Tafsir Al-Qur’an Perspektif Perempuan Beriman: Meninjau Ulang Kategorisasi Pemikiran Amina Wadud dan Asma Barlas sebagai Feminisme Islam

Qur’anic Exegesis from the Perspective of Believing Women: Reassessing the Categorization of Amina Wadud and Asma Barlas’ Thought as Islamic Feminism

Abstract

This article stems from the tendency of previous scholarship to situate the thought of Amina Wadud and Asma Barlas within the framework of Islamic feminism, despite the fact that both scholars have expressed critical reservations toward such discourse and rejected the feminist label. This study examines the critical responses of Amina Wadud and Asma Barlas to Islamic feminism and investigates the epistemological foundations that shape their rejection of this label. Employing a qualitative library research methodology, this research relies primarily on the works of Wadud and Barlas as primary sources. The data are analyzed descriptively and analytically through a comparative approach in order to identify the underlying patterns and distinctive characteristics of their arguments. The findings indicate that both Wadud and Barlas advocate gender equality through faith-based reinterpretations of the Qur’an—pro-faith in Wadud’s formulation and believing woman in Barlas’s framework—rather than through the adoption of Western feminist paradigms. Wadud rejects the feminist label, even when qualified by the term “Muslim,” although her later writings exhibit greater openness toward the notion of Islamic feminism. By contrast, Barlas consistently rejects both the discourse and the label in their entirety. Both scholars contend that such labeling risks undermining the autonomy of gender justice discourses within Islam and imposes universalist assumptions grounded in Western epistemology. The study further demonstrates that both thinkers seek to position women as active subjects in Qur’anic interpretation by contesting patriarchal dominance within the exegetical tradition through a tawhidic paradigm and an anti-patriarchal hermeneutic that affirms equality and justice as intrinsic values of Islam.