Muslim Women's Political and Social Activism in the Conflict Between Tradition and Modernity From the Perspective of Contemporary Egyptian Reformers (Case Study: Muhammad al-Ghazali al-Masri and Yusuf al-Qaradawi)

Daneshjoo, Hamideh; Vakili, Hadi; Janahmadi, Fatemeh

doi:10.22059/jwica.2026.387201.2117

Muslim Women's Political and Social Activism in the Conflict Between Tradition and Modernity From the Perspective of Contemporary Egyptian Reformers (Case Study: Muhammad al-Ghazali al-Masri and Yusuf al-Qaradawi)

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Hamideh Daneshjoo ¹

Hadi Vakili ²

Fatemeh Janahmadi ³

¹ PhD student of Iran's history after Islam, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad

² Department of History, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran

³ Associate Professor of the Department of History, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran

10.22059/jwica.2026.387201.2117

Abstract

Since the encounter of Islamic societies with Western culture and civilization, the conflict between tradition and modernity has become one of the most important intellectual and social challenges of the Muslim world—a challenge that has manifested itself particularly strongly in the issue of the political and socio cultural participation of Muslim women. This matter, often accompanied by extreme or overly permissive approaches, has prompted many Muslim thinkers to respond, reflect, and propose solutions. Among these thinkers, Muḥammad al Ghazālī of Egypt and Yūsuf al Qaraḍāwī hold a special place, as their ideas have been influential in the intellectual and political transformations of the contemporary Muslim world, especially within the Arab and Sunni spheres. This study, using a descriptive analytical method and a comparative approach, seeks to answer the question of how al Ghazālī’s and al Qaraḍāwī’s views on the presence and socio political engagement of Muslim women were formed, and to what extent these views were shaped by the confrontation—or coexistence—between tradition and modernity. The findings indicate that both thinkers, while criticizing and rejecting the extremist traditionalist and modernist approaches, emphasize reviving a balanced perspective based on authentic Islamic teachings—teachings which, in their view, were embodied during the Prophet’s era in the way women were treated and in their realistic and well measured participation in society.

Keywords

Muhammad Ghazali

Yusuf Qaradawi

Muslim woman

tradition and modernity

reform movement

Subjects