Friday - March 23, 2007

A Feminist Rewrites the Koran

An Iranian-American feminist has translated the Koran from Arabic into English.  In the process, she has reinterpreted some of the passages that allow violence against women.  We at The Virtuous Republic commend her work, as it could potentially begin the liberalization process that Islam so desperately needs to undergoe.  

Unfortunately, our real world intituition tells us that mainstream Islam, radical and "moderate" will reject her work out of hand.  They will argue that no one can "interpret" the written word of God and more than likely, some group will issue a "fatwa" calling for this female infidel's head on a platter, or at least a good beating to set her straight.

A new English-language interpretation of the Muslim Holy book the Koran challenges the use of words that feminists say have been used to justify the abuse of Islamic women.

The new version, translated by an Iranian-American, will be published in April and comes after Muslim feminists from around the world gathered in New York last November and vowed to create the first women's council to interpret the Koran and make the religion more friendly toward women.

In the new book, Dr. Laleh Bakhtiar, a former lecturer on Islam at the University of Chicago, challenges the translation of the Arab word "idrib," traditionally translated as "beat," which feminists say has been used to justify abuse of women.

"Why choose to interpret the word as 'to beat' when it can also mean 'to go away'," she writes in the introduction to the new book.

The passage is generally translated: "And as for those women whose illwill you have reason to fear, admonish them; then leave them alone in bed; then beat them; and if thereupon they pay you heed, do not seek to harm them. Behold, God is indeed most high, great!"

Instead, Bakhtiar suggests "Husbands at that point should submit to God, let God handle it -- go away from them and let God work His Will instead of a human being inflicting pain and suffering on another human being in the Name of God."

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Technorati Tags: Islam Feminism Koran
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