The Cambridge Companion to Women and Islam

Provides a comprehensive overview of gender and Islam that encompasses the fields of Islamic feminist scholarship, anthropology, history, and sociology.

Masooda Bano (Edited by)

9781009206563, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 17 April 2025

428 pages
22.8 x 15.1 x 2.3 cm, 0.64 kg

The Cambridge Companion to Women and Islam provides a comprehensive overview of a timely topic that encompasses the fields of Islamic feminist scholarship, anthropology, history, and sociology. Divided into three parts, it makes several key contributions. The volume offers a detailed analysis of textual debates on gender and Islam, highlighting the logic of classical reasoning and its enduring appeal, while emphasizing alternative readings proposed by Islamic feminists. It considers the agency that Muslim women exhibit in relation to their faith as reflected in women's piety movements. Moreover, the volume documents how Muslim women shape socio-political life, presenting real-world examples from across the Muslim world and diaspora communities.  Written by an international team of scholars, the Companion also explores theoretical and methodological advances in the field, providing guidance for future research. Surveying Muslim women's experiences across time and place, it also presents debates on gender norms across various genres of Islamic scholarship.

Preface
Authors' Biographies
A Note on Foreign Language Words
Introduction
Part I. Logic of Classical Reasoning: 1. Women in the Qur'an Karen Bauer
2. Women's inheritance Sohail Hanif
3. Veiling and restrictions on sexual liberty Katerina Nordin
4. Muhammad: the ideal man Faraz Khan
5. Prophet's Wives: 'the mothers of believers' Mahjabeen Dhala
Part II. Asserting Agency in Faith: 6. Becoming Salafi Arndt Emmerich & Alyaa Ebbiary
7. Joining political Islam Liv Tønnessen
8. Conversions to Islam Vanessa Vroon-Najem
9. Islamic feminists' approaches Nina Nurmila
10. Women's Mosques in China Maria Jaschok
Part III. Asserting Agency in Socio-Political Life: 11. Patrons of art, architecture, and the urban environment Dede Fairchild Ruggles
12. Women as political leaders Shahla Haeri
13. Women as social activists Nelly van Doorn-Harder
14. Poets and writers Zuzanna Olszewska
15. 'Feminist religiosity' as lived religion Zilka Spahic-Siljak.

Subject Areas: Islam [HRH]