Browsing by Author "Moosa, Ebrahim"

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    Application of Muslim personal & family law in South Africa : law, ideology and socio-political implications
    (1989) Moosa, Ebrahim; Hofmeyr, Jannie; Lubbe, Gerrie
    What I have coined as 'politics' occur at two levels, namely at the level of the differing political perceptions of Muslims and at the level of how they interact with the modern-state. This study approaches the subject from two angles. The first deals with a community's self-perception in relation to its religious symbols and values. The second involves an understanding of the human reality we experience. Law, ideology, economics and a host of other forces dictate the destinies of people. It is against the backdrop of the above two levels that the implications of the implementation of MPL [Muslim Personal Law] is examined in this thesis. It must be said at the outset that MPL has as yet not been applied in South Africa. The debate regarding its implementation has only begun. This thesis thus looks into the dynamics of this experience. Some aspects of the debate is also based on projections and comparative studies.
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    Battered women in Muslim communities in the Western Cape : religious constructions of gender, marriage, sexuality and violence
    (1996) Shaikh, Sa'diyya; Moosa, Ebrahim
    Historically Muslim women have been marginalised in the examination of Islamic texts and Muslim society. This has resulted in the non-recognition and silencing of women's perspectives as well as the concealment of some of the traumatic realities experienced by groups of Muslim women. Exacerbated by pervading social and religious notions of "private" families, the incidence of wife battery within Muslim societies have been largely hidden violence against wives is seen as the manifestation of a sexist and patriarchal ideology. This study examines the manner in which Islamic gender discourses inform and impact upon the phenomenon of violence against women. The related tensions between patriarchal and egalitarian Islamic perspectives are explored. This study involves a two-fold feminist analysis of gender ideology in religious texts and contemporary Muslim society. At the level of textual studies, I applied a feminist hermeneutic to medieval and contemporary Qur'anic exegetical literature. The examination of medieval period focused on the exegesis of Abu Jafar Muhumammad b. Jarir al-Tabari (839-922), Abu al-Qasim Mahmud b. Umar Zamakshari (1075-1144), Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (1149- 1210). The study of contemporary exegetical literature concentrated on the approaches and exegeses of Fazlur Rahman and Amina Wadud-Muhsin. Hermeneutical debates on violence against wives were focused on the interpretations of the Qur'anic notion of female nushuz (Q.4:34). In examining contemporary Muslim society, I employed feminist qualitative research methodology. I interviewed a number of women from a South African Muslim community in the Western Cape. Here, the sample consisted of eight women with whom open-ended in-depth interviews were conducted. The interviews were transcribed and thematically analysed. I found that interweaving levels of religious symbols and discourses shaped normative understandings of gender relations. This in turn had implications for both structural and practical discourses of violence against women in Muslim societies. Islamic gender ideology spanned the continuum from patriarchal to feminist approaches. Misogynist religious understandings reinforced the husband's right to control and coerce his wife, even if this implied the use of force. On the other hand, egalitarian Islamic perspectives prioritised the Qur'anic ethics of equality and social justice and rejected the violation of women. I argue that Islam provides numerous resources for the pro-active empowerment of women and the promotion of the full humanity of women.
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    Custom ('Urf) as a marginal discourse in the formulation of Islamic law : myth or reality? : with special reference to Ibn 'Abidin's discourse on 'Urf
    (2000) Sitoto, Tahir Fuzile T; Moosa, Ebrahim
    This dissertation primari Iy focuses on the problem of custom or 'urf and its treatment as a marginal source in Muslim legal theory or w
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    Identity on the line : a historical-cultural study of the Indonesian-state ideology of Pancasila
    (1999) Riyadi, Abdul Kadir; Moosa, Ebrahim
    Pancasila, literally meaning "Five Principles", is the philosophical basis on which the modem Republic of Indonesia was established. It was devised in order to fulfil the goals and ends of independence. One such goal is the establishment of religious harmony and tolerance in national life. The aims of this thesis are, in the first place, to explore the importance of such a system as Pancasila, and to provide emphatic interpretation of Pancasila which in essence discloses the dynamics of religious interaction in Indonesia. This thesis is divided into two parts. The first part is dealing with the historical context out of which Pancasila was found. Here, it is ultimately concerned with the question of the genealogy of Pancasila. It is also dealing with the question of how Sukarno -the first Indonesian president and the father of Pancasila- laid its foundation. The second part is mainly concerned with the questions of, what the elements of Pancasila are, and through what mechanism Pancasila is maintained. Thus, while the first part is historical, the second is cultural, and examines Pancasila from the cultural point of view. Pancasila as a cultural system will be dealt with from two angles, namely Pancasila as an evaluative system, and Pancasila as a symbolic system.