Book Review of "Muslim American Women on Campus" (original) (raw)
Related papers
Unveiling Identities; Young Muslim Women's Social Space in the U.S.
Islam is one of the most misunderstood religions because of the violence and hostility attributed to it by the ideologies and practices of radical Muslim groups and by the concept of Orientalism that rejects Islam and perceives it as the unintelligible “other” that needs to be “civilized.” The West has been generalizing these practices of radical Muslims and attributing them to the core of Islam. Moreover, Muslim women have been a part of this dilemma as they are viewed as oppressed and submissive to the men within their religion and religious practices. My research explores the personalized social space that young Muslim women constructed in the United States after 9/11. This space is based on religious tradition, education, fashion, sport, careers, and interactions with social media. Through this space, the young Muslim women present a new facade of Islam compatible with religious duties and American values. The personalized social space that young Muslim women constructed and still construct in the United States is safe for the American public to enter and explore Islam and Muslim women. It is safe because it appeals to Western ideals of athleticism, professionalism, education, modern fashion, and, most importantly, good citizenship. This research will help bring forward a new understanding of Islam and the rights and duties of Muslim women, Islam which can be compatible with the values of freedom, equity, and autonym, especially for women.
Muslim Women in the United States
This essay is about how the academic field of North American Islam has turned to questions of gender and sexuality and how American Muslim women have dealt with the reality of gender constructions and localized dynamics in the American context. Widespread perceptions that Muslim women are oppressed by their religion make it difficult for them to tackle gender disparities in their own communities. If, for instance, a woman pushes to end practices in mosques that require her to pray separately from the men, as some women do, then anti-Muslim activists latch onto their complaints to discredit the Muslim community as a whole. At the same time, these women may be criticized by some within the Muslim community for imposing “western values” on Muslims or undermining the community with their feminist ideas. The influences of anti-Islam populism and intra-Muslim community pressures have shaped contemporary debates about women’s status in Islam and American women’s rights. Contested post-9/11 discourses, women’s leadership in public organizations, mosque participation, online activism, and law are examined.
Hastings Race and Poverty Law Journal, 2012
In the post-9/11 era, Muslim women donning a headscarf in America find themselves trapped at the intersection of bias against Islam, the racialized Muslim, and women. In contrast to their male counterparts, Muslim women face unique forms of discrimination not adequately addressed by Muslim civil rights advocacy organizations, women’s rights organizations, or civil liberties advocates. The paper argues that the Muslim woman is a casualty of the post-9/11 “war on terror” in ways different from Muslim men. Not only are her religious freedoms under attack in ways different from men because the headscarf is unique to women, but she is objectified in ideological and corporal domestic conflicts that profoundly affect her life. Perhaps worse than the gender rights debates of the 1990s when Muslim women were talked about rather than talked to, their experiences post-9/11 are completely neglected by Western feminists or used by Muslim male spokespersons to implement a civil rights agenda tailored to the Muslim male experience. Consequently, Muslim women are trapped in the crosshairs of national security conflicts that profoundly affect their lives but not yet adequately addressed by advocacy groups focused solely on defending Muslims, women’s rights, or civil liberties post-9/11. Section I of this paper prefaces the paper’s thesis by highlighting Islam’s transition from obscurity to notoriety in the American public’s psyche as a result of the September 11th attacks. Section II highlights how the recasting of Islam from a bona fide religion to a political ideology is a necessary precursor for accepting otherwise discriminatory acts as legitimate national security practices. The reclassification is most glaring in the nationwide campaigns opposing mosque constructions because of the public’s fixation on mosques as hotbeds of extremism. Likewise, as Islam becomes defined as an expression of politics instead of religion, demands for religious accommodation by Muslims are deemed stealth Islamic imperialism not protected by law. Against this backdrop, Section III demonstrates how the meaning of the Muslim headscarf has transformed from a symbol of female subjugation to a symbol of terror(ism). Through an analysis of employment discrimination, racial violence, political marginalization, and exclusion from the courthouse, this article demonstrates how the transition in meaning of the headscarf has resulted in palpable and widespread discrimination against Muslim women donning the headscarf. Yet, discourse on civil liberties in the national security context are woefully lacking due to the glaring absence of the Muslim woman’s voice. Section IV calls for a prescriptive rethinking of strategies aimed at redressing anti-Muslim bias and civil liberties infringements that take into account the gender component of post-9/11 discrimination. By developing a more accurate and in-depth analysis of their complicated circumstances post-9/11, this article aims to include “headscarved Muslim women” in the relevant debates among legal theorists.
Reverting to Islam in Seattle: American Women and an Emerging Muslim Identity
There exists a Western perception of a homogeneous Islam in the Middle East and, overwhelmingly, the image of the veiled Muslim woman has come to represent not only this Islam as a whole but also the perceived lack of freedom and agency of Muslim women. Amidst these harsh stereotypes, Islam has planted a following in America and the perceived conditions of Islamic women does not seem to coincide with the growing sisterhood of American Muslim converts. Islam is one of the fastest growing religions in the United States today and American born and raised women are leading the way. Through in depth interviews, portraits of seven American Muslim women in Seattle, and their Islamic conversion stories are narrated. They reveal not only the diversity of Islam and American Muslim women, but also the trends and common beliefs of this new feminist Islamic identity in the United States.