Abstract :

This article will address the following questions: How do Muslim women scholars read the Qur'an from a gender perspective: as a contextualized divine text placed in time and place? What kind of methods of interpretation applied for challenging the patriarchal character of Islamic religious and legal heritage? How is their approach new or different from what others have done? What is their argument? They define the methodology of their rereading as a “hermeneutical approach.” What do they mean by this? What then is the purpose of "Islamic feminist hermeneutics": a means of their empowerment for liberation and gender equality, or challenging the traditional literalist interpretations of the Qur'an? Does the Qur’an according to them permit the oppression of women? Can Muslim women scholars look for equality and stay within the framework of its doctrine?