Feminism, Tradition and Change in Contemporary Islam: Negotiating Islamic Law and Gender (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780861548408)

An insightful study of the role of gender in establishing the limits of interpretation and flexibility in the Islamic tradition

The Islamic tradition has always been flexible, changing over time and constantly adapting to the different societies Muslims find themselves in. Few Muslims today would abide by the fatwa against the printing press under the Ottomans. Moreover, although Islamic law legislates for slavery and child marriage, only a vanishing minority of Muslims consider these practices acceptable today - and some will even argue that Islam never permitted them. Yet some issues, like the prohibition on female-led prayer and female interfaith marriage seem curiously impervious to change. Why is that? Through a mixture of interviews with ordinary Muslims in Texas and critical analysis of contemporary and historical scholarship, Shehnaz Haqqani demonstrates the gendered dimensions of change and negotiation in Islamic tradition. She argues that a reliance on a mostly-male scholarly consensus means that the 'tradition' preserves male privilege at the expense of justice for Muslim women.

Author: Shehnaz Haqqani
ISBN-10: 086154840X
ISBN-13: 9780861548408
Publisher: Oneworld Academic
Language: English
Published: 11/19/2024
Pages: 400
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.78lbs
Size: 9.20h x 6.00w x 0.92d

Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 10/28/2024