Women as Imams: Classical Islamic Sources and Modern Debates on Leading Prayer

Description

There is a long and rich history of opinion centred on female prayer leadership in Islam that has occupied the minds of theologians and jurists alike. It includes outright prohibition, dislike, permissibility under certain conditions and, although rarely, unrestricted sanction, or even endorsement. This book discusses debates drawn from scholars of the formative period of Islam who engaged with the issue of female prayer leadership. Simonetta Calderini critically analyses their arguments, puts them into their historical context, and, for the first time, tracks down how they have informed current views on female imama (prayer leadership). In presenting the variety of opinions discussed in the past by Sunni and Shi'i scholars, and some of the Sufis among them, the book uncovers how they are, at present, being used selectively, depending on modern agendas and biases. It also reviews the roles and types of authority of current women imams in diverse contexts spanning from Asia, Africa and Europe to America. The research offers readers the opportunity to gain nuanced answers to the question of female imama today that may lead to informed discussions and to change, if not necessarily in practices then at the very least in attitudes. This ground-breaking book interrogates the cases of women who are reported to have led prayer in the past. It then analyses the voices of current women imams, many of whom engage with those women of the past to validate their own roles in the present and so pave the way for the future.

Simonetta Calderini is Reader in Islamic Studies at the University of Roehampton, London, U.K. She has also been a post-doctoral research fellow at the Oriental Institute, University of Naples, Italy and she received her PhD in Islamic Studies from SOAS, University of London, UK. She is the co-author of a ground-breaking book on women in pre-modern Islam, Women and the Fatimids in the world of Islam (2006). Her numerous and acclaimed publications on female ritual authority in Islam have made her a prominent voice in scholarly and public debates on issues relevant to women and Islam worldwide. Over the years she has been the recipient of several research awards and grants (AHRC, British Academy, SMT) which have supported her in the writing of this book.

With expert attention and great expository clarity, Simonetta Calderini leads us into the articulations of one of the most debated and interesting themes of the current global discourse on the relationship between Islam and women's rights: that of female religious leadership and in particular of the imama of women. * Studi Magrebini (trans. by Bloomsbury Academic) * This book is a very interesting book indeed and the topics discussed in it are very relevant to contemporary Muslims. * The Muslim World Book Review * This book gives a rich and varied introduction to women's religious authority in the context of Islamic history. It offers a thorough examination of all aspects of consideration to modern debates: legal, cultural and doctrinal. It spans the full historical range from the Classical period of Islamic thought all the way to modernity. By doing so, it once again confirms that Islam has always been contested and diverse. This is a must read book for anyone interested in the matter of women as Imams today, whether practitioners and/or academics. -- amina wadud, Visiting Researcher Starr King School for the Ministry, California, USA Important and timely - this in-depth study makes a crucial contribution to our understanding of both the classical discussions of women acting as leaders in the Muslim community - and the modern debates. This book will hopefully have impact not only in the academic world, but in wider discussions around Islam, gender and law. -- Professor Robert Gleave, Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter, UK A masterful intellectual history of Islamic scholarly opinions on when, how, and whom women may lead in prayer. -- Mirjam Kunkler, Research Professor, Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study, The Netherlands This is an invaluable study that with methodical precision surveys the thicket of legal and historical material in Islam to provide necessary context for contemporary arguments about female religious authority and leadership of ritual prayer -- S. Hamdani, Associate Professor, History and Art History, George Mason University, USA