The “F” word: Feminism in Islam



I came across this article while doing research on gender and Islam. As a multiethnic American woman, I feel that American society still has a long way to go in understanding and building tolerance towards different cultures, nationalities, religions and how different women identify within these spheres.



I find this blog entry by Amina Wadud to be incredibly powerful. I think it is also a great example of how women can use web forums to express their views and contest generalized and negative criticisms that lack sufficient thought and/or knowledge.



Furthermore, I think Wadud's definition of feminism and Islam counters many of the assumptions made about Muslim women and how they identify and think about Islam.



My favorite paragraph is the following:



"Let me start with the definition of feminism that I am most comfortable with: feminism is the radical idea that women are human beings. Then, let me add the most comfortable definition of Islam that I know: Islam is engaged surrender, which is conscientiously acting and being in line with the greatest harmony of the universe, that which is the will of the Creator. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to note that any human being is capable of surrender. Nor does it take much to realize that while both of these definitions point to the self evident, still patriarchy and disharmony with the creation reign unabashedly."



http://www.religiondispatches.org/dispatches/guest_bloggers/3393/the_%E2...

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