A'Ishah's Legacy: Amina Wadud Looks at the Struggle for Women's
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' ' : ' - : ishah s legacy Amina Wadud looks at the struggle for women s rights within Islam Islam Women Amin a Wadud 1970. I convert ed t o Is lam duri ng t he seco nd wave fe mi ni st movement in the s I sa w. everyth ing through a prism of relig ious euphoria and idealism Withi n the Islamic system ofthought I have struggled to transform idealism into pragmatic reforms as a scholar and . ' -- activist And my main source of inspiration has been Islam s own pri mar y source the' . Qur an ' . It is clear to me that the Qur an aimed to erase all noti ons of women as subhuman Ther e -- , , are more p assa ges t hat addr ess i ssue s rel ati ng t o women as i ndi vid uals in t he f ami ly as-- . members of t he co mmu nit y than al l oth er soc ial i ssues combined ' ' . ' ' . Let s star t wit h the Qur ani c stor y of huma n origi ns Man is not ma de in the image of God . Neith er is a flawed female helpma te extracted from him as an aftert hought or utility Dualism: ' ( ) ' (51:49). is the primordial design for all creation From all created thi ngs are pairs Q , - , ( ) , Ther efore whe n the prot o huma n sou l sel f or person naf s is br ough t int o exi stence its( ) . : mate zawj is al read y a part of t he pla n The two dwel l in a state of bl iss the Garden of. ' . Eden They are warne d against Sat an s temptation but they for get and eat from the tree ' , When the Qur an recounts the event in the Garden it uses the unique dual form in Arabi c. grammar showing that both were guilt y The female is never single d out and chastised for. being a temptress , . Ultimately the two seek forgiveness and it is granted They begi n life on earth untainted by a ' ' . , fal l from grace and with no trace of original sin On the contrary in Isla m the creat ion storyfor humans on earth begins with forgiveness and mercy as well as a most important promise. / / . or covenant f rom God He She It will provide guidance through revelation Adam is the first . prophet , ' / / Furt hermore the Qur an is emph ati c that sin ce All ah is not crea ted the n He She It cann ot, . be subject to or limi ted by created char acteri stics like gende r That Arabic gra mmar carries gender markers has led even the best Arab grammarians erroneously to attribute gender to . . the thing referre d to Modern feminist studi es have analyzed this gende r bias in language
A'Ishah's Legacy: Amina Wadud Looks at the Struggle for Women's
