Karen Bauer – författare

Building on the success of Anthology, Volume I: On the Nature of the Divine, this second volume in the series focuses on a critical and contentious theme: Women in the Qurʾan and traditional Qurʾanic commentaries. It comprises analysis of the female subject in the Qurʾan, annotated translations of Qurʾanic commentaries spanning twelve centuries, interviews of contemporary Muslim scholars and extensive introductory materials, which frame the work throughout and render these technically complex materials accessible to the reader. On Women begins with a critical introduction to the study of women and gender in the genre of Qurʾanic commentaries. A unique prolegomenon then follows key Qurʾanic terms in a chronological sequence, showing how the Qurʾan's world view on women developed from the earliest Meccan revelations, when women were addressed only implicitly as a part of households or in the course of anti-pagan polemic, to the period of the final revelations in Medina, when women were addressed directly as pious and social subjects. The remainder of the volume translates, critically annotates, and analyses interpretations of six select Qurʾanic verses on women. These verses, chosen because of their relevance to women's lived experience, speak of the creation of humankind beginning with a single soul (Q. 4:1); the exemplary figure of Mary, the mother of Jesus (Q. 3:35-6); women's status in marriage (Q. 4:34); women's legal testimony and hence legal capacity (Q. 2:282); and 'veiling' as it relates to Qurʾanic norms of modesty (Q. 24:31). While highlighting variation, continuity, and plurality in the genre of Qurʾanic commentaries, Volume II goes beyond medieval interpretive paradigms to include perspectives marginalised by that tradition, such as the voices of women themselves.

It is commonly understood that the Qur'an sought to transform social and religious practices in its seventh-century Arabian milieu. Yet the nature of that transformation is debated, especially as it relates to women, warfare, kinship and community. This book offers a fresh perspective by undertaking the first historical-critical study of all the Qur'an's verses on women, who were integral to this transformation, and by offering an initial overview of households and patronage — late antique social structures that took the place of formal state structures in the Qur'an's tribal milieu. The findings of this study call into question common approaches to Qur'anic theology, law, and narratives, to the nature of the early community, and to women's place in that community. Bauer and Hamza adopt a holistic method, which integrates aspects of the Qur'an that are commonly considered separately, showing, for instance, how stories act as precursors to law, with female characters acting as models for all believers. Concurrently, they highlight the Qur'an's egalitarian approach to moral agency in existing hierarchical social structures, which the Qur'an seeks to transform both by imposing a salvific frame on them, and by fashioning a community of households characterised by morality, decorum, and care of the vulnerable. This compelling and original work proposes new paradigms for understanding the Qur'an's social milieu and its salvific vision for that world.

This book explores how medieval and modern Muslim religious scholars ('ulamā') interpret gender roles in Qur'ānic verses on legal testimony, marriage, and human creation. Citing these verses, medieval scholars developed increasingly complex laws and interpretations upholding a male-dominated gender hierarchy; aspects of their interpretations influence religious norms and state laws in Muslim-majority countries today, yet other aspects have been discarded entirely. Karen Bauer traces the evolution of their interpretations, showing how they have been adopted, adapted, rejected, or replaced over time, by comparing the Qur'ān with a wide range of Qur'ānic commentaries and interviews with prominent religious scholars from Iran and Syria. At times, tradition is modified in unexpected ways: learned women argue against gender equality, or Grand Ayatollahs reject sayings of the Prophet, citing science instead. This innovative and engaging study highlights the effects of social and intellectual contexts on the formation of tradition, and on modern responses to it.

This book explores how medieval and modern Muslim religious scholars ('ulamā') interpret gender roles in Qur'ānic verses on legal testimony, marriage, and human creation. Citing these verses, medieval scholars developed increasingly complex laws and interpretations upholding a male-dominated gender hierarchy; aspects of their interpretations influence religious norms and state laws in Muslim-majority countries today, yet other aspects have been discarded entirely. Karen Bauer traces the evolution of their interpretations, showing how they have been adopted, adapted, rejected, or replaced over time, by comparing the Qur'ān with a wide range of Qur'ānic commentaries and interviews with prominent religious scholars from Iran and Syria. At times, tradition is modified in unexpected ways: learned women argue against gender equality, or Grand Ayatollahs reject sayings of the Prophet, citing science instead. This innovative and engaging study highlights the effects of social and intellectual contexts on the formation of tradition, and on modern responses to it.