ISLAMIC FEMINISM AND A NEW MEDITERRANEAN CULTURE: A CLOSE - UP ON SPAIN

Abstract

This paper argues that Islamic feminism has the potential to play a significant role in the shaping of a new Mediterranean culture. The paper provides a historical background on 1) the emergence of feminisms in nation-states or state-based feminisms in the south Mediterranean early last century and their international interactions during the colonial period and 2) the emergence of Islamic feminism as a new global discourse of egalitarian Islam toward the end of the twentieth century. The paper looks at the diffusion of Islamic feminism in Spain through Muslim women professionals and leaders in convert communities, influenced by the work of Islamic feminists from the south Mediterranean, and their interaction with new Muslim citizens and immigrants, focusing on a case that Muslim women across the spectrum took out against an imam for claiming in a book he published in Spain that Islam endorsed wife-beating, accusing him of fomenting gender-based violence. Through the force of Islamic feminist arguments and Spanish law the author of the book was pronounced guilty of inciting gender-based violence.