Islamic Feminist Exegesis by Amina Wadud

Abstract

The present article focuses on analyzing the methodology of one of the most prominent representatives of Islamic feminism, Amina Wadud. The author highlights the close link between the social status of an exegete, his/ her personal experience and the hermeneutic approach, formulated by him/ her. The essential components of the hermeneutic project by Anima Wadud are emphasized as a main theme of research. Combining intratextual and historical approaches is justified as being necessary for meaningful reconstruction of the “Qur’anic ethos”. It is also shown that feminist exegesis is only possible if the interpretation of the Qur’an as a “closed” text is replaced by the assertion of it being a complete discourse, “opening” within the logic of readers’ questions. The dependence of the exegeses by Amina Wadud on the conceptual body of the project by Fazlur Rahman — namely, on the idea of contextual ij tihad, the theory of “double shift” and the holistic method of interpretation, — was deeply studied during the research. The author accentuates the two primary presuppositions of the American feminist, namely: the image of God as “the One Who does not oppress” and of human being as God’s “deputy”. In conclusion, the author turns to the main theme of feminist critique of traditional tafsirs — the urge to deconstruct “patriarchy” as a covert system of idolatry and “masculinization” of God.