslim feminist groups and initiatives

Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan

Main articles: Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan and Meena Keshwar Kamal

 

Meena Keshwar Kamal (1956 - 1987), founder of RAWA

The Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) is a women's organization based in Quetta, Pakistan, that promotes women's rights and secular democracy. The organization aims to involve women of Afghanistan in both political and social activities aimed at acquiring their human rights and continuing the struggle against the government of Afghanistan based on democratic and secular - not fundamentalist - principles, in which women can participate fully.

The organization was founded in 1977 by a group of intellectuals led by Meena (she did not use a last name). They founded the organization to promote equality and education for women; it continues to "give voice to the deprived and silenced women of Afghanistan". Before 1978, RAWA focused mainly on women's rights and democracy, but after the coup of 1978, directed by Moscow, and the 1979 Soviet Occupation of Afghanistan, "Rawa became directly involved in the war of resistance, advocating democracy and secularism from the outset". In 1979 RAWA campaigned against the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, and organized meetings in schools to mobilize support against it, and in 1981, launched a bilingual feminist magazine, Payam-e-Zan (Women's Message). RAWA also founded Watan Schools to aid refugee children and their mothers, offering both hospitalization and the teaching of practical skills.

Sisters in Islam

Zainah Anwar

Sisters in Islam (SIS) is a Malaysian civil society organization committed to promoting the rights of women within the frameworks of Islam and universal human rights. SIS work focuses on challenging laws and policies made in the name of Islam that discriminate against women. As such it tackles issues covered under Malaysia's Islamic family and syariah laws, such as polygamy, child marriage, moral policing, Islamic legal theory and jurisprudence, the hijab and modesty, violence against women and hudud. Their mission is to promote the principles of gender equality, justice, freedom, and dignity of Islam and empower women to be advocates for change. They seek to promote a framework of women's rights in Islam which take into consideration women's experiences and realities; they want to eliminate the injustice and discrimination that women may face by changing mindsets that may hold women to be inferior to men; and they want to increase the public knowledge and reform laws and policies within the framework of justice and equality in Islam. Prominent members are Zainah Anwar and co-founder amina wadud.

Musawah

In 2009, twelve women from the Arab world formed the global movement Musawah, whose name means "equality" in Arabic. Musawah advocates for feminist interpretations of Islamic texts and calls on nations to abide by international human rights standards such as those promulgated in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. Musawah's approach is modeled after that of Sisters in Islam. Secular feminists have criticized Musawah, arguing that Islam is shaky ground on which to build a feminist movement, given that interpretation of Islamic sources is subjective.

Sister-hood

Sister-hood is an international platform for the voices of women of Muslim heritage founded in 2007 by Norwegian film-maker and human rights activist Deeyah Khan through her media and arts production company Fuuse.

Sister-hood was relaunched in 2016 as a global online magazine and live events platform promoting the voices of women of Muslim heritage. Sister-hood magazine ambassadors include Farida Shaheed from Pakistan, Egyptian Mona Eltahawy, Palestinian Rula Jebreal, Leyla Hussein of Somali heritage and Algerian Marieme Helie Lucas.

Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML)

Women Living Under Muslim Laws is an international solidarity network established in 1984 that advocates for both Muslim and non-Muslim women who live in states governed by Islamic law. The group does research on Islamic law and women and advocacy work.

Muslim Women's Quest for Equality

Muslim Women's Quest for Equality is an Indian activist group that petitioned the Supreme Court of India against the practices of talaq-e-bidat (triple talaq), nikah halala and polygyny under the Muslim personal laws as being illegal and unconstitutional in September 2016.

Ni Putes Ni Soumises

Ni Putes Ni Soumises, whose name translates to Neither Whores nor Submissives, is a French feminist organization founded by Samira Bellil and other young women of African backgrounds, to address the sexual and physical violence that women in Muslim majority neighborhoods in France faced.

International conferences on Islamic feminism

Few international conferences on Islamic feminism have taken place. One international congress on Islamic feminism was held in Barcelona, Spain in 2008. Musawah ('equality'; in Arabic: مساواة) is a global movement for equality and justice in the Muslim family, led by feminists since 2009, "seeking to reclaim Islam and the Koran for themselves".

Musawah movement operates on the principle that patriarchy within Muslim countries is a result of the way male interpreters have read Islamic texts, and that feminists can progressively interpret the Quran to achieve the goal of international human rights standards. The first female Muslim 'ulema congress was held in Indonesia in 2017. The women ulema congress issued a fatwa to lift the minimum age for girls to marry to 18. Malaysian feminist Zainah Anwar informed the congress that women have an equal right to define Islam and that women need to fight against male domination in Quranic interpretations. During the congress, Nur Rofiah, a professor in Quranic studies, stated that, Islam asks every human being to elevate the status of humankind, and polygamy does not, and that polygamy is not the teaching of Islam

Areas of campaign

Women in politics

Muslim majority countries have produced several female heads of state, prime ministers, and state secretaries such as Lala Shovkat of Azerbaijan, Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan, Mame Madior Boye of Senegal, Tansu Çiller of Turkey, Kaqusha Jashari of Kosovo, and Megawati Sukarnoputri of Indonesia. In Bangladesh, Khaleda Zia was elected the country's first female prime minister in 1991, and served as prime minister until 2009, when she was replaced by Sheikh Hasina, who maintains the prime minister's office at present making Bangladesh the country with the longest continuous female premiership.

Personal law

See also: Islamic marital jurisprudence

 

Manal al-Sharif speaking at the Oslo Freedom Forum in 2012 about the #Women2Drive campaign she co-founded.

One of such controversial interpretations involve passages in the Quran that discuss the idea of a man's religious obligation to support women. Some scholars, such as anthropologist Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban in her work on Arab-Muslim women activists' engagement in secular religious movements, argue that this assertion of a religious obligation "has traditionally been used as a rationale for the social practice of male authority." In some countries the legislative and administrative application of male authority is used to justify denying women access to the public sphere through the "denial of permission to travel or work outside the home, or even drive a car." On Sept. 26, 2017 Saudi Arabia announced it would end its longstanding policy banning women from driving in June 2018. Various female activists had protested the ban, among them Saudi women's rights activists Manal al-Sharif, by posting videos of them driving on social media platforms. One of the women's rights activists from Saudi Arabia, Loujain al-Hathloul had been imprisoned for more than 3 years and was sentenced on 28 December 2020 to a total of 5 years and 8 months in prison for allegedly conspiring against the kingdom in alignment with foreign nations following her protest against the ban on driving for women in Saudi. Two years and ten months of her prison sentence was reduced leaving only 3 months of time left to serve. However, the charges against her were false and the authorities denied arresting her for protesting against driving ban on women in Saudi Arabia. The prosecutors who were charged with torturing her during detention; sexually and otherwise, were cleared of charges by the government stating lack of evidence.

Islamic feminists have objected to the MPL legislation in many of these countries, arguing that these pieces of legislation discriminate against women. Some Islamic feminists have taken the attitude that a reformed MPL which is based on the Quran and sunnah, which includes substantial input from Muslim women, and which does not discriminate against women is possible. Such Islamic feminists have been working on developing women-friendly forms of MPL. (See, for example, the Canadian Council of Muslim Women for argument based on the Qur'an and not on what they call medieval male consensus.) Other Islamic feminists, particularly some in Muslim minority contexts which are democratic states, argue that MPL should not be reformed but should be rejected and that Muslim women should seek redress, instead, from the civil laws of those states.

Islamic feminists have been active in advocating for women's rights in the Islamic world. In 2012, Jordanian women protested against laws that allowed the dropping of charges if a rapist marries his victim, Tunisian women marched for equality for women in a new constitution, Saudi women protested against the ban against car driving, and Sudanese women created a silent wall of protest demanding freedom for arrested women.

Dress code

Main article: Islamic feminist views on dress codes

See also: Haya (Islam), Islam and clothing, Awrah, Purdah, and Hijab by country

Another issue that concerns Muslim women is dress code. Islam requires both men and women to dress modestly; this concept is known as hijab and covers a wide interpretation of behavior and garments.

Despite the controversy over hijab in sections of Western society, the veil is not controversial in mainstream Islamic feminist discourse, except in those situations where it is the result of social pressure or coercion. There is in fact strong support from most Muslim feminists in favor of the veil. Many Muslim men and women now view the veil as a symbol of Islamic freedom. While there are some Islamic scholars who interpret Islamic scripture as not mandating hijab, many Islamic feminists still observe hijab as an act of religious piety or sometimes as a way of symbolically rejecting Western culture by making a display of their Muslim identity. Such sentiment was expressed, among others, by Muslim U.S. Congresswoman Ilhan Omar who stated in an interview with Vogue, “To me, the hijab means power, liberation, beauty, and resistance."

A small fringe of Islamic feminists, including Fadela Amara and Hedi Mhenni, oppose hijab and even support legal bans on the garment for various reasons. Amara explained her support for France's ban of the garment in public buildings: "The veil is the visible symbol of the subjugation of women, and therefore has no place in the mixed, secular spaces of France's public school system." When some feminists began defending the headscarf on the grounds of "tradition", Amara said: "It's not tradition, it's archaic! French feminists are totally contradictory. When Algerian women fought against wearing the headscarf in Algeria, French feminists supported them. But when it's some young girl in a French suburb school, they don't. They define liberty and equality according to what colour your skin is. It's nothing more than neocolonialism." Mhenni also expressed support for Tunisia's ban on the veil: "If today we accept the headscarf, tomorrow we'll accept that women's rights to work and vote and receive an education be banned and they'll be seen as just a tool for reproduction and housework."

Masih Alinejad began the movement My Stealthy Freedom in protest of forced hijab policies in Iran. The movement began as a Facebook page where women uploaded pictures of themselves defying Iran's mandatory hijab laws. Mahmoud Arghavan, however, noted that Islamic feminists have criticized My Stealthy Freedom as supporting Islamophobia, though Alinejad has countered this criticism.

Sihem Habchi, director of Ni Putes Ni Soumises, expressed support for France's ban on the burqa in public places, stating that the ban was a matter of 'democratic principle' and protecting French women from the 'obscurantist, fascist, right-wing movement' that she claims the burqa represents.

Equality in the mosque

See also: Islamic Bill of Rights for Women in the Mosque

 

Woman sitting at the threshold of the main building of Hazratbal shrine in Srinagar as the sign on the gate reads "Ladies Are Not Allowed"

A survey by the Council on American Islamic Relations showed that two out of three mosques in 2000 required women to pray in a separate area, up from one out of two in 1994. Islamic feminists have begun to protest this, advocating for women to be allowed to pray beside men without a partition, as they do in Mecca. In 2003, Asra Nomani challenged the rules at her mosque in Morgantown, West Virginia, that required women to enter through a back door and pray in a secluded balcony. She argued that Muhammad didn't put women behind partitions, and that barriers preventing women from praying equally with men are just sexist man-made rules. The men at her mosque put her on trial to be banished.

In 2004, some American mosques had constitutions prohibiting women from voting in board elections. In 2005, following public agitation on the issue, Muslim organizations that included the CAIR and the Islamic Society of North America issued a report on making mosques "women-friendly", to assert women's rights in mosques, and to include women's right to pray in the main hall without a partition.

In 2010, American Muslim Fatima Thompson and a few others organized and participated in a "pray-in" at the Islamic Center of Washington in D.C. Police were summoned and threatened to arrest the women when they refused to leave the main prayer hall. The women continued their protest against being corralled in what they referred to as the "penalty box" (a prayer space reserved for only women). Thompson called the penalty box "an overheated, dark back room." A second protest also staged by the same group on the eve of International Women's Day in 2010 resulted in calls to the police and threats of arrest again. However, the women were not arrested on either occasion. In May 2010, five women prayed with men at the Dar al-Hijrah mosque, one of the Washington region's largest Islamic centers. After the prayers, a member of the mosque called Fairfax police who asked the women to leave. However, later in 2010, it was decided that D.C. police would no longer intervene in such protests.

In 2015 a group of Muslim activists, politicians, and writers issued a Declaration of Reform which states in part, "Men and women have equal rights in mosques, boards, leadership and all spheres of society. We reject sexism and misogyny." That same year Asra Nomani and others placed the Declaration on the door of the Islamic Center of Washington.

Equality in leading prayer

Main article: Women as imams

In 'A Survey and Analysis of Legal Arguments on Woman-Led Prayer in Islam named "I am one of the People"' Ahmed Elewa states that not because of external expectation but in due course with enlightened awareness Muslim communities should adopt women lead mixed gender prayers. In the same research paper Silvers emphasizes on example of Umm Salama who insisted that women are 'one of the people' and suggests women to assert their inclusion with equal rights. Elewa and Silvers research calls contemporary prohibitions of women lead prayer frustrating.

According to currently existing traditional schools of Islam, a woman cannot lead a mixed gender congregation in salat (prayer). Traditionalists like Muzammil Siddiqi states that women are not supposed to lead prayer because "It is not permissible to introduce any new style or liturgy in Salat." In other words, there must be no deviation from the tradition of men teaching. Some schools make exceptions for Tarawih (optional Ramadan prayers) or for a congregation consisting only of close relatives. Certain medieval scholars—including Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari (838–923), Abu Thawr (764–854), Isma'il Ibn Yahya al-Muzani (791–878), and Ibn Arabi (1165–1240) considered the practice permissible at least for optional (nafl) prayers; however, their views are not accepted by any major surviving group. Islamic feminists have begun to protest this.

On March 18, 2005, Amina Wadud led a mixed-gender congregational Friday prayer in New York City. It sparked a controversy within the Muslim community because the imam was a woman, Wadud, who also delivered the khutbah. Moreover, the congregation she addressed was not separated by gender. This event that departed from the established ritual practice became an embodied performance of gender justice in the eyes of its organizers and participants. The event was widely publicized in the global media and caused an equally global debate among Muslims. However, many Muslims, including women, remain in disagreement with the idea of a woman as imam. Muzammil Siddiqi, chairman of the Fiqh Council of North America, argued that prayer leadership should remain restricted to men. He based his argument on the longstanding practice and thus community consensus and emphasized the danger of women distracting men during prayers.

The events that occurred in regards to equality in the mosque and women leading prayers, show the enmity Muslim feminists may receive when voicing opposition toward sexism and establishing efforts to combat it. Those who criticize Muslim feminists state that those who question the faith's views on gender segregation, or who attempt to make changes, are overstepping their boundaries and are acting offensively. On the other hand, people have stated that Islam does not advocate gender segregation. Britain's influential Sunni imam, Ahtsham Ali, has stated, "gender segregation has no basis in Islamic law" nor is it justified in the Quran. Elewa and Silvers deduce that with lack of any explicit evidence to contrary one ought to assume, women lead prayer adds nothing new to God established worship but just a default state of command expects men and women both to lead the prayer.

Internet & social media impact

Internet & social media debates opened up easy access to religious texts for Muslim women which helps them understand scriptural backing for the gender equality rights they which they fight for.

Criticism

"Islamic feminism" as a concept has been heavily scrutinized and criticized by more secular-minded feminists, including Muslim ones. Iranian feminist Mahnaz Afkhami, for example, stated the following about secular Muslim feminists like herself:

"Our difference with Islamic feminists is that we don’t try to fit feminism in the Qur’an. We say that women have certain inalienable rights. The epistemology of Islam is contrary to women’s right…I call myself a Muslim and a feminist. I am not an Islamic feminist – that’s a contradiction in terms.”

Hakimeh Entesari, an Iranian academic, also said, "The thoughts and writings of these people [Islamic feminists] suffer from a fundamental problem, and that is the absolute detachment of this movement from the cultural and indigenous realities of Islamic societies and countries..." She also believes that the use of the term "Islamic feminism" is wrong and it should be "Muslim feminists".

Maria Massi Dakake, an American Muslim academic, criticized Asma Barlas' assertion the Quran is inherently anti-patriarchal and sought to undo patriarchal social structures. Dakake writes, "She [Asma Barlas] makes a number of important and substantial points about the limitations to traditional "patriarchal" rights of fathers and husbands in the Quran. However, the conclusion that the Qur'an is "anti-patriarchal" as such is hard to reconcile with the Quran's fairly explicit endorsement of male leadership - even if not absolute authority - over the marital unit in 4:34."

Ibtissam Bouachrine, a professor at Smith College, has critiqued the writings of Fatema Mernissi. According to Bouachrine, Mernissi, in her book, The Veil and the Male Elite, critiques male interpretations of Quran 33:53, but not of Quran 24:31, "which evokes the veil in the context of the feminine body in public space." She also criticizes how Mernissi focuses on the hadith over the Quran because it is easier to criticize the hadith than the Quran which is seen as the word of God, but the hadith are the words of human beings. Bouachrine also critiques how Mernissi presents Muhammad as a "revolutionary heretic who sides with women against the Arabian male elite and their patriarchal values" but does not critique Muhammad's marriage to nine-year-old Aisha. Bouachrine also states that Mernissi does not mention that Zaynab was the former wife of Muhammad's adopted son.

Bouachrine also critiques Amina Wadud’s interpretation of 4:34 in Quran and Woman. According to Bouachrine, although 4:34 seems to call for men to physically discipline their wives, "Wadud argues that the Qur’an would not encourage violence against women and therefore the obedience required of women is to God not to the husband." Wadud also proposes that daraba means to set an example instead of to use physical force. According to Bouachrine, these reinterpretations do not help women in the Muslim world suffering from domestic violence.

On a slightly different note, Ahmadian, head of Isfahan Institute of Theology stated:

"Some have created a fake title which is called "Islamic Feminism" in order to solve the conflict between Islam and feminism, that is considered to be a paradoxical combination and its principles are not consistent with the principles of Islam religion. Based on Islamic teachings, there are differences between the roles and positions of men/women, and this distinction doesn't lower the dignity of women in any way.

While Seyed Hussein Ishaghi, Ph.D. in Islamic Theology, had the following to say:

"It is more appropriate to call Islamic feminism a woman-oriented interpretation of Islam religion... A group in the interaction of Islamic and Western culture faced an identity crisis; and on the other hand, in this confrontation, a group with its heart attached to Western culture denied religious teachings. That group promoted materialistic viewpoints by considering the mentioned beliefs as class or superstitious."