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muhammad shahrur’s life and workxliTwo passages are particularly problematic: 1) Al-rij§l qaww§mån #al§’l-nis§", and 2) wa-all§tÊ takh§fån nushåzahunna… wa-"·ribåhunna. Thetraditional rendering of these two passages by medieval tafsÊr exegetescan be summarised as follows: 1) Men are in charge of women,because of their physical, intellectual, financial etc. superiority bywhich Allah favours men over women; 2) If husbands are faced withthe disobedience, open rebellion and disloyalty of their wives, it islegitimate to beat them and reinforce their obedience.Such open misogyny and sexism in Shahrur’s eyes is unacceptablefor several reasons. First, it contradicts universally held ethical principles,dominant in gender politics of the twenty-first century, whichstate that discrimination on the basis of a person’s sex is intolerable.Second, it contradicts the ethical norms held by the text’s objectiveand unchangeable part, that is, al-qur"§n, as expressed in verses suchas 2:187 and 4:1, which emphasise sexual equality in terms of reason,intelligence, religion, and legal responsibility. Given what al-qur"§nstates as an absolute divine norm (sexual equality), it is compulsoryfor any interpreter to explain 4:34 (a verse of umm al-kit§b) in thelight of 2:187 and 4:1 (verses of al-qur"§n). Third, the misogyny oftraditionalist exegetes reflects the prevalent understanding of medievalpatriarchal societies. Since this understanding ignored the divineethical code of al-qur"§n and clashes with what is currently regardedas morally just, it ought to be abandoned. Finally, the assumptionof male superiority is contradicted by recent scientific data whichascribe no deficiency to female persons, intellectually or otherwise.Moreover, beating and physical violence is not only universally condemnedas immoral but has also been proven as highly counterproductivefor resolving marital crises. And if it is against universallyheld standards and practice, no religious community ( al-Êm§n) has theright for a moral Sonderweg and to oppose al-isl§m. Verse 4:34, whichaddresses all believers worldwide, must be “as applicable to men andwomen in Tokyo or São Paulo as it is to men and women in Cairo,Damascus, or Riyadh”. 46some of their wealth. Hence righteous women are obedient, guarding the unseenwhich Allah has guarded. As for those of them that you fear might rebel, admonishthem and abandon them in their beds and beat them. Should they obey you, do notseek a way of harming them; for Allah is Sublime and Great!” Translation by MajidFakhry, An Interpretation of the Qur"an: English Translation of the Meanings (New York: NewYork University Press, 2000).46Chapter 5 in this book, pp. 279–280.