Women in Islam: a Reappraisal

Abstract

‘Women in Islam’ is not a new subject of study. Some scholars have recently classified the subject as ‘the mother of all battles’.1 Scholars in both the East and the West have published scores of works on the status of women in Islam as well as in Muslim countries. Unfortunately, quite a substantial number of such works lack objectivity as they are either reflective of the age-old ‘Orientalist’ prejudice against Islam and Asian societies or of the subjectivity of Muslim apologists. There is another genre of writings which is reflective of the sheer ignorance of the authors about Islam, its history and the spirit of the religion. However, one should be aware of the difficulties of making an appraisal of the status of women in Islam and Muslim societies as scholars and laymen, ‘Orientalists’ and their opponents, Muslims and non-Muslims, liberal and orthodox Muslims, feminists and their opponents might raise various questions to any such appraisal. It seems that no objectivity is good enough to defend one’s position on the problem.