"And certainly we have propounded for humanity in this, the Qur'an, every kind of parable, so that perhaps they would recollect a recitation without any crookedness, so that perhaps they would be Godfearing." (Qur'an 39:27) Many Islamic theorists and exegetes are resistant to the idea that specific Qur’anic regulations refer to a historical period; this is …
Category: interpretation
The Sixth Pillar
And what is the matter with you that you fight not in the cause of God and for the oppressed among men, women, and children who say, "Our Lord, take us out of this city of oppressive people and appoint for us from Yourself a protector and appoint for us from Yourself a helper"? Qur'an …
On Whether We Require Religion to be Moral
I wasn't, until rather recently, one to suggest / wonder if religion is the only way to decipher between what is moral and what is immoral. Though upon receiving inquiries as to whether I believed someone could be a moral person without religion my answer had consistently been yes, admittedly what I truly felt was …
Examining Modesty
I have probably written more posts on this over-scrutinized practice than I had ever intended to write or would ever read from myself (I sincerely thank you all for tolerating them with magnificent patience.) While I usually approach the dynamics of determining what is or isn’t modest from the oppressive claims of patriarchal men (and …
Sweater. (and modesty)
When I was very little, I attended Quranic classes at the mosque with other small children. On one occasion, I stood lined up for prayer while the instructor lectured on prayer etiquette. It was midsummer in California. The heat was almost unbearable. My hair was uncovered, but I was wearing a sweater, and I felt …
On Interpreting the Qur’an and Subjectivity
As someone who has studied Arabic for a couple of years, compelled primarily by a desire to understand the Qur’an, and who remembers the frustration of not being able to understand it (and is aware of it still, because I have not mastered the language) I’m heartbroken when religious people—particularly women—dismiss their own interpretations on …
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Taken Out of Context: the Feminization of Divinity
I’ve received questions, a couple in passing and one in an email, regarding the intense opposition in the Qur’an against worshipping female deities as well as the incidental clarification that angels are not female (chapter 53) and the apparent misogyny that this suggests, particularly when men explain the occasional verses away by stating that God …
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the fatal feminist 