FEMINISM AND ISLAM

Abstract

Any attempts to integrate feminism and Islam is often construed as a risible one. But the growing chasm between the personal role definitions by women and the role expectations of Muslim males means that the notion can no longer be dismissed as a mere chimera. This study decolonizes the reading of "being woman" from both the grip of patriarchal interpretation of religion and Eurocentric view which tend to have achieved a certain degree of cultural hegemony within the feminist movement itself. Challenging the taken-for-granted perceptions of both regarding the superiority of their points of view and value systems, this study shows that feminism need not be contrary to the spirit of Islam. Reformulating the woman question is not detrimental to the well-being of the umma. Instead, it paves the way for the social and political decolonization of the Muslim world.