Women in the Qur'an. Asma Lamrabet
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be noted, is met with notable indifference in the West, is that it takes shape within and in the name of the Islamic tradition … Muslim women who undertake, in the name of their convictions, a process of questioning of certain misogynistic readings in Islam and contest readings which legitimize the subordinate status of women in Islamic societies … It is what some have referred to as the questioners from within. In fact, it is a project which is intrinsic to Qur’anic teachings and which advocates, in the very name of those teachings, the promotion of an egalitarian ethic both in theory and in practise.
It is thus at the heart of these debates and evolutions that the stake of a new reading of the sacred text lies … A reading adapted to our context and to a human reality which never ceases to evolve. A reading which seeks to remain faithful to basic principles in Islam and which contends that the Qur’an is valid in all times and in all places.
How can we remain content with exegeses compiled centuries ago and which, concerning women, more often than not reflect a distressing literalism? Why do we continue to restrict ourselves to traditional readings when the text itself presents in its guiding principles extremely important latitudes so that each social reality can adapt to it and recognize itself within it. How can we remain with our arms crossed, regurgitating outmoded interpretations and hence ignoring the objectives of the text which, in every context, provides meaning to our life on earth? It is sad to note that instead of remaining faithful to the objectives of the Divine message, we have rather remained faithful to human interpretations and readings which, voluntarily or not, have contributed to the rise of this culture of demeaning women which continues to plague our Muslim societies.
It is in this sense that a re-reading of the Qur’an from a feminine perspective draws all its importance. It will enable us to create a true dynamic of liberation from within the Islamic sphere, in the sense of raising the status of Muslim women.
This liberation reading will also allow the development of a true autonomy and an authentic Islamic feminine identity with the totality of its rights and responsibilities. Finally, it will allow women to define themselves as active partners in the process of reform and religious reinterpretation which is underway in the Muslim world. Because one can, as a believer, question the assertion according to which only men have the authority to interpret what God has outlined in His Book.
This is not an attempt to promote a women-only hermeneutics which would exclude fourteen centuries of classical exegetical tradition. Classical exegesis constitutes a very rich patrimony for Islamic memory, its contribution is indeed critical for a profound study of the text and it is not about excluding the considerable contribution of this science for the understanding of the sacred text. Rather, it is about addressing historical prejudice and inequalities, driven by a human and hence imperfect understanding of the Qur’anic message. It is about deconstructing an entire patriarchal model of reading which relegates women to a corner of Islamic history, in order to return to women a part of their amputated memory.
It is certainly not about forging a movement which, coming from a female perspective, would seek to oppose women to men through a conflictual understanding … this new feminine perspective questions the alleged male superiority but not on the basis of rivalry between the sexes. It is a new perspective which can only be enriching and which takes into account the spiritual experience of women, so often absent from the Islamic references. Spirituality has no gender, but there is a given lived relationship to God which is perceived differently by women and men … It is here that the inclusion of the female perspective can be an essential addition to the human spiritual experience … In addition, the Prophet of Islam (May Allah bless him and grant him peace) guided us from the beginning to conceiving of this female/male difference as a type of equality at the heart of the fraternity in God … It is for this reason that at the heart of the Islamic reformist project, a number of Muslim men have for a long time been engaged in a process of re-reading and of liberation of women, according to the principles of Islam. This emanates precisely from a profound conviction in Divine justice and the absolute requirement of impartiality towards all human beings. Such conviction leads to a critical awakening in the believer, be it male or female, towards all the various forms of enslavement.
And refusing to endorse the subservience of which Muslim women are victims is itself an act of devotion, of piety and of faithfulness in front of the Creator.
It is of this liberation of which we speak ….
A women’s liberation which advocates a spiritual rejuvenation through the Qur’an, Divine words, eternal, and an endless source of strength, of freedom and of hope ….
A liberation which favours above all else authenticity, the inner self and integrity.
A liberation which conceives of the relationship to transcendence as profoundly liberating since it frees us from all other forms of servitude ….
A women’s liberation which does not have to conform to any other model in vogue, which is neither necessarily western, nor typically eastern, but autonomous and independent ….
A women’s liberation which should be free to make its own choices, to re-write its history and to redefine its own spaces of freedom ….
A liberation well-grounded in its spiritual identity but which is open on all forms of human richness and is prepared to share with others, all others, the true universal values of ethics and justice ….
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1. One need look no further than the success of French editors publishing testimonies by Muslim women and the proposed titles which speak volumes on this obsession with representing the Muslim woman as an inevitable victim of Islam: Burnt Alive by Souad; Forced to Marry by Leila; Mutilated by Khady; The Woman’s Stoning by Freidoune Sahebjam; Disfigured by Rania el Baz; I Was Born in a Harem by Choga Regina … almost all of which were published in the year 2005 alone!
We must go back, way back, to the story of human creation … The universal story and popular imagination are indelibly marked by a same and unique belief which transcends time, cultural space, religious dogma and the history of civilizations … This belief stipulates that Adam – as a man – was God’s first creation and that Eve, the woman, was created from one of Adam’s ribs.
Henceforth, this legendary truth has become the founding myth of the inferiority of women and we know the disastrous effect this type of concept has had throughout the history of humanity.
It remains undeniable that the affirmation of the inferiority of women as compared to men finds its origins in theological assumptions widely anchored in ways of thinking, both in Judaeo-Christian cultures and in Muslim lands. Without going into the metaphysical details, these main assumptions are found, with much continuity, in the interpretative texts of the religious traditions of the three monotheistic religions and one can summarize the main points through three observations which continuously return in universal religious history.
Firstly, there is this idea that woman was created from Adam’s rib, which equates to saying that her creation was necessarily secondary, Adam – man – being considered as the norm or representative of the human ideal.
The second observation is that which suggests that Eve is the primary cause of Adam’s eviction from Paradise, since it is she, according to this very widespread understanding, who incited Adam to transgress God’s command and to taste from the forbidden tree. She has become the undeniable muse of the legendary ‘original sin’.
And the final assumption, that woman was not only created from Adam, but she was created for him! An important nuance! It is from here that the entire culture of the oppression of women that we are familiar with has emerged and which has found its legitimacy in a particular religious discourse. Today, the majority of Christian exegetes consider the story of Adam and Eve to be