ABSTRACT
The creation of the academic discipline of Islamic theology in German universities has offered the opportunity to consider questions related to Islam and gender norms from a different perspective. The author focuses her exploration of academic programs on the tension between traditional, and in her view, not gender-just interpretation of Qur’anic verses, and the values of a democratic modern German society. Schneider argues that points of conflict lie especially in the gender equality enshrined in the German constitution and the possible disconnect from traditional Muslim gender norms, and she laments that, to date, none of the academic positions in Islamic theology have included a focus on gender studies. The chapter engages with the arguments, actors, and debates involved in Islamic theology and asks which perspectives are amplified and which are underappreciated.
