Muslim Women on the Margin: On Whose Authority Does Islamic Knowledge Rest

Abstract

This paper will examine Muslim women’s engagement in Islamic scholarship by reviewing the foundational source of Islamic knowledge while referencing Somali female activists I interviewed in my 2017 published thesis. In particular, Somali women’s active participation within the realm of Islamic scholarship in the diaspora will be reviewed, including how the contribution of religious knowledge has enhanced Somali women’s faith and their active leadership in their communities. Moreover, I will analyze the orthodoxy limitation that has attempted to erase their scholarship.