"No one is better able to make such a contribution to Islam and Gender Studies than Badran." Amina Wadud "An authoritative, comprehensive and accessible study of feminisms in Islamic contexts, combing rigorous scholarship with moving biographical narrative." Abdullahi A. An-Naim - Charles Howard Candler Professor of Law at Emory University School of Law "A fascinating, accessible book for both students and experts in Islamic Feminism. It covers the topic both vertically and horizontally, historically and geographically." Nasr Abu-Zayd - Professor of Islamic Studies at Leiden University, The Netherlands
Margot Badran is a Senior Fellow at the Center for Muslim Christian Understanding, Georgetown University, US. She is currently Edith Kreeger Wolf Distinguished Visiting Professor in the Department of Religion and Preceptor at the Institute for the Study of Islamic Thought at Northwestern University, US. She is the author of Feminists, Islam and Nation: Gender and the Making of Modern Egypt (Princeton, ISBN: 9780691026053).
Humanities \ Religion Badran, Margot. Feminism in Islam: secular
and religious convergences. Oneworld, 2009. 349p bibl index; ISBN
9781851685561 pbk, $29.95. Reviewed in 2010may CHOICE. Written by
Badran (Georgetown Univ.), this collection of essays based on
fieldwork, conference presentations, and literary historical
analysis ranks among the best works investigating feminism and
Islam. The first part is devoted to feminism in Egypt, and the
second traces the spread of feminism in the broader Muslim world.
Badran carefully balances attention to major thinkers and writers
with her grasp of the issues feminists faced and addressed, along
with the opponents and obstacles in their paths. She demonstrates
points of divergence and convergence in her historical portrayal of
the rise and growth of Islamic feminism with the two foundational
methodologies of ijtihad (independent reasoning into religious
texts) and tafsir (interpretation of the Qur'an). Running
throughout her analysis are many crucial issues: political Islam,
nationalism, education, the modernity and secularism introduced by
the West, and an excellent discussion of female genital mutilation.
Her discussion of "gender activism" and "Islamic feminism" (p. 219:
" . . . a middle space . . . between secular feminism and
masculinist Islam") is particularly helpful. The scope, clarity of
argument, depth of analysis, and wealth of new information make
this a very useful work. Summing Up: Highly recommended.
Upper-level undergraduates and above; general readers. -- L. J.
Alderink, emeritus, Concordia College More than 35,000 academic
librarians, faculty, and key decision makers rely on the reviews in
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development and scholarly research. Choice reaches almost every
undergraduate college and university library in the United States.
http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/acrl/publications/choice/index.cfm
*Choice*
"this book excels and is bound to create more than just a splash in
the midst of ongoing debates about the vexed ‘Muslim woman
question’ "
*Muslim World Book Review*
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