Amina Wadud

Amina Wadud(born September 25, 1952) is an AmericanMuslimtheologian. Wadud serves as visiting professor at 4 Consortium for Religious Studiesand was also a visiting scholar atStarr King School for the Ministry.Wadud has written extensively on the role of women in Islam.

Amina Wadud
Born	(1952-09-25)September 25, 1952 Bethesda, Maryland,U.S.
Alma mater	University of Pennsylvania,University of Michigan,American University in Cairo,Cairo University,Al-Azhar University
Era	21st-century philosophy
Institutions	International Islamic University Malaysia,Starr King School for the Ministry
Main interests	Islamic studies,Islamic feminism,theology,philosophy,interfaith dialogue
Notable ideas	Women as imams

Born and raised as a Methodist inBethesda, Maryland,Wadud converted toIslamin 1972 while studying at theUniversity of Pennsylvania.She went on to studyArabicand Islamic studies, first in the United States and later in Egypt. Wadud made international headlines in 2005 when she led Friday prayers at a mixed congregation in New York, stirring controversy in some spheres of the Islamic world. Regardless, Wadud has continued to lead prayers at various congregations around the world.

Early life

Wadud was born Mary Teasley inBethesda, Maryland.Her father was aMethodistminister. With her father she attended theMarch on Washingtonwith the Rev. Dr.Martin Luther Kingin 1963. It was her first encounter with religion as motivation for justice and equality.

In 1972, sheconverted to Islam,while a student at theUniversity of Pennsylvania,which she attended from 1970 to 1975.She legally changed her name along with her then husband and eventually retained 'amina wadud' as her name, which she chose to spell without capital letters.

Education

In 1975, wadud graduated from theUniversity of Pennsylvaniawith a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education and became a certified teacher. Then she moved to El-Beida,Libyafor two years where she taught English at the university.

She received her M.A. inNear Eastern Studiesfollowed by her Ph.D. inArabicandIslamic Studiesfrom theUniversity of Michiganin 1988. Duringgraduate school,she studied inEgypt,including advanced Arabic at the Center for Arabic Studies Abroad program for advanced Arabic at theAmerican University in Cairo,Qur'anic studies andtafsir(exegesisor religious interpretation) atCairo University,and philosophy atAl-Azhar University.

Work

Wadud's research focus has been on Qur’an, Qur'anic studies, tafsir, hermeneutics, gender and sexuality.

From 1989 to 1992, she worked as an assistant professor in faculty of Revealed Knowledge atInternational Islamic University,Kuala Lumpur,Malaysiafor a three-year contract. While there, she published an edited volume of her dissertationQur'an and Woman: Rereading the Sacred Text from a Woman's Perspective.That first publication was followed by an expanded edition fromOxford University Pressin 1999 with the additional subtitle: Rereading the Sacred Text from a Woman's Perspective. The first book has been used extensively in the modern academic study of Islam, Muslim women and Qur’anic Studies in all parts of the world. In 2006 she published her second monograph, Inside the Gender Jihad: Women's Reform in Islam by One World Publications.Most recently, in 2022, she has published a spiritual memoir called Once in a Lifetime from Kantara Press.This book provides and introduction to the five pillars of Islam from a progressive perspective.

While in Malaysia she joined 7 other women as founders of the non-governmental organization Sisters in Islam.SIS would spear head the creation of an international advocacy group calledMusawahin 2009.

After retirement in 2006 she took up a position as a visiting professor atStarr King Schoolfor the Ministry in California. She traveled toIndonesiain 2008 where she took up a visiting professor position at the Center for Religious and Cross Cultural Studies atGadjah Mada UniversityinYogyakarta,Indonesiain 2009.Wadud would return to Yogyakarta in 2020 to hold visiting professor positions at the National IslamicUniversity Sunan Kalijaga,and at the International Consortium of Religious Studies, atGadjah Mada University. She has held visiting positions atHarvardDivinity School,Melbourne Universityand other universities. She has given hundreds of lectures, workshops and presentations in grassroots, government, non-government and academic forums throughout the United States, the Middle East, South and Southeast Asia, Africa, Australia and Europe.

Her speaking engagements include the keynote address "Islam, Justice, and Gender" at the 2008 international conferenceUnderstanding Conflicts: Cross-Cultural Perspectives,held atAarhus University,Denmark; a paper titled “Islam Beyond Patriarchy Through Gender Inclusive Qur’anic Analysis” at the 2009Musawah- Equality and Justice in the Familyconference;the Regional Conference on Advancing Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment in Muslim Societies, hosted byUnited Nations Development Fund for Women(UNIFEM) and the International Centre for Islam and Pluralism (ICIP) inJakarta,Indonesia, in March 2009;a workshop on "Sharia and Human Rights" at theUniversity of Bergen,Norway in late November 2009;a public lecture titled "Muslim Women and Gender Justice: Methods, Motivation and Means" to the Faculty of Arts, Asia Institute, at theUniversity of Melbourne,Australia in February 2010;a lecture on “Tawhid and Spiritual Development for Social Action” atMuslims for Progressive Valuesat thePacific School of ReligioninBerkeley, Californiain July 2011.

Wadud was awarded a three-year research grant from the Arcus foundation to do an in depth study of Classical Islamic discourse about sexual diversity and human dignity. She identified asqueerand has openly advocated "pluralism" and "equality" including dignity forLGBTQ+persons rights.

Controversy

1994 sermon

In August 1994, Wadud delivered a Friday pre-khutbah(sermon) on "Islam as Engaged Surrender" at the Claremont Main Road Mosque inCape Town,South Africa.Women delivering even a pre-khutbah talk was unheard of in theMuslim world.

2005 prayer leadership

More than a decade later, Wadud was invited to lead Friday prayers (salat) for a congregation in the United States breaking with conservative Muslim practice. (SeeWomen as imamsfor a discussion of the issue.) On Friday 18 March 2005, Wadud acted as imam for a congregation of about 60 women and 40 men seated together, without any gender separation. Thecall to prayerwas given by another woman, Suheyla El-Attar. It was sponsored by the Muslim Women's Freedom Tour, under the leadership ofAsra Nomani,by the website Muslim WakeUp!, and by members of theProgressive Muslim Union. The gathering was held in theSynod House,owned by and adjoining theEpiscopalCathedral of St. John the Divine,in Manhattan'sMorningside Heights,after threemosqueshad refused to host the service and including theSundaram Tagore Gallerythat withdrew its offer following an anonymous bomb threat.Wadud stated her preference to hold the prayer in a sacred place.She was not an organizer of the prayer and played no part in what venue was eventually selected.She said, "I don't want to change Muslim mosques. I want to encourage the hearts of Muslims, both in their public, private and ritual affairs, to believe they are one and equal."

Response

The prayer service drew mixed reactions from the Muslim community.Over 100 men and women attended the prayers, and about half dozen people protested outside the church.

Yusuf Al-Qaradawiof Qatar said that, while a woman could lead other women and even possibly her young children insalat,she could not lead a mixed group including non-mahrammales.Grand Imam of Al-AzharSayyid Tantawicriticized the prayer in the Egyptian newspaperAl-Ahram:"When she leads men in prayer, in this case, it is not proper for them to look at the woman whose body is in front of them."

Some Muslim academics supported Wadud. Egyptian academicGamal al-Bannaargued that her actions were supported by Islamic sources.Writer and Harvard Divinity School professorLeila Ahmedsaid it brought attention to the issue of women in Islam.Khaled Abou El-Fadl,professor of Islamic Studies atUCLA,Californiasaid: "What the fundamentalists are worried about is that there's going to be a ripple effect not just in the U.S. but all over the Muslim world. The women who are learned and frustrated that they cannot be the imam are going to see that someone got the guts to break ranks and do it."

The police and her employer, fearing for her security and potential collateral damage followed parents’ concern and permitted her to conduct her classes from home through avideo link.In her first interview after the prayer, Wadud denied receiving any death threats and described them as media hype.

Wadud continues her speaking engagements research, writing and advocacy across the world. She accepts select invitations to lead mixed-gender prayers and to perform Friday prayer services.On October 28, 2005, following her talk at theInternational Congress on Islamic FeminisminBarcelona,Spain, she was invited to lead a congregation of about thirty people.Following an invitation by the Muslim Educational Centre of Oxford, she led a mixed-gender prayer in the United Kingdom, even though Muslims planning to attend were threatened with being disowned by conservative imams through personal visits from mosques.

2013 Madras University controversy

Wadud lived in India from 2012 to 2013 delivering several lectures by invitation across Indian Universities. An invitation to speak on 29 July 2013 on 'Gender and Reform in Islam' at theUniversity of MadrasinChennai,was cancelled after campus security refused to guarantee her safety citing possible law and order problems in view of opposition by some Muslim groups.

Awards

In 2007, Wadud received the Danish Democracy Prize.

Personal life

Wadud has five children and six grandchildren.She lives inYogyakarta, Indonesiaand maintains citizenship inOakland, California.

Media appearances

Wadud was an advisor to the documentaryMuhammad: Legacy of a Prophet(2002), produced by Unity Productions Foundation and broadcast onPBS.

Wadud was interviewed onWNYCradio on July 14, 2006, to discuss her bookInside the Gender Jihad.She responded to questions and comments about other activities including women in gender-mixed Friday prayer service.

In 2007, Wadud was the subject of a documentary by Iranian-Dutch filmmaker, Elli Safari, called "The Noble Struggle of Amina Wadud".

Selected bibliography

Books

• Wadud, Amina (1999).Qurʼan and woman rereading the sacred text from a woman's perspective.New York: Oxford University Press.ISBN9780198029434.Contributes a gender-inclusive reading to one of the most fundamental disciplines in Islamic thought, Qu'ranic exegesis.
• Wadud, Amina (2006).Inside the gender Jihad: women's reform in Islam.Oxford: Oneworld.ISBN9781851684632.Continues Wadud's Qur'anic analysis and provides extensive details about her experiences as a Muslim, wife, mother, sister, scholar, and activist.

Chapters in books

• Wadud, Amina (2005), "Citizenship and faith", inFriedman, Marilyn(ed.),Women and citizenship,Studies in Feminist Philosophy, Oxford New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 170–187,ISBN9780195175356.

See also

• Asma Barlas
• Asma Lamrabet
• Fatema Mernissi
• Ziba Mir-Hosseini
• Azizah Y. al-Hibri
• Inclusive Mosque Initiative

Further reading

• Lichter, Ida (2009).Muslim women reformers: inspiring voices against oppression.Amherst, N.Y.: Prometheus Books.ISBN978-1591027164.

External links

• Amina WadudArchived2020-06-13 at theWayback Machine,California Institute of Integral Studies
• Amina Wadud interview,"Muslims" episode ofFrontline
• Amina Wadud interview,Halal Monk
• A’ishah’s legacyby Amina Wadud inNew Internationalistmagazine (Issue 345, May 2002)