Papers by Halla Attallah
Behind the Story: Ethical Readings of Qur'anic Narratives, 2024
The centrality of speech and hearing for the communication of religious knowledge is not only sug... more The centrality of speech and hearing for the communication of religious knowledge is not only suggested by many Muslim practices, such as the call to prayer, but it is also posited by the Qur'an. This includes the Qur'an's conceptualization of "wahy" or divine revelation, which is typically understood as an oral phenomenon, something that is spoken and heard. Focusing on the Qur'anic story of Moses and his speech in Q 20 (Surat Ta-Ha), this chapter examines the rhetorical function of speech/muteness and hearing /deafness in the Qur'an. Bringing this reading into conversation with the scholarship of disability theorists and activists, I demonstrate that the Qur'an often presents deafness and muteness as marginalizing and disabling traits that ultimately impede one's ability to participate in religious knowledge--a representation that most activists would critique as ethically problematic. Yet, I argue further that the Qur'an's engagement with Moses' speech difficulty destabilizes assumptions privileging abled-bodies, that is, bodies that can hear and speak, for the participation in religious learning.
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Studies in Religion/Sciences Religieuses, Sep 9, 2021
Many scholars of Islam consider feminist Qur'anic studies-the subject of women in the Qur... more Many scholars of Islam consider feminist Qur'anic studies-the subject of women in the Qur'an-as a tangential subfield motivated by political interests as opposed to genuine "scientific" inquiry. Celene Ibrahim's book, Women and Gender in the Qur'an, challenges these assumptions. Through analysis of female representations in the Qur'an, Ibrahim earns a place alongside noteworthy scholars such as Fazlur Rahman, Ingrid Mattson, Amina Wadud, and Barbara Stowasser. Ibrahim investigates Qur'anic stories and themes using a kaleidoscope of methods from both the traditional Qur'anic sciences and contemporary western scholarship. She accomplishes this task skillfully while attending to central questions about female embodiment, agency, sexuality, and roles within religious and familiar structures. Women and Gender in the Qur'an is divided into four chapters, with each exploring a different Qur'anic theme and textual dimension. Ibrahim's analysis is divided into two main components: an in-depth textual investigation and what she refers to as a "femalecentric" reading of this data (10). Descriptively, the book offers a comprehensive introduction to women in Qur'anic narratives-the stories of the prophets and their families-and to the Qur'an's language. It introduces readers to both prominent female figures, such as Mary, and more obscure representations embedded within Qur'anic parables. These include the "one woman who unravels the yarn" (Q 16:92). Ibrahim also offers an in-depth semantic analysis of key theopolitical terms, such as "family (ahl)" and "house (ā l)," highlighting the female presence in each (28). Cognizant of the issues related to scholarly positionality and authority, Ibrahim defines her interpretive lens carefully. She refers to herself as a "tentative" female Muslim exegete or "mufassira" (8), thereby situating her brand of analysis at the intersection of Muslim exegesis (tafsīr) and feminist studies without oversimplifying the complexities of each intellectual tradition or their implications within the Muslim/secular academic context-particularly those presented by the term "feminism." Hers is a pious reading that is concerned with female bodies. The first two chapters, "Female sex and sexuality" and "Female kin, procreation and parenting," examine representations of sexed bodies, reproduction, and kinship. She Studies in Religion / Sciences Religieuses 1-3 ª The Author(s) / Le(s) auteur(s), 2021 Article reuse guidelines/ Directives de réutilisation des articles: sagepub.com/journals-permissions
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Der Islam, Mar 22, 2018
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Routledge eBooks, Aug 12, 2022
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Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, 2023
In her essay "Integrating Disability, Transforming Feminist Theory," Rosemarie Garland-Thomson ad... more In her essay "Integrating Disability, Transforming Feminist Theory," Rosemarie Garland-Thomson advocates for a theoretical framework that combines insights from both disability and feminist studies. She maintains that a "feminist disability" lens allows scholars to think beyond sexed differentiations to include other value-laden particularities of the body. 1 Garland-Thomson's discussion and her emphasis on a theoretically conscious interdisciplinary approach, I believe, is relevant to the current debates in feminist qurʾanic studies. As Hadia Mubarak rightfully observes, much of the discourse is motivated by the question of whether the Qurʾan is "inherently patriarchal," thereby reducing our scope of analysis to simple binaries. This emphasis is understandable, given the stubbornness of Islamophobic tropes that paint Islam as inherently "anti-women"; perhaps this focus is even necessary when we enter "the court of the sultans" that Celene Ibrahim depicts in this roundtable. Moving forward, however, feminist qurʾanic studies would benefit from a critical engagement with scholarship that is also interested in the ethical issues surrounding the body and the power structures defining it. 2 A "feminist disability" lens is one such conversation partner that I believe would benefit our work-whether applying an inter-or intratextual reading. My current research examines infertility in the Qurʾan's annunciation scenarios, which recount the tale of the miraculous birth of a son to nonreproductive
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Shii Studies Review, 2022
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Encyclopedia of the Bible Online, 2022
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Der Islam, 2018
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American Religion, 2021
This essay offers a feminist reflection of Dabru Emet's second claim: "Jews and Christians seek a... more This essay offers a feminist reflection of Dabru Emet's second claim: "Jews and Christians seek authority from the same book-the Bible"-vis-à-vis the interfaith concept of "the Abrahamic traditions" used in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim conversations. Both models suggest a natural connection based on shared texts, figures, or stories. They also are critiqued for overlooking significant differences, both within and across traditions. Jon D. Levenson, for example, emphasizes that what is understood as the "Bible" and how authority is derived from it is hardly uniform.
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Book Reviews by Halla Attallah
Reading Religion, 2019
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Many scholars of Islam consider feminist Qur'anic studies-the subject of women in the Qur'an-as a... more Many scholars of Islam consider feminist Qur'anic studies-the subject of women in the Qur'an-as a tangential subfield motivated by political interests as opposed to genuine "scientific" inquiry. Celene Ibrahim's book, Women and Gender in the Qur'an, challenges these assumptions. Through analysis of female representations in the Qur'an, Ibrahim earns a place alongside noteworthy scholars such as Fazlur Rahman, Ingrid Mattson, Amina Wadud, and Barbara Stowasser. Ibrahim investigates Qur'anic stories and themes using a kaleidoscope of methods from both the traditional Qur'anic sciences and contemporary western scholarship. She accomplishes this task skillfully while attending to central questions about female embodiment, agency, sexuality, and roles within religious and familiar structures. Women and Gender in the Qur'an is divided into four chapters, with each exploring a different Qur'anic theme and textual dimension. Ibrahim's analysis is divided into two main components: an in-depth textual investigation and what she refers to as a "femalecentric" reading of this data (10). Descriptively, the book offers a comprehensive introduction to women in Qur'anic narratives-the stories of the prophets and their families-and to the Qur'an's language. It introduces readers to both prominent female figures, such as Mary, and more obscure representations embedded within Qur'anic parables. These include the "one woman who unravels the yarn" (Q 16:92). Ibrahim also offers an in-depth semantic analysis of key theopolitical terms, such as "family (ahl)" and "house (ā l)," highlighting the female presence in each (28). Cognizant of the issues related to scholarly positionality and authority, Ibrahim defines her interpretive lens carefully. She refers to herself as a "tentative" female Muslim exegete or "mufassira" (8), thereby situating her brand of analysis at the intersection of Muslim exegesis (tafsīr) and feminist studies without oversimplifying the complexities of each intellectual tradition or their implications within the Muslim/secular academic context-particularly those presented by the term "feminism." Hers is a pious reading that is concerned with female bodies. The first two chapters, "Female sex and sexuality" and "Female kin, procreation and parenting," examine representations of sexed bodies, reproduction, and kinship. She Studies in Religion / Sciences Religieuses 1-3 ª The Author(s) / Le(s) auteur(s), 2021 Article reuse guidelines/ Directives de réutilisation des articles: sagepub.com/journals-permissions
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Reading Religion (https://readingreligion.org/books/routledge-handbook-islam-and-gender), 2021
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Der Islam: Journal of the History and Culture of the Middle East, 2018
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Drafts by Halla Attallah
Gender and (In)fertility in the Qur'an's Annunciation Type-Scenes, 2023
“Gender and (In)fertility in the Qur’an’s Annunciation Type-Scenes” presents an in-depth study of... more “Gender and (In)fertility in the Qur’an’s Annunciation Type-Scenes” presents an in-depth study of reproduction and infertility in the Qur’an, with close attention to the annunciation stories and Sūrat al-Dhāriyāt (Q 51). The annunciation type-scenes, recounting the stories of the miraculous birth of a son to non-reproductive parents, employ the bodily citations, “barren (ʿaqīm/ʿāqir),” “old man (shaykh),” and “whore (baghiyyā),” to support the theological arguments of the sūras in which these scenarios are embedded. To better understand the complexities underlying these various embodied experiences in the premodern Qur’anic text, I bring the methods from literary Qur’anic Studies into conversation with the theoretical frameworks from gender and disability studies. I argue that the annunciation type-scenes depend on (non)reproductive bodies as a “narrative prosthetic,” thereby lending a meaning-laden body to the text’s abstract theologies. For instance, as part of Sūrat al-Dhāriyāt’s (Q 51) strategy of inspiring fear of Judgment, the text employs the term “barren (ʿaqīm)” twice; first to describe Sarah, and then to narrate the deadly winds that eradicate the non-believing people of ʿĀd. Female infertility, in this textual context, gives tangible evidence to the sūra’s theological concerns regarding both God’s future Judgment and past retributions. I argue further that while this semantic based approach suggests a binary view of gender and reproduction, whereby the onus of reproduction is situated primarily in female bodies, a narratological approach reveals a more complex relationship with reproducing identities. This includes male infertility, which is never cited by the Qur’an. Given the overlaps between Abraham’s character and the Virgin Mary, I propose that the bodily citation “old man” in the annunciation stories, like the term “whore (baghiyyā)” associated with it, indicates the experience of sexual shame; it is a “polite” and subtle way of saying impotent.
This dissertation contributes to the field of Qur’anic Studies as well as scholarship interested in scriptural narratives, bodies in religion, and (in)fertility in Late Antiquity. Two important scholarly areas with which I engage are: gender and disability studies and literary studies of the Qur’an. My analysis brings the Qur’an into conversation with the scholarship of disability and gender theorists, which not only foregrounds elements of the Qur’an that are often hidden, but it also allows the Qur’an to “speak back” to these contemporary lenses, thereby offering new perspectives about the categories of gender and disability. Furthermore, “Gender and (In)fertility in the Qur’an” is a close study of how the Muslim scripture engages in storytelling to inspire the imagination of its audience.
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Papers by Halla Attallah
Book Reviews by Halla Attallah
https://readingreligion.org/9780745651675/god-is-beautiful#.YsBD1HyIP-Y.mailto
Drafts by Halla Attallah
This dissertation contributes to the field of Qur’anic Studies as well as scholarship interested in scriptural narratives, bodies in religion, and (in)fertility in Late Antiquity. Two important scholarly areas with which I engage are: gender and disability studies and literary studies of the Qur’an. My analysis brings the Qur’an into conversation with the scholarship of disability and gender theorists, which not only foregrounds elements of the Qur’an that are often hidden, but it also allows the Qur’an to “speak back” to these contemporary lenses, thereby offering new perspectives about the categories of gender and disability. Furthermore, “Gender and (In)fertility in the Qur’an” is a close study of how the Muslim scripture engages in storytelling to inspire the imagination of its audience.
https://readingreligion.org/9780745651675/god-is-beautiful#.YsBD1HyIP-Y.mailto
This dissertation contributes to the field of Qur’anic Studies as well as scholarship interested in scriptural narratives, bodies in religion, and (in)fertility in Late Antiquity. Two important scholarly areas with which I engage are: gender and disability studies and literary studies of the Qur’an. My analysis brings the Qur’an into conversation with the scholarship of disability and gender theorists, which not only foregrounds elements of the Qur’an that are often hidden, but it also allows the Qur’an to “speak back” to these contemporary lenses, thereby offering new perspectives about the categories of gender and disability. Furthermore, “Gender and (In)fertility in the Qur’an” is a close study of how the Muslim scripture engages in storytelling to inspire the imagination of its audience.