The Embryo Development in Quranic Verses

The aim of this paper is to answer two questions: is there a section in the Quran that describes the human embryo development? Second, if such a case existed, could it be compared to the Greek theories of generation? The answer to both questions is affirmative. In the first part of this paper, we discuss some Quranic verses talking about the embryo development. We also outline how the terminology (nufah, alaqah, mughah) used for expressing the embryo development in these verses involves complex translation challenges. In the second part, we compare the Quranic verses to two Greek theories of generation. Finally, we highlight a little-known aspect of the Quranic text worthy of study

Riconsiderare l’identità delle donne musulmane nell’Egitto post-rivoluzionario

Questo articolo esplora alcune forme dell’identità femminile nell’Egitto post-rivoluzionario, quale si manifesta in due documenti pubblicati dopo la Rivoluzione del 2011 sui diritti delle donne musulmane. Sono il Documento di al–Azhar (2013) e la Dichiarazione di Alessandria (2014), concordi nel ribadire il valore delle donne e i diritti garantiti loro dalla shari‘a. L’uno e l’altra hanno visto il coinvolgimento delle femministe islamiche. Si descrivono anche le possibilità di collaborazione tra al-Azhar e le femministe islamiche, per fondare una conoscenza religiosa-femminista autoctona e sensibile al genere. Tale collaborazione è utile per l’affermazione di un’identità femminile rispettosa della tradizione e consapevole delle sfide dell’epoca.This paper explores some forms of female identity in post-revolutionary Egypt. It analysis two documents issued on Muslim women’s rights after the 2011 uprising. The first one is al-Azhar Position Paper on Women’s Rights (Waṯīqat al–Azhar lil-mar’ah), issued in 2013. The second one is the Alexandria Declaration on Women’s Rights in Islam (I‘lān al–Iskandariyyah ḥawla “ḥuqūq al–mar’ah fī’l–islām”), issued in 2014. Egyptian Islamic feminists have been involved in the drafting of the Alexandria Declaration which initially was the draft of al-Azhar position paper. The article has three aims: 1) to provide a comparative reading of these documents, 2), to highlight the contribution of Egyptian Islamic feminists in the contemporary renewal of Islamic discourse and production of organic gender equality-sensitive religious knowledge, 3), to reveal how al-Azhar and the civil society actors represent Muslim women’s identity. Moreover, it points out that the collaboration between the religious establishment and Islamic feminists is fundamental for the consolidation of a female identity that not only respects Islamic tradition but also is aware of the challenges of the new era

Il femminismo islamico in Egitto. Donne, religione e giustizia di genere

نسوية إسلامية، جندر، مساواة، اميمة أبو بكر، مصرLa lotta per l’uguaglianza di genere coinvolge donne di tutte le parti del mondo. Una delle manifestazioni di questa mobilitazione globale è il femminismo islamico. Si tratta di un appello aperto che vuole unire donne che si battono per penetrare le mura del discorso religioso dominato dagli uomini. Questo libro racconta l’esperienza delle femministe islamiche con focus sul contesto egiziano e sulla voce di Omaima Abou-Bakr. La ricerca e l’azione di questa studiosa e femminista dimostrano il potenziale esplosivo che le donne musulmane portano con sé in quanto soggetti attivi capaci di produrre conoscenza religiosa alternativa favorevole alla giustizia di genere.The struggle for gender equality involves women from all parts of the world. Islamic feminism is part of this global mobilization. It is an appeal that gathers women who fight to penetrate male-dominated religious authority. This book explores the research and activism of Islamic feminists, especially in the Egyptian context with a focus on Omaima Abou-Bakr, a prominent scholar and Islamic feminist. Abou-Bakr's pursuit and actions demonstrate the potential of Muslim women as "active" individuals capable of producing alternative gender-sensitive religious knowledge based on Qur'anic ethics

Mobilità di genere e attivismo nel Nord Africa post-rivoluzionario. Strategie, sviluppo e sfide

"Emerging Actors in Post-Revolutionary North Africa: Gender Mobility and Social Activism", Anna Maria Di Tolla e Ersilia Francesca (eds), book review, in «Studi magrebini», XIV-XV (2016-2017), vol. I, pp. 452. The review highlights the issues that that book deals with, focusing in particular on gender mobility and social activism in post-revolutionary North Africa. Morocco, Tunisia, and Egypt are Study cases of the book that includes papers in English and in French

Femminismo islamico e cosmopolitismo

The chapter introduces Islamic feminism as a movement with a focus on three study cases from Egypt (Omaima Abou-Bakr), Iran (Ziba Mir-Hosseini), and the United States (Amina Wadud). In my section, I claim that besides being a social commitment, Islamic feminism is a form of moral cosmopolitanism, for it is a global and transnational movement. The advocacy of Islamic feminists is rooted in local contexts, at the same time they are involved in empowering international networks which allow them to meet activists from other domains, enforce their projects, share their experiences and work together for achieving their goals. The name “cosmopolitan Islamic feminist” is not an oxymoron, since it does not contradict Islamic ethics of justice, equality, and dignity. Islamic feminists’ approaches draw from their faith and Islamic tradition methodological canons and also from empirical fields. Thus, they build a bridge that connects Islamic ethics with global feminist demands and universal principles of human rights