A University of Stavanger associate professor has argued that Islam and feminism are not only quite compatible but actually share a strong historic affiliation.

Axar.az reports citing Utrop that a University of Stavanger associate professor has argued that Islam and feminism are not only quite compatible but actually share a strong historic affiliation.

Norwegian scholar of religion and associate professor at the University of Stavanger Marianne Hafner Bøe has surprised the public by presenting an array of “feminist interpretations of Islam” in her new book.

“People are simply not very familiar with Islam, despite decades of immigration and cultural exchange. The knowledge here in Norway is more limited to the cultural baggage that comes from the majority Muslim countries, and not so much to the religion and theology itself”, Bøe mentioned. According to her, many of the feminist views are closer to the religion itself than so-called secular Muslim thought.

According to Bøe, while Islam is known for gender-discriminatory customs, its religious practice contains a plethora of variations.

Marianne Hafnor Bøe is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Stavanger and has written research articles on halal dating among young Norwegian Muslims, women's activism in Iran and Sudan and feminist approaches to Sharia law. Her book “Feminism and Islam” will be out in October.

A 2017 study estimated that Islam has 1.8 billion adherents, or close to a quarter of the world's population. Norway's own Islamic community has grown exponentially over the past few decades and is now estimated to constitute 5.7 percent of the country's population of 5.2 million.

In a comprehensive 2017 poll, 97 percent of Norwegian Muslims said they were fully in favor of gender equality. At the same time, close to one-third of the respondents claimed it was important to follow sharia, which left analysts perplexed.