amina wadud, scholar and activist, is a vital figure in Islamic studies, Qur’anic hermeneutics, and gender studies, fields to which she has made a lasting contribution. Her bookQur’an and Woman: Rereading the Sacred Text from a Woman’s Perspective (1992, 1999) not only introduced a hermeneutical approach to the Qur’an that attempted to overcome male-centered readings of the sacred text, it also opened the door for other Muslim women scholars to embark on similar journeys.
In 2006, she published Inside the Gender Jihad: Women’s Reform in Islam, in which she grapples with three interwoven issues: her personal and activist struggles, her engagement with Muslim scripture and tradition, and the place of Muslim women’s studies in the Western academy. Since her retirement, in more recent lectures, blogs, and writings, she has foregrounded even further the category of experience as central to exegetical projects in the struggle for justice.
It is traditional to honor scholars who retire from academia with a Festschrift. This volume is a new kind of Festschrift, available online, as an e-book, rather than as a book printed and distributed by an academic or commercial publisher. This choice by the editors reflects both the reach of amina wadud’s work and honors her commitment to a rethinking of the closed circle of academic knowledge production and access to scholarship. The volume thus expands and transcends the boundaries that separate scholarship from activism, ideas from politics, and women’s experiences and perspectives from male normativity.In this volume, 33 contributors—colleagues, students, fellow activists, and others inspired by her work—share their reflections and thoughts on her work, both activist and scholarly, and the many ways in which she has left an imprint on their own endeavors. The volume includes academic essays, personal reflections, letters, poems, and one piece of visual art, all written for and dedicated to amina wadud with respect, admiration, and love.
