Gender and Self in Islam (Routledge Advances in Middle East and Islamic Studies)

208 Pages·2006·2.79 MB·English

by  Etin Anwar

Gender and Self in Islam
Gender and Self in Islamexamines the theological, cultural, and social roots of hierarchical
gender system in the Muslim communities and its impact on the constitution of the self.
It traces the historical and contemporary patterns of women’s lives, including their
oppressions and their resistance to what is accepted as the philosophical and Islamic
truth of being men and women. Specific attention is paid to the views of:
● gender thinking and its impact on hierarchical gender system
● the creation theories and the making of humanity
● the politics of reproduction and the impact on women’s role in conception
● the masculine concepts and practices of feminine morality
● the performance of gender and self-process based on male superiority and
supremacy
● the subordination of female self-determination and agency.
It argues that the diverse authoritative legitimacies of Islamic teaching—especially
Muslims’ interpretation of the expositions of certain practices in the Qur’mn and the
a.mdlth—have formed a system that focuses on male humanity and supremacy, while
at the same time disempowering the female self-becoming. This volume also examines
the endeavors by feminists, womanists, and male advocates todisentangle the seamless
relations of the existing gender system and foster the making of an egalitarian gender
system and an inclusive humanity.
Gender and Self in Islam is a significant contribution to Islamic gender studies from
an author who can provide a unique perspective as a Southeast Asian who is well
versed in Islamic philosophy.
Etin Anwaris Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Hobart and William Smith
Colleges, Geneva, New York. She has published several articles on Ibn Sina, Meister
Eckhart, Ibn Arabi, and women’s movements in Indonesia in journals including
Islamic Studies, Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations, and Hawwa.
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Gender and Self in Islam
Etin Anwar
First published 2006
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2006 Etin Anwar
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2006.
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All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter
invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
A catalog record for this book has been requested
ISBN10: 0–415–70103–1 (hbk)
ISBN10: 0–203–79962–3 (ebk)
ISBN13: 978–0–415–70103–7 (hbk)
ISBN13: 978–0–203–79962–8 (ebk)
To
Siti Hasanah for the gift of life
and
Shalahudin Kafrawi for the gift of love

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Note xi
Introduction 1
About the book 2
Philosophy as a method of inquiry into gender and self 5
The contents of the book 14
1 Gender thinking and the system it produces 16
The roots of the hierarchical and egalitarian gender systems 17
Gender and power difference in the family 32
Conclusion 44
2 The creation theories as the bases for ontological
self and inclusive humanity 46
The creation of Adam and the making of humanity 48
Equality in human origin 61
Ontology and human equality 65
Conclusion 70
3 The transmission of generative self and
women’s contribution to conception 72
Female’s roles in conception: an Islamic philosophical view
and its Greek heritage 74
The politics of gender and reproduction in the post-Ibn
Sånmn period 82
The stages of fetal development: a Qur’mnic view 86
Conclusion 92
viii Contents
4 The embodiment of masculinity and femininity:
the making of material self 94
The narrative of the self and the making of material self 96
The formativity of material self 102
Conclusion 115
5 The performance of the self: engendering
dependency and pleasures 117
The construction of the ethics and psychology of the self 118
Extensional and reciprocal dependency 123
The “Embodied Self,” the truth of sex and pleasures 133
Conclusion 139
Conclusion 140
Glossary 147
Notes 149
Bibliography 177
Index 189
Acknowledgments
This book reflects my long quest on the subject of women in Islam, and my fascination
with philosophy. It is rare to find these two topics spoken of in the same breath,
particularly as regards the question of gender in Islamic philosophy. To fill this gap
I have attempted in the following pages to create a new space for a philosophical
discussion of gender and self in Islam. Philosophy, as a method of inquiry, can be an
ideal method for understanding the current and historical construction of these
topics. In so doing, I have tried to avoid overgeneralization and oversimplification of
the diversity of issues affecting the lives of women in Muslim societies. Instead, I
have attempted to describe the patterns of social realities in which Muslim women
live, their oppression at the personal, familial, and societal levels, their resistance to
the status quo and their empowerment.
My “innocent” worldview of women comes mostly from my deceased, illiterate
grandmother, Ratna Komala, whose view of a woman’s role and the world around her
was simple, yet inspiring. Equally important has been the influence of my mother,
Siti Hasanah, who has first and foremost taught me to act beyond the call of duty.
She was generous in the first place by bringing me into the world, and even more so
in doing everything she could to see that I would have a promising future.
My intellectual worldview of women has flourished under the influence of many
inspiring teachers. I am indebted in the first place to Howard Federspiel, who
introduced me to the academic study of Muslim women in Indonesia. I thank Bat
Ami Bar-On, Ali A. Mazrui, and Anthony Preus for their insights at early stages of
the book. I would also like to thank Stephen D. Ross, Marcia K. Hermansen, Nimat
Hafez Barazangi, Mahmud Ayoub, Herman Landolt, Rebecca Alpert, Russel
Blackwood, Jay William, Nelly Van Doorn-Harder, and Nanat Fatah Nasir for their
generous support. I also thank Tim Elgren and Thomas Wilson for their assistance in
finding me financial support during my stay at Hamilton College.
I want to express my infinite gratitude to Parviz Morewedge, Rosemarie
Morewedge, and Pauline Mazrui who have been outstandingly supportive. My thanks
also go to Elizabeth Bughaighis, Lisa Fischler, and Tracia Leacock for their contribution
to this book. I would also like to extend my special thanks to Provost Teresa Amott
and my collegues at Religious Studies Department at Hobart and William Smith
Colleges: Lowell Bloss, Michael Dobkowski, Richard Salter, Susan Henking, and
Hyo-Dong Lee.