FEMINISM: A DISCURSIVE ANALYSIS OF THE WESTERN AND ISLAMIC PERSPECTIVES
Abstract
This paper focuses on the discourses of multiculturalism, Western feminism, the turban movement, and the possibility of Islamic feminism. The method used in this paper is non-textually-oriented discourse analysis. The paper builds upon the grounds that Islam has much earlier liberated the rights of women. The Qur’an itself is egalitarian. However, it is the West that has generally misunderstood Islam due to their lack of knowledge, ignorance, and misperception between actual Islam and the Arab culture. Having reviewed the argumentative discourses on those themes from a number of voices: philosophers, critical theorists, and feminists from both the Western and Islamic perspectives, the paper concludes with general remarks that feminism and Islam can be reconciled as long as these issues are treated according to the positive Islamic ethics, mutual respect, and fair practices of freedom.
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