Islamic Studies Commons^™

Positionality And Feminisms Of Women Within Sufi Brotherhoods Of Senegal, Georgia Collins

IdeaFest: Interdisciplinary Journal of Creative Works and Research from Cal Poly Humboldt

No abstract provided.

What All Americans Should Know About Women In The Muslim World: An Introduction, Amy Y. Evrard

What All Americans Should Know About Women in the Muslim World

This brief introduction to the “What All Americans Should Know About Women in the Muslim World” series provides information about women in the Muslim world, why they are important for Americans to understand, some challenges that arise in the study of Muslim women, and what these particular papers bring to bear on the topic.

The Motivations Behind Westerners’ Obsession With The Islamic Veil, Claire K. Alexander

What All Americans Should Know About Women in the Muslim World

In a world where we are constantly bombarded with countless images of Islamic terrorism, violence, and danger, it is not surprising that we have come to associate all aspects of Islamic society with malevolence. This destructive way of thinking has impacted the way we—as Westerners— think about, portray, and perceive Muslim men and women. While Muslim men are often depicted as hostile, cruel, and savage-like, on the other hand, Muslim women are usually depicted as powerless, obedient, and docile. These stereotypical representations of Muslim men and women have harmful consequences—consequences that not only promote Western ignorance, but also tarnish the …

Gender Roots: Conceptualizing "Honor" Killing And Interpretations Of Women's Gender In Muslim Society, Brittany N. Barry

What All Americans Should Know About Women in the Muslim World

The phenomenon of “honor” killing is one that has formed out of deeply rooted concepts of sexuality and gender roles in Muslim societies. These conceptions have been implemented into everyday life and social infrastructure and have created, in some places, a generally accepted power dynamic that subjugates women and generates conceptualizations about women’s sexuality and their assumed obedience. In recent decades the gender constructions of, predominantly, the Middle East and of other Muslim populations have captured the attention of Western thinkers, especially with regards to feminist thought. The Western gaze has produced a number of responses, some of which have …

Ms. Marvel: Changing Muslim Representation In The Comic World, Casey L. Trattner

What All Americans Should Know About Women in the Muslim World

Examines the representation of Muslim women in the comic book world, and how Kamala Khan (the titular Ms. Marvel) along with some other characters usher in a new wave of how Muslim women are depicted in comics.

The Myth Of “Sharia” And Child Marriage, Megan S. Luckenbaugh

What All Americans Should Know About Women in the Muslim World

In American media, the term "sharia law" is repetitively used as a reason behind practices and actions linked to Islam which would be considered counter to Western morals. The term "sharia" is first clarified as having many definitions, but in legal terms each Islamic nation has their own version of "sharia." Child marriage is one of many topics often blamed on "sharia" and this essay attempts to debunk the Western portrayal of "sharia" by exploring the reality of child marriage in some Islamic nations. The examples depict both situations in which the people, despite the laws, are actively keeping this …

The Pedophile Prophet? Breathing A Culturally Relative Point Of View Into A Controversial Cultural Debate, Samuel S. Thompson

What All Americans Should Know About Women in the Muslim World

This work focuses on a controversial topic within women studies of the Islamic world, the very young marriage of Mohammad's second wife Aisha. The work attempts to meet the issue on level ground and explain that while this may seem as a spark on conflict between non-Muslim cultures and the Islamic world this marriage was not altogether that uncommon for the time.

Bibliography Of Books On Muslims And Islam In The United States (1970-2015), Sahar Aziz, Cynthia Burress

Cynthia Burress

Pilgrimage, Spiritual Tourism And The Shaping Of Transnational ‘Imagined Communities’: The Case Of The Tidjani Ziyara To Fez, Johara Berriane

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

This paper aims at analysing the role of the transnational Tidjani pilgrimage to Fez in shaping a sense of belonging among West African adepts and their identification with Morocco. It is based on the assumption that the Tidjani pilgrimage has contributed to the shaping of a religious ‘imagined community’ (Anderson, 1996) encompassing West Africa and Morocco and to the reinforcement of the position of Fez as its ‘socio-cultural centre’ (Cohen, 1992). This paper explores the different historical and political factors that contributed to the evolution and maintaining of the Tidjani pilgrimage practice and to giving sense to it, and analyses …

Haunted Histories And Ambiguous Burial Grounds In Iraqi Kurdistan, Nahro Zagros, Tyler Fisher, Muslih Mustafa

Tyler Fisher