Gender, Knowledge, and Sufism: An Islamic Feminist Approach

Public Lecture by Professor Sa'diyya Shaikh from University of Cape Town on May 2, 2017, at Freie Universität Berlin. ' 099/2017 from Apr 28, 2017 On May 2, 2017, religious studies scholar Sa'diyya Shaikh from the University of Cape Town will give a public lecture entitled "Gender, Knowledge, and Sufism: An Islamic Feminist Approach." In her lecture Sa'diyya Shaikh, who is currently a fellow at the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin, will show how feminist theory of knowledge and an exploration of the category of "experience" can be made fruitful for the study of Islam and Muslim societies. The event is being organized by the Dahlem Humanities Center of Freie Universität in cooperation with the Forum Transregional Studies and the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin. The lecture will be held in English. Admission is free. From the perspective of feminist theory, Sa'diyya Shaikh examines how mystical and secular conceptions of "experience" produce "gendered" knowledge in Islamic contexts. In doing so, she deals critically with contemporary representations of female experience as well as with aspects of Muslim traditions.