(Karim F.) Redhwan, Gender Relations in the Qur’an. Conceptualising Space and Male–Female Interaction, Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press, 2026, 288 p. ISBN 9781399561341
Author
Dr Redhwan Karim is Lecturer in Islamic Studies and Course Leader for the BA Islamic Studies program at the Markfield Institute of Higher Education. He is the author of History of the Qur’an: Approaches and Explorations (2024), and various peer-reviewed articles in journals such as the Journal of Islamic and Muslim Studies, ReOrient: The Journal of Critical Muslim Studies, The Muslim World Review, and Journal of Islamic Ethics, as well as chapters in edited volumes.
Presentation
A constricting attitude towards the relationship between non-maḥram (marriageable) men and women is often either politically enforced or self-imposed in Muslim societies, with notions of separation and segregation upheld as normative ideals. This book challenges such interpretations, delineating a more permissive and nuanced position rooted in the Qur’an. Responding to the oft-held notion of men occupying the public sphere while women are restricted to the private, the book explores whether the Qur’an adopts a conception of gendered space and gendered roles.
The book analyses the various forms of male-female interaction in the Qur’an, providing a comprehensive overview of gender relations and a critical dissection of restrictive readings. It also discusses clothing, offering a thorough overview of sartorial prescriptions in the Qur’an. Engaging with both classical and modern scholarship to provide a contextual reading, this book offers a comprehensive and expansive analysis of gender relations within a Qur’anic context.
Contents
Acknowledgements
Notes on Text
Table of Contents
Introduction: Framing Gender Relations in the Qur’ān
1. Gendered Space: Rethinking Spatial Boundaries
2. Beyond the Private Sphere: Conceptualising Gendered Roles
3. Male-Female Interaction and the Ethics of Encounter
4. The Condition of Clothing
5. Desire, Deterrence and the Limits of Permissibility
Conclusion: Towards a Qur’ānic Ethic of Gender Relations
Bibliography