Beyond the Aporia of Islam and Gender

Abstract

Since 9/11, our world has become more unstable. The dichotomy between the Middle East and the West has been reconstructed and exploited in the context of international politics. Former American president George W. Bush's slogan “Save Muslim women from their own men,” used to justify military intervention in Afghanistan, is proof of this. Popular European, American, and Japanese stereotypes depict Muslim women as oppressed by men and religion. Such a view is often called “gendered orientalism.” Third World feminists, such as Chandra Mohanty, Gayatri Spivak, and Lila Abu-Lughod have discussed these issues very carefully. Scholars of religion in Japan, on the other hand, often downplay gendered orientalism and its associated problems. By understating the need for a critical assessment of orientalism and gender, Japanese religious studies perpetuate gender stereotypes. Instead of asking how gendered orientalism could be overcome, this paper suggests that researchers should clarify its underlying structure, thus rendering the question itself irrelevant. By involving the majority, by sharing the significance of gender mainstreaming, and by presenting a concrete methodology, it may be possible to break through this bottleneck, and to demand that scholars of religion obtain knowledge about gender issues and take part in gender mainstreaming proactively.