Muslim women struggling for emancipation often turn to tradition for inspiration. They analyse the Koran and the history of Islam and challenge interpretations which have been accepted for centuries. Read this and more in our dossier
Interview with Ziba Mir-Hosseini
Born in Iran and now based in London, Ziba Mir-Hosseini is one of the most well-known scholars of Islamic Feminism. In this interview with Yoginder Sikand she talks about the origins and prospects of Islamic feminism as an emancipatory project for Muslim women and as a new, contextually-relevant way of understanding Islam More »
Interview with Asra Nomani
The 44-year-old US writer Asra Nomani is viewed as a prominent representative of "Gender Jihad". For the former Wall Street Journal reporter, there is no contradiction between Islam and feminism. She spoke to Alfred Hackensberger More »
Interview with Amel Grami
Tunisia has long been one of the most progressive countries in the Arab world with regard to women's rights. But even here neoconservative and Islamist ideas have increasingly been finding a receptive audience among young women. Beat Stauffer spoke with Tunisian religious scholar Amel Grami More »
Interview with the Muslim Reform Thinker Amina Wadud
Islam, gender equality and human rights are compatible – this is a basic conviction of Amina Wadud, author of several books about Islam and women. Martina Sabra interviewed the Islamic feminist at a recent conference about "Women power in Islam" in Germany More »
Interview Asma Barlas
One of the scholars who try to offer a more emancipatory interpretation of the Quran is Asma Barlas. She closely examines the male-oriented interpretations of the Quran and offers an antipatriarchal alternative More »
Interview with Margot Badran
Margot Badran is an expert in Islam and feminism. In this interview, she talks about the influence of patriarchy on Islam and on how Islamic feminist ideas draw on the Quran and how they find their way into religious teachings More »
Interview with Irshad Manji
Analysis Halima Krausen
In the face of the controversy over Amina Wadud's Friday prayer, Muslim scholar Halima Krausen argues that we should have the courage to ask our own questions, to study the matter conscientiously and to reach conclusions which make sense in our times More »
Female Imams in Germany
Women rarely become preachers of the Islamic faith. In Germany there are only 13 female imams. Their job: pastoral care and integration. Mosques are urgently in need of women providing such services. Ulrike Hummel reports More »
Luthfi Assyaukanie
The controversy continues to rage over Amina Wadud, a woman Muslim scholar, who recently led Friday prayer services in New York. Her case is ultimately not about gender and prayer, but about religious tolerance, says Luthfi Assyaukanie More »
Female Preachers in Turkey
Religious authorities have recently appointed 450 women as preachers. Vaize, as there are called, are more senior than Imams and, like all other authoritative positions, have been the domain of men. Dorian Jones reports More »
Islamic Feminism in Morocco
Islamic feminists in Morocco are calling for a so-called "third way": a modern approach combining universal ethics with the humanitarian ideals of Islam. Their methodology reveals weaknesses however. Martina Sabra reports More »
Muslim Feminists in Indonesia
Rahima is a Muslim organization that advocates women's equality based on modern and democratic ideas. Instead of traveling from conference to conference, Rahima members prefer to work at the grassroots level. A portrait by Christina Schott More »
Interview with Aditiana Dewi Erdani
"Rahima" is a Muslim NGO in Indonesia which advocates the equality of women based on modern and democratic ideas. Arian Fariborz spoke with its new director, Aditiana Dewi Erdani More »
"Sisters in Islam" in Malaysia
"Sisters in Islam" is a small but effective Malaysian women’s rights organisation that uses their knowledge of the Koran to reform the situation of women in Islamic Malysia. A portrait by Charlotte Wiedemann More »
The Role of Women in Islamism
Islamist movements across the board are speaking out in favour of involving women more strongly in politics and the working world. Yet women remain marginalised. The Kuwaiti author Ahmad Chehab is still waiting for signs of change in the role of women in modern Islamism More »
Nahed Selim
What is the Koran's real attitude to women? Should every sura be taken at face value? Is it time for a change of attitude? Nahed Selim, a liberal Dutch Muslim, offers a female perspective on Islam's holy scriptures. Abdul-Ahmad Rashid reports More »
Susan Blackburn
Efforts to influence political Islam are made by Indonesian women both within the Islamic movement and outside it. And they have changed their political strategies considerably. By Susan Blackburn More »
Lily Zakiyah Munir
Lily Zakiyah Munir, Head of the "Center for Pesantren and Democracy Studies", Indonesia, argues that it is not the Koran, but social convention of patriarchal cultures that deprive women in Islamic countries of their equal social status More »
