Barlas blames false readings of Quran
By Anthony Ha
Senior Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 23, 2004
Asma Barlas argued yesterday that, contrary to popular belief, the Quran is a “radically egalitarian and liberating text” and does not condone misogynistic treatment of women.
During her lecture and the sometimes contentious question-and-answer session that followed, Barlas challenged many of the dominant interpretations of the Quran and offered an alternative reading, one that puts patriarchal societies in opposition to true Islam.
“There is not a single verse in the Quran that grants men that power over life and death,” she said.
Barlas, a professor of politics at Ithaca University, spent the first 33 years of her life in Pakistan. Her book “‘Believing Women’ in Islam: Unreading Patriarchal Interpretations of the Quran” was released in 2002.
“Muslims have not dealt in a fine way with the Quran itself,” she said. “There is a tendency to be crude and arbitrary.”
Barlas said she based her interpretation on her belief that “the Quran as God’s word is eternal and perfect, but our readings of it are not.”
She said that while there are texts that interpret the Quran as supporting a patriarchal society, the Quran itself does not.
“We must read the Quran for its best meaning and as a whole,” Barlas said.
She also argued that Muslims must address the relationship between “knowledge and the means of its production. The Quran was revealed to a patriarchy and interpreted within the context of that patriarchy.”
Barlas’ own reading of the Quran begins, in her words, with “a sound theological understanding of God.” In Barlas’ view, the “just God” described in the Quran — one who would not transgress against others — would not approve of “patriarchies that transgress against the rights of women . . . Divine sovereignty and male sovereignty are not compatible.”
After the lecture, some attendees praised Barlas and her ideas, while others were more critical.
One listener, after saying that he agreed with many of Barlas’ points and even found them “obvious,” complained at length about Barlas’ negative portrayal of the men who created Islamic laws.
“If your goal is reform, why demonize good men?” he demanded.
Barlas responded, “I have not demonized anybody. I have just said that in the formation of the law, many non-Quranic sources have creeped in.”
Another attendee defended the behavior of most Muslim men, saying that the incidents of male violence against women and children that Barlas described were not typical of educated Muslim men.
“Lots of men in Pakistan are perfectly kind to their wives,” Barlas acknowledged. “I’m not interested in quantifying goodness or badness in Muslim societies, but I think their tendency is to oppress women, be it in a genteel or more brutal fashion. Misogyny is not just peasants in the street.”
Barlas, whose talk was sponsored by the Muslim Student Awareness Network, concluded her lecture by broadening her critique from the Islamic world to global society, focusing particularly on the United States.
“Violence against women is universal,” she said. “What I find most discouraging is not Muslim societies that mistrust and abuse women, but rather U.S. support of those regimes.”
She added, “I do not believe in the legitimacy of the Afghan and Iraq wars or the broader neoconservative agenda for the Middle East. I do not believe that the United States has developed a viable policy vis-a-vis Muslims.”
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Originally Posted by Arsalan
