Mernissi 2

Question: what is misogyny? In what societies is it found?

Mernissi, Chapter 3: A Tradition of Misogyny (1)

the transmitter of the offending hadith, Abu Bakra (not to be confused with the Caliph Abu Bakr!)
reportedly, feminine rule in Persia denounced by the Prophet
researching the commentary on al-Bukhari's Sahih-- actually on the occasion of the Battle of the Camel
background of Abu Bakra-- former slave in Ta'if, freed on the conquest of the city, who then became a notable of Basra, though he lacked a genealogy
the problem of dubious paternity in the case of temporary marriage
A'isha argues opposition to an unjust caliph who tolerated the murder of `Uthman, rather than submission
undemocratic debate in the mosque of Basra
Abu Bakra opposes civil war, objecting to a woman leader (he reports after the battle)-- was this principled opposition, or something personal and opportunistic?
Abu Bakra's conviction for false testimony in a case of adultery, which requires four adult male eyewitnesses
resulting controversy over the reliability of this hadith

Chapter 4: A Tradition of Misogyny (2)

stories of pilgrimage to the Prophet, told by the author's grandmother
learning the Qur'an at a harsh school
a hadith on women disrupting ritual prayer -- how could this have been said by the Prophet? transmitter: Abu Hurayra ("Kitten Man")
the prayer direction (qibla) changed from Jerusalem to Mecca: political questions in relation to Judaism
a contrary tradition by A'isha
Abu Hurayra a former sun worshiper -- connections to Yemen and the Queen of Sheba -- who may have had gender issues about women and cats, in conflict with A'isha over hadith
debates about sex, menstruation, and purity during Ramadan, corrected by Aisha
another hadith about women and bad luck refuted by A'isha (but her response is not mentioned by al-Bukhari!)
other anti-women had teeth transmitted by `Abdullah ibn `Umar, a noted ascetic
Zarkashi's (14th-century) book on Aisha's contributions to hadith, rediscovered in 1939, and her disputes with Abu Hurayra
defenses of Abu Hurayra's prodigious memory (5300 hadith), contrasted with others who took hadith with the utmost seriousness

Part Two: Medina in Revolution: the Three Fateful Years

chapter 5: The Hijab, the Veil

descent of the veil during the year 5/627: a curtain on the private quarters of the Prophet's residence, when guests stayed too late after his marriage to Zaynab
Qur'an 33:53, "the verse of hijab", revealed as the Prophet dropped a curtain (sitr)-- the "occasion for revelation" explaining the circumstance of a particular verse
Muhammad's tribulations during that period: military reversal at Uhud after the success at Badr in year 2, failure to defeat Meccans
sura 33 also describes Battle of the Trench (siege of Mecca)
evident purpose of the verse is to encourage tact
multiple meanings of hijab, including curtain concealing a King, or the veiling of consciousness in Sufi mysticism; basic meaning of separation and protection
negative meaning of in ability to perceive
restriction of women as a theme in modern Islam, based on republication of medieval authorities
woman's body as symbolic of the community that must be controlled in a modern situation
the division of public and private space