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Islamic Studies Commons

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Gettysburg College

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Articles 1 - 24 of 24

Full-Text Articles in Islamic Studies

Islamic Meditation: Mindfulness Apps For Muslims In The Digital Spiritual Marketplace, Megan Adamson Sijapati Jan 2022

Islamic Meditation: Mindfulness Apps For Muslims In The Digital Spiritual Marketplace, Megan Adamson Sijapati

Religious Studies Faculty Publications

This chapter describes and analyzes three digital sites that offer guided meditations curated by and for Muslims: Sakeenah, Sabr, and Halaqah. My analysis offers thick descriptions of these mobile apps, which first appeared in the online “meditation marketplace” in 2020 and 2021, and identifies resonant themes and questions that I believe are fruitful for the study of religion in digital landscapes and for mapping the shifting contours of lived Islam. Today’s industry of online meditation and mindfulness products is highly profitable, as meditation—and, more broadly, “mindfulness”—has in recent decades been embraced and normalized in contemporary, cosmopolitan life as a key …


Societal Rather Than Governmental Change: Religious Discrimination In Muslim-Majority Countries After The Arab Uprisings, Yasemin Akbaba, Jonathan Fox Jan 2019

Societal Rather Than Governmental Change: Religious Discrimination In Muslim-Majority Countries After The Arab Uprisings, Yasemin Akbaba, Jonathan Fox

Political Science Faculty Publications

This study examines shifts in governmental religion policy and societal discrimination against religious minorities in Muslim-Majority states after the Arab Uprisings by using the Religion and State round 3 (RAS3) dataset for the years 2009-2014 and by focusing on 49 Muslim-majority countries and territories. We build on threads of literature on religious pluralism in transitional societies to explain the changes in governmental religion policy and societal discrimination against religious minorities after the Arab Uprisings. This literature predicts a rise in all forms of discrimination in Arab Uprising states as compared to other Muslim-majority states, and an even more significant rise …


What All Americans Should Know About Women In The Muslim World: Clarifying Stereotypes About Muslim Women In Morocco, Alexandra M. Krain Oct 2017

What All Americans Should Know About Women In The Muslim World: Clarifying Stereotypes About Muslim Women In Morocco, Alexandra M. Krain

What All Americans Should Know About Women in the Muslim World

The stereotypes about Muslims in Morocco as well as Morocco in general are widespread and often incorrect. The present paper combines both scholarly review and personal experience to clarify stereotypes about public space, work, education, and personal life, focusing specifically on women. Hopefully, this analysis will assist in educating the public about Muslims in Morocco and reveal the under-appreciated similarities between Moroccan and American women.


Active Resistors: The Women Of Post-Revolution Iran, Sofia E. Mouritsen Oct 2017

Active Resistors: The Women Of Post-Revolution Iran, Sofia E. Mouritsen

What All Americans Should Know About Women in the Muslim World

In this paper, I challenge the notion that Muslim or Middle Eastern women are passive acceptors of discrimination. After examining how Iranian women resisted governmental discrimination following the 1979 Iranian Revolution, I consider a number of factors that may have led to the reversal of some of these discriminatory policies in the 1990’s. How much of an effect did women’s demands for equality have on the government’s decisions? This question of effectiveness introduces a longtime debate between Islamic feminists, who advocate for working with the theocratic government and using Islam to frame their demands for equality, and secular feminists, who …


The Great Misread: Life And Death In Islam And Its Relation To The West, John M. Zak Oct 2017

The Great Misread: Life And Death In Islam And Its Relation To The West, John M. Zak

Student Publications

Details of death in the Islamic faith and how it is related to the two major monotheistic religions of the West, Judaism and Christianity.


Winning The Game: Muslim Women And Sport, Claire F. Benstead Oct 2017

Winning The Game: Muslim Women And Sport, Claire F. Benstead

Student Publications

Female Muslim athletes face a number of obstacles when playing sports, both at home and abroad. For example, those who wear hijabs may be banned from playing a sport in certain countries or international arenas because their headscarves are deemed unsafe by the organization’s standards. By contrast, they may be required to wear a headscarf in other countries if they wish to compete publicly. By examining case studies from a variety of sports and countries, this paper explains how female athletes have worked to overcome these obstacles and fought for equality and the right to join the game.


What All Americans Should Know About Islamic Feminism, Caroline M. Bosworth Oct 2017

What All Americans Should Know About Islamic Feminism, Caroline M. Bosworth

Student Publications

The concept of Islamic feminism depicts the history of Muslim women seeking gender equality on the basis of religion. Through rooting gender equality in the texts and practices of the Qur'an, Muslim women demand acknowledgement in society based on Islamic teachings. A common theme persists in American society, which perpetuates the misconception that Muslim women lack agency. In reality, numerous Muslim women have actively worked to ensure their rightful place alongside men in society, which is evident in the cases of both Egypt and Iran.


Levels Of Media Consumption And Muslim Intolerance, Kathryn E. Cushman Oct 2017

Levels Of Media Consumption And Muslim Intolerance, Kathryn E. Cushman

Student Publications

Exploring the various factors that lead to Muslim intolerance, specifically the role of media consumption and the control variables of age and education levels


Schisms: The Inherent Dangers Of Religious Variance Within A Single Faith – An Analysis Of Intra-State Conflict In The Modern World, Benjamin E. Hazen Apr 2017

Schisms: The Inherent Dangers Of Religious Variance Within A Single Faith – An Analysis Of Intra-State Conflict In The Modern World, Benjamin E. Hazen

Student Publications

This essay explores the relationship between religious variance within a single faith and the frequency of intra-state conflict. Specifically, an emphasis is placed on Sunni and Shia conflict within the overarching umbrella of Islam. Utilizing the most recent empirical data in conjunction with other scholarly research, it can be hypothesized that the more diverse a state is within a single subset of one particular religion, the more frequent the incidence of intra-state conflict is as well.


What All Americans Should Know About Women In The Muslim World: An Introduction, Amy Y. Evrard Jul 2016

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.


Fearless Friday: Laila Mufty, Laila M. Mufty Apr 2016

Fearless Friday: Laila Mufty, Laila M. Mufty

SURGE

In today’s Fearless Friday, Surge would like to honor the work of Laila Mufty ‘18. Laila is a sophomore from the Bay Area in California and is majoring in Environmental Studies. Currently, she is one of the CPS Program Coordinators with Big Brothers Big Sisters and is the Immersion Project Leader for the New Orleans trip in May focused on the rebuilding of the Gulf Coast. In addition to her work with CPS, Laila participates in multiple cultural organizations on campus and has volunteered with El Centro, Painted Turtle Farm and Casa de la Cultura. Laila has also written and …


The Motivations Behind Westerners’ Obsession With The Islamic Veil, Claire K. Alexander Apr 2016

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 Apr 2016

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 …


The Mainstream Misrepresentation Of Muslim Women In The Media, Megan A. Mastro Apr 2016

The Mainstream Misrepresentation Of Muslim Women In The Media, Megan A. Mastro

What All Americans Should Know About Women in the Muslim World

I discuss the widespread misrepresentation of Islamic women in multiple sources of media and its subsequent effects on the general population's perception of this demographic as a whole.


Ms. Marvel: Changing Muslim Representation In The Comic World, Casey L. Trattner Apr 2016

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 Apr 2016

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 Apr 2016

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.


Muslim Head Coverings, Raven C. Waters Oct 2015

Muslim Head Coverings, Raven C. Waters

Student Publications

I researched female head coverings in the Muslim culture, to see how the veils affected society and society's response to the covering.


The Bosnian Muslims And The Irish Perspective, Gabriel C. Kelly Jul 2015

The Bosnian Muslims And The Irish Perspective, Gabriel C. Kelly

Student Publications

The conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina can be understood in multiple ways, however, the focus of this paper is to examine the perspective of Ireland on the Bosnian Muslims at different levels of society--ranging from the population to international level--from June 01, 1992 to January 31, 1996. Through an analysis of letters to the editor in "The Irish Times," parliamentary debate transcripts, and the Barbara Sloan European Union Document Collection located at the University of Pittsburgh's Hillman Library, I have been able to reveal how complex perspectives within a state on a particular issue can be, and how they can vary between …


Fealess Friday: Kelsey Chapman, Christina L. Bassler Apr 2015

Fealess Friday: Kelsey Chapman, Christina L. Bassler

SURGE

Kelsey Chapman ’15 fearlessly advocates for human rights, peace, and justice, focusing on the Middle East. An economics major and Middle East and Islamic Studies (MEIS) minor, Kelsey is the house leader for the MEIS House, an Arabic PLA, and the founder of Gettysburg’s chapter of J Street U. [excerpt]


Muslim Women And United States Healthcare: Challenges To Access And Navigation, Dayna M. Seeger Apr 2015

Muslim Women And United States Healthcare: Challenges To Access And Navigation, Dayna M. Seeger

What All Americans Should Know About Women in the Muslim World

This paper offers an analysis of the interactions of Muslim women in the US healthcare system in order to unpack challenges and propose potential accommodations. Islam may inform values or considerations in the context of other cultural factors or present Muslim women with specific challenges in seeking healthcare based on Islamic teachings or social constructs. This paper examines these factors by elaborating on an overview of Muslim interpretations of healthcare using religious authorities, text from the Qur’an, and social norms. It then delves into challenges faced by Muslim women in the US healthcare system and the implications of those challenges …


To Veil Or Not To Veil: A Loaded Question, Lisa R. Rivoli Apr 2015

To Veil Or Not To Veil: A Loaded Question, Lisa R. Rivoli

What All Americans Should Know About Women in the Muslim World

What all Americans should know about women in the Muslim world is that Muslim women are increasingly prohibited through legal measures to choose for themselves whether or not to veil, which reduces their agency and perpetuates the harmful idea that all Muslim women need saving.This paper takes a look at political and legislative interventions on veiling in several countries.


In The Absence Of Peace, Emma R. Okell Feb 2015

In The Absence Of Peace, Emma R. Okell

SURGE

Today, the Monday after the attack, all of the flags were at half mast. Everything continued as normal, as if nothing had happened. Yet there was an intensity in the air. I didn’t notice the increased police, but it was easy to feel the increased security. [excerpt]


Bangladesh, Megan Adamson Sijapati Jan 2011

Bangladesh, Megan Adamson Sijapati

Religious Studies Faculty Publications

Bangladesh (formally the People's Republic of Bangladesh) is a Muslim-majority parliamentary democracy located in South Asia. Originally called East Pakistan, it was created during the partition of India in 1947 as the eastern wing of the country of Pakistan. Its name was later changed to East Bengal and then to Bangladesh after its union with West Pakistan was broken following a bloody war of secession in 1971. [excerpt]