The Treatment of Women in Islam: Annotated Bibliography

Abdul-Rahman, Al-Sheha. Women in Islam: The Common Misconceptions, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2014.

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In this book, Abdul-Rahman analyzes the different and common misconceptions regarding women in Islam. Abdul-Rahman states that Islam assures a series of rights to women, rights that once did not exist, in any society or religion. In fact, some rights, only she has, refuting the idea that women are deprived of rights that ensure their dignity in Islam. Abdul-Rahman adds that among the various arguments that the detractors of Islam use are to say that the Muslim woman cannot work. Islam says that man has the obligation to care for and provide for a family, but that does not prevent a woman from working, as long as her work does not prevent her from caring for the family and the education of her children. Secondly, Abdul-Rahman states that in the Islamic world, education is also guaranteed to all men and women, as well as being free, such as health. For centuries before the coming of Islam, the woman was forbidden to comment on any subject, her opinion was never consulted and her voice never heard. Islam gave women freedom of expression, on any subject they wished to give their opinion.

This is a well-written book and has so much information. It is written exquisitely in a way that a reader can enjoy and understand the points passed across. The author backs his points and arguments by providing examples of how Islam treats women. This is a highly resourceful and informative book and does a great job in breaking the misconceptions that people have regarding Islam.

This book will be crucial in my research process since it provides specific examples of how Islam dignifies women. It has a large volume of information and moreover, it will also provide information on the issue of marriage, education, rights, duties, and responsibilities of women in Islam.

Al-Sheha, Abdul Rahman. Human Rights in Islam and Common Misconceptions. Publisher n.p.; 3rd edition, 2001.

This book analyzes the human rights in Islam and the common misconceptions surrounding the Islam religion. Al-Sheha states that other people see Islam as an oppressive, anti-democratic religion that is contrary to the rights of women. This puts the woman under the tutelage of her closest male relative: father, brother, husband or son. When she marries, her husband is authorized to beat her in case of disobedience, to repudiate her at any time, or to marry up to three more women. When she inherits, she receives half as much as his brothers. Al-Sheha adds that from the Western perspective, women in Muslim society are deprived of their fundamental, political and social rights due to discriminatory treatment, inferiority, submission to men and family life, depriving them of participating in public spaces, all of which justifies in the name of religion and tradition. Al-Sheha argues that the image of Islam transmitted by the media is often biased and unjustified, and the one unfortunately given by some Muslims in the world does not necessarily reflect the true nature of Islam. Al-Sheha argues that too often the image of the veiled woman is used to represent what most of the world regards as oppression. Its entire existence is described in terms that reflect its alleged ignorance and supposed discontent.

This is a well-written article and Al-Sheha provides a ton of evidence. He provides a detailed analysis and backs his arguments with different examples from the Koran. The article is well cited, and Al-Sheha uses more many references, this indicates the amount of research done in the paper. Al-Sheha provides explanations of all foreign terms to make it easy for the reader to understand the message. In overall, this is a highly informative and detailed article and it is greatly beneficial for all those who want to know how Islam is the opposite of the misconceptions portrayed about it in the media.

This book will be crucial in my research process since it provides specific examples of the different human rights in Islam. When reading about Islam and how it treats women, most sources, books, or journals show the negative side of Islam and how it is an oppressive religion. As such, such a book, that breaks all these misconceptions with great examples, will be a highly resourceful book for my research.

Barlow, Rebecca., and Akbarzadeh, Shahram. "Prospects for Feminism in the Islamic Republic Of Iran." Human Rights Quarterly, vol. 30, no.1, 2008, pp. 21-40.

In this article, Barlow and Akbarzadeh analyze the prospects for feminism in the Islamic Republic of Iran. A movement, he says, that during a first era was inspired by the same ideas that influenced Western feminists, adapted to a different context, which gave it specific characteristics. The article begins by commenting on the turn of the "Islamic Awakening", which caused major political and social changes in the Middle East: Arab socialist nationalism lost ground to Islamism financed by the conservative monarchies of the Gulf, and in Iran, there was the Islamic Revolution. The authors examines the contribution of prominent Muslim feminists who have sought to understand Islam from a different point of view than the ulemas who have traditionally monopolized the interpretation of the texts, at the same time questioning whether a religion whose principles and norms reveal the misogynist environment where he was born can really be reinterpreted in a way compatible with equality between men and women. That means that Muslim feminists are not heard and that they also have to fight on several fronts. Examples are women struggling to drive in Saudi Arabia, to be able to remove the veil in Iran, against ablation in many countries or for a better or mixed space in mosques in countries such as the United States or Denmark, among others. The authors believe that contextualizing the relationship between feminism and Islam, one must first understand that feminism is all social, political and legal theory, thought and practice that aims to make evident and end the situation of oppression that women endure and thus achieve a more inclusive society that recognizes and guarantees the full and effective equality of all human beings.

Worldwide, Iran is known for its strict laws against women and most people list it as one of the most oppressive nations in the world when it comes to the treatment of women. Barlow and Akbarzadeh do a great job in analyzing the issue of feminism in Iran and whether it can be successful or not. The authors provide earlier examples of feminism movements in Iran and how they have fared. The examples used to solidify the accuracy of the information they present. The article is not financed by any political group and this eliminates any sources of biases. The references used are cited and the fact that this is a scholarly journal shows how accurate the information and research presented is.

Jawad, Haifaa. "Muslim feminism: A case study of Amina Wadud's "Qur'an and woman." Islamic Studies, vol. 42, no. 1, 2003, pp. 107-125.

In this article, Jawad analyzes Muslim feminism by analyzing the case of research conducted by Amina Wadud's titled Quran and women. Islamic feminism is a movement that builds its foundations in the Koran and in the egalitarian spirit of Islam: the Koran is a fundamental part of obtaining its demands for greater equality and is carried out by Muslim women endowed with the linguistic and theoretical knowledge necessary to challenge the patriarchal interpretations and offer alternative readings aimed at achieving equal rights, and at the same time as a refutation of Western stereotypes and religious fundamentalism. Muslim feminism proposes that an analytical reading of the Qur'an should be made and that classical Islamic jurisprudence is not an objective interpretation of the principles of the Qur'an, but an interpretation linked to a specific historical time, and carried out from a patriarchal and authoritarian perspective, with a concept of very hierarchical society. It also postulates that genuine Islam contains important elements of liberation, such as the egalitarian sense and the absence of religious hierarchies, and proposes the recovery of these as a framework of social emancipation. Jawad is of the opinion that Muslim feminism implies reforming all those discriminatory laws, both to women and to religious, sexual or racial minorities. If sharia involves the slightest discrimination, from a feminist perspective, it must be rejected. On the contrary, if sharia implies a possible application of the Quranic message of social justice and equality of all human beings, in that case, it is licit to defend the right of Muslims to be governed by sharia.

Jawad's analysis is detailed but at the same time concise and precise. He dissects the issue of Muslim feminism by critically analyzing Amina Wadud's work. The author makes a distinction between culture and religion and candidly explains that what is regarded as religious thought and practice is often little more than the interpretation of the religious text(s) in a specific cultural milieu. The author cites many sources, provides many examples, and avoids any biases and prejudice in his language.

This article will be important in providing information about the Muslim feminist tradition and its experience while providing special emphasis on the new development of the feminist notion that is present within the Islamic framework. This article is also important since it interprets the Islamic sources from a female perspective.

Syed, Khalida Tanvir. "Misconceptions about Human Rights and Women's Rights in Islam." Interchange, vol. 39, no. 2, 2008, pp. 245-257.

In this article, Syed analyzes the misconceptions about human rights and women's rights in Islam. Syed argues that Islam is not a patriarchal religion. All human beings have the same dignity regardless of their sex; all gender discrimination must be combated and completely eradicated, and a correct reinterpretation of the sacred texts and the legal tradition constitute an important challenge to patriarchy in an Islamic context. The condition of women is now much discussed in world congresses and forums that have women as the central axis of the debates. The West often criticizes Islam for treating, in its view, the woman with disrespect and humiliation. Syed argues that the image of Islam presented by the west is mostly biased and wrong. Some people who do not know the reality of Islam, or who know it and then intentionally try to hide the just to divert people from the knowledge of Islam, say that Islam is an enemy of women, that degrades their dignity and humbles their pride, and leaves it even closer to the purely animal state, which is only a sensual enjoyment for man and an instrument to engender, in such a way that the woman is in a position inferior to man and dominated by him. There is no other thing more false and out of reality than this statement, who says so completely ignores the Islamic norms. The Holy Quran declares the equality of men and women in life, honor, dignity, and society in general, respecting the assets of both (men and women). Syed argues that in the Holy Qur'an, Almighty God teaches us this equality between man and woman, not only because He commands us in a clear way, but also because in many Quranic verses, God refers to both women and men in their rights.

This is one of the most informative and most accessible works showing the misconceptions about Islam and the rights it grants to Muslims, especially women. In overall, this is a highly informative and detailed article and it is greatly beneficial to everyone who reads it.

The information in the article will be important in clarifying the misconceptions that about the Islamic faith and the different issues of human rights and women rights more so in...