Abstract:
An answer to that question can be attempted through a review of a number of Qur’anic exegetes’ commentaries on the subject of ethics in gender relations, as an analysis of these various exegetical discourses can help in both assessing past interpretations and generating/theorizing new reading perspectives. The goal would be to explore the following: (a) did exegetes make hermeneutical links between the two groups of ‘equality verses’ and the ahkam verses in marriage and divorce; (b) to what extent did they engage in ethical reasoning and in what type of verses; (c) where are their silences vs. their discursive and legalistic interests. For the purpose of this presentation, however, I am using the examination of only Tabari’s commentaries on particular ‘gender verses’ as a test case study for my argument, with passing references to others. Much of tafsir literature with regards to discussions of social and family gender relations is equivocal, meaning operating under the historically cultural assumptions of male superiority and patriarchy while exhibiting at times awareness of subtle ethical issues and fair treatment. However, consistency or sustainability in the application of a gender-egalitarian ethic is lacking. The presentation hopes to raise a final question pertaining to the field of Qur’anic interpretation in contemporary contexts: is there still room for a systematic and comprehensive ethical tafsir enterprise, as both a vision and a method, not just in the area of gender but also other intersecting issues? Establishing the principle of a fundamental egalitarian ethos in gender relations can be an apt and applied case in point.

Bio:
Omaima Abou-Bakr is a Professor of English & Comparative Literature at Cairo University; a founding member of “The Women and Memory Forum” in Egypt; a researcher/member of the “Musawah” Knowledge Building Team; a founding member of “Islamic Feminism Forum.” She specialized in medieval Sufi poetry and comparative topics in medieval English and Arabic literature. Her scholarly interests also include women’s mysticism and female spirituality in Christianity and Islam, feminist theology, Muslim women’s history, and gender issues in Islamic discourses and Qur’anic interpretation. She has published numerous articles in both English and Arabic on poetry and medieval literary texts, on historical representations of women in pre-modern Muslim societies, women and gender in religious discourses, and Islamic feminist issues. One book publication is an edited Reader that contains translations into Arabic of foundational articles in Christian feminist theology and Islamic feminist research: Al-niswiyyah wa-al-dirasat al-diniyah: Feminism and Religious Studies (2012). Other book publications are two edited volumes of collected articles; in English: Feminist and Islamic Perspectives: New Horizons of Knowledge and Reform, in Arabic: al-Niswiyyah wa-al-manzur al-islami (2013). Her most recent publications: “Freedom of Religion in Qur’anic Exegesis” (2021), and a joint article with Mulki Al-Sharmani, “Islamic Feminist Tafsir and Qur’anic Ethics: Re-reading Divorce Verses” (2020).Omaima Abou-Bakr is a Professor of English & Comparative Literature at Cairo University; a founding member of “The Women and Memory Forum” in Egypt; a researcher/member of the “Musawah” Knowledge Building Team; a founding member of “Islamic Feminism Forum.” She specialized in medieval Sufi poetry and comparative topics in medieval English and Arabic literature. Her scholarly interests also include women’s mysticism and female spirituality in Christianity and Islam, feminist theology, Muslim women’s history, and gender issues in Islamic discourses and Qur’anic interpretation. She has published numerous articles in both English and Arabic on poetry and medieval literary texts, on historical representations of women in pre-modern Muslim societies, women and gender in religious discourses, and Islamic feminist issues. One book publication is an edited Reader that contains translations into Arabic of foundational articles in Christian feminist theology and Islamic feminist research: Al-niswiyyah wa-al-dirasat al-diniyah: Feminism and Religious Studies (2012). Other book publications are two edited volumes of collected articles; in English: Feminist and Islamic Perspectives: New Horizons of Knowledge and Reform, in Arabic: al-Niswiyyah wa-al-manzur al-islami (2013). Her most recent publications: “Freedom of Religion in Qur’anic Exegesis” (2021), and a joint article with Mulki Al-Sharmani, “Islamic Feminist Tafsir and Qur’anic Ethics: Re-reading Divorce Verses” (2020).

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