Muslim Women, Islamic Discourses and Public Participation in Britain

在过去的20年里，我通过各种专业工作和慈善承诺，与穆斯林社区(男性和女性)合作。在此期间，穆斯林妇女接受进一步教育和接受高等教育的人数有所增加(巴西特，1997年；Afshar等人，2005年)，因此从理论上讲，增加了她们的社会资本和公共参与和社会融合的能力(Phillips，2009年；Hopkins和Gale，2009年)。然而，在穆斯林妇女中，从教育过渡到职业或刚刚进入劳动力市场的比例普遍非常低(Haw，2009,2010)。利用我作为社会凝聚力和宗教间关系领域实践者的经验，拟议的研究试图理解为什么仍然是这样，特别是使用伊斯兰话语是否在什么程度上以及在什么情况下可以使这种情况合法化。这项研究认为，对穆斯林女性在公共生活中所扮演的角色和角色的伊斯兰话语的授权和更个人化的解释(杜伊·；图拉比，1991年；达什，1995年)对她的社会交往和与英国社会其他人的关系有非常明确的影响(参见。苏莱曼2012年)。重温伊斯兰资料中的关键文本(古兰经、西拉、圣训和相关的法律和历史文献)，试图了解在不同的历史-文化-政治背景下，关于穆斯林妇女隔离和公众参与的任何限制的观点在多大程度上被定义和重新定义，然后我将试图实证调查伊斯兰学者和社区领袖，特别是不同的英国穆斯林妇女群体本身，这种解释如何塑造和影响她们与当今英国更广泛的社会的接触。所采用的调查和分析的研究方法是定性的。集中而言，我将对至少30次深入的自然主义采访进行话语和主题分析，采访对象包括至少10名驻英国的乌拉玛(神职人员)和学者，以及对英国一个或多个选定地区至少20名穆斯林女性的不同支持者的采访/焦点小组：i)其中一些人在家里工作，ii)一些人选择呆在家里，iii)那些在社区组织和更广泛的社会中担任高级领导职务的人。我的研究问题如下：1)穆斯林女性对英国公共生活的参与在多大程度上受到了a)她们自己和b)他人对伊斯兰经文和传统的阅读和解释/理解的影响？2)这种思维和决策是如何(如果有的话)在她们的一生中发展和改变的？出于什么原因？3)英国不同的穆斯林女性如何解释这种“专家”和“日常”穆斯林观点、观点和经历之间的差异？4)限制穆斯林女性参与英国公共生活的其他因素/障碍可能涉及哪些因素/障碍？我的工作假设是，在性别隔离、女性领导力和参与公共生活方面，伊斯兰文献中提到的内容比学者和社区读到的要少得多。Mernissi 1991；Roald 2001；Barlas 2003；Ramadan 2004；Wadud 2007)。相反，今天的种族隔离和性别不平等的“伊斯兰”意识形态和做法是宗教、文化、政治、社会排斥和父权制的复杂交叉的产物(参看。马哈茂德2005年)。

I have worked with Muslim communities (men and women), through various professional jobs and charity commitments for the past 20 years. In that time, there has been a rise in Muslim women entering further and higher education (Basit 1997; Afshar et al 2005) and so in theory increasing their social capital and capacity for public participation and societal integration (Phillips 2009; Hopkins and Gale 2009). However, the transition from education to career or just entering the labour market generally remains incredibly low amongst Muslim women (Haw 2009, 2010). Making use of my experience as a practitioner in the field of social cohesion and interfaith relations, the proposed research is an attempt to understand why that is still the case and in particular whether, to what extent, and in which circumstances the use of Islamic discourses can legitimize this. This research contends that the authorized and more individual interpretation of Islamic discourses about the perceived role and the part that a Muslim woman plays in public life (Doi 1989; Turabi, 1991; Darsh 1995) have very definite implications for her social interactions and relations with the rest of British society (cf. Suleiman 2012). Revisiting key texts in the Islamic sources (the Qur'an, Sira, Hadith and related legal and historical literature), and seeking to understand to what extent the spectrum of views concerning the segregation of Muslim women and any limit on their public participation has been defined and redefined in different historical-cultural-political contexts, I will then seek to investigate empirically how in the hands of Islamic scholars and community leaders, but especially different groups of British Muslim women themselves, such interpretations have shaped and influenced their engagement with wider society in Britain today.The research methods of investigation and analysis adopted are qualitative. Centrally, I will employ a discourse and thematic analysis of at least 30 in-depth naturalistic interviews conducted with at least 10 UK based ulama (clerics) and academics, as well as interviews/focus groups with different constituencies of at least 20 Muslim women in one or more selected localities in the UK: i) some of whom work outside the home, ii) some who choose to stay at home and iii) those in senior leadership positions in community organisations and wider society. My research questions are as follows: 1) To what extent is Muslim women's involvement in UK public life influenced by a) their own and b) others' readings and interpretations/understandings of Islamic texts and traditions? 2) How (if at all) has such thinking and decision-making developed and changed over their lifetime? For what reasons?3) How do different Muslim women in Britain explain any discrepancies between such 'expert' and 'everyday' Muslim views, opinions and experience?4) What other factors/barriers may be involved in limiting Muslim women's involvement in public life in the UK?My working hypothesis is that Islamic texts say much less than scholars and communities have read into them with respect to segregation of the sexes, female leadership and involvement in public life (cf. Mernissi 1991; Roald 2001; Barlas 2003; Ramadan 2004; Wadud 2007). Rather today's "Islamic" ideologies and practices of segregation and gender inequality are the product of complex intersections of religion, culture, politics, social exclusion and patriarchy (cf. Mahmood 2005).