Feminist Methodology in Reading the Qur’anic Text: A Critical Study of Contemporary Interpretations in Religious Education

Abstract

Present study aimed to examine principles and methods used in feminist and traditional interpretation of religious texts. Also, study focused on the important role of uṣūlī principles and Islamic interpretive methods in teaching and understanding religious texts. Research employed qualitative research design for examination of feminist interpretations of Qur’anic text and assess their conformity with established Islamic interpretive principles. Study collected data by using purposive sampling technique. Data was gathered using documentary academic studies, articles, and scholarly books. Gathered data was analyzed using documentary and textual themes. The findings revealed that contemporary feminist interpretations of the Qur’an are significantly influenced by Western interpretive frameworks, particularly hermeneutics, deconstruction, and historical criticism, emphasizing contextual and gender-based readings of religious texts. The study also found that while feminist methodologies discusses continuous reinterpretation and reject fixed interpretive authority, traditional Islamic scholarship critiques these approaches on both theoretical and uṣūlī grounds, particularly regarding reinterpretations of texts governed by explicit Qur’anic injunctions.