Week 3 Posting

Throughout “Inside the Gender Jihad” by Amina Wadud, we are introduced to the feminist movement in Islam, challenges in interpretations of the Qur’an and even the different definitions of “Islam” itself. Wadud supports her claims through passages from the Qur’an itself and how these passages have been interpreted overtime. Because word of mouth story telling, upbringing and social norms are apart of each individual’s experience, bias is constantly a lens we look through and are seen through. With that, interpretations of the Qu’ran, whether truly purposeful or not, have excluded women or neglected them completely. Because some Muslims interpret these passages literally and as history has taught them, these interpretations have been perpetuated since the Qur’an’s inception to the detriment of all female Muslims. Wadud challenges these interpretations, begging the reader to delve deeper into these interpretations and to realize that no knowledge is objective. If this is the case, why are these interpretations seen as undeniable and even factual? Who do they stifle and who do they glorify? With these answers comes a questioning of a status quo which history has shown never goes smoothly but is utterly necessary to right deeply rooted wrongs.

According to 2012 statistics, there are 1.6 billion Muslims in the world making Islam the world’s second largest religion behind Christianity. Assuming half of that number is women, that is a massive amount of individuals in the world who identity with a religion which blatantly and unapologetically places “limitations on women’s full human dignity” (15) and seemingly points to the Qu’ran for justification. The hypocrisy in that seems to run deep, with fundamental Qur’anic themes such as “khalifa” (moral agent) and “taqwa” (moral consciousness) having definitions so specific and unmistakable yet still support the degradation and injustice to its Female followers. Not to say hypocrisy in religion is a purely Muslim problem, I just think it’s still important to point out, especially when there are so many Muslim women who suffer its indignities.

What does the feminist movement seek? Depending on your perspective, there are many issues that vie for what’s most important with many discussed solutions. What Wadud points out is a part of the feminist movement if not a broader, larger shift in a universal perspective: “the ultimate intention is to achieve living experiences of justice for as many Muslim women and men as possible, as part of what it means to be human.” Theory, interpretation and debate often never end with clear winners or losers, or result into mere discussions of  who  was wronged worse and why. The expansion of what we think of as the human experience, not just any Muslims experience male or female's, but a true acceptance and most importantly, the respect for another human is the strongest foundation to build upon and what I would hope all religions should ultimately seek.