The Rejection of Women Imams in Indonesia: Between Religious and Socio-Cultural Texts

Discourses regarding women as imams became widespread after Amina Wadud led communal Friday prayers in 2005. Academics have predominantly responded by analyzing religious doctrine and its exegesis, ignoring the fact that women's ability to lead worship is strongly influenced by their specific s...

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Main Authors: Najwah, Nurun, Abdullah, Irwan, Qudsy, Saifuddin Zuhri, Baidowi, Ahmad
Format: Article
Published: 2022
Subjects:
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author Najwah, Nurun
Abdullah, Irwan
Qudsy, Saifuddin Zuhri
Baidowi, Ahmad
author_facet Najwah, Nurun
Abdullah, Irwan
Qudsy, Saifuddin Zuhri
Baidowi, Ahmad
author_sort Najwah, Nurun
collection UGM
description Discourses regarding women as imams became widespread after Amina Wadud led communal Friday prayers in 2005. Academics have predominantly responded by analyzing religious doctrine and its exegesis, ignoring the fact that women's ability to lead worship is strongly influenced by their specific socio-cultural contexts and dynamics. This article will investigate how religious texts structure and are structured by the socio-cultural context of Indonesia. In this study, data were collected by identifying hadiths of leadership, then analyzing them using content analysis. It was found that religious doctrines tend to emphasize the primacy of men (as leaders) while underscoring the (physical, intellectual, and spiritual) shortcomings of women. Such religious dogmas receive symbolic legitimacy from the patriarchal culture of society. The dominance of men in mosques, as well as the prohibition against women serving as imams, have been institutionalized by Indonesia's four largest Islamic institutions (MUI, DMI, NU, and Muhammadiyah) and reproduced through their fatwas as well as the sermons of popular preachers. © 2022. Journal of International Women’s Studies.
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spelling oai:generic.eprints.org:2818772023-11-15T01:14:17Z https://repository.ugm.ac.id/281877/ The Rejection of Women Imams in Indonesia: Between Religious and Socio-Cultural Texts Najwah, Nurun Abdullah, Irwan Qudsy, Saifuddin Zuhri Baidowi, Ahmad Islamic Studies Religion and Religious Traditions Discourses regarding women as imams became widespread after Amina Wadud led communal Friday prayers in 2005. Academics have predominantly responded by analyzing religious doctrine and its exegesis, ignoring the fact that women's ability to lead worship is strongly influenced by their specific socio-cultural contexts and dynamics. This article will investigate how religious texts structure and are structured by the socio-cultural context of Indonesia. In this study, data were collected by identifying hadiths of leadership, then analyzing them using content analysis. It was found that religious doctrines tend to emphasize the primacy of men (as leaders) while underscoring the (physical, intellectual, and spiritual) shortcomings of women. Such religious dogmas receive symbolic legitimacy from the patriarchal culture of society. The dominance of men in mosques, as well as the prohibition against women serving as imams, have been institutionalized by Indonesia's four largest Islamic institutions (MUI, DMI, NU, and Muhammadiyah) and reproduced through their fatwas as well as the sermons of popular preachers. © 2022. Journal of International Women’s Studies. 2022 Article PeerReviewed Najwah, Nurun and Abdullah, Irwan and Qudsy, Saifuddin Zuhri and Baidowi, Ahmad (2022) The Rejection of Women Imams in Indonesia: Between Religious and Socio-Cultural Texts. Journal of International Women's Studies, 24 (5). https://vc.bridgew.edu/jiws/vol24/iss5/8/
spellingShingle Islamic Studies
Religion and Religious Traditions
Najwah, Nurun
Abdullah, Irwan
Qudsy, Saifuddin Zuhri
Baidowi, Ahmad
The Rejection of Women Imams in Indonesia: Between Religious and Socio-Cultural Texts
title The Rejection of Women Imams in Indonesia: Between Religious and Socio-Cultural Texts
title_full The Rejection of Women Imams in Indonesia: Between Religious and Socio-Cultural Texts
title_fullStr The Rejection of Women Imams in Indonesia: Between Religious and Socio-Cultural Texts
title_full_unstemmed The Rejection of Women Imams in Indonesia: Between Religious and Socio-Cultural Texts
title_short The Rejection of Women Imams in Indonesia: Between Religious and Socio-Cultural Texts
title_sort rejection of women imams in indonesia between religious and socio cultural texts
topic Islamic Studies
Religion and Religious Traditions
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