Asma Barlas (born 1950) is a

Pakistani-American Pakistani Americans ( ur, ) are Americans who originate from Pakistan. The term may also refer to people who also hold a dual Pakistani and U.S. citizenship. Educational attainment level and household income are much higher in the Pakistani-Am ...

writer and academic. Her specialties include comparative and international politics, Islam and Qur'anic

hermeneutics Hermeneutics () is the theory and methodology of interpretation, especially the interpretation of biblical texts, wisdom literature, and philosophical texts. Hermeneutics is more than interpretative principles or methods used when immediate c ...

, and women's studies.

Early life and education

Barlas was born in Pakistan in 1950. She earned a bachelor of arts in English literature and philosophy from

Kinnaird College The Kinnaird College for Women (KCW) is a university located in Lahore, Pakistan. It is a women's liberal arts university. Kinnaird was established in 1913 by the Zenana Bible and Medical Mission. In 1919, Presbyterian Mission Church and the C ...

and a master's degree in journalism from the

University of the Punjab The University of the Punjab (Urdu, pnb, ), also referred to as Punjab University, is a public, research, coeducational higher education institution located in Lahore, Pakistan. Punjab University is the oldest public university in Pakistan. ...

. She also holds a master's degree and Ph.D. in international studies from the

University of Denver The University of Denver (DU) is a private university, private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Mountain States, Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is ...

Career

Barlas was one of the first women to be inducted into the

foreign service Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtains diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to o ...

in 1976. Six years later, she was dismissed on the orders of General

Zia ul Haq General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq HI, GCSJ, ร.ม.ภ, (Urdu: ; 12 August 1924 – 17 August 1988) was a Pakistani four-star general and politician who became the sixth President of Pakistan following a coup and declaration of martial law in ...

. She worked briefly as assistant editor of the opposition newspaper ''The Muslim'' before receiving political asylum in the United States in 1983. Barlas joined the politics department of Ithaca College in 1991. She was the founding director of the Center for the Study of Culture, Race, and Ethnicity for 12 years. She held Spinoza Chair in Philosophy at the University of Amsterdam in 2008.

Research

Barlas has focused on the way Muslims produce religious knowledge, especially patriarchal

exegesis Exegesis ( ; from the Ancient Greek, Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation (logic), interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Bible, Biblical works. In modern usage, ...

of the

Qur'an The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , sing. ...

, a topic she has explored in her book, '' "Believing Women" in Islam: Unreading Patriarchal Interpretations of the Qur'an''. She rejects the designation of her views and interpretations of

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

as "

Islamic feminism Islamic feminism is a form of feminism concerned with the role of women in Islam. It aims for the full equality of all Muslims, regardless of gender, in public and private life. Islamic feminists advocate women's rights, gender equality, and soci ...

," unless that term is defined as "a discourse of

gender equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making; and the state of valuing d ...

and

social justice Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has often referred to the process of ensuring that individuals fu ...

that derives its understanding and mandate from the

and seeks the practice of rights and justice for all human beings in the totality of their existence across the public-private continuum." In her first book, ''Democracy, Nationalism and Communalism: The Colonial Legacy in South Asia'', Barlas explored the relationship of militarism in Pakistani politics to British colonialism.

Works

Books

* ''Islam, Muslims, and the US: Essays on Religion and Politics'' (India, Global Media Publications, 2004) *'' "Believing Women" in Islam: Unreading Patriarchal Interpretations of the Qur'an'' (University of Texas Press, 2002). * ''Democracy, Nationalism, and Communalism: The Colonial Legacy in South Asia'' (Westview Press, 1995) *''Confronting Qur'anic Patriarchy'' (University of Texas Press, 2018) (forthcoming) (co-written with Raeburn Finn) ?? *''"Believing Women" in Islam: Unreading Patriarchal Interpretations of the Qur'an'' (Revised edition. University of Texas Press, February 2019) Believing Women in Islam: Unreading Patriarchal Interpretations of the Qur'an
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Essays

*"Reviving Islamic Universalism: East/s, West/s, and Coexistence," in

Abdul Aziz Said Abdul Aziz Said (September 1, 1930 – January 22, 2021) was Professor Emeritus of International Relations in the School of International Service at American University, Washington, D.C., and founding Director of the university's International ...

and Meena Sharify-Funk (eds.), ''Contemporary Islam: Dynamic, Not Static'' (Routledge, 2006). * "Women's and Feminist Readings of the Qur'an," in

Jane Dammen McAuliffe Jane Dammen McAuliffe (born 1944) is an American educator, scholar of Islam and the inaugural director of national and international outreach at the Library of Congress. She is a president emeritus of Bryn Mawr College and former dean of Georgeto ...

(ed.), ''Cambridge Companion to the Qur'an'' (Cambridge University Press, 2006). *"Globalizing Equality: Muslim Women, Theology, and Feminisms," in Fera Simone (ed.), ''On Shifting Ground: Muslim Women in the Global Era'' (NY: Feminist Press, 2005). *"

Amina Wadud Amina Wadud (born September 25, 1952) is an American Muslim theologian. Wadud serves as Professor Emeritus of Islamic Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University and is also a visiting scholar at Starr King School for the Ministry. Wadud has writt ...

's Hermeneutics of the Qur'an: Women Rereading Sacred Texts," in Suha Taji-Faruqi (ed.), ''Contemporary Muslim Intellectuals and the Quran: Modernist and Post Modernist Approaches'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004).

References

External links

Personal website

Ithaca College Faculty: Asma Barlas

Bio of Asma Barlas

(Interview)
Only Muslims can change their society
Article in Guardian, August 2009
Islam and feminism
Article in the newstatesman, April 2009
Interview: "The Qur’an Doesn’t Support Patriarchy"
Interview by Naufil Shahrukh, published in ABC, The Nation, Pakistan, February 2005
Towards a feminist view of Islam
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barlas, Asma 1950 births American feminist writers Proponents of Islamic feminism Ithaca College faculty Living people Josef Korbel School of International Studies people Pakistani emigrants to the United States Pakistani feminists Women scholars of Islam American Islamic studies scholars Kinnaird College for Women University alumni University of the Punjab alumni University of Denver alumni