Revisiting Islamic feminism's concepts and methods: The socio-historical context and premises of female hermeneutics

The global discourse on women's issues is often inescapably framed within the normative boundaries of "feminism." In response to this framing, a wave of Islamic discourse has emerged, positioning itself as originally rooted in Islam rather than in feminism, and aspiring to be a faith-based, global, intellectual, and activist movement. This movement, eventually labelled Islamic Feminism, constitutes a complex and contested field of engagement with theology, history, and social activism from within an Islamic paradigm. This thesis aims to explore the discursive architecture of Islamic Feminism by examining its theological, socio-historical, and methodological foundations. It focuses on the scholarship of three key figures—Amina Wadud, Asma Barlas, and Aysha Hidayatullah—whose writings offer diverse yet intersecting contributions to the rethinking of gender in Islam. Central themes across their work include the ontological equality of women in both public and private spheres, the historical contingency of patriarchally-inflected jurisprudence within Islamic legal traditions, and the development of a female-centered hermeneutics of faith. These recurring premises form the discursive core of Islamic Feminist reasoning and serve as the focal point of this inquiry. Rather than relying solely on theological analysis or replicating existing indigenous critiques, this thesis deliberately engages with the theoretical tools of Anglophone discourse, where Islamic Feminism was both largely articulated and institutionalized, especially in diasporic contexts shaped by global academic and activist networks. Informed by Michel Foucault's discourse theory and Karl Mannheim's sociology of knowledge, the thesis critically explores how Islamic Feminism emerges not merely as a set of theological arguments, but as a historically situated knowledge project shaped by regimes of knowledge and conditions of modernity. The study concludes by proposing a re-examination of Islamic Feminism through an ungendered lens, seeking a balance that honors both the enduring legacy of Islamic scholasticism and the legitimacy of contemporary global concerns. Key Words: Islamic Feminism; Feminist Exegesis; Discourse Analysis; Hermeneutics; Sociology of Knowledge.