Daily Times

Denied by Allah
Author: Noor Zaheer
Publishers: Vitasta
Price: USD 14.99
Pgs: 160

About one sixth of the world’s population is Muslim. As such, no single country can define what it means to be Muslimor what form of Islam is ‘correct’. True religion, as opposed to the fossilised Mullah version of Islam, is a dynamic force, not a set of static beliefs.

One of the central themes of Noor Zaheer’s book is understanding how gender (the understanding of male/female difference in societies) is constructed, reproduced, and transformed in Islamic societies. What role does religion play in shaping gender roles and gender expectations? How can practices that demean and objectify women be reformed?

A broad range of Muslim women, some who identify as feminist, others who do not, consider Islam crucial to their gendered identity. There are also feminist women who were born Muslim, some of whom continue to practice Islam, others who do not, who consider Islam as oppressing their gendered identity. Whatever their positions, it is crucial that these women discuss their relationships, as women, to Islam. In this current historical and cultural moment, critics and proponents of Islam often speak on behalf of Muslim women, while Muslim women remain silent. That makes it incredibly important to read Muslim women’s writings, in their own words, about their religious practices, their feminist practices, and how these practices affect their lives and perspectives.

As I pointed out in my book The Life of a Kashmiri Woman, the model of hierarchy between men and women might be institutionalised in legislations made and executed by the state or in Muslims’ personal beliefs. However, gender ideologies are neither impenetrable, nor do they remain fixed till kingdom come. Even when cultural values and religious law are incorporated into legislation, they are capricious and subject to personal discretion (Doumato 2000: 228).

Power relations within the prevalent discourses of patriarchy and distortions of religion mediate the Muslim woman’s identity. Certain accepted practices and customs, like Triple Talaaq and Halala, legitimise gender identities, which are necessary for patriarchal dominance and glorify the subordination of women. Such practices and customs are often contingent on distortions of religion.

The writer is the author of Fiction of Nationality in an Era of Transnationalism, Islam, Women, and Violence in Kashmir, The Life of a Kashmiri Woman, and the editor of The Parchment of Kashmir. Nyla Ali Khan has also served as guest editor working on articles from the Jammu and Kashmir region for Oxford University Press (New York), helping to identify, commission, and review articles. She can be reached at nylakhan@aol.com

Published in Daily Times, May 30^th 2018.