Body situations mirroring belief attitudes: Female bodies, impurity and rituals in Islam

Abstract

This research looks at the connection between the Islamic purity system (taharah), Islamic rituals, and women in Muslim societies. The goal of this thesis is a critical analysis of the taharah system concerning female bodies and as applied in the performance of Islamic rituals. I argue that the rules and "rulings" for ritual purity in Islam reflect attitudes held by some Muslim male exegetes and scholars. Furthermore, I hypothesize that the taharah system corresponds to the Fall from Eden, and rules concerning women reflect belief attitudes which have influenced the perception of the female body and then been imposed upon Islamic rituals.

This subject is approached using gender analysis, textual exegesis, historical and phenomenological methodologies. Relying upon close readings of Qur'an and hadith literature, I will also employ feminist interpretations while applying the socio-anthropological lens of Mary Douglas, Brannon Wheeler and others.