Gender-based Violence and Islam

Scholarship on gender-based violence (GBV) and Islam is fast evolving and has made key advances. In particular, it has successfully illuminated the intellectual diversity within the Islamic tradition on GBV both in the past and in the present. As such, this body of literature has contributed to countering stereotypes frequenting orientalist scholarship and emerging Islamophobia in Western societies, namely that the Islamic religion is monolithic and gender oppressive. Careful analyses showing how Sunni exegetical and legal traditions are pluralistic and diverse are combined with a normative approach which pursues gender justice for Muslim women. Historical contextualization of Islamic texts is combined with hermeneutical and linguistic analysis and the exploration of various methods of feminist interpretation, shedding important light on the way that the Islamic tradition is retrieved and appropriated in contemporary contexts in the Muslim world by political regimes, Islamist movements, and feminist activists. This innovative scholarship continues to advance discourses in law and religion, Islamic studies, and gender studies. This bibliography reflects scholarly work done on Islam and GBV, privileging works that are accessible to an international readership, including books and peer-reviewed articles. Relevant publications for nongovernmental organizations are not included, with a few exceptions. The themes are selected based on the literature available and are suggestive of the main areas that have garnered interest among scholars. GBV is defined as violence (causing physical, sexual, and/or psychological harm) against a person on the basis of their gender. The term is used to underscore the fact that structural, gender-based power inequalities place women and girls disproportionately at risk of multiple forms of violence in both private and public spheres. The term GBV is also increasingly used to describe violence against marginalized men and boys and queer populations who are targeted because of their sexual orientation and gender identity. The available literature on GBV and Islam focuses predominantly on women and girls, but there is an emerging scholarship on men and masculinities and also LGBTQI+ which is reflected in the publications referenced.