Decolonizing Islamic Feminism: Zaynab al-Ghazali’s Spiritual Activism in Return of the Pharaoh
This article offers Gloria Anzaldúa’s notion of spiritual activism as a more productive theoretical lens through which to analyze Zaynab al-Ghazali’s feminism as evident in her memoir, Return of the Pharaoh, and articulated in her articles and interviews. Anzaldúa’s spiritual activism functions here...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Interlibrary Loan: | Interlibrary Loan for the Fachinformationsdienste (Specialized Information Services in Germany) |
| Published: |
2022
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| In: |
Journal of feminist studies in religion
Year: 2022, Volume: 38, Issue: 1, Pages: 149-166 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Ġazālī, Zainab al- 1917-2005
/ Islam
/ Feminism
/ Spirituality
/ Activism
/ Politics
/ Postcolonialism
|
| IxTheo Classification: | AD Sociology of religion; religious policy AG Religious life; material religion BJ Islam KBL Near East and North Africa NCA Ethics TK Recent history |
| Further subjects: | B
spiritual activism
B Decolonial B Egyptian B Arab Women B Islamic Feminism |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | This article offers Gloria Anzaldúa’s notion of spiritual activism as a more productive theoretical lens through which to analyze Zaynab al-Ghazali’s feminism as evident in her memoir, Return of the Pharaoh, and articulated in her articles and interviews. Anzaldúa’s spiritual activism functions here as a decolonial theory that challenges the Western conception of spirituality as a passive, escapist epistemology. In this analysis of al-Ghazali’s memoir, spiritual activism means activism that is both spiritual and political. Oxymoronic as it might seem, Anzaldúa’s spiritual activism serves as a model not necessarily to emulate but to decolonize Islamic feminism by showing its limits and limitations in analyzing Muslim women’s works. Through taking al-Ghazali’s memoir as a case study, this article moves beyond controversy between feminists (either secular or Islamic) and Western binarisms and open the door toward a more solid decolonial Islamic feminist theory and praxis deeply rooted in spirituality and politics. |
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| ISSN: | 1553-3913 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal of feminist studies in religion
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