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The manipulation of sacred text has always been a structural characteristic of the practice of power in Muslim societies. (Fatima Mentissi)
Introduction
Qur'anic scholarship over the past fourteen centuries has developed into a prolific and highly specialized field. Historically this discipline has primarily remained the domain of men and has chiefly represented their experiences and worldviews. This male bias has resulted in the systematic exclusion of women's perspectives from the dominant religious discourses.
In this article I will show how the practice of patriarchal power in medieval Muslim societies has been mediated through understandings of the Qur'an. I shall examine and analyse medieval Qur'anic exegesis to focus on how the practice of religious power defined and reflected existing gender ideology and gender relations. I will argue that the ideological tenets embedded in a patriarchal understanding of the Qur'an and Islam foster a mode of gender relations that practically disempowers Muslim women. My particular interest in this study is directed at the relationship between Islamic gender ideology and its implications for violence against women.
I begin with a preliminary outline of the significance of the Qur'an in Muslim societies and the related centrality of exegesis.
Here I provide a rationale for my focus on the interpretations of particular exegetes. Second, I describe my methodology which is the application of feminist hermeneutics to the exegetical studies. Third, I proceed with my own analysis of the exegesis. The particular focus is on the interpretations of the verse Q 4:34 as the index of socio-religious gender constructions.
The Qur'an and its interpretation
As God's own words Qur'anic statements are normative for the thought and behaviour of Muslims. (Jane McAuiiffe)
The centrality of the Qur'an in a Muslim worldview has been well recorded.1 It is generally perceived by Muslims as the ultimate reference point, the distinguished criterion (al-furqan) for good and evil and as the transcendent authority which sets parameters and standards for human existence.2 Consequently it occupies centre stage in the Muslim religious imaginaire. It thus influences social structure, ideas of normative human relations and boundaries for appropriate behaviour.3 Hence the Qur'an is not only a religious text but also a profoundly political text which shapes the understandings of Muslim societies. Due to this central place of the...