Exploring the(in)commensurability between the lived experiences of Muslim women and cosmopolitanism : implications for democratic citizenship education and Islamic education

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT:Impressions and perceptions about Islām, particularly in a world where much ofwhat is known about Islām has emerged from after the tragic devastation of theTwin Towers in New York, are creating huge challenges for Muslims whereverthey may find themselves. Women as the more visible believers in Islām are, what Ibelieve, at the forefront of the growing skepticism surrounding Islām. And central to themodern day debates and suspicious regard meted out to Muslim women today is her hijāb(head-scarf). Ironically, it would appear that the same amount of detail and attention thatIslamic scholars have devoted to the role of women in Islām and how they are expectedto conduct themselves is now at the centre of the modern day debates and suspiciousregard. Yet, the debates seldom move beyond what is obviously visible, and so little isknown about what has given shape to Muslim women's being, and how theirunderstanding of Islām has led them to practise their religion in a particular way.This dissertation is premised on the assertion that in order to understand the role ofMuslim women in a cosmopolitan society, you need to understand Islām and Islamiceducation. It sets out to examine and explore as to whether there is commensurability ornot between Muslim women and the notion of cosmopolitanism, and what then theimplications would be for democratic citizenship education and Islamic education. Oneof the main findings of the dissertation is that the intent to understand Muslim women'seducation and the rationales of their educational contexts and practices opens itself to aplurality of interpretations that reflects the pluralism of understanding constitutive of thepractices of Islam both within and outside of cosmopolitanism. Another is thatinasmusch as Muslim women have been influenced by living and interacting in acosmopolitan society, cosmopolitanism has been shaped and shifted by Muslim women.By examining the concepts of knowledge and education in Islām, and exploring the gapsbetween interpretations of Islam and Qur'anic exegesis, I hope to demystify many of the (mis)perceptions associated with Muslim women, and ultimately with Islām. And finally,by examining how Islamic education can inform a renewed cosmopolitanism, and bylooking at how democratic citizenship education can shape a renewed Islamic education,the eventual purpose of this dissertation is to find a way towards peaceful co-existence.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University