Gender Norms and Perceptions in Islamic World: A Study of the Travel Account of al-Sirafi

Abstract

Religion has been a factor that greatly influences the formation and shaping of traditions. Through analyzing the Travel Account of al-Sirafi, this paper draws a correlation between Islam and the perception of foreign female figures in the view of Islamic believers. This insight sheds light on the hidden gender inequalities behind the portrayal of the seemingly harmonious gender ideas in Islamic doctrines. The intention of this article is not to criticize the plausible religious oppression of women, but to apply the nautical text to discover the cultural collision throughout the Indian Ocean maritime trade between the 9th and 10th centuries.