scholarly journals Markus Dressler, Ron Geaves, and Gritt Klinkhammer, eds. Sufis in Western Society

2011 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 135-138
Author(s):  
Elliott Bazzano
Keyword(s):  
Muslim Women ◽  
Core Region ◽  
Western Society ◽  
Lived Religion ◽  
The West ◽  
False Dichotomy ◽  
2 Peter

Contributors to the volume, Raudvere and Gaši, skillfully note that “cherished,unfamiliar or rejected—attitudes of Sufism are seldom neutral”(163). If one traces the evolution of Sufism to Western lands, this aneutralityis accentuated. Thus, Sufism in the West is understandably a growing ifunderstudied field. There is a dearth of surveys on the topic, and this makesadditional attention to global networking and locality especially welcome.The authors seek to challenge the romantic and literary biases of Orientalistscholarship, and the eleven chapters rise to the occasion because mostfocus on particular living Sufi communities.The opening chapters set the methodological tone. In the Introduction,the editors emphasize “Sufism as a lived religion” and they rightly acknowledgethat Sufism often acts “as a bridge between Eastern and Westernspiritual or mystical philosophy” (4). In Chapter 2, Peter Beyer usesthe term glocalization while arguing that “as globalized structures, religionsare no longer . . . regional affairs which can be understood primarilywith reference to a particular core region” (13). He narrates a story of twoCanadian Muslim women who might experience different kinds of beliefand practice on a spectrum of religiosity. Strangely, however, only oncein the article does he mention “Sufism,” and the false dichotomy “Sufi/scriptural,” which contrasts with the major concepts in the book, such asthe primacy of the Qur’an for many Sufis ...

Approaches to the wardrobe challenges of Muslim women in the west

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 1155-1173
Author(s):  
Wafaa H. Shafee
Keyword(s):  
Community Integration ◽  
Muslim Women ◽  
Western Society ◽  
Fashion Industry ◽  
Dress Code ◽  
The West ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Global Brands ◽  
Women's Clothing ◽  
Clothing Choices

Purpose This study aims to identify the challenges of Muslim women in terms of their dress code in Western society by including their clothing needs in the strategies of the fashion industry and marketing. The study focuses on wardrobe choices that have helped overcome these challenges and facilitated Muslim women’s integration into western society. Design/methodology/approach Descriptive statistics were used in this study through a questionnaire that was distributed among 265 randomly selected Muslim women in London, UK. The results have been presented in charts showing the percentages and frequencies of the different behaviors and challenges that were faced by Muslim women in the west. Findings The majority of the study sample preferred to use a variety of modern fashion trends from global brands to integrate with the community. The essential criteria for the Muslim women’s clothing choices include head hair cover and conservative full-length clothes that are non-transparent that cover the neck and chest area. Originality/value A study has investigated the clothing needs and behaviors of Muslim women in the west for their community integration. It analyzed the results and linked them with the role and contributions of designers, producers and fashion marketers in accepting the western society of Muslims and their integration with its members.

Levantine Art in the “Orientalizing” Period

2019 ◽  
pp. 369-383
Author(s):  
Marian H. Feldman
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Cultural Relations ◽  
Ancient Greek ◽  
The West ◽  
False Dichotomy ◽  
First Millennium

The “Orientalizing period” represents a scholarly designation used to describe the eighth and seventh centuries bce when regions in Greece, Italy, and farther west witnessed a flourishing of arts and cultures attributed to contact with cultural areas to the east—in particular that of the Phoenicians. This chapter surveys Orientalizing as an intellectual and historiographic concept and reconsiders the role of purportedly Phoenician arts within the existing scholarly narratives. The Orientalizing period should be understood as a construct of nineteenth- and twentieth-century scholarship that was structured around a false dichotomy between the Orient (the East) and the West. The designation “Phoenician” has a similarly complex historiographic past rooted in ancient Greek stereotyping that has profoundly shaped modern scholarly interpretations. This chapter argues that the luxury arts most often credited as agents of Orientalization—most prominent among them being carved ivories, decorated metal bowls, and engraved tridacna shells—cannot be exclusively associated with a Phoenician cultural origin, thus calling into question the primacy of the Phoenicians in Orientalizing processes. Each of these types of objects appears to have a much broader production sphere than is indicated by the attribute as Phoenician. In addition, the notion of unidirectional influences flowing from east to west is challenged, and instead concepts of connectivity and networking are proposed as more useful frameworks for approaching the problem of cultural relations during the early part of the first millennium bce.

Mothers and Wives

2020 ◽  
pp. 114-139
Author(s):  
Katherine E. Brown
Keyword(s):  
Muslim Women ◽  
Western Society ◽  
Women's Roles ◽  
Women’S Roles ◽  
Violent Action ◽  
A Site ◽  
Moderate Bias

This chapter demonstrates links between the presumed moderate bias and pacifism of women with the emphasis on women’s roles as mothers and wives. Focusing on how women’s engagement is filtered through mother work, ideas of world preservation presume the home as a site of tranquility, with women naturally located there. Caring is established as counter to radical violent action, dovetailing with moderation narratives, yet premising antiradicalization programs on ideas that wives and mothers are pro-state or nonextreme is questionable. The chapter concludes by arguing that debates over women’s appropriate roles are the hidden battleground over which both counter-radicalization and radical groups operate. Radical groups present a narrative about the failures of Western society and feminism to protect women, and a consequent emasculation of men. Counter-radicalization efforts presuming that Western society and feminism have benefited all women equally fail to appreciate the difficulties that young Muslim women face negotiating complex identities under conditions of discrimination, poverty, and Islamophobia.

scholarly journals Relational Ethics: Volunteering and the Responsibilities of the Good Muslim

Religions ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 150
Author(s):  
Merve Kayikci
Keyword(s):  
Muslim Women ◽  
Relational Ethics ◽  
The West ◽  
Islamic Ethics ◽  
Good Citizen ◽  
Islamic Tradition ◽  
Self Formation

This article explores the ways in which female Belgian Muslim volunteers experience responsibility. It argues that responsibility consists of multiple dynamics for the volunteers, for example, the duties that are embedded in the Islamic tradition and the duties that arise from being a good citizen in a liberal/secular context. While these are often emphasized as being contentious binaries—especially for Muslims living in the West—this paper suggests that volunteering allows the Muslim women to bring these worlds together. The ways in which volunteering enables this is by introducing a relational reading of ethics and ethical self-formation. Relationality is highly significant for the female Muslim volunteer. It signifies being in touch with both (non-liberal) Islamic ethics and liberal public norms, even when pursuing a pious lifestyle. Hence, the article explores the ways in which responsibility is actualized in this framework. Finally, the last section interrogates how this idea of responsibility and relationality re-articulates binaries of the good-Muslim and the bad-Muslim.

Mosques, Muslims, Methods: the Role of Mosques in Research about Muslims in Europe

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 216-233 ◽  
Author(s):  
Torkel Brekke ◽  
Lene Kühle ◽  
Göran Larsson ◽  
Tuomas Martikainen
Keyword(s):  
Lived Religion ◽  
Religious Institutions ◽  
The West ◽  
Point Of Entry ◽  
Methodological Problems ◽  
Muslims In The West ◽  
Muslims In Europe

Abstract Previous research has questioned the use of mosques as points of entry for research about Muslims in Europe. Part of the background has been a new emphasis on lived religion and a critique of a one-sided focus on religious institutions. We argue that some of this criticism is theoretically ill-founded and we also point out that some trends may make mosques more important in research about Muslims. In section 1, we go through the most important literature addressing the methodological problems posed by using mosques in research about Muslims in the West. In section 2, we look at some of the fundamental problems of definitions in some of this critical methodological literature. In section 3, we discuss how the choice of methods, not least sampling modes, will be of significance for meaningful discussion about the appropriateness of using mosques in research, and in section 4, we present what we see as important advantages of using mosques as a point of entry to study Muslims. In section 5, we conclude with a brief summary and discussion.

The Study of Women in Islam and the West: A Select Bibliography

Hawwa ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yvonne Haddad
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Muslim Women ◽  
Higher Learning ◽  
The West ◽  
Production Of Knowledge ◽  
Women In Islam ◽  
Institutions Of Higher Learning ◽  
The Social ◽  
Select Bibliography ◽  
Available Information

AbstractThis bibliography sets out to explore the topics that Muslim women in the West reflected on and researched as they joined the institutions of higher learning and began to have an input in the creation of knowledge. It also attempts to gather the available information about the experiences of Muslim women and surveys the available literature in English on Muslim women living in the West. While Muslim women have been professionally active in many fields, the bibliography is focused primarily on the production of knowledge by professors in the humanities and the social sciences and their contribution to our understanding of the debates about the women of Islam.

scholarly journals The Muslim Veil in North America

2004 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 110-112
Author(s):  
Shabana Mir
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
North America ◽  
Historical Development ◽  
Muslim Women ◽  
Basic Information ◽  
The West ◽  
Academic Texts ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Veil

When it comes to Muslims in the West, nothing is a more sensational visualsymbol than the hijab. Due to the current Muslim and non-Muslim fixationon it, scholarly examination of hijab and related issues is necessary.The Muslim Veil in North America examines some of its historical, sociological/anthropological, and theological aspects. Part 1 engages with theveil’s hyper-visibility in Canada. Since the book does not engage with theAmerican experience, I am not sure why the title refers to North America.I enjoyed part 2 immensely, and will use it as a reference on the subject.The bulk of this section explores the historical development of the veil’stheological status and nature. This book is different from, say, Maudoodi’sPurdah, which sees the veil in its contemporary form as a product of historicalprocesses.This book is dedicated to diasporic Muslim women, although introductorymaterial in various chapters addresses readers unfamiliar with Islam. Undergraduates will appreciate its accessibility in comparison tomost academic texts, and it will make the subject comprehensible to layreaders. Unfortunately, this means that the book wavers between being anacademic (education, anthropology, and sociology) and a lay read. This isnot because the entire book is tailored to different kinds of readers, butbecause its two parts are rather disjointed. Part 1 addresses a more lay andintroductory social science-related reader with basic information; part 2, onthe other hand, is a highly specialized examination of exegetical and hadithhistory.The editors, in addressing a gaping void in the literature, possiblyattempt to do too much: specialized theology, history, politics, anthropology,and sampling of “voices.” I would have preferred it to be more selective.Also, “let the voices speak” is a commendable approach, but after a certainpoint we should go beyond it. There is also a line between “reportage syndrome,”writing without an adequate theoretical framework, and skillfulacademic writing, which allows contextualized voices to be heard by fellowacademics within the social sciences. I would also have preferred that thetheology and sociology chapters be connected by common threads ...

scholarly journals Reconstruction of Cliché Image of Oriental Woman in Mohsin Hamid’s Exit West

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 61
Author(s):  
Kuğu Tekin ◽  
Zeynep Rana Turgut
Keyword(s):  
World View ◽  
Muslim Women ◽  
Muslim Woman ◽  
Control Mechanisms ◽  
Main Character ◽  
The West ◽  
Identity Reconstruction ◽  
Male Sex ◽  
The One ◽  
Western View

This paper attempts to hold a mirror to the existential struggle of an immigrant Muslim woman who is trying to survive on her journey to the west. Mohsin Hamid presents Nadia as one of the main characters in his 2017 novel Exit West. The paradox concerning Nadia is that while her preference for wearing a long black robe confirms the western misconstrued image of Muslim women, her actions, her view of the world, of life and of herself definitely refute the ingrained eastern notion of the suppressed, submissive, silenced Muslim woman. According to the dominant western view, oriental women are still under the strict control of the mechanisms of patriarchy. Among the control mechanisms of patriarchal order are traditions, norms, values and religion. However, Nadia does not fall into this western miscategorization of Muslim woman with her strong, rebellious character, and with her freethinking and insight. Indeed, it is Nadia, who safeguards, directs and in a sense, matures Saeed’s-the other main character-rather timid and naïve personality. What is unexpected in the journey of these two characters is that the one who is need of identity reconstruction is not the female but the male character, for Nadia does already have a firmly constructed identity and she has no intention to transform either her outfit or her world view for the sake of integrating herself into the western culture. In brief, through the character of Nadia, Mohsin Hamid reconstructs the cliché image of oriental woman. In Exit West, Hamid reverses stereotyped gender roles by attributing his female character all the dominant personality traits attached to the male sex.

scholarly journals PESANTREN’S RESISTANCE AGAINST CULTURAL GLOBALIZATION

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gonda Yumitro ◽  
Dion Maulana Prasetya
Keyword(s):  
Material Point ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Western Society ◽  
Mass Movements ◽  
The West ◽  
Cultural Globalization ◽  
Post Colonial ◽  
Local Tradition ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Materialistic Values

<strong>Abstract</strong><strong>: </strong>This research attempts to explore the resistance of Pesantren against cultural globalization dominated by western society. By using the post-colonial approach, it is found that there is the process of re-reading the meaning of globalization and re-defining of ‘self’ as the subject of globalization. Pesantren introduced the concept of non material point of view namely <em>al-tarbiyah wa al-ta‘lim</em> preserving the local tradition in facing the secular and materialistic values of the West. Interestingly, this concept has emerged as prominent alternative of Islamic position showing the adaptability of Islam toward the globalization. Based on this research, the author thus argues that the violence and mass movements have no longer been used by the pesantren as an indication of modernzing Islamic  approach in the globalization era.<br /> <br /><strong>Abstrak: Resistensi Pesantren terhadap Globalisi Budaya</strong>. Penelitian ini mencoba menggali resistensi pesantren terhadap globalisasi budaya yang didominasi oleh masyarakat Barat. Dengan menggunakan pendekatan pasca-kolonial, ditemukan bahwa ada proses membaca ulang makna globalisasi dan mendefinisikan ulang 'diri' sebagai subjek globalisasi. Pesantren memperkenalkan konsep cara pandang non material yaitu <em>al-tarbiyah wa al-ta</em><em>‘</em><em>lim</em> yang melestarikan tradisi lokal dalam menghadapi nilai sekuler dan materialistik dari Barat. Menariknya, konsep ini telah muncul sebagai alternatif utama posisi Islam yang menunjukkan adaptasi Islam terhadap globalisasi. Berdasarkan penelitian ini, penulis berpendapat bahwa kekerasan dan gerakan massa sudah tidak lagi digunakan oleh pesantren sebagai indikasi terjadi modernisasi pendekatan Islam pada era globalisasi ini.<br /><strong> </strong><br /><strong>Keywords</strong>: globalization, <em>pesantren</em>, culture, postcolonial, materialistic

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