Ethics of Care as Practical Theology in Muslim Women's Gender Jihad Communities: a Synthesis of Four Dimensions

This article analyzes the concept of the ethics of care within Amina Wadud's thought, not as an abstract ethical theory, but as a manifestation of practical theology that shapes spaces of autonomy and agency for Muslim women. Departing from previous studies that treat grassroots movements merely as fieldwork objects, this study is a library-based inquiry that positions Wadud's Inside the Gender Jihad as both the primary source and the principal object of analysis. Through a critical reading of Wadud's narrative concerning two Muslim women's communities in Richmond, Virginia—Muslim Women United (MWU) and Together Righteousness Unites The Hearts (T.R.U.T.H.)—the article argues that the care work they perform constitutes a concrete form of Gender Jihad, a transformative struggle for gender justice. This practice reconstitutes the central Islamic concept of mu'amalat (just social relations) while also functioning as a tacit corrective to the failure of patriarchal Islamic structures in realizing social justice. The article demonstrates how the ethics of care builds legitimacy through impactful praxis, creates an alternative epistemology grounded in women's lived experiences, and offers a relational, justice-centered, and sustainable paradigm of Islam. By synthesizing these four interconnected dimensions—interpretive tool, autonomous space, legitimacy strategy, and epistemology—the study shows that MWU's crisis-responsive care and T.R.U.T.H.'s sustained, network-based care are complementary expressions of a single theological praxis. These findings underscore the importance of reading theology not only from texts but also from the bodies and actions of women in everyday spaces.