"Believing Women" in Islam: Unreading Patriarchal Interpretations of the Quran [Hardcover]

Asma Barlas (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2002

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. Taking a wholly different view, Asma Barlas develops a believer's reading of the Qur'an that demonstrates the radically egalitarian and anti-patriarchal nature of its teachings. Beginning with a historical analysis of religious authority and knowledge, Barlas shows how Muslims came to read inequality and patriarchy into the Qur'an to justify existing religious and social structures and demonstrates that the patriarchal meanings ascribed to the Qur'an are a function of who has read it, how, and in what contexts. She goes on to reread the Qur'an's position on a variety of issues in order to argue that its teachings do not support patriarchy. To the contrary, Barlas convincingly asserts that the Qur'an affirms the complete equality of the sexes, thereby offering an opportunity to theorise radical sexual equality from within the framework of its teachings. This new view takes readers into the heart of Islamic teachings on women, gender, and patriarchy, allowing them to understand Islam through its most sacred scripture, rather than through Muslim cultural practices or Western media stereotypes.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Barlas, associate professor and chair of politics at Ithaca College, offers a comprehensive revisionist treatment of how the Qur'an actually views women as equal and even superior to men. Persuaded that Islam is a religion of egalitarianism, Barlas is equally clear that misogyny and patriarchy have seeped into Islamic practice through "traditions": the sunna, or the traditions of the Prophet Muhammad, the founder of Islam; the hadiths, or sayings attributed to Muhammad; and the shariah, or law derived from the Qur'an. Barlas argues that a military-scholarly complex manipulated the Qur'an to establish these traditions in a successful effort to preserve the position of the military rulers and clerics of early Islamic history with women's status being the victim. Some flawed traditions, along with mistranslations, ingrained patriarchy into Qur'anic interpretation, in spite of obvious Qur'anic injunctions to the contrary. Barlas's thesis is irresistible: the Qur'an itself has a very positive view of women whereas patriarchal culture caused the various interpreters of the Qur'an to read their own biases into the text to justify the oppression of women. Barlas quotes from a smorgasbord of Islamic scholars, resulting at times in a choppy read that drowns out her own more appealing voice. The opening chapter is bogged down in such quoting, and also in excessive worrying over her critics on either side of the debate. Despite these flaws, this book is loaded with interesting facts about Islam that may even surprise Muslims.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Interim director of the Center for the Study of Culture, Race, and Ethnicity at Ithaca College, Barlas analyzes both the Qur'anic text itself and its relationship to other Muslim texts and to cultural context. She argues that the language of the Qur'an, with its emphasis on divine unity, justness, and incomparability, rejects "the patriarchal imagery of God-the-Father and the prophets-as-fathers" and in fact counters "the history of rule by fathers." She further argues that the Qur'an refuses to espouse a view of sex/gender differentiation, recognizing equal spousal rights for both sexes and mutuality in marital relations. The Qur'an even links "the reverence humans owe to God and the reverence they owe to their others" and "is the only Scripture to address the rights of girls" to paternal love and "the problem of fathers' abuse of daughters." Prevalent Qur'anic misreadings, she concludes, can be traced to the sunna (or traditions), the hadiths (or sayings) of the Prophet, and the shariah (or law), which were developed by an early military-scholarly complex. This challenging book complements Amina Wadud's Qur'an and Woman: Rereading the Sacred Text from a Woman's Perspective; both are important for academic and larger public libraries. Carolyn M. Craft, Longwood Univ., Farmville, VA
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: University of Texas Press (June 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 029270903X
• ISBN-13: 978-0292709034
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,076,484 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must read for all muslim women and men, January 17, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: "Believing Women" in Islam: Unreading Patriarchal Interpretations of the Qur'an (Paperback)

This book by Asma is a liberating phenomenon for Muslims who have suffered from misinterpretation of the Quranic text. Beyond liberating women, Asma also shows the magnificence of Islam as a liberating religion for the human race. Translating this work to other languages, especially Arabic, should be a priority. The book's only setback is its academic language which will make it hard to follow by the layperson. I believe that a simplified version of the book will help spread its message to the masses. Thank you Asma.

20 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent!, July 1, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: "Believing Women" in Islam: Unreading Patriarchal Interpretations of the Qur'an (Paperback)

This book is the most excellent attempt to explain and differentiate the inconsistencies that have led to large-scale mis-interpretation and abuse of Quranic precepts. Ms. Barlas has done a brilliant job in writing to both Muslims and Non-Muslims. To those of you who are eager to dismiss her as an 'apologist', this book is not meant to make excuses: it simply presents a very valid view point that is defensible, even in the most rigorous academic discourse.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Clears up misconceptions about Islam being patriarchal, March 14, 2004

By 

Deanna (New Jersey United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: "Believing Women" in Islam: Unreading Patriarchal Interpretations of the Qur'an (Paperback)

Recognizing that men and women belong to a different sex
doesn't mean that they are unequal or that particular qualities can only be found in one sex.She offers a summary about where and when shariah was created and how the hadith were compiled. A few chapters of the book offer explanations on all of those verses that many Muslims and non Muslims read as saying that men are superior to women,polygamy, hijab, "wife beating", creation of man and woman, etc. However, I was surprised that she didn't cover the 2 women=1 male witness verse. Also, the problem with this book is that it is very hard to read. As a Muslim who knows a fair amount of information about Islam's history I still had trouble following her while she jumped around to various points in time and the vocabulary that's used.