Islamic Feminism(s): A Very Short Introduction (original) (raw)

New Series. Issue No. 4 (18) /2015 Unveiling the Feminisms of Islam

Contemporary Islamic feminisms, already quite diverse, deconstruct preceding Islamic interpretations, proposing more egalitarian re-readings and reconceptualizations of Islamic tradition while preserving the centrality of classical textual sources (Qur’an and Sunnah) as fundamental references, the valoric hierarchies being reorganized according to the principles of Islamic ethics. The integration of social, economic, and political analysis that explain power dynamics, alienation, marginalization, and the liberation of women is another defining dimension of Islamic feminisms. Some Muslim feminists plead for the preservation and the innovative exploitations of traditional jurisprudence’s categories and purposes, while others propose a radical reform of the fundaments of Islamic disciplines. Another category of Muslim feminists prefers to adopt and integrate the discourses, approaches, and terminologies of Western feminists; some translate these in the referential Islamic system, others import them and use them as such, sometimes even from a secular perspective. In the following article I will very briefly outline some of the main determinations of this complex contemporary phenomenon – Islamic feminism(s).

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