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Library | Item Barcode | Call Number | Material Type | Item Category 1 | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Searching... | 30000010156827 | BP173.4 I84 1998 | Open Access Book | Book | Searching... |
Searching... | 30000010156826 | BP173.4 I84 1998 | Open Access Book | Book | Searching... |
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Summary
Summary
For several decades, the Muslim world has experienced a religious resurgence. The reassertion of Islam in personal and political life has taken many forms, from greater attention to religious practice to the emergence of Islamic organizations, movements, and institutions. One of the most controversial and emotionally charged aspects of this revival has been its effect on women in Muslim societies. The essays collected in this book place this issue in its historical context and offer case studies of Muslim societies from North Africa to Southeast Asia. These fascinating studies shed light on the impact of the Islamic resurgence on gender issues in Iran, Egypt, Jordan, Pakistan, Oman, Bahrain, the Philippines, and Kuwait. Taken together, the essays reveal the wide variety that exists among Muslim societies and believers, and the complexity of the issues under consideration. They show that new things are happening for women across the Islamic world, and are in many cases being initiated by women themselves. The volume as a whole militates against the stereotype of Muslim women as repressed, passive, and without initiative, while acknowledging the very real obstacles to women's initiatives in most of these societies.
Author Notes
Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad is Professor of Islamic History at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She is co-author with Adair T. Lummis, of Islamic Values in the United States: A Comparative Study and editor of The Muslims of America. John Esposito is Director of the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University. He has authored and edited numerous volumes on Islam.
Reviews 1
Choice Review
Throughout the world, Muslim women (and men) are deeply questioning their relationship to traditional attitudes. The current volume begins with an excellent introductory essay by Esposito and an overview by Haddad (both of Georgetown) of issues such as women's education and public roles, women and Islamist movements, and domestic concerns like birth control and spousal abuse. Barbara Stowasser surveys interpretations of the Quranic verse putting men in charge of "their" women, and there is an overview of social change for women in the Arab world. Well-researched reports follow on women in Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Pakistan, and the Philippines, underscoring the substantial differences among these countries. For example, Kuwaiti women do not sit in Parliament or even vote; their wearing of the abaye in 1991 represented nationalist rather than Islamist meanings. In other countries, women might adopt Islamic veiling precisely as they were seeking more power and visibility in the public sphere, perhaps to render themselves less threatening to traditional values as they sought to undercut other traditions. All the essays are up-to-date, show deep familiarity with the complexity of the issues, and present riveting reading. Recommended for general readers, upper-division undergraduates, and above. S. Ward; University of Denver
