The gendered perception of Islam in Western societies: problematizing culturalist and feminist approaches

Gärtner Christel

Abstract

This chapter reflects the gendered perception of Islam in Western societies. Empirical studies in European countries show that Muslims are associated with misogyny, violence, and intolerance. It is striking that the perception of Islam as misogynistic and prone to violence is itself already gendered: while Muslim women are generally regarded as the victims of religiously legitimized oppression, their male counterparts tend to be regarded as perpetrators who act based on norms of masculinity that legitimize violence, with these norms being regarded in turn as religiously grounded. First, I will outline the argumentation structure of the gendered perception of Islam in the public discourse of Western societies. Secondly, problematize culturalist and feminist approaches that essentialize Muslim gender relations as unequal and backward and discuss the implications of these approaches. In the third part, I will argue that studies using more differentiated concepts and consider gender relations in the context are better able to understand the complex and contradictory reality of Muslim women and men. Finally, I will raise the question of how we can examine Muslim gender relations conceptually and methodologically without falling into the traps of secularist, essentialist, or culturalist concepts.

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