Annemarie Schimmel examines a much-misunderstood feature of Islam: the role of women. Schimmel is critical of those, especially Western feminists, who take Islam to task without taking the time to comprehend the cultures, language, and traditions of the many societies in which Islam is the majority religion. Schimmel reconstructs an important but little-known chapter of Islamic spirituality. With copious examples, she shows the clear equality of women and men in the conception of the prophet Muhammad, the Quran, the feminine language of the mystical tradition, and in the role of holy mothers and unmarried women as manifestations of God. The work uses examples from Arabic, Turkish, Persian and particularly Indo-Muslim cultures, which reveal how physical love can give expression to the highest forms of mysticism.

Author Biography

Annemarie Schimmel was for many years a professor of Indo-Muslim culture at Harvard University and before that professor of Islamic Studies in Ankara and Bonn. She is the author of many works in English and in German.