Domestic Violence and the Islamic Tradition
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Oxford University Press
Published:19th Dec '13
Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back
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- Paperback£32.49(9780198766193)
Modern scholars of most major religious traditions, who seek gender egalitarian interpretations of their scriptural texts, confront a common dilemma: how can they produce interpretations that are at once egalitarian and authoritative, within traditions that are deeply patriarchal? This book examines the challenges and resources that the Islamic tradition offers to Muslim scholars who seek to address this dilemma. This is achieved through extensive study of the intellectual history of a Qur'anic verse that has become especially contentious in the modern period: Chapter 4, Verse 34 (Q. 4:34) which can be read to permit the physical disciplining of disobedient wives at the hands of their husbands. Though this verse has been used by historical and contemporary Muslim scholars in multiple ways to justify the right of husbands to physically discipline their wives, progressive and reformist Muslim scholars and activists offer alternative and non-violent readings of the verse. The diverse and divergent interpretations of Q. 4:34 showcases the pivotal role of the reader in shaping the meaning and implications of scriptural texts. This book investigates the sophisticated and creative interpretive approaches to Q. 4:34, tracing the intellectual history of Muslim scholarship on this verse from the ninth century to the present day. Ayesha S. Chaudhry examines the spirited and diverse, and at times contradictory, readings of this verse to reveal how Muslims relate to their inherited tradition and the Qur'anic text.
[T]his work should be applauded as the first sustained analysis of the phrase 'beat them' in the Sunni exegetical and legal sources from the medieval and modern periods. Chaudhry has exposed the variation in interpretations on this command admirably, and has managed to write a book that is as enjoyable to read as it is interesting. Though it engages with the tradition, this book also represents a theological response to a difficult Qur'anic passage, and is an important contribution to the growing movement of Muslim feminist reinterpretations of the Qu'ran. * Karen Bauer, Journal of Qur'anic Studies *
Chaudhrys book is a welcome and significant contribution to contemporary Muslim debates on gender justice * Farid Esack, Journal of the American Academy of Religion *
Her analysis of postcolonial and contemporary scholarship adds an important dimension to the debate, showing that while religion and religious commands continues to remain relevant to contemporary believers, with a strong desire to remain rooted in the old patriarchal tradition, there are also noteworthy attempts at subverting and/or rejecting the tradition to articulate an Islamic consciousness that is emphatically gender egalitarian. Chaudhry's book is a welcome and significant contribution to contemporary Muslim debates on gender justice, interpretation of religious texts, and the status of the historical Islamic intellectual tradition. * Farid Esack, The Journal of the American Academy of Religion *
Until the twentieth century, Muslim scholars understood hitting as necessary discipline for rebellious wives. Chaudhry's nuanced study of how these scholars approached this question juridically and exegetically leaves the reader with a deeper appreciation for the ways they struggled with the verse, providing a variety of interpretations, including those that sought to reconcile it with the model of the Prophet himself... This work fits beautifully into the ongoing literature of religious feminism, reinforcing some ideas and bringing new conceptualizations that help us think in new ways about the problems religious feminists face in every tradition. * Rebecca Alpert, Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion *
This book is a valuable contribution on a controversial topic and it deserves to be read widely. * Muhammad Khan, The Muslim News *
very well researched and presented * Ali Abd al-Malik, The Islamic Quarterly *
A model feminist volume that shows that all religious ideas are subject to analysis, dynamic in their meanings, and are open to change. * Women's Alliance for Theology, Ethics, and Ritual *
ISBN: 9780199640164
Dimensions: 241mm x 163mm x 23mm
Weight: 1g
90 pages