The Attitudes and Opinions of Orientalists Regarding the Status and Activities of Women in Abbasid Society until 334 AH/945 CE

Abstract

Muslim women have been the focus of attention for many Orientalists, with differing opinions on this topic, particularly regarding women's roles and activities during the Abbasid era, which represented the pinnacle of Islamic civilization. This study aims to address the contradictions raised by Orientalists regarding Muslim women, while seeking to explain the reasons for Muslim historians' interest in documenting women's lives—an aspect often overlooked by Western researchers, particularly in political and spiritual contexts. Furthermore, the study seeks to compare the status of women in Islamic society with that of medieval European society, shedding light on the image and status of women in the Middle Ages. Hence, this study compares the activities of Muslim women with those of medieval European women, the home of Orientalists. Despite the restrictions imposed on women by Islamic society, they emerged during the Abbasid era as a force that competed with men for power. Furthermore, their spiritual influence as Sufis and ascetics was admired and praised by authors. On the other hand, women's activity in society has aroused the interest of authors in writing about them in separate works devoted to that purpose, as will become clear through the pages of this research