An Overview of Islamic Feminist Paradigms and Methodologies in the light of Islamic Feminist Discourses

Abstract

Islamic feminism’ is a comparatively latest stream of thoughts and discourses developed by a network of transnational, educated and urban settled men and women activist around the world, who aim to re-interpret the Holy Qur’ān and other religious texts to draw inspiration and to recover religious teachings from the patriarchal interpretations and practises, to endorse and promote equality of genders. Islamic feminists challenge the patriarchal setup and norms, which are ingrained within our cultural, societal, economic and political domains, by arguing that these notions and conceptions have nothing to do with the truest sense of Islam, but are only related with the traditional setup of society. The primary objective of this system is to change the ideas and practices that leads to marginalization, speaking against the canons related to male superiority which are manifested within the patriarchal cultures. This article explores the several scopes of Islamic feminism, along with investigating the important works of prominent Islamic feminists around the globe. It also aims to elaborate the standpoints of different school of thoughts of Islamic feminism. Moreover, this article explains the methodologies of Islamic Feminists in interpreting Qur’ān and Hadith and how these methodologies transform the classical interpretations of Qur’anic verses to meet the gender justice program.