Category Archives: why we need feminism

Book Review: Olfa Youssef’s The Perplexity of a Muslim Woman: Over Inheritance, Marriage, and Homosexuality

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The Perplexity of a Muslim Woman: Over Inheritance, Marriage, and Homosexuality
Olfa Youssef
Translated from the Arabic by Lamia Benyoussef
Lexington Books, 2017. 156 pages. $80
A shorter version of this review is published in the American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences

Olfa Youssef’s The Perplexity of a Muslim Woman: Over Inheritance, Marriage, and Homosexuality—translated by Lamia Benyoussef from the Arabic Ḥayratu Muslima—addresses some of the practical and conceptual inconsistences in traditional, male-centric historical interpretations of inheritance, marriage, and homosexuality. Youssef devotes a chapter to each of these topics and discusses in depth relevant questions, assumptions, and sub-themes in each chapter. A brief Introduction introduces common claims that the book responds to, claims that are treated as truths but which Youssef states have nothing truthful about them (21).  She emphasizes that her intention is not to proclaim a final truth, for only God knows the true meaning of the Qur’an, but to merely point out the various inconsistences—the philosophical perplexities—that historical, traditional interpretations of these topics have raised. The underlying argument is that while the Qur’an repeatedly claims that “none knows its interpretation but God” (3:7), male scholars have feigned knowledge of the divine to the detriment of women as well as lesbian and gay individuals.

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A Response to Yasmin Mogahed’s Article Against Female-Led Prayer

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Since the article by Yasmin Mogahed where she argues against female-led prayer (google it) has been making rounds again and it has some misleading and false statements, here’s a response to it, point by point. Collectively written by me, Zahra K., and someone else. Yasmin Mogahed’s points are in red, and our responses follow. Please note that this post is only a response to Mogahed’s claims and not entirely on female-led prayer. For an article on female-led prayer and how Islam does actually permit it, please click here (it includes references – and I’m gonna link to this a few times below because).

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Can Muslim Women Marry Non-Muslims?: A Qur’anic Response

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Pre-pre-post: An academic and very much revised version of this is available in the Journal of Qur’anic Studies journal (link: The Qur’an on Muslim Women’s Marriage to Non-Muslims: Premodern Exegetical Strategies, Contradictions, and Assumptions).

Pre-post: This is for those who believe that Muslim men are allowed to marry People of the Book while women are prohibited; because that means that the whole “shirk” of the People of the Book becomes relevant only when we’re talking about women but not when we’re talking about men (I address this below). If you believe it’s prohibited for BOTH genders, this isn’t for you. 

According to most (Sunni) Muslims, and to the historical Islamic tradition, Muslim men are allowed to marry Christians and Jews, and according to all Muslim sects and schools, Muslim women are prohibited from marrying any non-Muslim. The Qur’an has a few verses that prohibit marriage to the mushrikeen (polytheists, generally), and since there’s little disagreement on this and since this prohibition applies to both genders, I’m not concerned with it. I’m interested in the claim that it’s “haram” for women to marry Christians and Jews.

Muslims popularly believe—and Muslim scholars/teachers of Islam falsely promote the claim—that the Qur’an explicitly prohibits women’s marriage to People of the Book. So I’ve been doing some research on this, and it turns out that the Qur’an actually does not prohibit women’s marriage to People of the Book at all.  It merely allows men explicitly to marry them. So here’s some interesting stuff that I think people should know, especially Muslim women who are shamed and guilted for marrying People of the Book.

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re the myth that male sex drive is uncontrollable and stronger than female sex drive

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This may get a little … vulgar? uncomfortable? immodest? etc. And very long.  But here’s the idea: 1) there’s a popular myth going around that male sexuality is uncontrollable, and that’s why they get to do the things they wanna do (i.e., “nature” is exploited just to validate male  irresponsibility), 2) this myth has powerful and destructive consequences for women and society at large, 3) this myth is linked to the way we study science, humans, nature, etc., and – and this is very important – 4) if a woman doesn’t wanna have sex with you, it’s most likely because you’re not doing it right (because discomfort doesn’t just come out of nowhere) – but, yes, yes it might also be because she isn’t ready to or interested in having sex with anyone right now. Or ever.

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how not to respond when women point out an #allmale panel

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 jb-nonsense6Muslim male “celebrity shaikhs” are exhausting to deal with. And a huge fail, too. They always complain that we don’t express our concerns “the right way” (about which, please see below), but then they block you and delete your comments and accuse you of “abusing” them or the comments section when you speak up.

The latest case of blatant patriarchy (that I know of) in the Muslim American community is this image to the right. Accessible also through this link.

Apparently, over 30 “Muslim American scholars” gathered at some “impromptu” event, and the person who shared this picture, someone taken a little more seriously than he should be in my very professional and humble opinion, with immense pride, so pleased with himself like he was doing us all a favor or something.

And they met to talk about “major issues.” I’m so curious to know what these “major issues” must have been that could be discussed only by men – and I’m curious to know what their definition of “major issues” even is. Obviously, all-male panels aren’t among them. Even though, as documented here, all-male Muslim panels are a disturbingly common reality.

If you were a Muslim woman and didn’t have any faith in your own community, you’d think this was all intentional or something. But we can all just go back to our back seats of invisibility and, at best, marginality and relax and calm down and chill and all because it turns out, this was “just an impromptu” event. #sighofrelief.

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Why are women so picky when it comes to marriage/relationships?

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This is disturbing, so don’t read further if you will be triggered.

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The Patriarchy of Not Taking Women’s (Menstrual) Pain Seriously

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“Woman is a pain that never goes away.” – Menander

Ramadhan mubarak, everyone! ❤ I wish everyone a beautiful month that inspires compassion, love, and gratitude in all of us. I’ll be writing more Ramadhan-related posts this month – or I’ll try anyway, inshaAllah – but this particular topic has been bothering me for some time now and it’s been long over-due – and it keeps coming up in conversations with my women friends – so here it goes.

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Celebrating Islamic Feminism This Women’s History Month

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Humanity! Salaam ‘alaik! It’s Women’s History Month. Of course, women deserve centuries of recognition and celebration, so this one month isn’t sufficient at all. But I’ll meh-ok this one month for now, given how rampant misogyny still is–and that  misogynist in le ‘Murrica can make it this far in elections and be taken so seriously. God protect us from the evils of patriarchy, aameen!

So it’s women’s month, and and I haven’t written one single post about women, Islamic feminism, or Kashmala–my 6-year-old niece and the littlest feminist human we all know, may God grant her a beautiful life, aameen! I feel like I’m betraying my feminism, especially my Islamic feminism, by not having written anything this month, at least to celebrate the work of the many feminist scholars and academics who have influenced and continue to influence my own work and views. And to celebrate those women themselves. (There are some men, too, yeah,  but, I actually have my suspicions, and I feel like, with the exception of at most 3 men, they can never be feminist enough, at least from the conversations I see of theirs outside of their books – like in listservs. But this isn’t a discussion I’m willing to have publicly. Yet. So I’m going to limit my celebration of Islamic feminism only to the women pioneers of the movement.)

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Book Review: “Men in Charge?: Rethinking Authority in Muslim Legal Tradition”

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Needless to say, I recommend the book very, very highly. It’s one of the most important books I’ve ever read.

Pre-Post: Please click here for more details on the book.

Men in Charge?: Rethinking Authority in Muslim Legal Tradition
Ziba Mir-Hosseini, Mulki Al-Sharmani, and Jana Rumminger (eds.)
Oneworld Publications, 2014. ix, 286 pages.
Published in the American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences (details below)

Source

At a time when men’s assumption of leadership roles through all-male events and publications is a popular phenomenon, Men in Charge?, a byproduct of a project by the women-led organization Musawah, could not have been published at a more opportune moment. Comprising a Foreword by Zainah Anwar, Musawah’s director, an Introduction by the editors, and ten chapters from academics and activists of varied backgrounds, the book historicizes and problematizes the Islamic notion of qiwāmah (authority) and wilāyah (guardianship), among other legal patriarchal precepts. It successfully argues that the Islamic legal tradition with regards to gender roles rests on the false notion of men’s superiority to women. Men in Charge? carries immeasurable value for scholars and students of Islam, religion, and women’s and gender studies, activists working towards gender-egalitarianism, and (Muslim) feminists seeking empowerment within a religious framework; it also speaks to reform leaders and lawmakers in Muslim states, who might better understand the fundamental assumptions upon which family laws operate and their disconnect from the reality that women and families face. The book’s major success lies in covering several important layers of the myth of men’s authority: from the theoretical gaps in the notions of qiwāmah, wilāyah, istikhlāf, to a practical examination of the impact of these legal principles, and proposals for new and creative approaches for feminists to apply in their vision of a gender-egalitarian Islam. Continue reading →

Call for Contributors: Women-Identified Sexualities and Islam

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Anyone who works on or studies gender-/sexuality-related topics with a focus on Islam might be interested in contributing to the following edited volume. Please consider sending submissions and/or share with friends.

Deadline for abstracts: March 15, 2016
Deadline for complete papers (7500+ words): May 1st 2016
Tentative Title: Women-Identified (lesbian and trans) Sexualities and Islam
Editor: Huma Ahmed-Ghosh ([email protected] – please contact Dr. Ahmed-Ghosh with questions)

The following call is verbatim from Dr. Huma Ahmed-Ghosh. The accompanying image is from Google.

Call for Contributors—please consider and let your friends and colleagues know!

There has been very little published work on the above topics in Asia/larger Asia/Asian diaspora. Possible topics and methods include, but are not limited to religion, Quran, Hadith, Sharia, lived experiences of Muslim women, ethnic and regional diversities, oral histories,  feminist theory, research, fiction, and poetry. Authors may use a pseudonym if they prefer. Please send your proposed contribution (abstracts) to Huma Ahmed-Ghosh at [email protected] by March 15, 2016. Papers will be evaluated for originality and writing style, as well as how all the contributions fit together. Potential authors will be invited to submit full articles in the range of  7,500 + words by May 1, 2016.We hope you will consider writing about your scholarship and experiences, so that these important topics receive the attention they deserve. Publisher has been finalized.

I am hoping that this volume will complement two books edited by me that will be in print (SUNY Press) on October 1, 2015 titled Asian Muslim Women: Globalization and Local Realities; and Contesting Feminism: Gender and Islam in Asia.