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Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| feminist islam booklist wanted |
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| lucid9 |
| 10/18/04 at 03:25:10 |
| [slm] ok, my sis is doing her high school senior project (year long event) on women and islam (she studies at an american int school abroad) and i am supposed to help her. (She is planning on being a women's study major at uni.) what books should she read? we know about jamal badawi, and standard stuff like that. we need more comprehensive scholarly stuff in english... what is your opinion of stuff like fatima mernissi "veil and the male elite" (i read it -- quite interesting), barbara stowasser "women in the quran..." (read it ages ago, thought it was interesting then...)? What we really want is a completely objective take on the issue, warts and all from a muslim -- i.e someone with good intentions personally i have zillions of questions...maybe i'll harrass some of you with them at some point.... |
| Re: feminist islam booklist wanted |
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| jannah |
| 10/18/04 at 08:42:04 |
| [wlm] I've heard good things about Rethinking Muslim Women and the Veil By Katherine Bullock 274 pp, HB. Very good things from everyone who has read it. It's supposed to be a reply to Fatima Mernissi and others. However haven't been able to read it b/c *somebody* took it with her when she moved.. I do like this short booklet that looks at feminism in islam: Women, Muslim Society and Islam ISBN: 0892590688 Author: Lamya al-Faruqi Publisher: American Trust Publications (ATP) Also like Islam: The Empowering of Women by Aisha Bewley it doesn't talk about feminism really but about some great muslim women and how they were in reality But both are extremely short, booklets really... I don't know, there don't seem to be what you are looking for esp in english. On the general topic of women etc from a Muslim perspective I do like some tape sets that are currently out: Suhaib Webb's Mothers of the Believers set, Gender Relations by Abdullah Adhami, and Famous Women in Islam by Umar Faruq Abdullah. |
| 10/18/04 at 08:42:31 |
| jannah |
| Re: feminist islam booklist wanted |
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| Mossy |
| 10/18/04 at 19:03:58 |
| [url=http://www.ithaca.edu/faculty/abarlas/editorials.htm]Asma Barlas - Believing Women, {long title here} plus her other works/essays[/url]. [url=http://www.utexas.edu/utpress/excerpts/exbarbel.html]{excerpt}[/url] I coulda swore I wrote out a list of feministy resources on here a while back.. edit: oh yes, pick up Speaking in God's Name by Khaled Abou el Fadl and get depressed. Good stuff.. |
| 10/18/04 at 23:17:44 |
| Mossy |
| Re: feminist islam booklist wanted |
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| workingmuslimah |
| 10/21/04 at 14:02:47 |
| "Bent Rib" by Huda al-Khattab, Ta-Ha Publishers, London. Here's a nice list from the Federation of Muslim Women (www.fmw.org). Looks like a good selection from various PoVs and schools of thought. Take your pick! <cut> <paste> WOMEN IN ISLAM Aisha Bewley Islam: The Empowering of Women (London: TaHa Publishers,1999). [An introductory discussion of the roles played by early and medieval Muslim women in scholarship, politics and Sufism.] Huda Khattab Bent Rib: A Journey Through Women's Issues in Islam (London: TaHa Publishers, 1997). [Deals with controversial issues such as domestic violence, failure to educate girls, and exploitation of non-Muslim women by Muslim men, arguing that non-Islamic cultural practices are undermining the rights Islam gives to women.] Aisha Lemu The Ideal Muslim Husband (Alexandria, VA: Saadawi Publications, 1992). [For those who are tired of hearing about the 'ideal Muslim woman', this booklet is a breath of fresh air.] Anne Sofie Roald Women in Islam: The Western Experience (London and New York: Routledge, 2001). [Discusses the debate on the 'position' of Muslim women, including such issues as gender roles, female genital cutting, divorce, and women in politics, and shows how Muslims in the West are reinterpreting texts in a more egalitarian direction.] Hasan Turabi Women in Islam and Muslim Society (London: Milestones Publishers, 1991). [This booklet has been making waves since its initial limited circulation in the Sudan in 1973. Using the Qur'an and hadith, the author argues that traditional limitations on Muslim women often have nothing to do with Islam.] WOMEN AND THE QUR'AN Asma Barlas "Believing Women" in Islam: Unreading Patriarchal Interpretations of the Qur'an (Austin: University of Texas Press, 2002). [Rereads the Qur'an on a variety of issues and argues that its teachings are egalitarian.] Amina Wadud-Muhsin Qur'an and Woman: Rereading the Sacred Text from a Woman's Perspective (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999) [Demonstrates that it is not the text of the Qur'an itself, but the interpretations of it that have limited women.] NOTE: The question of what translation of the Qur'an is best is often asked. Muslims maintain that every translation is but an interpretation, not the Qur'an itself. The two translations most commonly used by Muslims are those by Marmaduke Pickthall and Abdullah Yusuf Ali. However, both use terms such as "man" when a more accurate translation would be "people", and many of the footnotes in the Yusuf Ali translation reflect attitudes to women and non-Muslims common in the subcontinent in the 1930's, and seem quaint if not offensive today. The translation by Muhammad Asad is generally good, and shows some awareness of gender issues. The translation by Hilali and Khan frequently reads ultraconservative ideas into the text, and can be misleading. ISLAMIC DRESS Layla Barron Focus on Scarf Styling (Gatesville, South Africa: Hidden Treasure Press, 1994). [The author shows that Islamic dress need not be drab. Students, women working outside the home, and those who like to experiment with different styles will find this book useful.] Fadwa El-Guindi Veil: Modesty, Privacy and Resistance (Oxford and New York: Berg, 1999). [This academic work discusses various types of women's Islamic dress in traditional and modern Middle Eastern communities from an anthropological perspective.] Hijab: An Act of Faith [Video]. [North American Muslim women talk about why they choose to dress Islamically.] Syed Mutawalli ad-Darsh Muslim Women's Dress: Hijab or Niqab (Kuala Lumpur: Islamic Book Trust, 1997). [A Muslim scholar living in Britain addresses the question of face-veiling, and demonstrates that the Qur'an, hadith and the opinions of the majority of classical Muslim authorities do not require it.] WOMEN'S SPIRITUALITY Muhammad al-Jibaly Regulations of Worship During Menses (Beirut: al-Kitaab and as-Sunnah Publishing, 2001). [Basing his discussion on the Qur'an and hadith, this scholar argues that, contrary to the rulings of most classical scholars, menstruating women can enter mosques and touch and recite the Qur'an.] Javad Nurbakhsh Sufi Women (London and New York: Khaniqahi-Nimatullahi Publications, 1990. [Short biographies of Sufi women from the seventh to nineteenth centuries C.E.] Aliah Schleifer Mary the Blessed Virgin of Islam (Louisville, Ky.: Fons Vitae, 1998). [Traces the views of classical Sunni Muslim scholars on Mary, including the debate over whether or not she is a prophet.] Abu Abd ar-Rahman as-Sulami Early Sufi Women [Dhikr an-Niswa al-Muta'abbidat as Sufiyyat], Rkia E. Cornell, trans. (Louisville, Ky.: Fons Vitae, 1999). [This translation of a long-lost work on early Sufi women is a portrayal of an independent Muslim female spirituality.] NORTH AMERICAN MUSLIM WOMEN At My Mother's Feet: Stories of Muslim Women. Sadia Zanan, ed.(Kingston, ON: Quarry Women's Books, 1999). [Canadian Muslim women tell their stories.] Aminah Beverly McCloud, African American Islam (New York and London:Routledge, 1995). [Includes chapters on women and the family in contemporary African American Muslim communities.] Windows of Faith: Muslim Women Scholar-Activists in North America, Gisela Webb, ed. (Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2000). [A collection of insightful essays dealing with issues ranging from women in the early Muslim era to rape in modern Pakistani law.] MUSLIM WOMEN IN HISTORY Jean Boyd The Caliph's Sister--Nana Asma'u (1793-1865) Teacher, Poet and Islamic Leader (London: Frank Cass and Co. Ltd.). [Asma'u, a nineteenth century Islamic scholar in what is now northern Nigeria, played prominent cultural and political roles in the Sokoto Caliphate.] Muhammad Hisham Kabbani and Laleh Bakhtiar Encyclopedia of Muhammad's Women Companions and the Traditions They Related (Chicago, Il.: Kazi Publications, 1998). [Gives a good overview, in English, of the wide range of hadith transmitted by the female companions of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).] Muhammad Ibn Sa'd The Women of Madina [Kitab at-Tabaqat al-Kabir],Aisha Bewley, trans. (London: TaHa Publishers, 1995). [Ever wonder what roles women played in the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him), and immediately after? This work paints a vivid picture of how such women were remembered by the time of Ibn Sa'd (d. 845 C.E.), as persecuted converts, teachers of the faith, and even sometimes as prayer leaders and warriors.] STEREOTYPES OF MUSLIM WOMEN Judy Mabro Veiled Half-Truths: Western Travellers' Perceptions of Middle Eastern Women (London: I.B. Tauris, 1991). [Quoting from travellers' descriptions of Middle Eastern women, the author shows that many nineteenth century images used to describe them--as ghosts, animals, or inferior beings--are still in use today.] Mohja Kahf Western Representations of the Muslim Woman: From Termagant to Odalisque (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1999). [Surprisingly enough, western Europeans have not always imagined the Muslim woman as oppressed. When Muslim states were powerful, the western image of Muslim women was active and threatening, but as Europe gained political ascendancy Muslim women came to be depicted as passive and in need of rescuing.] VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN Abdul Hamid AbuSulayman Chastising Wives: Qur'anic Verse Re-interpreted, Women's Dignity Reconsidered (Herndon, VA: International Institute of Islamic Thought, 2002). [The author reexamines classical interpretations of the Qur'an and argues that striking women was never meant to be used as a way to handle marital problems.] Asifa Quraishi "Her Honor: An Islamic Critique of the Rape Laws of Pakistan from a Woman-Sensitive Perspective", in Windows of Faith--Muslim Women Scholar-Activists in North America, Gisela Webb, ed. (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 2000), pp. 102-135. [On the basis of classical texts, the author argues that rape should be classified as "hiraba" (an act of terror) against women, not as a sub-category of "zina" (fornication/adultery).] CHILDREN'S BOOKS Muslim girls need to see themselves as depicted as intelligent and capable persons in the books they read. These books attempt to do just that. (Ages 4 and up) Dalia Salaam Mary and the Angel & Baby Jesus Speaks. Stories from the Qur'an 5 (London: Hood Hood Books, 2000). [The story of Mary, told in simple language with attractive illustrations.] (Ages six and up) Ediba Kezzeiz Grandma's Garden (Indianapolis, IN: American Trust Publications, 1991). [A sister and brother deal with the death of their grandmother.] (Ages eight and up) Ediba Kezzeiz The Hajj Adventures of Jamila and Fasfoose (Indianapolis,IN: American Trust Publications, 1994). [An American Muslim girl and her pet mouse survive being lost at Hajj.] Rukhsana Khan Muslim Child: A Collection of Short Stories and Poems (Toronto: Napoleon Publishing, 1999). (Ages ten and up) Abd al-Rahman Azzam Ibn Battuta and the Tatar Princess (London: Hood Hood Books, 1998). [The indefatigable forteenth century world traveller, Ibn Battuta, meets an independent-minded Tatar princess as he travels through Turkey.] Salman Asif, Razia, Warrior Queen of India (London: Hood Hood Books,1998). [Razia, a learned woman, founded schools and libraries and promoted interfaith harmony. Her brother resents her accession to the throne, and tries to overthrow her.] (Teenage) Reshma Baig The Memory of Hands (New York: International Books and Tapes Supply, 1998). [In this collection of short stories, Muslim girls and young women carve out their identities and question cultural limitations.] Rukhsana Khan Dahling If You Luv Me Would You Please, Please Smile [A Muslim young woman gains the respect of her classmates, and frees herself from the religious guilt trip placed on her by her older sister] |
| Re: feminist islam booklist wanted |
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| se7en |
| 10/21/04 at 14:34:36 |
as salaamu alaykum, the book 'Early Sufi Women' by Abu Abd ar-Rahman as-Sulami, tr. Rkia E. Cornell from Fons Vitae has an awesome introduction that discusses the influence of women scholars and worshippers in our history. the intro is very good. btw, just looking through this list above there are some seriously problematic books. please read with objectivity and make sure your deen is on lock before delving into them. wasalaamu alaykum |
| 10/21/04 at 14:35:19 |
| se7en |
| Re: feminist islam booklist wanted |
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| se7en |
| 10/26/04 at 12:24:19 |
| as salaamu alaykum, went to barnes and noble the other day and found an interesting book in the Islam section.. it was called "The Scimitar and the Veil: Extraordinary Women of Islam" by Jennifer Heath. I didn't get to read all of it but looking through it it seemed interesting, fair and balanced. the author is the daughter of a diplomat who spent much of her childhood in Muslim countries. |
| 10/26/04 at 12:25:06 |
| se7en |
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