Women, Education and Mediatized Sermons: The Changing Nature of Religious Authority and Transmission of Islamic Knowledge among Kenyan Muslims

Women, Education and Mediatized Sermons: The Changing Nature of Religious Authority and Transmission of Islamic Knowledge among Kenyan Muslims

by Dr. Hassan Juma Ndzovu (Moi University Eldoret, Kenya)

Thu, July 8, 12 - 14, Zoom 688 3186 6219, Passcode: 215819 (RS Learning)

Abstract

This is an ongoing study is devoted to female engagements with Islamic learning. It examines the structure and the role of ‘women-led’ and ‘women-only’ educational institutions (chuo or duski and madrassa) in the transmission of Islamic knowledge that ultimately produces religious authority in Kenya. Specifically, the study investigates (1) the syllabus (curriculum) and structure of ‘women-led’ and ‘women-only’ Islamic educational institution; (2) the content of the female preachers’ sermons in the CDs/DVDs; (3) and the significance of the media tools used by the female preachers in recording and conveying their sermons. By focusing on an understudied, the study will give new insights onto important facets of Islamic learning. Further, by examining the media technologies of CDs/DVDs, the study is able to highlight the (de)-construction of traditions, concepts and practices resulting from the interaction and communication through the mediatized knowledge. The study also elucidates the construction of female religious authority in the Kenyan setting and analyze the extent to which the emergent themes are influenced by gender.