Divine Words, Female Voices: Muslima Explorations in Comparative Feminist Theology

by Jerusha Tanner Lamptey

Overview

The relationship between Islam and feminism is complex. There are many Muslim scholars who fervently promote women's equality. At the same time, there is ambivalence regarding the general norms, terminology, and approaches of feminism and feminist theology. This ambivalence is in large part a product of various hegemonic, androcentric, and patriarchal discourses that seek to dictate legitimate and authoritative interpretations. These discourses not only fuel ambivalence, they also effectively obscure valuable possibilities related to interreligious feminist engagement.

Divine Words, Female Voices is the follow-up to Jerusha Lamptey's 2014 book, Never Wholly Other, in which she introduced the idea of "Muslima" theology and applied it to the topic of religious diversity. In this new book, she extends her earlier arguments to contend that interreligious feminist engagement is both a theologically valid endeavor and a vital resource for Muslim women scholars. She introduces comparative feminist theology as a method for overcoming challenges associated with interreligious feminist engagement, reorients comparative discussions to focus on the two "Divine Words" (the Qur'an and Jesus) and feminist theology, and uses this reorientation to examine intersections, discontinuities, and insights related to diverse theological topics. This book is distinctive in its responsiveness to calls for new approaches in Islamic feminist theology, its use of the method of comparative theology, its focus on Muslim and Christian feminist theology in comparative analysis, and its constructive articulation of Muslima theological perspectives.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780197652794
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	05/12/2022
Pages:	312
Product dimensions:	8.90(w) x 5.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Jerusha Tanner Lamptey (Jerusha Tanner Rhodes) is Associate Professor of Islam and Interreligious Engagement and the Director of the Islam, Social Justice, and Interreligious Engagement Program (ISJIE) at Union Theological Seminary in New York. She is the author of Never Wholly Other: A Muslima Theology of Religious Pluralism (Oxford University Press, 2014).

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

1. Beyond the Poisoned Wells: Introduction

2. Muslima Theology as Comparative Feminist Theology

3. Words in the World: the Qur'an and Jesus Christ in Context

4. Claiming Texts: Hermeneutical Approaches to the Hadith and the Bible

5. Bearers of the Words: Muhammad and Mary as Feminist Exemplars

6. Women in the World: Human Nature, Constraint, and Transformation

7. Enacting Equality: Ritual Prayer, Tradition, and Community

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Editorial Reviews

"The book has eight chapters and each one reviews the contribution of Muslima Theology, engages in conversation with Christian feminist scholars and concludes with lessons, questions, and challenges. Readers will appreciate the use of Azizah al-Hibri's image of "the poisoned well" at the beginning, as well as the shrewdness of the rest of the book." — Minlib Dallh, University of Oxford , Religious Studies Review

"What makes this book particularly valuable is that Jerusha Tanner Lamptey presents and investigates a vast range of scholarly approaches to feminist theology from different religions. Detailed notes, a bibliography and an index round up this comprehensive comparative work that can serve as a dialogical basis for in-depth interreligious studies and feminist discourses." — Liselotte Abid, Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde des Morgenlandes

"...Lamptey provides fresh springs from which to find theological nourishment, a welcome antidote to the ambivalence that so often dominates academic discourses about Islam and feminism." — Kathryn Heidelberger, Reading Religion

"The book is an important contribution on how we can approach and discuss vexing theological issues, by someone who demonstrates a rare grasp of how to engage in comparative theology at a time when, in the related field of Religious Studies, the comparative approach is generally out of favour." — Clinton Bennett, The State University of New York at New Paltz, Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations

"With impeccable scholarship and a deep knowledge of their concerns, Jerusha Lamptey invites us to listen in on a creative conversation between Muslim and Christian feminists who approach vexing theological issues and offer to us strategic and theological fruits. This stunning range of feminist interlocutors provides a powerful statement of the possibilities for our theological future." — Jeannine Hill Fletcher, author Motherhood as Metaphor: Engendering Interreligious Dialogue

"Divine Words, Female Voices intervenes provocatively and rigorously in conversations about scripture and gender justice. Engaging generously with Muslim and Christian interlocutors, Muslima theologian Jerusha Lamptey offers constructive analyses of revelation, ritual, and tradition. Essential reading for anyone interested in women, feminism, and Islam." — Kecia Ali, Professor of Religion, Boston University

"This book encourages Muslima theologians to enter with humility and openness into the valuable terrain of feminist scholarship from different faith traditions. It demonstrates the value of comparative engagement as not only theologically meaningful, but also as a beautiful act of faith and deeper learning. For while risky and destabilizing, comparative engagement allows for new ways of self-understanding and creates bonds of solidarity across faith-based feminist scholarship." — amina wadud, Professor Emerita of Islamic Studies and Visiting Scholar, Starr King School for the Ministry

From the Publisher