International Women鈥檚 Day: Five Essential Resources on Women in the 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍 and 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍ic Interpretation
To mark International Women鈥檚 Day, we have created a list of five essential resources surrounding our recently published book听An Anthology of 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍ic Commentaries, Volume II: On Women, edited by听Dr Karen Bauer听补苍诲听Dr Feras Hamza.
1. The Book: On Women
On Women听comprises extensive introductory material, annotated translations of Qur示anic commentaries spanning 12 centuries, interviews of contemporary Muslim scholars and introductions to the texts themselves, which frame the work throughout and render these technically complex materials accessible.
The book begins with a critical introduction to the study of women and gender in the genre of Qur示anic commentaries. A chapter then follows key Qur示anic terms in a chronological sequence, showing how the Qur示an鈥檚 world view on women developed from the earliest Meccan revelations to the period of the final revelations in Medina.
The remainder of the volume translates, critically annotates, and analyses interpretations of six select Qur示anic verses on women, chosen because of their relevance to women鈥檚 lived experience. While highlighting variation, continuity, and plurality in the genre of Qur示anic commentaries,听On Women听goes beyond medieval interpretive paradigms to include perspectives marginalised by that tradition, such as the voices of women themselves.
2. An Interview with amina wadud
In October 2020, the authors of听On Women, Dr Karen Bauer and Dr Feras Hamza, interviewed the renowned feminist amina wadud about verses 4.34 (on spousal relations), 4.1 (on the creation of humankind) and 24.31 (on the veil). An edited version of this interview appears in the book.听
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3. On Women听Launch Event
The book's launch took place at the听Aga Khan Centre, London, on 8 November 2021 and featured the editors and a panel of ,听, Dr Yasmin Amin and听听in discussion about the book鈥檚 themes.听
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4. Interview with the Editors
In this accessible interview, Drs Bauer and Hamza discuss how the tradition of 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍ic commentary viewed women in the听蚕耻谤鈥檃苍, how it continues to influence many Muslim women鈥檚 lives today, and why it was so important to feature contemporary women's voices in their book.
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5. Other Titles by the Editors
If you鈥檙e a researcher or student looking at the genre of 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍ic commentary, you might like to find out more about our first title in the Anthologies series,听An Anthology of 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍ic Commentaries - Volume I: On the Nature of the Divine, which was also edited by Dr Hamza alongside Dr Sajjad Rizvi.
Dr Bauer鈥檚 previous book,听, was a runner-up in the British鈥揔uwait Friendship Society Book Prize in 2016 and explores how medieval and modern Muslim religious scholars interpret gender roles in Qur'anic verses on legal testimony, marriage and human creation. Ziba Mir-Hosseini, Professorial Associate at the Centre for Islamic and Middle Eastern Law, described it as 鈥渁 must-read for anyone trying to understand how and why gender hierarchy became intrinsic to Muslim religious tradition and the challenge that the idea of equality presents to the tradition鈥�.
Dr Bauer's 2013 edited volume听Aims, Methods and Contexts of Quranic Exegesis (2nd/8th-9th/15th Centuries)听is dedicated to the study of听tafsir听as a genre and illustrates that the study of context, genre constraints and hermeneutics is important, because听tafsir听represents not the one true understanding of the 蚕耻谤鈥檃苍, but rather a certain type of understanding and certain types of knowledge about the Muslim sacred Book.
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