Asma Barlas is an author and a professor of politics at Ithaca College, New York. Her views and interpretations of Islam have been called "Islamic feminism," but she herself rejects this term, unless it is defined as "a discourse of gender equality and social justice that derives its understanding and mandate from the Qur’an and seeks the practice of rights and justice for all human beings in the totality of their existence across the public-private continuum." Ithaca College is an internationally-recognized private institution of higher education located on the South Hill of Ithaca, New York. ... Official language(s) English de facto Capital Albany Largest city New York City Area  Ranked 27th  - Total 54,520 sq mi (141,205 km²)  - Width 285 miles (455 km)  - Length 330 miles (530 km)  - % water 13. ...

Biography

Born in Pakistan, Barlas was one of the first women to be inducted into the Foreign Service. Her career was ended when General Zia ul Haq fired her for criticism of his military regime. She joined the opposition paper The Muslim as assistant editor, but fled the country in 1983. Gen. ... 1983 (MCMLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In her recent work, she has focused on the way Muslims produce religious knowledge, especially patriarchal exegesis of the Qur'an, a topic she has explored in her book, "Believing Women" in Islam: Unreading Patriarchal Interpretations of the Qur'an. She has also written numerous editorials for The Daily Times, Pakistan. The Qurān [1] (Arabic: , literally the recitation; also called The Noble Quran; also transliterated as Quran, Koran (the traditional term in English), and Al-Quran), is the central religious text of Islam. ...

Dr. Barlas is former chair of the Department of Politics and founding director of the Center for the Study of Culture, Race, and Ethnicity at Ithaca College. She has a B.A. in English Literature and Philosophy, an M.A in Journalism from Pakistan, and an M.A. and Ph.D. in International Studies from the University of Denver in Colorado. The University of Denver (DU) is an independent, coeducational, four-year university in Denver, Colorado. ... Official language(s) English Capital Denver Largest city Denver Area  Ranked 8th  - Total 104,185 sq mi (269,837 km²)  - Width 280 miles (451 km)  - Length 380 miles (612 km)  - % water 0. ...

Books

• Islam, Muslims, and the U.S.: Essays on Religion and Politics (India, Global Media Publications, 2004)

• "Believing Women" in Islam: Unreading Patriarchal Interpretations of the Qur'an (University of Texas Press, 2002).

• Democracy, Nationalism, and Communalism: The Colonial Legacy in South Asia (Westview Press, 1995)

See also

• Fatema Mernissi
• Amina Wadud
• Islamic feminism

Fatema Mernissi is a contemporary Moroccan feminist writer. ... Amina Wadud is an Associate Professor of Islamic Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in Richmond, Virginia. ... Islamic feminism is a term coined in the 1990s for a movement that has its roots in the early 20th century, but which expanded in the 1990s in response to the growth of Islamism throughout the Islamic world. ...

References

• Bio of Asma Barlas
• Ithaca College Faculty: Asma Barlas
• Personal website
• Islam, Feminism and Living as the ‘Muslim Other’: An Interview with Asma Barlas