(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
Two traditional representations of it muslimThe Muslim woman has been prevalent in the culture of the global North: one sexualizes and objectifies her, the other portrays her as an oppressed victim of her own culture and religion. As critics from Edward Said to Gayatri Spivak have pointed out, the Muslim woman has womanIn these representations, she has no voice; there is always someone else speaking for her.
Not this time. Samia Rahman, the daughter of first-generation Muslim immigrants to Britain in the late 1900th century, has written the book Muslim Women and Misogyny to amplify the diversity of Muslim women's voices. She has taken into account the abundant developments of the last few decades, from the pressures of social media to Islam's notorious role as a prime example of misogyny in various contexts. From the white politicians who want to liberate Muslim women from the dominance of Muslim men, to the new generations of white men, gathered in the manosphere and incel cultures, who believe that women are the cause of all their problems and see the solution in subjecting all women to male dominance (the supposed belief of Muslim women).
myths
Yes, Rahman confirms, there is misogyny in Muslim circles. But the underlying assumption that it must be so difficult to be a Muslim woman because Islam is so exceptionally terrible “is a myth” (p. 214). Muslim women are among the most talked about categories of people in the world. “We come in all shapes and sizes, as a product of all environments and circumstances,” Rahman claims. Yet they are the subject of myths and misunderstandings. “Objectified, fetishized, scrutinized, judged and controlled, we live in a world where everyone feels entitled to have an opinion about us” (p. 211). Rahman, who is himself a researcher and journalist, has interviewed several researchers, journalists and activists, women and men from Muslim communities. She has revealed the many faces of the Muslim woman in Storbritannia and shows "how Muslim women move beyond the tropes and stereotypes, the oppression and injustice."
"Our multiple, messy, contradictory, and complicated truths as we navigate misogyny."
The most distinctive and unique thing about this bold book is its approach. Rather than “raging at injustice and offering quick fixes,” Rahman expresses “our multiple, messy, contradictory, and complicated truths as we navigate the misogyny, sometimes successfully, sometimes not quite successfully”. Such a flexible and broad approach is common in academic literature, but this book is aimed at a broad audience interested in understanding what it means to be a Muslim woman in Britain today. Let me point out some conceptual premises for this approach.
First, the book is written from the perspective of the 'global majority', a term Rahman explains as "non-white people, who together constitute about 85 percent of the world's population" (p. 108). This makes it possible to acknowledge feminismns traditions and discourses in societies from the 'global majority', for example the involvement of women on the Indian subcontinent in the struggle for liberation from colonial occupation, which had "just been erased" from the white middle-class version of feminism. And she also points out "a larger fallacy in liberal circles" (p. 109) that it is only in black and brown environments that oppression and misogyny exist.
The Quran
Another element is the level of spirituality and the role of religion. Not only is The Quran, for the vast majority of Muslims, is considered “a complete guide to life” (p. 30). For many women, it is the marriage, according to Rahman, “one of the ways to get closer to God” (p. 210). Both the experts interviewed for the book and the author share this intimate engagement and experience religion in everyday life. This personal connection permeates the discussions and interpretations of Islam, enabling an informed, participatory reading, a rejection of the mainstream, and a movement toward alternative interpretations. It begins with the claims that the Quran encourages critical thinking to enrich debates, seek clarity, and refine practice, while Sunnaen (The Life and Example of the Prophet Muhammad) contains questions raised by women of the first generation of Muslims – and answered directly by God. The claim that it is “clearly recorded in the Sunnah” that “the Prophet Muhammad was playful and affectionate towards his wives”, and the conclusion that “Islam in its beginnings was a radically inclusive movement because it took into account all people who were marginalized in society, and included them”.
gaze
Through a thorough study of various sources, from Islamic scholarship to personal testimonies, Rahman reveals how the patriarchal worldview has shaped the structure of the Quran, and how Muslim women have resisted it. Moreover, how liberation struggleone in various historical periods (for example, during Victorian colonialism) was written out, while patriarchal values were written into Islam. The present is especially tough because social media has created the ubiquitous objectifying gaze on others.
As minorities in the West, Muslims are constantly aware that they are a minority, and they must be more mindful of how they articulate their views (p. 81). Moreover, the issue is closely linked to the issue of hijab. Islamic teachings advise us not to view people as objects, but as the sum of their entire humanity. Both men and women have been given the ability to see and are compelled to look at others. Every woman has the right to cover herself if she wishes. Nevertheless, barriers in the form of veiling, lowering the gaze, or physical separation of the sexes are “a misunderstanding of Islams wisdom". It is, Rahman argues, "the very gaze we must erase from our psyches to create a healthy and respectful dynamic of interaction and recognition between people".
Boken Muslim Women and Misogyny is an important contribution to this.
Translated from English by the editor of MODERN TIMES.
