Riffat Hassan (born 1943) 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 ...
theologian and a leading
Islamic feminist
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 ...
scholar 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. ...
.
Early life and career
Hassan was born in
Lahore, Pakistan
Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...
, to an upper-class
Sayid
''Sayyid'' (, ; ar, سيد ; ; meaning 'sir', 'Lord', 'Master'; Arabic plural: ; feminine: ; ) is a surname of people descending from the Islamic prophet Muhammad through his grandsons, Hasan ibn Ali and Husayn ibn Ali, sons of Muhammad' ...
Muslim family. Hassan's maternal grandfather was
Hakim Ahmad Shuja
Hakim Ahmad Shuja MBE (; sometimes written as 'Hakeem Ahmed Shujah' and 'Hakim Ahmad Shuja Pasha') (4 November 1893 – 4 January 1969), was a famous Urdu and Persian poet, playwright, writer, film writer and lyricist, scholar and mystic, ...
, a Pakistani poet, writer and playwright. She lived a comfortable childhood, but was affected by the conflict between her father's traditional views and her mother's nonconformism. For most of her life, she hated her father's traditionalism because of his views of sex roles, but she later came to appreciate it because of his kindness and compassion.
She attended Cathedral High School, an
Anglican
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
missionary school, and later
St. Mary's College at
Durham University
, mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1)
, established = (university status)
, type = Public
, academic_staff = 1,830 (2020)
, administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19)
, chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen
, vice_chan ...
, England, where she studied
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
and
philosophy
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
. She received her
Ph.D.
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...
from
Durham University
, mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1)
, established = (university status)
, type = Public
, academic_staff = 1,830 (2020)
, administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19)
, chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen
, vice_chan ...
in 1968 for her thesis on
Muhammad Iqbal
Sir Muhammad Iqbal ( ur, ; 9 November 187721 April 1938), was a South Asian Muslim writer, philosopher, Quote: "In Persian, ... he published six volumes of mainly long poems between 1915 and 1936, ... more or less complete works on philoso ...
, who she has written about frequently.
She taught at the
University of 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. ...
at Lahore from 1966 to 1967 and worked in Pakistan's Ministry of Information and Broadcasting from 1969 to 1972. In 1972, she immigrated to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
with her daughter.
She has taught at schools including
Oklahoma State University
Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...
and
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
, and is currently a professor of Religious Studies at the
University of Louisville
The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of ...
,
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
.
Theology and activism
Hassan's theology is an example of
Progressive Islam
Liberalism and progressivism within Islam involve professed Muslims who have created a considerable body of progressive thought about Islamic understanding and practice. Their work is sometimes characterized as " progressive Islam" ( ar, الإ ...
. She says the Qur'an is the "
Magna Carta
(Medieval Latin for "Great Charter of Freedoms"), commonly called (also ''Magna Charta''; "Great Charter"), is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by the ...
of human rights", prescribing human rights and equality for all, while the inequality of women in many
Muslim societies today is due to cultural effects. Hassan claims the Qur'an upholds rights to life, respect, justice, freedom, knowledge, sustenance, work, and privacy, among others.
She supports a non-rigid interpretation of the Qur'an, arguing that while it is the word of God, words can have different meanings, so there are theoretically countless possible meanings of the Qur'an. She believes the meaning of the Qur'an should be determined through
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 ...
— examination of what its words meant at the time it was written. She also speaks of an "ethical criterion" that rejects the use of the Qu'ran to perpetrate injustice, because the God of Islam is just.
Hassan supports
abortion rights
Abortion-rights movements, also referred to as pro-choice movements, advocate for the right to have legal access to induced abortion services including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their pre ...
and access to
contraceptives
Birth control, also known as contraception, anticonception, and fertility control, is the use of methods or devices to prevent unwanted pregnancy. Birth control has been used since ancient times, but effective and safe methods of birth contr ...
for Muslim women, saying that the Qur'an does not directly address contraceptives, but that Islam's religious and ethical framework leads to the conclusion that family planning should be a fundamental right.
She says a review of Muslim jurisprudence indicates that abortion has been considered acceptable within the first 120 days of pregnancy, when the fetus has not yet been
ensouled.
In February 1999, she founded The International Network for the Rights of Female Victims of Violence in Pakistan, which works against so-called
honor killings
An honor killing (American English), honour killing (Commonwealth English), or shame killing is the murder of an individual, either an outsider or a member of a family, by someone seeking to protect what they see as the dignity and honor of ...
. She has argued that honor killings are a distortion of Islam, and further, that the whole idea that women are inferior is a result of the mistaken belief among Muslims that
Eve
Eve (; ; ar, حَوَّاء, Ḥawwāʾ; el, Εὕα, Heúa; la, Eva, Heva; Syriac: romanized: ) is a figure in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. According to the origin story, "Creation myths are symbolic stories describing how the ...
was created from
Adam
Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...
's rib, when, in the Islamic creation story, they were created at the same time.
Hassan is not only a scholar, she is also an activist. In her capacity as an activist, Hassan developed and directed "Islamic Life in the U.S." (2002-2006) and "Religion and Society: A Dialogue" (2006-2009), two peace-building programs which created a standard for interfaith discussion and peace-building, following the 2001 attacks.
She also wrote the eleventh chapter of ''Transforming the Faiths of our Fathers: Women who Changed American Religion'' (2004), edited by Ann Braude.
Publications
Hassan's career includes numerous publications, in which she applies her non-patriarchal interpretation of Islam.
One of Hassan’s publications is her article on ''Women’s Rights in Islam: Normative Teachings Versus Practice''
in which she discusses the rights she has identified for women as instructed by the Qur’an and how Muslim practices either support or do not support these rights. In this article, she also pays special attention to the relationship between the West and Islam due to the sometimes tense relationship between them. This article identifies the specific rights given to all humankind, some of which include the right to respect, to justice, to acquire knowledge, and to “the Good Life.” She then draws out the specific issues Muslim women face in practice including marital problems and divorce, polygamy, and segregations and veiling. Taking these specifics, she addresses a case study on Pakistan. She concludes that “although violations of women’s rights are widespread in the Muslim world… the Qur’an does not discriminate against women” (57).
She ends the article with a push towards the growth of “an educated group of persons who understand Islam to be a religion of justice and compassion” (62).
Hassan uses her knowledge of the Quran, women’s rights and issues, and Pakistan to call for a closer reading of the Quran to serve as the backbone of all practices.
Recent Articles
* "Woman and Man's 'Fall': A Qur'anic Theological Perspective" (2013), ''Muslima Theology: The Voices of Muslim Women Theologians''
* "Human Liberation is Supported by the Holy Qur'an" (2007) ''Women in Religion''
* "Islamic Hagar and Her Family" (2006) ''Hagar, Sarah and Their Children''
* "Marriage: Islamic Discourses" (2005) ''Encyclopedia of Women and Islamic Cultures''
* "Women's Rights in Islam: Normative Teachings vs Practice" (2005) ''Islam and Human Rights: Advancing a U.S. - Muslim Dialogue''
* "Riffat Hassan: Muslim Feminist Theologian" (2004) ''Transforming the Faith of Our Fathers: Women Who Changed American Religion''
* "Rights of Women: Muslim Practice versus Normative Islam" (2003) ''Women's Rights and Islam''
* "Islam" (2003) ''Her Voice, Her Faith: Women Speak on World Religions''
* "Muslim Women's Rights A Contemporary Debate" (2002) ''Women for Afghan Women: Shattering Myths and Claiming the Future''
* "Islam and Human Rights in Pakistan" (2002) ''Canadian Foreign Policy''
* "Is Islam a Help or Hindrance to Women's Development?" (2002) ''Islam in the Era of Globalization''
* "Equal for Allah, Unequal on Earth? Women's Rights in the Modern World" (2001) The Report of the International Conference on Muslim Women and Development
* "Challenging the Stereotypes of Fundamentalism: An Islamic Feminist Perspective" (2001) ''The Muslim World''
* "Is Family Planning Permitted by Islam: The Issue of a Woman's Right to Contraception?" (2000) ''Windows of Faith''
* "Muslim Women's Empowerment" (1999) ''Time-Utopia-Eschataology''
* "Feminism in Islam" (1999) ''Feminism and World Religions''
* "Conservatism in its Various Forms" (1998) ''Women in Religion''
* "Muslim Women's Empowerment and Self-Actualization" (1997) ''Religious Consultation Report''
* "Women in Islam: Contemporary Challenges" (1997) ''Zivilcourage: Frauensache?''
* "Feministische Interpretationen des Islams" (1997) ''Feminismus, Islam, Nation''
See also
*
Hakim Ahmad Shuja
Hakim Ahmad Shuja MBE (; sometimes written as 'Hakeem Ahmed Shujah' and 'Hakim Ahmad Shuja Pasha') (4 November 1893 – 4 January 1969), was a famous Urdu and Persian poet, playwright, writer, film writer and lyricist, scholar and mystic, ...
*
Yawar Hayat Khan
Yawar Hayat Khan (18 October 1943 – 3 November 2016), was a producer and director of the Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV) starting from 1965 to 2004. He is considered one of the chief architects of Pakistan Television drama serials in its ...
References
External links
The International Network for the Rights of Female Victims of Violence in Pakistan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hassan, Riffat
Pakistani emigrants to the United States
Pakistani theologians
People from Lahore
Pakistani Muslims
Harvard University faculty
Iqbal scholars
University of Oklahoma faculty
University of Louisville faculty
1943 births
Living people
Alumni of St Mary's College, Durham
University of the Punjab faculty
Pakistani feminists
American feminists
Proponents of Islamic feminism
Women scholars of Islam