believing women in islam a brief introduction asma barlas

Barlas was previously the founding director of the Center for the Study of Culture, Race and Ethnicity at Ithaca College for twelve years, and held the Spinoza Chair in Philosophy at the University of Amsterdam. She is currently a professor of politics at Ithaca College.

This is a FREE event, but registration is required.Īsma Barlas is a Pakistani-American writer and academic. The Aga khan University Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations is hosting a book launch event on J(18:00- 19:30 BST) at Atrium Conference room Aga Khan Centre, London, UK where speaker Asma Barlas will be present to discuss her book in great length. Taking a wholly different view, Asma Barlas develops a believer’s reading of the Qur’an that demonstrates the radically egalitarian and antipatriarchal nature of its teachings. The authors' hope is that by understanding how patriarchal traditionalists have come to exercise so much authority in today's Islam, as well as by rereading some of the Qur'an's most controversial verses, adherents of the faith will learn to question patriarchal dogma and see that an egalitarian reading of the Qur'an is equally possible and, for myriad reasons, more plausible.Does Islam call for the oppression of women? Non-Muslims point to the subjugation of women that occurs in many Muslim countries, especially those that claim to be “Islamic,” while many Muslims read the Qur’an in ways that seem to justify sexual oppression, inequality, and patriarchy. They show how traditional teachings about women's inferiority are not supported by the Qur'an but were products of patriarchal societies that used it to justify their existing religious and social structures. The authors focus primarily on the Qur'an's teachings about women and patriarchy.

She explains why a handful of verses have been interpreted to favor men and shows how these same verses can be read in an egalitarian way that is fully supported by the text itself and compatible with the Qur'an's message that it is complete and self-consistent.Ī Brief Introduction presents the arguments of Believing Women in a simplified way that will be accessible and inviting to general readers and undergraduate students.

Is women's inequality supported by the Qur'an? Do men have the exclusive right to interpret Islam's holy scripture? In her best-selling book Believing Women in Islam: Unreading Patriarchal Interpretations of the Qur'an, Asma Barlas argues that, far from supporting male privilege, the Qur'an actually encourages the full equality of women and men.

Believing women in islam a brief introduction asma barlas