Domestic violence and the Islamic tradition
Subtitle: ethics, law, and the Muslim discourse on gender
By: Ayesha S. Chaudhry
Edition: First edition.
Series: Oxford Islamic legal studies; Oxford Islamic legal studies
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2013
Place of publication: Oxford, United Kingdom
Language: eng
Number of pages: 258
ISBN-13: 9780199640164; 9780191669897
Subjects: Women (Islamic law); Aspect religieux; Religious aspects; Violence envers; Family violence (Islamic law); Femmes; 86.14 Islamic law; Islamic ethics; Geschlechterverhältnis; Coran; Droit islamique; Authority; Preuves, autorité; Evidences, authority; Qurʼan; Morale islamique; Islam; Häusliche Gewalt
Description: This book examines the challenges and resources that the Islamic tradition offers to Muslim scholars who seek to address this dilemma. This is achieved through extensive study of the intellectual history of a Qur'anic verse that has become especially contentious in the modern period: Chapter 4, Verse 34 (Q. 4:34) which can be read to permit the physical disciplining of disobedient wives at the hands of their husbands. Though this verse has been used by historical and contemporary Muslim scholars in multiple ways to justify the right of husbands to physically discipline their wives, progressive and reformist Muslim scholars and activists offer alternative and non-violent readings of the verse. The diverse and divergent interpretations of Q. 4:34 showcases the pivotal role of the reader in shaping the meaning and implications of scriptural texts. This book investigates the sophisticated and creative interpretive approaches to Q. 4:34, tracing the intellectual history of Muslim scholarship on this verse from the ninth century to the present day. Ayesha S. Chaudhry examines the spirited and diverse, and at times contradictory, readings of this verse to reveal how Muslims relate to their inherited tradition and the Qur'anic text.--Provided by publisher.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 234-247) and index.
Table of contents: title: Introduction; title: I. Historical roots of a contemporary debate. 1. The multiple contexts of Q. 4:34; title: 2. The ethics of wife-beating; title: 3. The legal boundaries of marital discipline; title: II. Restoring authority in the living community. 4. Asserting authority, enriching tradition; title: 5. Submissive texts and idealized cosmologies; title: Conclusion.