Mernissi response (Week 3)

Mernissi's approach to the issue of women in Islam, through a variety of hadith and Quranic verses was really interesting. Her decision to backtrack and look at the historical context of these statements and revelations isn't one we see very often and gave me a better idea of how things such as the wearing of the hijab might have evolved from a different meaning to its current application in a patriarchal society.

The part that struck me most in relation to past readings was the account of Abu Bakra and the questioning of his authority, especially with counter-statements from 'A'isha that are not cited as often or even considered at all. Although Mernissi gives an example that Abu Bakra had been convicted of false testimony on one occasion and was often contradicted by 'A'isha, he had the power to create knowledge while 'A'isha, a highly regarded woman and wife of the Prophet, is still only a woman and cannot contend with that power of knowledge-production. Abu Bakra's statements placed women below men, which was (and remains) much more easily accepted by a male-dominated society than the explanations of a woman, no matter how strong or respected she was.

Mernissi's perspectives on the origins and perpetuations of misogynistic thoughts are interesting to me because her tracing of potential origins and disruptions of the original intent are not something I have seen very often in similar readings. In her introduction, she claims that "political and economic interests pushed for the fabrication of false traditions" because of how important religion was in legitimating claims (Mernissi, 9). I think she does a good job of applying this claim to several important hadith and Quranic verses that are open to a variety of interpretations.