Decolonizing Islamic Feminism: Zaynab al-Ghazali’s Spiritual Activism in Return of the Pharaoh

This article offers Gloria Anzaldúa’s notion of spiritual activism as a more productive theoretical lens through which to analyze Zaynab al-Ghazali’s feminism as evident in her memoir, Return of the Pharaoh, and articulated in her articles and interviews. Anzaldúa’s spiritual activism functions here...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of feminist studies in religion
Main Author: Mansour, Asmaa (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Indiana University Press 2022
In: Journal of feminist studies in religion
Year: 2022, Volume: 38, Issue: 1, Pages: 149-166
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Ġazālī, Zainab al- 1917-2005 / Islam / Feminism / Spirituality / Activism / Politics / Postcolonialism
RelBib Classification:AD Sociology of religion; religious policy
AG Religious life; material religion
BJ Islam
KBL Near East and North Africa
NCA Ethics
TK Recent history
Further subjects:B spiritual activism
B Decolonial
B Egyptian
B Arab Women
B Islamic Feminism
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Summary:This article offers Gloria Anzaldúa’s notion of spiritual activism as a more productive theoretical lens through which to analyze Zaynab al-Ghazali’s feminism as evident in her memoir, Return of the Pharaoh, and articulated in her articles and interviews. Anzaldúa’s spiritual activism functions here as a decolonial theory that challenges the Western conception of spirituality as a passive, escapist epistemology. In this analysis of al-Ghazali’s memoir, spiritual activism means activism that is both spiritual and political. Oxymoronic as it might seem, Anzaldúa’s spiritual activism serves as a model not necessarily to emulate but to decolonize Islamic feminism by showing its limits and limitations in analyzing Muslim women’s works. Through taking al-Ghazali’s memoir as a case study, this article moves beyond controversy between feminists (either secular or Islamic) and Western binarisms and open the door toward a more solid decolonial Islamic feminist theory and praxis deeply rooted in spirituality and politics.
ISSN:1553-3913
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal of feminist studies in religion