The Woman Question in Islamic Studies

By Kecia Ali

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Publication Date: September 17, 2024

Pages: 240

ISBN: 9780691261843

The interconnected ways that sexism functions in academic Islamic studies and how to shift professional norms toward parity

Despite remarkable shifts in the demographics of Islamic studies in recent decades, the field continues to be dominated by men, who often relegate other scholars and their work—particularly research on gender—to its periphery, while treating subfields in which men predominate as more rigorous and central. In The Woman Question in Islamic Studies, Kecia Ali explores the interconnected ways that sexism functions in academic Islamic studies. Examining publications, citations, curricula, and media representations, Ali finds that, despite the growth and depth of scholarship on Islam and gender, men continue to overlook women’s scholarship, even in work that purports to discuss gender issues. Moreover, media and social media dynamics make talking about Islam and Muslims for broader audiences especially fraught for scholars who are not men, particularly when the topic is gender or sexuality.

Combining broad surveys with more focused analyses of a smaller set of texts, Ali shows that textbooks and syllabi continue to exclude women as historical actors and scholars and to marginalize gender and sexuality as subject matter. Finally, she provides a “Beginner’s Guide to Eradicating Sexism in Islamic Studies,” offering practical strategies to help scholars avoid common pitfalls in their own work and contribute to broader professional transformations.

About the Author

Kecia Ali is professor of religion at Boston University. She is the author of The Lives of Muhammad, Imam Shafi‘i: Scholar and Saint, Marriage and Slavery in Early Islam, and Sexual Ethics and Islam: Feminist Reflections on Qur’an, Hadith, and Jurisprudence.

Reviews

– “An indispensable guide to how scholars, researchers, students, and other interested parties can analyze scholarship on Islam past and present. The Woman Question in Islamic Studies is a text to be returned to repeatedly for what it portends for Islamic studies scholarship in the future.”—Aminah Al-Deen, DePaul University

– “For anyone interested in the teaching of Islam and Muslims, Kecia Ali’s book is eye-opening and riveting. This book is essential reading for anyone invested in making their classroom the setting for transformative engagement.”—Zayn Kassam, Pomona College

– “This is a beautifully written book that combines analytic rigor with an accessible style and the occasional devastating quip. It reflects astonishingly broad and deep reading, giving depth and texture to everything from its accounts of the professional travails of women scholars of previous generations to its analysis of citational politics.”—Marion Katz, New York University

– “Ali has generated a remarkable amount of concrete data about the representation of women scholars’ work in Islamic studies. That is impressive enough—it is the backbone of the book—but Ali also draws on her considerable experience as a scholar in the field. To me, that is equally compelling evidence.”—Ellen Muehlberger, University of Michigan

Source: Princeton University Press