Critical review of the current debate about “islamic feminism” what is Islamic and what is feminist in “Islamic feminism”?

Abstract

This paper aims to explore ideas, principles, and demands of Islamic feminism. In this article, the term Islamic feminism includes interpretations of the Quran and the hadith in women’s perspective as well as practices based on these interpretations that are dedicated to the struggle against widespread patriarchal values and norms, in public and in private sphere. In the first part of this paper, the author presents a brief review of feminist ideas and movements in order to contextualize development of Islamic feminism. The second part provides main insights from gender-sensitive interpretations of the Quran and activist contributions induced by these interpretations. The third part is devoted to the investigation of the relationship between Islamic feminism and other feminist approaches.