Contesting boundaries and producing the norm: gender-related issues in Islamic theory and practice

Abstract

Particularly in the last decades, due to the rapid development of theoretical perspectives across disciplines, the notion of gender has evolved into an umbrella term that today refers to a broad array of themes: from gender-defined social behaviour to sexual and reproductive rights and to matters related to control over one’s body. Following major trends in the humanities and social sciences, also the field of Islamic studies has been contributing to the ongoing scholarly discussion on gender. Two recent volumes that focus specifically on gender issues in Muslim societies (Duderija et al., 2020; Howe, 2020) have marked the expansion of the field, away from dealing primarily with topics related to Muslim women and femininity to a cautious but firm engagement with a broader spectrum of gender-related themes. The goal of the present issue of Islamology is to contribute to this advancement. Thereby, we do not aim to test the limits of scholarly and popular debates, as this is challenging to implement under the present conditions. However, we hope to draw the attention of our readers to several case studies selected for this issue in order to demonstrate the potential of a gender-based approach within Islamic studies to provide novel and valuable insights.